Reviewed on: Switch 2
Platform: Switch, PC
Publisher: Supergiant Games
Developer: Supergiant Games
Release: September 25, 2025

Hades, which left early access back in 2020, is one of the best and most influential roguelikes of all time, so there's perhaps no greater sign of the talent at Supergiant Games that their own follow-up, Hades II, blows it out of the water. The formula is refined into its ultimate form; the combat is more complex (but just as intuitive), and the story is grander and more thrilling. Hades II is the pinnacle of the roguelike genre, a position I previously granted its predecessor, but one that its sequel has handily earned.

Watch Game Informer's Hades 2 Review:

For the unfamiliar, the Hades games are action roguelikes, where each run has players gathering an arsenal of upgrades (known as boons) to turn their character into a god-slaying weapon. After each run, most of which will end in a death, the player immediately returns to their home base, where they can talk to their companions to access new story content and use the rewards from the last attempt to make themselves even stronger. Like much of the design in the Hades games, it's a simple yet genius gameplay loop, turning losses into immediate gratification and fueling you to do another run as soon as possible.

Hades II takes place an undisclosed number of years after the first game, and now centers on Melinoë, the younger sister of Zagreus and a daughter of the titular god of the underworld. That god, along with most of the underworld's inhabitants we came to know and love in Hades, has been imprisoned by Chronos, his time-wielding father. Rather than break out of Hell, Melinoë starts each run by breaking into Hell, working her way down to Tartarus to thwart her grandfather. The way Hades II recontextualizes familiar locations and characters reminds me of the relationship between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom (a comparison I do not invoke lightly), where I'm equally excited to try new things as I am to revisit old favorites.

Melinoë is armed with six new weapons, each completely different from the last, ranging from a pair of magic wands to a heavy-hitting battleaxe. To make combat even more complex, each attack also has an omega form, unleashed by holding down the attack button, which creates more powerful, sometimes completely different moves. A normal attack with the twin blades, for example, unleashes a combo of slashes and stabs, but the omega version teleports you behind the nearest enemy for one explosion of damage. It's such a simple and intuitive mechanic that I sometimes forget it's not present in the original.

The amount of new content in Hades II could be overwhelming, but it's introduced at such a steady rate that it never feels that way. On my 40th run, in a save file where I had already fought every boss the game had to offer, I unlocked the sixth weapon and encountered a god whose boons I had never seen before. Even 40 runs in, I discovered elements that make the game feel entirely new. There is a finite amount of improvements – it's only a game, after all – but it incentivizes discovery so much that you feel like there's something new to unlock around every corner, and for many, many hours, that's true.

The reason Hades II has its hooks in me, above all else, is the way it rewards the player. This consistent introduction of unlockables, including weapons, boons, arcana cards, familiars, companions, fish, seeds, minerals, and more, means that even when you fail a run, that one failure is promptly interrupted by a stream of rewards. It's hard to leave a session of Hades II feeling frustrated because it's explicitly designed to make you feel the opposite, and I gladly welcome the relentless flood of dopamine.

The plot is similarly structured around defeat, with each loss unlocking new dialogue with those around you. This was also the case in the first game, but Hades II is larger in ways I won't spoil, and the fact that the narrative feels completely seamless and linear regardless of your actions is extra impressive here. And despite Hades II expanding the scale of this world of Greek gods significantly, dialogue and story maintain their character-first approach. You often learn who a person is and what they care about before even learning their name or relationship to the main characters, and I greatly prefer that. The narrative, while fairly straightforward, ends in a place I did not expect, but loved, especially its mythological take on generational trauma.

These characters also continue the series tradition of being beautifully designed, with each new god or titan introduced blowing me away with their striking, modern designs. Overall, the game looks and runs gorgeously, and that includes my Switch 2 copy, where I noticed no performance issues. I also need to mention the music; Darren Korb has done it again, and I especially enjoyed hearing themes from the first game being reimagined in new ways. There's also one dynamic, musical boss fight that's particularly impressive, with the backing track altering when the respective musicians are removed from the battlefield.

