Gamer83

Yes, it's getting extremely annoying at this point. I'll play this style of game from time to time but definitely not my favorite. What prevents Stellar Blade from being my current favorite game of the year is it's gameplay. If it was more similar to Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, it'd be much more fun. Instead, another Soulslike.

I do appreciate that the devs are updating the game with free cosmetics like this. If they'd wanted, definitely could have charged real $ and made some bank.

Bought if for Switch and been enjoying it, though, as with all older fighting games, the difficulty really annoys me at times. Would probably give it a 7/10, not the greatest roster but still pretty good and the game is fun to play overall.

@rjejr
Time sure does fly, especially as you get older. I remember visiting this group of websites way back in 2006 when Nintendo Life was called vc-reviews.com. 🤣

I don't think it's that outlandish a question considering Monster Hunter been very successful on Nintendo platforms and people are going to want to play the series on the Switch's successor.

Heihachi, just like Bison, is a classic character and, personally, I'm glad he's back. However, the way both Capcom and Namco acted, it's funny watching them get roasted. Don't tease stuff if you don't have the stones to follow through with at least one entry in a series that will obviously get more sequels.

Might be the only time I've disagreed with a PushSquare review so much it makes me call into question whether I should keep holding this website's (one of the only 3 I trust) reviews in such high regard that I recommend it them to people on the fence about certain games. TFD is definitely not perfect, but a 3/10 is beyond ridiculous. The game has solid mechanics and to this point, the fun hasn't run out yet. Don't really know what more one could want from a looter shooter. The story could be better, but, I could say that about thousands of games that were scored much higher.

I think I know the reason it got the score it did, but I won't go there because it's a talking point that always devolves into childish name calling.

Not surprised. I know plenty of people who love sports games that desperately wanted EA's college football games to return. Chances are, it will end up like Madden, though. Sell well, people will be hyped at first, then hate it a month or two later. In general, EA games, outside of the Star Wars Jedi series, have been trash for a very long time now.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Stellar Blade are both great games, deserving of top 4 status. I put Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Tekken 8 ahead of them, however.

It has a lot of nonsense that typically comes with free-to-play games and it's not close to perfect but 3/10 is beyond ridiculous. One of the very rare times I vehemently disagree with PushSquare.

The First Descendant

I voted for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth but Tekken 8 is right there with it. Stellar Blade, FF VII Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin take the next 3 spots. All good games as well.

Played about 4 or 5 hours on Xbox yesterday. It seems fun but we'll see how it plays out long term. These free-to-play games usually run out of steam quickly.

Astro Bot, easily. Astro's Playroom is still one of the best PS5 games so I have no doubt Team Asobi will deliver again.

@AdamNovice
Yup. I was looking forward to it, guess this is better than nothing now.

Hopefully they'll be adding more players to the roster as time goes on.

I'm looking forward to the game but it sounds like it's going to be filled with the same bs currently plaguing even the best fighting games, especially overpriced DLC.

Monster Hunter Rise is one of my favorite Switch games and I'll be giving it a play on PS5 now just to see how it compares (probably not many differences other than graphics). Also can't wait to play Daxter again, great platformer that still holds up well for the most part.

Rise of the Ronin

@get2sammyb
It's more than a shame, this is going to be disastrous for the game's sales prospects. The soundtrack is a huge part of the experience. I'll probably still buy it, but not going to lie, this is a lot like the Switch port of No More Heroes 1 missing Heavenly Star.

One of my favorites in the series and still in my 5 games of this gen.

Played a little bit of Tomb Raider Legend. It's great to have it available and I like the game so will be playing to get the trophies, but, the Xbox 360 version on Series X is the better option for anybody who hasn't played the game before.

@Rich33
I also don't love seeing PlayStation and Xbox sharing their IP with eachother or Nintendo. On the other hand, releasing their games on their own consoles but also having a PC version for day one? Don't really have a problem with that, two very different markets.

@Rich33
Obviously can't speak for others but as a PS5 and Xbox Series X owner myself, I'll keep the Xbox because as of now it still does have a few console exclusives, but if it gets to the point where every MS-owned IP shows up on PS5, I'd still keep playing those games on Xbox because I've put a lot of money into that ecosystem over the years. I'll buy the next Xbox for the same reason. Of course, if I was new to gaming, right now the choice is PlayStation over Xbox with Nintendo as a nice complimentary option.

