Following the lackluster reception of Battlefield 2042, which I described in my original review as “full of almost as many bugs as bad pilots,” you might be surprised to learn Battlefield 6 seems primed for success. However, if you’re paying attention to online chatter or are involved in various multiplayer communities, you’ll sense a rising fervor for Electronic Arts’ upcoming shooter. The recent open beta garnered over 521,000 concurrent players on Steam, beating Call of Duty’s all-time peak at 491,670 simultaneous users, according to SteamDB.

Multiple factors, including the public's poor reception of Black Ops 7’s early marketing push, are responsible for the noticeable uptick in interest in Battlefield 6; the most significant element behind this surge appears to be that Battlefield 6 is shaping up to be a high-quality, class-based multiplayer shooter. However, as a long-time fan of the series’ large-scale vehicular combat, I’ve felt left in the lurch by the new entry’s focus on smaller, infantry-only maps in the public beta. 

Luckily, my hesitations have begun to fade after attending an invite-only event hosted by Battlefield Studios, where I went hands-on with two of the largest maps available in Battlefield 6: Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm. The latter is a fan-favorite level first introduced in 2011’s Battlefield 3, while the former is a new map designed to showcase every vehicle type available at launch. Mirak Valley resides within a series of foothills in Tajikistan, a beautiful mountainous country in Central Asia, where rustic farmhouse textures contrast the treadmarks left by industrial equipment at a nearby construction site. Operation Firestorm’s familiar pipelines provide ample opportunities to ambush enemy vehicles or pin down unprepared infantry with sniper fire.

Both maps facilitate large-scale battles with up to 64 players, wherein every role and vehicle matter. Playing as a medic, I used my defibrillator to prevent teammates from burning through the precious, limited lives we shared while simultaneously providing suppressing fire with my LMG’s large magazines and vying for control of Mirak Valley’s construction site, which is prominently placed in the center of the level, making it a difficult but important point to hold due to its proximity to other points of interest in the area. Meanwhile, in Operation Firestorm, I often assumed the role of engineer, maintaining the vital functions of my team’s battle tanks, infantry vehicles, and anti-air equipment when under fire from jets and attack helicopters above. I also fulfilled a sniper role in both theaters of war, keeping an eagle eye for flanking enemies or unsuspecting helicopter pilots idling above prominent places while peppering the valley’s skies with their mounted machine guns. 

With roughly a dozen hours under my belt across its various game modes and maps, I’m impressed by Battlefield 6’s offerings thus far and am eager to play again during its launch window. Electronic Arts is making a big play with Battlefield 6, employing an army of developers from across its multiple studios. Despite my initial wariness, the team may be able to successfully appease its long-time fans like me while attracting a new audience with differentiating tastes. I’m certainly rooting for it.

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: Konami
Developer: NeoBards Entertainment
Release: September 25, 2025
Rating: Mature

The more Silent Hill f promises change, the more it stays the same; for better or worse. While its ‘60s Japanese setting distances it far enough from previous entries to invite newcomers, fans will feel right at home exploring its foggy, monster-ridden roads. As a horror experience, Silent Hill f’s creepy new threats fall short of being truly terrifying thanks to an overreliance on the same handful of scare tactics. As an action game, the brutally intimate combat, like the weapons you wield, loses its effectiveness over stagnant encounters. The intriguing though sometimes perplexing narrative begs for reinterpretation over multiple playthroughs. Silent Hill f faithfully retains the series’ classic elements with some cool reinventions to deliver a more than respectable horror romp; I just wish it were scarier and, ultimately, more substantial.

Watch our Silent Hill f Video Review:

Teenager Shimizu Hinako’s troubled life in the small, rural village of Ebisugaoka becomes horrifically altered by the sudden arrival of a sinister fog. Her neighbors have either vanished or been transformed into grotesque creatures. Friends Shu, Sakuko, and Rinko are in grave danger. But the unfortunate fates of the town and Hinako’s friends are merely set dressing for Hinako’s story, a girl whose rebellious nature and trauma are rooted in the rigid gender roles of the time period. This turmoil comes to a head in ways I found both fascinating and mystifying, especially thanks to the strangely helpful presence of an enigmatic masked man.

This may be a strange statement to make about a game so full of horrific and gruesome imagery, but Silent Hill f is beautiful. The art direction is fantastic, juxtaposing unsettling enemy designs with hauntingly gorgeous environments, such as supernatural temples and, most prominently, the cursed, bloody “flowers” gradually claiming Ebisugaoka. Cinematics are wonderfully composed and aided by a powerful and hair-raising score by long-time Silent Hill composer, Akira Yamaoka. I never stopped admiring Silent Hill f as an interactive art piece, no matter how hard it tries to make you look away in terror or disgust.  

