Dominic L
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Writing For
TheSixthAxis Latest Reviews
What is Kirby Air Riders? That’s the question I’ve found myself wrestling with throughout my time with it in the past couple of weeks. Is it a kart racer? Well… kind of. Is it a vehicular combat game? Sure, you could say that. Is it a multiplayer platform, designed almost completely to be played with others? Yes. Definitely. Yet there’s still a nagging feeling that Kirby Air Riders is one of those games that exists purely for its own reasons. As the first non-Smash Bros game to be directed by Masahiro Sakurai in over a decade, it carries an odd weight of expectation, only adding to the strange and slightly off-kilter vibes you’ll find when you check in for Kirby Air Riders.
Tetris has Tetrominos. Lumines has blocks. Tetris tasks you with forming lines. Lumines tasks you with forming blocks. They’re two sides of the same block-dropping coin, and while Tetris is instantly recognisable as one of the most iconic, generation-defining games of all time, Lumines can stake a claim to its own equally important place in history.
Time has gone very squiffy in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. Set during Tears of the Kingdom, and following Zelda’s disappearance into a sinkhole beneath Hyrule Castle, Zelda awakens in a clearing in the forest. This isn’t her Hyrule though, and it soon becomes clear that she’s travelled back in time, all the way to Hyrule’s very beginning. There she meets King Rauru and Queen Sonia, the original founders and rulers of the iconic kingdom, and they take her in, lost as she is.
I’m not really convinced that we, as a species, are capable of learning from our mistakes. Whether that’s because of real-world events making satire completely redundant, or the fact that people keep building theme parks full of monstrous, toothy reptiles and being surprised when they’re found meandering around with the leg of a guest hanging out of their maw, it’s hard to say. Jurassic World Evolution 3 continues as the digital incarnation of that theme, but there’s more emphasis on the wellbeing of these creatures than ever before, while giving you the most advanced customisation tools the series has ever seen. Don’t worry, though, because the dinosaurs still get out, and Jeff Goldblum will continue to berate you for it.
What a crazy crossover event Ball X Pit is! Who could have foreseen the rotund, spherical ball franchise matching up so well with a great big hole IP? Well, golfers, I suppose. In all seriousness, Ball X Pit is a melding of so many genres and games that the titular ball and the pit feel like the nominal components here, with solo developer Kenny Sun having crafted one of the best arcade roguelite crossovers we’ve ever seen.
Codemasters might have the official F1 license, but that hasn’t stopped indie developers from creating their own take on the premier racing class. New Star GP drew on classic Sega arcade racing thrills last year, but speeding toward a fierce braking zone is Formula Legends, the fresh-faced rookie, which has taken the hard-nosed, serious sport and given it a cute, hyper-deformed makeover, all the while attempting to retain the competitive racing action of its inspiration. It’s a pretty successful attempt too.
Sonic’s kart racing series should have usurped that red dungaree-wearing handyman years ago. This is a character whose very reason for existing is to go fast, while Nintendo’s portly plumber would only really be rushing to deal with a nasty water leak. However, that’s not the case. While Mario Kart is a literal system seller, the Sonic Racing series tends to drift into second place, a valiant effort, but one which can’t make its speedy hero quite fast enough. Can Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds be different?
There’s nothing in this world as cool as a giant robot. The first Daemon X Machina made that explicably clear. So, it’s something of a surprise to find that Titanic Scion, the brand-new entry in the anime-fuelled mech series, initially swaps out the mechs of the first game and replaces them with Exosuits. It’s suddenly more Anthem than Armoured Core, and while that’s initially something of a disappointment, it makes way for a faster, more immediate combat experience that gives you a ton of customisation options as you set forth on a mission for revenge.
True adventure isn’t that easy to come by, but perhaps if you’re a squire to the world’s greatest knight, things are just that little bit easier. It sure seems that way at the opening of The Knightling, the latest third-person action adventure from the team at Twirlbound. Out on patrol with Sir Lionstone, you’re ambushed by an Earthborn creature, nearly dying at its hands were it not for Sir Lionstone throwing his shield, Magnustego, in front of you. As your liege gives chase and disappears, you’re faced with a trek back to town, heavy shield in tow, and the slight sinking feeling that he’s not going to be back for a while.
We’re back. Your loadout is prepared with power armour, Chainguns and Roadie Runs readied, and Sera is under attack again, but where there was once the reassuring feel of an Xbox controller in your hand, you look down to find a PlayStation 5 DualSense instead. Is this some Locust trick? No, this is gaming in 2025, and while it’s likely proof that the console wars are basically over, Marcus Fenix can never rest, with a new battleground to protect.