If you know anything about gaming, you probably know the name ‘Mario Kart.’ Since 1992, the series has been a pillar of Nintendo’s output and a quintessential example of the company’s “easy to pick up, difficult to master” philosophy. The series has now become so popular that it’s arguably eclipsed the Mario platformers as the principal arena from which people know the red-capped Italian plumber.
The series began back on the SNES with Super Mario Kart, which introduced a formula that fans fawn over to this day. But while the core of that first game has remained intact over the years, many of the components have been completely reinvented with the series’ latest title, Mario Kart World for the Switch 2. With that new game now out in the wild, it’s a great time to look back on each game in the series to see how they iterate on the formula, how they reflect the state of Nintendo at the time of their release, and whether or not they hold up to this day. Here’s every Mario Kart game, ranked.
11. Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Despite being one of the handheld’s best-selling games, Super Circuit goes down as one of the least replayable Game Boy Advance titles. Considering the series had gone 3D five years earlier with Mario Kart 64, Super Circuit feels like a significant step backward. The character models and backgrounds have a bit more depth than what’s showcased in the original SNES Mario Kart game, but the courses themselves are tarnished by flat, ugly textures that fall short of the handsome results the GBA proved itself capable of elsewhere.
What Super Circuit did have going for it at the time was being the first handheld game in the series. Its bare-bones approach to character selection and game modes reflects its jump-in/jump-out philosophy, which trades expansiveness for approachability – something that came in clutch when an hour needed to be killed on a car ride. Super Circuit had its place back in 2001 and was never supposed to be in significant competition with the console versions, but that means there’s no real reason to return to it today.
10. Mario Kart Tour
It’s easy to discredit Mario Kart Tour for being a mobile game, but this micro version of the classic formula has genuine merits. Chief amongst them is the visual flare the game boasts, with some simply gorgeous course designs. Being so close to the screen allows you to fully appreciate the details on each unlockable kart, character, and race track, which makes even the slow 50cc races that bit more engaging.
Additionally, the return of character-specific items is very welcome and something fans had been wanting to see in the console games since the days of the GameCube. What Tour misses out on is the feel of the console Mario Kart games. Sliding your finger across the screen is nowhere near as satisfying as pressing physical buttons, even if Mario Kart is just pressing A, R and L most of the time.
9. Super Mario Kart
It’s hard not to appreciate what a winning formula 1992’s Super Mario Kart introduced. Over 33 years later, the core of the game remains intact. Grand Prix and Battle Mode aren’t in every subsequent Kart entry for the sake of tradition – they just never stopped being entertaining. The fact that this game not only launched the franchise but also an entire genre of games is nothing to be sniffed at.
However, most of the praise you can heap on Super Mario Kart is because of its legacy rather than its ability to hold up in the modern age. Looking back, it’s difficult to get over the simplistic graphics and lack of mechanical depth, even if you can appreciate how cutting edge it was at the time. Still, it provided a platform for one of the biggest brands in gaming, and who knows what Nintendo would look like today without it.
8. Mario Kart 64
The second game in the Mario Kart franchise feels instantly more dynamic than its predecessor. The 3D graphics allow for more interesting course design, shifting camera angles, and an enhanced sense of speed, especially thanks to the boost you can get from drifting. The extra detail in the character animation also goes a long way to immersing you in these races, which feel more like grand and intense sporting events than simple video game laps.
In the modern day, Mario Kart 64 suffers from issues similar to what Super Circuit and Super Mario Kart do; this same thing has simply been done better by subsequent games, and there aren’t enough unique qualities about this one to routinely go back to it (which is perhaps the key issue with a series that remains so faithful to its core – the new one with its minor improvements is so frequently the best). Still, MK 64’s transition to 3D and its capacity for 4-player co-op means it’s cemented in the hearts of many fans, and often nostalgia is worth more than technical progress.
7. Mario Kart 7
Coming in at number seven is — you guessed it — Mario Kart 7. While it may not hold up as a standout today, it did introduce elements that are now difficult to imagine the series without. Hang gliders feel so core to the flow of MK8, as does the ability to drive underwater and customise your kart, but those features all arrived on the 3DS first with Mario Kart 7. The underwater sequences, in particular, are a visual treat that really hammer home the generational gap between the DS and 3DS. Meanwhile, kart customisation adds a level of strategy to a series that revels in chaos, perhaps in response to the outrageous unpredictability of Mario Kart Wii.
