While avoiding being outright bad in any regard, Final Fantasy Resonance does little to captivate the player. The combat system is by far the best element, but largely seems like a reworking of an idea more successfully executed in the Octopath franchise. And while moments of characterisation are charming and well written, the actual narrative only pinballs between tropes until it winds up at a rote climax. Despite being positioned as a celebration of the series, it does little but half-heartedly play a couple of the hits and ask you if you remember the good old days.

With Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Evil Empire has brought the series back to life with an excellent Metroidvania that easily outshines much of the 2026 competition.

Silver Pines is a decent Metroidvania game that plays like a solid survival horror title. However, its poor combat can detract from the overall experience, although fans of the genre should still have this on their radar.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s modernizations of the arcade racing formula have their upsides and drawbacks, but fundamentally it is one of the most thrilling racing games released in years, with a compelling arsenal of systems, mechanics, modes, and even some pretty well-written characters. Moreover, it’s a reminder of how fresh and bold the racing genre can feel when explored to its limits.

The latest Metroidvania from genre veteran Kyle Thomson offers no original ideas, but is polished, fun, and endlessly charming.

While it’s a slow start at a discordant pitch, Control Resonant quickly tunes into the right frequency and hums with humanity. Its frayed edges can sometimes become apparent; its characters, writing, world, and sheer originality vastly outweigh any downsides.