Sixteen months of early access have sculpted Hades II into a truly unforgettable experience. After roughly 50 hours and 53 runs between its first iteration and final release, I'm somehow still itching to go back for more. Melinoë's journey showcases Supergiant's expert world-building, combat design, and sharp dialogue to a degree that somehow surpasses one of my all-time favorite games. Godlike, indeed.

Score: 10

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Xbox held a special broadcast for Tokyo Game Show headlined by the reveal of Forza Horizon 6. In case you missed the presentation, we’ve rounded up each announcement (in alphabetical order) for a quick recap of the event.

007 First Light

Actress Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, Eternals, The Creator) is making her video game debut by joining the cast of IO Interactive’s upcoming James Bond game. Chan portrays Dr. Selina Tan, a tech expert and senior MI6 official who leads a training program for recruits. 

Age of Mythology: Retold - Heavenly Spear

Age of Mythology: Retold is getting a new expansion set in Japan. A fresh story told across 12 missions pits players against new gods and monsters, while also introducing new powers. Heavenly Spear launches on September 30

Aniimo 

First announced earlier this summer, the creature-collecting RPG Aniimo got a new trailer showing off more of its whimsical monsters. That includes a majestic space whale. Aniimo launches in 2026. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

Treyarch announced new multiplayer maps set in the Land of the Rising Sun for its upcoming Black Ops 7. The maps include the urban sprawl of 2035 Tokyo and Den, set in the rural countryside near a castle. 

Double Dragon Revive

In addition to its main campaign, the upcoming co-op brawler features a 50-mission Challenge Mode. Clearing them unlocks character episodes to add more narrative perspectives.

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

The upcoming remake of the first two Dragon Quest games is getting a brand new area: the ocean floor. A trailer shows players traversing its salty depths to find the fallen underwater town of Mersea, which holds a mystery about its past.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake

Announced during this month’s Nintendo Direct, the remake of the 2003 PS2 horror classic made another appearance in a new developer diary. Fatal Frame series director Makoto Shibata discussed the game’s graphical and audio improvements and evolved Camera Obscura gameplay.

Forza Horizon 6

The next Horizon game is coming in 2026 and takes players to Japan. So far, we know the open-world racer. Although developer Playground Games won’t be revealing gameplay until early next year, it does (unsurprisingly) tease Tokyo and the countryside surrounding Mt. Fuji as some of the many locations players will cruise through. The game’s roster of cars will also highlight Japanese car culture.

Forza Horizon 6 launches next year for Xbox Series X/S and PC via Windows and Steam. The game will also come to PlayStation 5 sometime post-launch.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. Blood Heat

Despite Gungrave G.O.R.E. releasing in 2022, it’s getting a full Unreal Engine 5 remake. Blood Heat features revamped combat, redesigned enemy encounters, and other revisions to level design, player interactions, and other systems.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. Blood Heat is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and has no release window.

Hitman: World of Assassination

Agent 47 is teaming up with an unlikely but powerful ally: Bruce Lee. The legendary martial artist/actor is an Agent helping 47 infiltrate an international martial arts tournament at the Himmapan Hotel in Bangkok, which secretly holds meetings for the Concord Union. Agent Lee must win the tournament to face Union’s elusive leader, Dragon Head.

This new elusive target mission arrives for free starting September 25 and runs until November 20.

Hotel Barcelona

Ahead of its release tomorrow, Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro and Goichi “Suda51” Suda revealed the multiplayer modes for their roguelike action game, Hotel Barcelona. The game supports 3-player co-op and has a PvP invasion system where players control copies of themselves to sabotage their runs. 

