When Mario Tennis Fever finally stepped onto court for Nintendo’s latest hardware cycle, the series we all associate with manic rallies and cartoon chaos promised to blend classic tennis fundamentals with something altogether more explosive. At its best, this hybrid of sports sim and arcade spectacle delivers exactly that: trademark shot variety and pacing underpinned by slick, accessible input that almost anyone can pick up and play, and then layer strategy onto as they grow more confident. The introduction of the titular Fever mechanics – a metered build-up of power that flashes into unpredictable effects – isn’t just cosmetic: it dramatically tilts momentum, making each rally feel like it could swing on a single, perfectly timed hit. Continue reading “Mario Tennis Fever review (Switch 2)”
Category: New
True Fear: Forsaken Souls Trilogy review (PS5)
With the launch of Part 3, we now have the complete True Fear: Forsaken Souls Trilogy on PlayStation 5. Developed by Goblinz Enterprises and published by The Digital Lounge, the trilogy represents a long-form psychological horror narrative told across three point-and-click adventures. What begins as a slow-burning investigation into a family’s fractured past gradually expands into a sprawling mystery that blends hidden-object mechanics, elaborate puzzles and cinematic storytelling. Across all three entries, the series thrives on atmosphere and methodical discovery, though its deliberate pacing and structural quirks can test patience for those not familiar with the genre. Continue reading “True Fear: Forsaken Souls Trilogy review (PS5)”
DLC roundup: Lil Gator Game, Pinball FX & Pinball FX VR
This latest roundup of recent DLC drops brings together the subterranean charm of Lil Gator Game: In the Dark on PlayStation 5 and the franchise-heavy spectacle of Zen Studios’ Bethesda Pinball pack for Pinball FX across PS5 and VR. One doubles down on warmth and accessibility, refining an already endearing adventure with new traversal twists, while the other leans into layered systems and fan service to reframe iconic game worlds through steel balls and flippers. Together, they offer a snapshot of DLC at two very different ends of the spectrum: comfortingly iterative on the one hand, and mechanically ambitious – sometimes to a fault – on the other. Continue reading “DLC roundup: Lil Gator Game, Pinball FX & Pinball FX VR”
Crisol: Theater of Idols review (PS5)
From the moment Crisol: Theater of Idols opens its creaking gates on PlayStation 5, it announces itself as something different from the usual survival horror fare – a hybrid of methodical exploration and first-person action that wears its inspirations proudly but adds its own, sometimes blunt, identity. Developed by Vermila Studios and published by Blumhouse Games, this Spanish-rooted journey into the cursed isle of Tormentosa doesn’t just borrow from classics; it fuses familiar mechanics with a uniquely baroque aesthetic that makes it impossible to ignore. Continue reading “Crisol: Theater of Idols review (PS5)”
Developer interview: No Stone Unturned
Gareth Owens – a onetime film-and-TV writer who cut his teeth with studios from Aardman to Pinewood before founding Wise Monkey Entertainment – has spent the last few years turning a lifelong love of British whodunits and absurdist comedy into something delightfully strange: No Stone Unturned, a comedy‑noir detective RPG game that casts an amnesiac squirrel, Detective Cox, as its hard‑boiled protagonist and stitches together murder mysteries, bespoke mini‑games, and theatrical puppetry‑inflected performance into a single, mischievous package. The game wears its influences proudly – Columbo and Jonathan Creek meet surreal animal farce – but it’s also unmistakably Owens’: part escape‑room puzzle design, part cinematic storytelling, and all pointed, playful weirdness aimed at making players laugh while they peel back a much larger mystery beneath the village’s quaint surface. Continue reading “Developer interview: No Stone Unturned”
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