However, going back to the game in a post-MK8 Deluxe world makes all these elements less impressive. When a handheld game with better graphics, many of the same gameplay mechanics, and 64 more courses is readily available, the reasons to play Mario Kart 7 in 2025 are few. It’s a vital part of any 3DS library, though, even if it does lose points for not having Waluigi in the game. What was Nintendo thinking??
6. Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart Wii cemented this franchise as a household name. The Wii, of course, vastly expanded the gaming population and Mario Kart had one of the lowest barriers to entry, coming with the Wii Wheel to further accommodate the new motion-controlled gameplay. Though not the preferred way of driving in subsequent entries for a lot of players, there’s a reason why tilt controls are still an option in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and MK World – so many players had their first Nintendo karting experience this way.
Mario Kart Wii has always stood out for being more loose and chaotic than other games in the series, gaining a reputation for rampant blue shells taking out players seconds away from finishing first. But MK Wii has other unique flavours; it includes the series’ first truly robust online play system, improving on MK DS’s slim first iteration, and adds bikes to the list of vehicles. The latter has less concrete impact than the former but does add to the iconic status of the game. It’s impossible to imagine Princess Peach using anything else now.
5. Mario Kart 8
Nintendo’s philosophy during the Wii U era was wrought with overwhelming tones of vanilla, and the company’s most successful franchise was a victim of it. Mario Kart transitioned to HD well, with MK8’s graphics being absolutely gorgeous, and the series’ core gameplay held intact, making for a game that you could never call bad.
But the original version of Mario Kart 8 is, dare we say it, dull. It is too safe. The best Mario Karts put a unique spin on the formula, but MK8’s introduction of anti-gravity is barely noticeable. Instead, the big hitters are the hang gliding and underwater sections, which means it all feels a bit too much like Mario Kart 7, but in HD.
Additionally, Battle Mode is stripped down to almost nothing, which robs gamers of a beloved way to play. All this meant that MK8 didn’t really have its own identity until the improved Deluxe version hit the Switch three years later in 2017. But that Deluxe package would be nothing without a truly solid foundation, and that’s what you get in Mario Kart 8.
4. Mario Kart DS
The Mario Kart formula has existed for 33 years, so any game that alters it in any significant way is going to stand out. Mario Kart DS may offer the classic Kart gameplay in Grand Prix Mode, but it experiments wildly in the unique and brilliant Mission Mode. These objective-based activities range from simple time trials to genuine boss battles, and each asks you to master a whole new set of skills beyond just flying through courses and understanding shortcuts. As a result, Mario Kart DS is more enduring than many of its peers as a purely single-player experience.
Mission Mode is just one of the things that helped Mario Kart DS achieve its iconic status, though. Its integration with DS Download Play introduced a social element unseen on a handheld prior, allowing multiple DS consoles to join a race using just one copy of the game. And in addition to introducing original courses like Waluigi Pinball and Peach Gardens, MK DS is the first in the series to feature retro tracks, an idea now at the core of what people look forward to with any new Mario Kart. It was a triumph back in 2005 and Mission Mode makes it a unique and highly replayable entry in the series to this day.
3. Mario Kart World
Despite being the newest entry on this list—like, it’s a week old—Mario Kart World successfully covers a lot of new terrain for a franchise that’s over thirty years old. First off, it is undeniably the best-looking game in the series and an immediate contender for the most graphically impressive game Nintendo has ever developed. Playing on handheld and taking in every detail of MK World’s vast, interconnected courses is a dream. It’s a magical experience when you’re driving along and can spot the outline of a familiar track out in the distance.