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Following the news that Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox has released the free World Update 20 that lets players take flight over Japan. The update adds 23 new photogrammetry areas covering over 20,000 square kilometers of the country, featuring numerous landmarks. A new aircraft is also coming in the form of the Japanese Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC) YS-11.

World Update 20: Japan is available now for Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024, while the NAMC-YS-11 costs $19.99.

Mistfall Hunter

A new map was unveiled for the upcoming fantasy action extraction game called Solemn Needles. Set in a sacred forest housing a powerful relic, it will launch alongside the game later this year.

Monster Hunter Stories

In addition to next year’s Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, Capcom announced that the first two games, Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, are coming to Xbox on November 14.

Ninja Gaiden 4

PlatinumGames and Team Ninja discussed Ninja Gaiden 4’s difficulty design in a new developer video. The studios also unveiled a new training mode, a series first, that will allow players to improve their skills to tackle the game’s tough challenges. 

Project Evilbane

This four-player co-op action RPG got a new trailer showing off its fantastical, stylish action. Project Evilbane arrives during the second half of 2026 for Xbox on PC, but Xbox Series X/S owners have to wait until 2027. 

Rhythm Doctor

After coming together in Steam Early Access since 2021, this quirky rhythm game starring doctors who heal patients timing a defibrillator to their heartbeats, comes to Xbox in 1.0 form on December 6.

Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven

This 2024 remake of Romancing Saga 2 makes it Xbox debut, and owners can play the game starting… today!

Starsand Island

This whimsical upcoming life sim got its first CG trailer while teasing its multiplayer features. It's coming to Xbox Series X/S and Xbox on PC on February 1. 

Sudden Strike 5

The fifth entry in the World War II strategy series got a new trailer. Look for the game to release next year.

Terminull Brigade

The stylish free-to-play looter shooter is coming to Xbox Series X/S on October 31 and got a new trailer teasing a crossover with Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Winter Burrow

This cozy survival game stars a young city mouse who, after returning to the wilds, must endure a harsh winter. Cooking, wood cutting, and other survival activities help keep the mouse warm and fed while braving the forest. We’ve had our eye on Winter Burrow since it’s reveal last year, and it’s launching on November 12.

Forza Horizon 6 was the main headliner of Xbox's Tokyo Game Show broadcast, which served as a fitting venue given that the next entry brings the Horizon Festival to Japan. 

Developer Playground Games released a short teaser trailer and is keeping gameplay details to a minimum; don't expect to see Forza Horizon 6 in action until early next year, according to an Xbox Wire developer interview. In the meantime, the studio teases locations such as Tokyo and Mt. Fuji as some of the recognizable spots players will race in and around. 

Although we don't know what the vehicle roster looks like, expect Japanese car culture to play a prominent role in this entry. In Horizon tradition, seasonal weather changes will shake up the visuals while also affecting how players drive. 

Forza Horizon 6 will launch first on Xbox Series X/S (including day one on Game Pass) and PC via Windows and Steam in 2026. The game will also be released on PlayStation 5 sometime post-launch. You can read our review of the series' previous entry, 2021's Forza Horizon 5, here. 

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Release: October 2, 2025

Working your way through lists in a video game can be incredibly satisfying. Whether it’s collecting items or completing missions, there is just something enticing about listing out your plans and marking them as complete one by one. Ghost of Yōtei understands this intimately and capitalizes on it by starting with protagonist Atsu literally writing out her hit list of the six men who took everything from her. You even use the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller’s touchpad to write out their names so you can spend the rest of the game hunting them down and crossing them off with their own blood. It’s a simple, but incredibly satisfying setup, and that core idea – the joy of knowing your objectives and completing them – extends to every other element of Ghost of Yōtei to create a consistently satisfying experience that is very difficult to put down.

Watch the Ghost of Yōtei Video Review:

Developer Sucker Punch made an unexpected choice for its Ghost of Tsushima sequel by setting it centuries later. It allows Yōtei to fit well in its established samurai universe aesthetically and mechanically without having to dream up new reasons for previous protagonist, Jin Sakai, to continue his already concluded mission of vengeance. It lets Yōtei keep the best parts, while not having to engage with any Jin baggage at all.

