TJ Denzer
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GameWatcher Latest Reviews
In 2004, Hideo Kojima and his team at Konami released the original run of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It was one of most immersive gaming experiences most of us had seen and many legendary bits and pieces would influence games and their players for decades to come. Flash forward, Konami, in its recent trek back into AAA gaming, has attempted to recapture that magic with a remake in Unreal Engine 5. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a top-to-bottom redesign of the original that polishes its visuals, controls, and brings things to modern standards. While it misses a few beats and preserves some old warts in the process, it’s still an well-assembled love letter to one of the best games of the 2000s.
We’ve had quite a few non-FromSoftware takes on the Soulslike genre that could easily stand on their own for one reason or another, and this season, Chengdu-based Leenzee is throwing its hat in that ring in its gaming debut. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a Soulslike game that takes us to a fictional ancient China based on folklore and mythology, but it also puts some spins on the formula that make this an interesting action-RPG in its own right.
It has been a little under six years since the original Death Stranding came out and much has changed since. We’ve seen the world go through political and economic turmoil, a pandemic, and so much more. Maybe that’s part of what makes Death Stranding 2: On the Beach so interesting in 2025. Where Kojima and his team once told us a story of connections in the original game, its sequel questions the dangers of those connections, exploring the pain they can cause us and even how they can be used to manipulate us. The story is an overflowing well of ups and downs, shaped by improved gameplay and compelling characters that take a long and sometimes awkward journey to a stunning conclusion.
I have some expectations when I look at something in Disney’s Tron universe. I expect blue and red light accents on the characters, a good electronica soundtrack, light cycles, disc throwing, and copious amounts of de-rezzing of characters as they struggle with the questions of individuality, choice, and purpose. Tron: Catalyst is a new game that goes after all these checkboxes, but it does so in such a way that made it hard for me to be enthused. It wasn’t a particularly broken or frustrating experience, but Tron: Catalyst also didn’t leave me with big feelings, even if its biggest gimmick tries its darndest to make things interesting.
The Capcom Fighting Collections, Arcade Classics, Beat 'Em Up Bundles, and more have been pretty good up to this point, but there’s still so many amazing Capcom games and fighters that haven’t been available in reasonable form up to this point. Fortunately, another basket of gems is almost here in the form of the Capcom Fighting Collection 2. This is a collection of both Capcom Vs SNK games, both Power Stone games, Plasma Sword, Project Justice, Capcom Fighting Evolution, and even Street Fighter Alpha 3 UPPER. It’s an amazing collection - easily my favorite Capcom’s done so far and it plays like a dream compilation for the most part.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves came out in 1999. Now, it’s not like SNK fans have been starved to see their favorite characters. Terry Bogard and the Fatal Fury crew have shown up in plenty of King of Fighters games, and even crossed over to other franchises like (most recently) Street Fighter 6. What warrants a vanilla Fatal Fury game in 2025’s fighting landscape is just SNK staple fighting in a nicely-distilled form that should be easy for most to grasp and enjoyable for longtime fans to master. It’s a lot of what I’ve been waiting on for decades… Or it would be if some strange decisions didn’t feel like they obviously affected the overall characters, fighting, and modes.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a beloved series with a dedicated fanbase, but 2015’s Xenoblade Chronicles X is a bit of a black sheep. It came out on the Wii U in 2015 and didn’t have long to impress before the platform’s discontinuation in 2017. Monolith Soft, however, saw value just begging to be explored, and they whipped up a definitive version of the game for Nintendo Switch to spread it beyond those faithful Wii U buyers of yesteryear. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition takes an already incredible open-world RPG, and improves it with a few quality-of-life improvements alongside spruced visuals, resulting in an even greater game.
Opposite attraction, or the unlikely pair, might be a bit of a cliché, but there’s still charm and solid storytelling in there if it’s weaved with good hands. Hazelight Studios have been masters of cinematic co-op experiences for years now, so it should come as little surprise that Split Fiction is in good hands. This is an interesting platforming journey into fantasy, sci-fi, corporate greed, unlikely friendship, alongside a massive variety of interesting worlds that barraged us with interesting gameplay, and it ends up being another Hazelight instant classic.
Two Point Studios has built a long and storied reputation out of producing slapstick business management games, and the studio has looked more than ready to continue that legacy with Two Point Museum. This game puts players in charge of turning boring, empty museums into bustling and active attractions. It also features a cool variety of themes, enjoyable campaign progression, and unique mechanics to play around in each of them, as well as Two Point’s trademark humor, making it another wonderful entry in the Two Point Studios occupational resumé.
The concept of putting Goro Majima in a pirate adventure is pretty much everything I thought it would be. This is a silly game with an enjoyable gameplay loop and adventure. Riding on the seas, ripping through ships with cannons, and then battling their crews in massive all-out brawls was always a fun time. Even if the story and side missions on land sometimes kept me from sailing, there was generally always something cool to do between the main story and copious side activities. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii won’t take up as much of your time as Yakuza 6 or Infinite Wealth, but it’s most certainly a fun and exciting way to pass the time with our favorite Mad Dog of Shimano while we wait for RGG’s next big thing.