But it’s what World introduces mechanically that sees it rise so high on our list. The ability to drive on walls and grind on rails feel like what MK8’s anti-gravity should have been: new skills that take a lot of practice to be fully mastered. It’s something that you cannot say for new mechanics introduced in almost any previous entry. These skills add great texture to the new modes, such as Free Roam and Knockout Tour, which are great additions that will hopefully remain important cornerstones of future games. The last-one-standing Knockout Tour ramps up the chaos that we’ve always loved from Mario Kart games, while Free Roam’s open world adds a completely new exploration flavour to the series. There’s also some of MK DS’ Mission Mode to be found in the snackable (and often fiendishly difficult) P-Switch challenges. Throw in all the familiar modes we know and love, as well as an instant classic of a soundtrack, and you have one of the ultimate Mario Kart experiences.
2. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is packed full of personality in a way the majority of the games in the series are not. Having not one, but two exclamation marks in the title makes that clear. The principle feature of having two racers per kart is a stroke of genius, and it’s sort of unbelievable that it’s not been a mode in every Mario Kart since. The double driver system, and the unique items each driver is assigned, allows for so many new styles of play and strategy that prove far more interesting than customising the vehicle you’re using – for example, Mario’s special items provide a speed boost that helps balance out the heavier characters who have more destructive items unique to them. The imagery of it all is also so goofy and fun… maybe a little too much fun for Nintendo to have fully committed to it in the games since.
Even with different characters, Mario Kart gameplay can eventually feel a little too similar after several hours of play, and so having Bowser’s giant shells rampage across the tracks definitely helps with that. Mario Kart needs more risk takers and rule benders like Double Dash!! – let’s hope the formula-breaking Mario Kart World is a sign of things to come.
1. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe showcases Nintendo’s ability to take a decent game and turn it into a cultural juggernaut. Fixing the original version’s anaemic Battle Mode and allowing players to hold an extra item were easy wins, but nobody could have expected just how much the game’s scope would increase. When launched alongside the Switch in 2017, there were fun additions to the character roster like King Boo, Bowser Jr. and the Inklings from Splatoon, but it was the Booster Course DLC that would really cement MK8 Deluxe’s superiority amongst other games in the series.
Now boasting 42 characters and an eye-watering 96 courses, MK8 Deluxe has become a fan favourite through sheer variety. If there was a course you loved from Mario Kart past, chances are it’s been given a new lease on life in HD. Not every course is a winner, and the mechanics don’t reinvent the wheel in any significant way (again, this is essentially a bigger and better MK7), but 68 million copies sold more than shows the fan appreciation for this brilliant iteration.
Ryan Gaur is a freelance writer who has worked with the likes of RollingStone, Empire, Polygon, IndieWire, Skwigly, CartoonBrew, OkayPlayer, Animation Mag and more.
If you pine for the rotting corridors and tactical limb-surgery of Dead Space, it looks like Bloober’s upcoming Cronos: The New Dawn may have you covered. Fresh from revealing that they’re remaking the first Silent Hill, the Polish team have released a new trailer for Cronos that shows off more of its bubble-suited third-person gunnery.
In particular, it spotlights the Merge mechanic, whereby guttural tendril beasts known as Orphans devour the corpses of their brethren to enhance their abilities. It’s implied that they can do this more than once, so be sure to clean up after yourself. As in so many other walks of life, punctual incineration may be the cure.
FromSoftware has cryptically teased “enhanced fights” against the big bosses of Elden Ring Nightreign, due to arrive sometime this month. But one modder has found some already real building blocks for the new fights, and made their fights playable in the process.
On June 3, the official Elden Ring account confirmed that, alongside Nightreign’s DLC (arriving later this year) and the upcoming Duo Expeditions option, Nightreign would be getting “enhanced fights against existing Nightlords” starting this month. No more details were shared, but it clearly acted as a Bat-signal for people to start digging.
Modder TerraMag (as spotted by PC Gamer) managed to find the boss content currently in the game, and built a mod to make it accessible. Importantly, these are unfinished versions based off the enhanced sets already found in the files.
Notably, what TerraMag found (and documented so far in YouTube videos) seems to be third phases for a number of the Nightlords, including those like Adel, Libra, and Caligo. These can introduce new moves, new models for the bosses, and any number of new ways to annihilate Nightfarers.
Of course, these are unfinished and not officially implemented, so it’s only a glimpse at what could be when the enhanced fights arrive sometime this month. For those already getting weary of the existing boss runs, though, this might make for a decent challenge, and a reason to dive back into some more runs in the ever-shifting Lands.