Atsu’s revenge mission is familiar, and sometimes even predictable. Still, it is so well executed, and her motivations are in such sharp focus throughout, that I never felt bored or like I was treading familiar ground. Her flashbacks, often delivered with player-directed gameplay sequences that are completely seamless, expertly set up everything she lost by putting the player in her headspace. I fully understand why she not just wants, but needs to kill the Yōtei Six, and was eager to help her through it. Along with the satisfying violence of achieving revenge, some sequences moved me to tears. Her experience going after the Kitsune, which highlights Atsu’s relationship with her mother, was particularly affecting, and I credit much of that to the well-realized characterization of Atsu. Among my few narrative complaints is how frequently her targets just barely slip through her fingers for story reasons before she finally executes her killing blow.

 

But despite being a fundamental element of Ghost of Yōtei, its narrative is only a portion of the larger experience. Moving and fighting your way through Ezo is an always-compelling experience, not because it radically re-addresses or changes the mechanics that made Tsushima so great, but rather because they are carefully iterated on and improved in sometimes subtle ways.

Using the wind to navigate the world returns as a brilliant way to always know where you’re going without having to look at on-screen maps or markers. This helps significantly with immersion, and is also especially important since the environments look fantastic. Following birds and foxes to secondary locations with always-worthwhile rewards is a distraction I was unfailingly eager to take advantage of. Combat, though familiar if you played Tsushima, is still a wonderful ballet of attacks, counters, and constant weapon-swapping (without the need to enter a menu) to always keep you thinking and moving. Stealth also continues to prioritize satisfaction over realism and punishment with new tools to make everything more interesting.

 

Yōtei’s primary triumph, arguably though, is its pacing. Despite being absorbed in the narrative, I was constantly distracted by side missions as they all offer worthwhile and different short stories that always feed into making Atsu a more skilled onryō. I wasn’t putting off the golden path as much as I struggled to stay on it in a way I never minded. And all of this is aided by load times that I can only describe as technological magic. Moving anywhere on the map is shockingly instantaneous. Turning in bounties, upgrading equipment, finding new side quests, and more never give you an opportunity to pause or catch your breath, which means the hours spent in Ezo fly by. But if you want to roleplay a world where Atsu can’t magically teleport, there are systems in place in full respect of the player’s time that let her bring vendors directly to her campsites without needing to travel, which is smart.

Ghost of Yōtei does not radically reinvent or change what worked in Tsushima, but that’s fine, because frankly, Sucker Punch nailed the mechanics the first time. Where I argue it does improve in big ways is in its narrative and characters. Atsu is a brash, justifiably angry woman who probably drinks too much (which is my fault, I admit, because drinking sake restores spirit). She knows exactly what she wants and is more than willing to fight for it. She was compelling to me from the moment we made our list together, and I loved spending time with her, watching her grow, and enjoying the journey of everyone she met along the way. And it is all done with basically no loading screens.

Score: 9.25

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Chronoscript: The Endless End is an upcoming Metroid-style 2D action game with a killer aesthetic. Players control an editor trapped inside the pages of a book, and must fight for his life to escape. 

The game comes from developer DeskWorks (makers of the similarly hand-drawn RPG Time: The Legend of Wright), and stars an editor who, after visiting a mysterious manor, becomes bound to the pages of his unfinished, never-ending manuscript. This story has been ongoing for a thousand years and refuses to end; it's up to us to find a way to end this long-running narrative once and for all. Chronoscript's hand-drawn pen art aesthetic looks great, and the gameplay plays with its premise by letting players traverse through pages and even swim through spilled ink to reach new areas. 

Chronoscript: The Endless End is set to launch in 2026 on PlayStation 5 and PC.