Your mileage with gameplay will vary based on which of the two confusingly labeled difficulty settings you choose at the outset. Combat and puzzles have their own challenge settings: Story and Hard. Despite these labels usually representing two polar extremes on the average difficulty spectrum, Story is described as offering the “traditional Silent Hill difficulty” in regards to action; Hard is presented as being the same for the puzzles. I chose this combination with “tradition” in mind for my first playthrough, and while I liked the puzzle difficulty, the action proved disappointingly easy. An overabundance of recovery items means I rarely felt up against a wall or challenged to ration my supplies, something I couldn’t say about, say, Silent Hill 2. Enemies drop fast, and the Sanity meter is virtually a non-factor despite being the combat’s biggest new feature (more on this later). Despite Story promoting a more classic experience, those seeking any sense of challenge should opt for the Hard difficulty for action and puzzles. However, I ultimately wish the game offered a more balanced middle ground (or made it easier to determine what constitutes a “Normal” difficulty).  

Exploring the village is a more harrowing prospect compared to past games, thanks to its narrow alleys and pathways that often funnel players into danger; I appreciate how this prevents me from trivializing threats by casually circumventing them as was possible in older entries. While it’s still possible to evade and flee some encounters, fighting is often the way out. Hinako is brave, but she’s not a trained fighter, so her weighty and clumsy melee-focused combat not only suits her, but nailing light and heavy attacks has a satisfying impact. Breakable weapons add welcome intensity to battles; I like weighing whether it’s worth damaging a powerful bat or axe on a threat. Managing stamina to swing or dodge attacks complements this tension, spicing up the otherwise simple confrontations. I also like how the game forces players to study foes to find openings to nail timed counterattacks that briefly stun targets.

Playing on Hard difficulty forces players to manage Sanity, a meter that drains when using a Focus mechanic that lets you better pinpoint enemy openings to counter. Sanity also fuels a more powerful charge attack at the risk of being interrupted and losing a substantial chunk of this resource, which must be restored by spending Faith, the game’s currency. I enjoy the sense of risk vs. reward that Sanity offers; managing it makes the game tougher without feeling suffocating. A light element of customization comes in equipping special charms that add different perks. While not a major game changer, I do like how this allows me to create simple character builds, like equipping various charms centered on health regeneration.

Regardless of the difficulty setting, the combat loses its luster halfway through the roughly 10-hour adventure due to the disappointingly limited enemy variety. Expect to bash a few slightly different flavors of fleshy mannequins, shrieking multi-headed monsters, a ferocious sound-sensitive beast, and maybe three other enemy types. Whenever I heard a distant groan or a heavy, hair-raising step, I’d get excited about encountering a new horror, only for an enemy I killed or fled countless times to shamble out of a corner. Worst of all, this repetitiveness dulls the scares; I stopped dreading the dangers ahead because I knew it’d be something I’d confronted many times, and I was well used to their ambush tactics (some of which can be pretty cheap). The few proper bosses, such as a nightmare-inducing demonic shrine maiden, offer more refreshing and entertaining tests of your skills and bravery.

Puzzle-solving features a greater variety and is more consistently enjoyable. I like Silent Hill the most when it settles into comfort-food survival horror exercises of finding clues to locate various keys for locked doors while exploring creepy interiors, such as an abandoned middle school. The generally well-designed puzzles creatively tested my logic and observation skills, though exploring a foggy farmfield by identifying the correct scarecrows using vague clues grew frustrating due to its unclear rules. Environmental puzzle-solving, especially in otherworldly areas, maintains an air of freshness that combat lacks. I always looked forward to seeing what strange riddle Silent Hill f had up its sleeves.  

Silent Hill f’s tricky-to-discuss story, despite boasting a few powerful and even emotionally upsetting moments, left me scratching my head more than anything. Though it leverages themes such as feminism, domestic abuse, and, possibly, addiction well enough for its symbolism, the second half takes an admirably wild turn for the (even more) bizarre. Without delving too deeply, Hinako’s sense of reality and identity becomes distorted in ways that, while clearly designed to feel disorienting, still left me walking away wondering what exactly was happening and to whom. Whether by design or because I’m too dense to “get it” is up for debate, and while subsequent playthroughs may clear the fog, I shouldn’t feel so lost on the first (and for likely some players, the only) go around.  

 

Hinako’s friends feel underutilized, and the game heavily relies on written diary entries to flesh them out in a questionable case of telling rather than showing. Her best friend, Shu, is the most underserved ally despite his significance to Hinako’s life. The somewhat compact runtime means things escalate pretty quickly to the point that supporting character arcs end abruptly, making them feel more like pawns than I’d like. I firmly believe horror games should be on the shorter side to keep their scares from growing stale, but even I was in disbelief at how relatively quickly Silent Hill f ramps up to its big finale, especially when the combat encounters still felt like they were in first gear. While the first playthrough grants the same canonical ending for everyone, five optional conclusions await in New Game Plus, where your actions influence the finale to add some nice replayability.

Silent Hill f is a curious beast. Despite my misgivings, it’s a good Silent Hill game and an enjoyable survival horror adventure in general. The game nails its oppressive and creepy atmosphere, and it boasts a killer presentation from visuals to audio. The combat is faithful to past games while adding cool, effective wrinkles, but for how heavily it's emphasized, the game fails to have players engage with it any differently than they had in the opening hours (save for one mid-game twist). Perhaps my biggest gripe as someone who loves to be scared is that you’ve seen the extent of how Silent Hill f plans to frighten you within its first half; beyond that, it’s diminishing returns with very few surprises. I like Silent Hill f, but I was prepared to have a love affair with it, and I’m left feeling as foggy as its quiet, ill-fated village. 