There aren’t many games lately which have compelled me to do a tweet, or skeet, or whatever you prefer to call ejaculating one’s thoughts out onto the socials. The Trolley Solution‘s Steam Next Fest demo not only did that, it convinced me to post a tweet I didn’t even write.
It’s a game from indie dev byDanDans that starts off as a series of moral quandaries, each inspired by philosopher Philippa Foot’s famous and now also thoroughly memed-to-death Trolley Problem. That being a thought experiment which forces you examine the ethics of either letting nature take its course to deliver one outcome that could cause harm to others, or actively intervening to cause another that might do the same in a different fashion. I didn’t go in expecting to become enraptured in what I can only describe as a tragic rail romance.
After scoring a major win with the critically-lauded Silent Hill 2 remake, Bloober is ready to show the world what they can do next – with a slight change of pace – in an action-oriented horror game called Cronos: The New Dawn. I got a chance to sit down with Bloober’s time-hopping latest and find out what makes the world of Cronos so compelling.
Cronos puts you in control of a character called The Traveler, a woman tasked with going into areas ravaged by a human-eliminating virus that is rapidly transforming them into monsters. The Traveler’s goal is to not only log her observations and find human survivors, but also to lay a path for Travelers that come after her – just as those who came before her did. But that task is easier said than done.
“The theme of this game is merging and changing into something new,” co-director Wojciech Piejko explains, before adding, “Hey, this is not a good way to actually play this game, but watch this.”
Piejko proceeds to wake up a sleeping enemy with a stomp that can only be described as Dead Space-esque. Upon waking, the enemy noticed that the corpses of other monsters were littered around, and quickly went to consume one. Then another. Then a third. By the time the infected human had finished feasting (uninterrupted by Piejko), it had “merged” several times, essentially leveling up its monster type. In doing so, it became stronger, harder to kill, more aggressive, and had access to new abilities to take The Traveler out, such as spitting toxic bile at her. After a fair amount of ammo, it finally goes down.
“This is the core of Cronos,” Piejko says. “Manage your resources, take risks when appropriate, and survive.”
The only way The Traveler could have prevented this happening is to kill the monster before it has a chance to feast or rid the area of corpses using fire, a precious resource that can’t be used capriciously. That said, bigger monsters mean bigger rewards, so it is sometimes a good choice to burn some resources for a bigger payday of crafting materials.
“This is the core of Cronos,” Piejko says. “Manage your resources, take risks when appropriate, and survive.”
Just because a monster does not awaken does not mean The Traveler is safe, however. Anyone that tries to hoard resources will soon discover when backtracking through areas that enemies have a tendency to pick inopportune moments to pop up and start merging with other corpses on the ground. Not being aware of your environment can be a deadly mistake in Cronos, but wasting resources may be even worse.
The demo I participated in takes place in Nowa Huta, an eastern district in Krakow, Poland that was once an industrial hub of the former Soviet Union. In the future, it has been torn apart by the monster-plague infecting the world. It is the Traveler’s duty to identify important people that live or lived in the city and employ time-travel to rescue them from the pre-plague age of the 1980s. Since only The Traveler can hop through time, rescuing them involves digitizing their souls to carry around with her to take back into the present.
The Traveler is limited in how many souls she can carry with her, which leaves the choice up to the player to decide who gets saved and who does not. This can affect Cronos’s narrative, as different people will have different reactions to things The Traveler encounters and places she goes. As an example, The Traveler can rescue someone in the past and bring them to the future, wherein she visits that person’s apartment decades later and the former tenant describes their life before it all went to hell.
The Traveler is limited in how many souls she can carry with her, which leaves the choice up to the player to decide who gets saved and who does not.
In another example given, two of the souls in possession have a history and go back and forth with each other.
Bloober says that Cronos will contain an emphasis on the studio’s trademark psychological horror despite the action bent. After Silent Hill 2 released, which was developed in parallel with Cronos, the Cronos team absorbed their colleagues (or “merged,” to keep it thematically on-brand) to help finish the game out.
