DeVuego

At its best, this blacksmith action adventure endears with great characters, engrossing action, and retro simplicity. Attempts to chase industry trends often hold it back.

Blasphemous 2 is not for the faint of heart. The battles can be difficult at times - to a controller-breaking level. However, if you’re a fan of the stresses and strains found in Souls-like games and are willing to learn the moves inside out, then this Metroidvania will reward you with beautiful finishing kills and adrenaline-filled boss fights.

Metroid Dread creates a palpable level of tension that we hope to see more of in Samus's future adventures. However, we couldn't shake the underlying feeling that the Metroid formula, as a whole, needs a severe shake-up. Metroid Dread certainly has its moments where it dares to break the mold but, all too often, it resorts to the same tactics that helped the series first stand out in 1986. Nintendo single-handedly invented an entire sub-genre when it released Metroid all those decades ago, but sadly Samus's latest mission fails to further her legacy in any meaningful way.