Score: 7.5

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Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Techland
Developer: Techland
Release: September 19, 2025

Post-apocalyptic parkour is the name of the game in Techland’s Dying Light series. With two mainline entries to its name, the series capitalizes on the zombie genre, even if it can fall into some tired tropes and clichés. Still, the iconic nighttime chases, gory combat, and realistic tone have made it more than just a survivor horror franchise. Dying Light: The Beast serves as the developer’s third entry in the series, and, fortunately, it’s as effective as a zombie bite: quick, efficient, and leaves a mark.

Returning as Kyle Crane, the protagonist of the first Dying Light, you embark on a vengeful quest against The Baron, who experimented on him for 13 years. The series’ narrative track record has left plenty to be desired thus far, and, while The Beast is an improvement, it still falls short of its undead contemporaries. The stakes play it safe, and it struggles to maintain the realism the story is aiming for, despite the zombies.

This time around, Crane is a more personable character than in his debut outing. Instead of the rookie from Dying Light, we get a weathered and slightly more capable version in The Beast. Furthermore, his personality shines, and he carves out a more distinct identity within the genre. Helping out with that is voice actor Roger Craig Smith, who delivers a well-rounded performance, balancing his sarcasm with charm.

 

It’s important to note that The Beast does assume you’ve played past titles and doesn’t do much to catch you up, both in story and gameplay. It may prove challenging for newcomers, but once you get the hang of things, like Crane in his new environment, it becomes like clockwork. Past features, such as safe houses and Dark Zones, return and still reach the heights of their predecessors, especially during the intense night segments.

The city of Castor Woods, filled with foliage and Swiss Alps-inspired architecture, isn’t as parkour-forward as Dying Light 2 Stay Human’s Villedor, but it still captures the thrill of traversal quite well, especially in the townscapes. Dying Light is a beacon for free-running, and The Beast does an excellent job of capturing the feeling of the unreal adrenaline high with your life on the line. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop and finding safe houses in the dark before the supercharged zombies catch up to you is exhilarating. Techland has nailed the aspect of maps being essentially large playgrounds for Crane to slaughter zombies and freestyle his way around. Unfortunately, story missions do it a disservice, as you end up going back and forth to the same places repeatedly; getting there ends up being the fun part.

While Dying Light 2 improved upon Dying Light’s combat, The Beast combines both to make one of the most responsive systems in the series. You can feel each swing of a weapon and every shot of a gun like it is actually in your hands. Even more so, you’re never at an advantage against foes, fitting for an apocalyptic setting. The new Beast mode, which makes Crane a hulking powerhouse, does help thin crowds and score some gory kills. Its addition adds more variety to combat and traversal, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun to just wreck house from time to time.

One of the highlights of Dying Light: The Beast, aside from stellar parkour, is how good it looks in action. The series has always delivered impressive visuals, and that’s only become truer as technology and fidelity have improved over the last decade. The autumnal Castor Woods sometimes lack color, but it feels ripped straight from a photograph. Characters, zombies, and gore are rendered with precision, showcasing some of Techland’s best-looking work.

Dying Light: The Beast can feel a touch safe at times with a serviceable story, but the high-flying parkour and gorgeous graphics are top-notch. Castor Woods makes for the perfect zombie-slaying playground for you to enjoy. It’s pure adrenaline packed into its 20 hours, continuing to carve out its own corner of the crowded zombie space.

Score: 8.5

About Game Informer's review system

The fall season is fast underway, with a few different early access games arriving alongside some big names. We give our impressions of the new Skate from EA, Sonic's latest kart racer in CrossWorlds, plus some more Battlefield 6 talk, Riot's fighting game 2XKO, and the surprising indie Herdling.

There are more games than you can shake a Joy-Con at this week, so tune in and hear about some of the biggest stuff happening right now.

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Thursday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Check out the video version here:

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Brian Shea (@brianpshea)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Listen to "Skate Early Access, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, 2XKO Impresses" on Spreaker.

Jump to a specific discussion using these timestamps:

00:00 - Intro03:11 - Skate. Early Access Impressions31:59 - Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review52:05 - We Played Battlefield 6's Big Maps1:07:08 - 2XKO Impresses1:25:01 - Herdling

What a week! We unveiled our next cover and it features The Outer Worlds 2, published a massive round-up of some cool looking indie games from the equally excellent Six One Indie Showcase, and published multiple reviews! But it's Friday and that means there's a weekend ahead of us and you!

Last week, we spotlighted some games we're playing. This week, we want to give you a selection of games we think you should play this weekend, and it ranges from new releases to DLC to some favorites from over the years. Dig in and, if you check one of these out, come back on Monday and leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

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Below, we'll list the names of Game Informer editors and their thoughts for this week's edition The Video Games You Should Play This Weekend (official name pending).