Oh, and throughout Nowa Huta, The Traveler will come across some less conversational survivors: cats. Kitties are locked away safely in various rooms throughout the game and, upon being rescued, help with resources for The Traveler. All the cats in the game are based on the pets of the developers at Bloober.
“We had so many submissions we had to start casting for them to decide who would get in,” Piejko says.
As part of their 1-2 punch with Silent Hill 2, Bloober is hoping Cronos proves the studio’s mettle as an industry-leading horror game developer. The New Dawn’s premise and designs are helping it start off on an interesting foot as part of Bloober’s journey there.
Good news, people who’re still interested in giving MindsEye a go for reasons that don’t involve gleefully watching as a poor NPC undergoes a sudden glitchy elongation. Developers Build A Rocket Boy have just pushed out the first in a series of updates designed to swat a bunch of the performance and crash-related issues that’ve plagued the game’s launch.
If you were busy with other hobbies such as arctic exploration or hardcore spelunking earlier this week, the GTA/Cyberpunky Mindseye suffered a pretty nightmarish debut. The user reviews weren’t totally negative right out of the gate, but it’s fair to say it didn’t land in the fashion ex-Rockstar bigwig Leslie Benzies’ studio probably hoped.
In many ways, Split Fiction feels like the culmination of everything Hazelight Studios has accomplished in the co-op space.
The journey began with Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, a charming fantasy that required solo players to coordinate both thumbs to control two characters simultaneously. The studio then progressed to A Way Out, a jailbreak caper that introduced several clever mechanics for two players, including the now-standard Friend’s Pass system (more on that later). With It Takes Two, Hazelight pushed things even further, delivering a big adventure with a well-written, emotionally resonant story and great characters.
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!
A cooperative first-person shooter set within a mysterious federal agency under assault by otherworldly forces. As a years-long siege on the agency’s headquarters reaches its boiling point, only Firebreak – the Bureau’s most versatile unit – has the gear and the guts to plunge into the building’s strangest crises, restore order, and blast their way back from the brink.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die blends dynamic real-time action, tactical combat, and risk-reward dice mechanics for thrilling second-to-second battles. Unravel an original stand-alone story as Queen Aleksandra, the once great ruler of Random on a mission for vengeance and redemption. Start playing today by picking up the Fortune Edition.
Tron: Catalyst pulls you back into the world of Disney’s “Tron” to battle multiple opposing factions in the latest imaginative story from Bithell Games (Thomas Was Alone, Subsurface Circular, Tron: Identity). Tron: Catalyst is an all-new story-driven, isometric action adventure game, set in the immersive and diverse locations of the Arq Grid.
Gex Trilogy reproduces all three original games in exacting detail, precisely the way you remember them. Assuming you’ve gone senile and remember them having high-definition native 16:9 widescreen visuals and fully analog controls. Which they didn’t. No, this is the Gex series the way it was meant to be played.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army
The story of apprentice detective and Devil Summoner extraordinaire Raidou Kuzunoha XIV returns in this remastered classic! Call upon your demons to solve supernatural mysteries and dispose of enemies.
Rematch – June 19 Game Pass / Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere
Credible Football, with an arcade twist. Feel like an amazing athlete, easily performing all the iconic moves of football. Non-stop action with no fouls, no offsides, no pauses… no time to rest.
Set in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth, Revival is a 4x strategy game where the world and its rules can change at key moments, creating a deep and highly replayable experience. Explore a transformed planet, negotiate or conquer new territories and bring the light of civilization to regressing human colonies to prepare mankind for war with a despotic entity.
Can’t wait to get down and dirty with your fireplace? Long for the sweet embrace from your fridge? Date Everything! brings an exciting new twist to the dating simulator genre. Your BFA in customer service unfortunately goes to waste as you lose your job to AI. But… a mysterious stranger sends a gift – magical glasses called ‘Dateviators’ – which make your house come alive and dateable!
Gatewalkers is a unique mixture of co-op game, survival and RPG. You, as a Gatewalkers, travel across different worlds in order to save your own. Explore procedurally generated worlds, face hostile inhabitants and challenges like extreme weather conditions, toxic atmosphere, lack of water and more.