This is why I don't understand the hope some people still have for the demise of the Xbox brand. PlayStation needs strong competition, and for the first time in a long time, Xbox delivered something good. Your turn, Sony...

Hoping this one gets me back into the series. Last Call of Duty I bought was Black Ops Cold War.

Interesting. Not sure if it's a day one buy, but a game I'll be paying attention to.

This will be a great addition to King of Fighter 15, Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.

I would've preferred two more SF characters instead of Mai and Terry, but still a cool group of fighters none the less.

@Ashina
Don't stop there... Astro Bot as well. It's exactly the type of game the Nintendo audience likes. Would be a good Switch 2 launch game.

Heck yeah. Have the platinum but still play this one from time to time as it's one of my top 5 PS5 games. Any new, free content is always appreciated.

I'd buy it as I'm a big fan of both the PSP and the Vita, but I'd rather Sony focus on the home market.

Since what I saw recently has me completely uninterested in the Silent Hill 2 remake, I hope this delivers. I've liked everything Keiichiro Toyama has made before, especially the Gravity Rush series.

Yakuza is my third favorite franchise after Resident Evil and Metroid but I have my doubts Amazon can do it justice as a tv series. Hope I'm wrong, will definitely tune in for the first season, at least.

Looks like Metal Slug, which is cool, unfortunately the gameplay style isn't something I can get into. I'm sure the soundtrack will be a banger, Tee Lopes also made the TMNT Shredder's Revenge music.

@NEStalgia
It's beyond ridiculous thinking. What's really crazy is, it's not that long ago that Sony realized budget pricing should exist for certain types of games.

@CamPatUK
Yup. I get it. I hope Sony doesn't F things up.

Feels like they're setting this up to be a $70 game, which I think will bury it. I'd still buy it but I don't think the vast majority would. Even $60 is pushing things because Playroom was free. I think $40-$50 would be the sweet spot. I want this game to succeed because if it doesn't Sony's take away won't be 'we screwed up on pricing and advertising,' it'll be 'gamers don't want games like Astro Bot.'

1. Monster Hunter Wilds
2. Astro Bot
Both of those look awesome.

As for the other games, it was all a steaming pile of meh, and I'm especially disappointed with how badly Bloober Team seems to be dropping the ball with Silent Hill 2, though, I guess I shouldn't be shocked because I knew where things were headed once 'modern audience' was injected into the conversation. I don't want to write off Path of Exile 2 or Ballad or Antara but free-to-play is always cause for concern.

I don't care if people don't like beat-em-ups, that's fine. However, ranking a month that features Streets of Rage 4 as 'crap' is insanity. Don't have to like a genre to be able to appreciate a well-made game, and SoR 4 is fantastic.

Big fan of Playroom's soundtrack, so this is great news.

Something I hope Capcom keeps from Monster Hunter Rise is the pacing. I tried other MH games in the past (Tri on the Wii and World on PS4) but could never get into the series until Rise came along. The other games just felt too slow and deliberate when it came to tracking the monsters and all that stuff leading up to the battles whereas Rise was action packed from the start. Good, more large-scale storytelling would be a nice bonus but as the article states that's not completely necessary for Monster Hunter.

Hopefully there's a demo in the lead up but even if not I'll still get this on launch day. Easily one of my most anticipated games right now and with Capcom riding a serious hot streak, little doubt this will be one of 2025's best.

Right now this is my most-wanted game for the rest of the year. Big fan of Astro's Playroom, look forward to seeing what the team does with a more full game.

Probably will be gone from the list entirely next month but hopefully the April result is good enough that it means Stellar Blade can be considered a success overall.

Wish it was like the Xbox Series X where you could also put a disc copy in for games that are part of the bc program but this is still better than nothing. Hoping to see a good number of Namco games with Tekken 5 at the top of the list.

I have a Premium subscription but going to spend the money anyway to buy Sly Cooper and Tomb Raider Legend. Both great games and a chance to show Sony that some of us do want more PS2 games on the service.

Sega is my favorite video game company of all time but it's always been run by idiots. Good thing Nagoshi made the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series happen anyway.

Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.

@get2sammyb
Great job, thanks for taking the time to put this together.

Unfortunately, at least from what I've seen on twitter, the fighting on both sides continues. I could understand if this game had any real harmful content in it, but it doesn't. Don't like skimpy outfits? Move the f on and play one of the billion games that doesn't have them.