Jewel Match Solitaire is the ultimate relaxing Solitaire game! Return to the world of Jewel Match in this beautiful new Solitaire adventure! Journey across an ancient land to rebuild epic castles of old. Over 320 levels in all, plus many Solitaire variants including Klondike, Spider, Freecell, Pyramid, and more!
Step into the enchanting world of Knights of the Round Peg, where players embark on a musical journey alongside a brave knight through 80 captivating levels. Equipped with a lute and a quiver of musical notes, the knight bravely embarks on a journey, encountering peg-filled challenges along the way.
Rooftops & Alleys is more than just a game about Parkour & Freerunning. It’s the adrenaline rush of landing an impossible trick combo, defying gravity, and feeling like you’re flying… until you crash face-first into a dark alley 30 meters below.
A fast-paced action roguelite that thrusts you into epic battles against relentless hordes and colossal bosses. Harness the power of the Void to craft unique builds, unlock powerful weapons, and push your characters to new heights — all in pursuit of godlike abilities.
Conquer mountain slopes, vast highways, and bustling city streets in CarX Street. Build the car of your dreams with fine-tuning that reveals the full potential of CarX Technology physics. Take part in thrilling races, offline or online, and enjoy realistic gameplay and dynamic controls.
Lead a squad of warriors and your loyal dog, Diesel, against a brutal raider army. Pause and issue orders at any time. Choose your weapons, skills, and tactics. Shoot, chop, kick, or bite. Go in guns blazing or use stealth. Set traps, throw grenades, or crush enemies with an armored car. Deploy turrets and barricades to defend your home. The only thing you can’t do is surrender.
Enter a colorful world that’s looking for a new football star! Defeat your opponents with your amazing skills and take the cup home! Get through the tutorial, master the game controls and choose your team to start your football career. Defeat all your opponents while collecting achievements and have fun with the different game modes.
No Sun To Worship is a minimalist, stealth-action game that captures the brilliance of the first pioneers of the stealth genre and recreates their retro-aesthetic charm within an echo of a dying world.
It was a dark and stormy night… for Solitaire! Jewel Match gets spooky in this new Solitaire adventure! Discover and rebuild eerie derelict castles, but beware of vampires roaming the land. Over 200 levels in all, plus 50 bonus mahjong levels to unlock! Dozens of unique game play variations mix up the classic Solitaire such as locked and frozen cards.
Pathfinders, supported by scientist Albert New, time travel to study past civilizations and gather relics for a human history museum. They face obstacles, traps, and enemies. Your task is to memorize these hazards and chart a safe course. Can you meet the challenge?
Without a Voice is a thought-provoking visual novel adventure told through detailed character portraits, scripted dialogue of more than 15,000 words, lush backdrops and a dozen unlockable event illustrations. Make key decisions to decide how the story plays out and discover 8 possible endings to this tale of love and intrigue between its leading ladies.
Make the most of your extensive creative freedom, with a huge variety of materials, structures and items, and above all innovative construction tools which will enable you to design and customize your buildings, from the shape of each room to detailed roof drawings.
In this arcade shoot ’em up game you play as Princess Anna, the savior of cat people. Fight against the attack of Crazy Cyborgs for 12 boss rush levels!
Play Mateo Lombardo, the last apprentice of the Rose Cross Order, on a quest to hunt the infamous Beast of Gévaudan. This dark and thrilling platforming adventure blends fast-paced combat, challenging exploration, and deep storytelling, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.
A retro-futuristic action RPG set on the planet Yob, a world left in ruins and haunted by the machines once built to serve it. After twenty years in cryo-sleep, Zoe wakes to find a world she barely recognizes. To survive and to save what’s left, she must track down her missing father, lost during the cataclysmic event known only as The Blackout. Along the way, she’ll take on gangs of corrupted robots, confront towering bosses, and uncover long-buried truths about Yob.
Grab a hot drink and cozy up to the fire. It’s cold outside and you’re snowed in with a game of Solitaire! Travel the icy land and rebuild 5 frosty locations across 200 levels, plus unlock 12 bonus game variants such as Yukon and Emperor!
Dive into the world of dreams in Through the Nightmares! This is a hardcore platformer where you play as the Sandman, a size-shifting spirit said to bring people good dreams. Several children are lost in the kingdom of Morpheus, the mad god of dreams, who turns sleep into a prison. To bring the children back to their families, the Sandman must descend to a place where even the most secret of fears come to life…
Set off on a high-speed Hoverboard adventure in Star Overdrive, where fast-paced action collides with the mysteries of a distant alien world. After intercepting a cryptic distress signal, you, the protagonist Bios, find yourself stranded on an enigmatic planet called Cebete. Armed with your versatile Keytar and advanced Hoverboard, you’ll navigate diverse biomes, confront challenges, evolve your hidden powers, and uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of your beloved Nous.
Civilization has ended, and something else awakens in its place. From the world’s decay, ancient creatures stir, rise, and roam the land. Vessels of Decay is a post-apocalyptic action adventure following the story of Freja and Mud. In this retro-inspired tale, you’ll confront creatures of Scandinavian myth and folklore and explore the ruins of the civilization they inhabit.
Agarta has been designed to show you how valuable and important every decision you make in your individual life, every choice you make is. Because every choice you make is also a renunciation and you cannot undo any decision.
Blast through monster hordes with crazy weapons in a wild bullet hell! It’s chaotic, casual, and seriously fun! Each run takes just 20 to 30 minutes — perfect for relaxing anytime! Whether you’re unwinding after a long day or just killing time, it’s a great way to de-stress.
You’re about to dive into a sugary adventure! Combine sweets and prepare yourself for sugar overload! Race to merge the biggest candy while using clever tactics to slow down your opponent. Unleash tricky power-ups and prove who’s the ultimate candy master!
Put on your armor, grab your sword, and get ready to face what no sane knight would dare: noisy goblins, deadly traps, and platforms that seem to have a mind of their own. In Knight Quest, you are the hero the kingdom needs – even if no one warned you how complicated this mission would be.
Combine a multitude of skills and relics to create a wide range of powerful synergies, each offering unique advantages in your quest to escape the loop! With each buff you choose, the loop grows stronger by forcing you to select a curse. Your success hinges on making strategic decisions that enhance your power while managing the increased challenges posed by the loop, guiding you toward ultimate victory!
No one remembers what the world looked like before, except for a team of brave rangers. Now chaos and unpredictability reign everywhere – harmless creatures in the past bring destruction, and the world around is constantly changing, repeatedly nullifying the familiar environment around.
You’re a combat robot activated in the last moments of the Matrix, where corrupted codes have given rise to cyber monsters thirsty for destruction. Combining intense action, retro-futuristic style and roguelite elements, this is a challenge where every decision matters — and each upgrade can mean the difference between survival and total defragmentation.
The Samurai Quest is a 2D pixel art platformer that combines action, precision, and exploration in a campaign with 30 progressively challenging levels. Take on the role of an agile and skilled samurai who faces traps, enemies, and demanding obstacles in search of hidden ninja stars in each stage.
Play as a fearless stray in a city falling apart where every day is a fight to survive. Abandoned warehouses and silent streets hide danger and helpless kittens. Scavenge for food, rescue the lost, and protect the vulnerable.
Capybara Goes to Space is a lighthearted 2D platformer where you guide Capy, a laid-back astronaut capybara, through a strange alien planet in search of scattered spaceship parts. The world is full of bizarre creatures, radioactive traps, and mysterious landscapes that challenge your reflexes and curiosity. As you explore, you’ll uncover secret paths, dodge dripping toxic goo, and outsmart hilarious alien enemies.
Dive into the captivating world of Word Quest, the ultimate word puzzle game. Discover concealed words among letter grids across 200+ levels while guiding a valiant knight. Unveil hidden words to empower the knight in battles against foes. With escalating challenges and immersive visuals, challenge yourself or compete globally to become the ultimate wordsmith and defender. Word Quest is more than a game; it’s an immersive journey to sharpen your mind and vocabulary skills.
Test out your skills, and push them to the next level, while you try to connect the parts with into continual pipe. There are 250 unique levels, so there is always something new to enjoy, and the gameplay is very exciting and rewarding. Every new level is a true challenge, and you have dozens of them to choose from. Let’s play!
Warhammer 40,000 video games have been on a great run lately, with the likes of Space Marine 2 leading the charge of well-received, successful titles. The recently released Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition, however, may be Warhammer 40,000’s first video game misstep in some time.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition is a re-release of Relic Entertainment’s 2011 action game, Space Marine. Both Games Workshop and publisher Sega are not calling this a remaster. Instead they point to quality-of-life and graphical improvements “that take the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine experience to the next level.”
These include higher fidelity and improved textures, 4k resolution, “improved” character models, a modernized control scheme and interface overhaul, and remastered audio.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition launched on June 10 across Xbox Series X and S and PC, and straight into Game Pass (there’s no word on a PS5 version). It’s going down better on Game Pass, where gaming is often more disposable and subscribers are free to try games out and discard them on a whim if they don’t like what they see. On Steam, however, where Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition costs $39.99 / £34.99, it’s getting destroyed.
Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition currently has a ‘mostly negative’ user review rating on Valve’s platform. Complaints revolve around the high price of the game relative to the changes it makes over the Anniversary Edition, and, on those changes, bemusement in response to what many believe is worse usability.
This, coupled with struggles to find others to play with online, has caused some to call Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition a “cash grab.”
“I was very excited for the idea of this being updated but honestly? I prefer the older version,” reads one negative Steam user review. “It feels better and looks better. Why couldn’t this just be an update or something? And for the price tag it just feels very meh. And this is one of my all time favourite games too. Just gonna install the older version and play through that.”
“Too bad, I really wanted to play this game,” reads another. “No players in PvP multiplayer. No players in co-op Exterminatus horde mode. FOV problem, aiming down sight makes 1000000x zoom. No option to change FOV. Maybe get it on sale after upgrades and updates and working enabled crossplay matchmaking. Refunded, sadly.”
“I bought and get refund” said one disgruntled customer. “Buy the Anniversary Edition, it’s almost the same but it isn’t a cash grab (around 7€ for a key).”
“Look how they massacred my boy,” declared another.
It’s a similar sentiment across social media, Discords, and subreddits. “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Master Crafted Edition is a mess,” said redditor KitsuneLynx, highlighting problems even on Xbox.
“This game came out a few days ago and has shown itself to be an absolute mess and disappointment. When I heard this remake was coming out, I was so hyped, I was curious what they’d do and was excited to play it on Xbox after having played it on PC a while back. I was disappointed to say the least.
“This game is a buggy, janky mess that didn’t bother to fix anything and instead made a worse UI, odd visual changes, etc. Why make the Orks all Goffs now? The colors helped recognize each unit, now they all blend together to the point it’s hard to decipher which is which. WHERE ARE THE DEDICATED SERVERS? Not to mention the NEW jank and bugs that came with this release that weren’t present in the previous remaster. It didn’t bother to fix the jank or make the game feel revitalized, this IS the definition of a lazy cash grab. Charging this game for 40+ USD is criminal.
“Crossplay is off by default which just leads to the game shooting itself in the foot when it comes to vacant servers. My wife also just experienced a bug which is more common than it should be where when you boot up the game, there is a chance for your save file to corrupt and reset ALL OF YOUR PROGRESS. Why hasn’t this game received a patch yet? I can’t imagine all the other bugs I haven’t seen yet.
“If you’re planning on playing this game, either get it on Game Pass or wait for a sale and mega patch, otherwise stay on Space Marine 2 or play the remaster on PC.”
It’s worth noting that there are players who are having a reasonable time with the game, although anecdotally most of them appear to be on Game Pass. Similarly, those who have never played Space Marine before seem to be enjoying experiencing the events that lead into last year’s blockbuster hit, Space Marine 2. Steam, then, appears to be the focal point of the backlash.
The hope is that Sega will announce incoming improvements sooner rather than later, as Space Marine is generally remembered fondly by those who played it back in the day. In 2025, with Warhammer 40,000 at the peak of its popularity and with a flood of newcomers sparked by the success of Space Marine 2, it’s important Space Marine gets it right. The Inquisition, after all, is always watching.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
