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REVIEW: Beetle Shock

Developer: Afil Games Publisher: Afil Games Release Date: January 13, 2026 Available for: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch (version reviewed) Beetle Shock could be described in a sentence written in crayon on a napkin, and you’d lose nothing in terms of detail or value prospect. That’s not entirely a criticism, either – it is exactly what it looks like on the tin, short and slight yet adequate enough as a game to make the question of whether it’s worth your time more subjective an inquiry than normal. What we have here is a mascot platformer that owes part of its design to A Boy and His Blob , minus the jellybean-infused powers of a shapeshifting companion. Like the Boy of that game, Beetle Shock’s titular protagonist is limited in their mobility options; they can only run forward and back, jump, and perform a mid-air ground pound that smashes through breakable bricks and increases the height of jumps when hopping on mushrooms (this game's version of bounce pads).  The Beetle...
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What Was Worth A Damn About Gamescom 2025?

We’re back again to take a look at the highlights of a gaming showcase. This time, we turn our attention to Gamescom, the gaming trade show in Germany whose “Opening Night Live” presentation happens to be hosted by Geoff Keighley. Can’t so much as walk five paces without bumping into a show that that man is hosting.

Anyway, same principle as before - just the good-looking and interesting projects, keeping the pessimism and negativity to a minimum.

Promo image for game Bubsy 4D, depicting lead character Bubsy Bobcat wearing a white suit jacket and red tie. Behind him is a light purple cat-like character wearing some kind of purple sleeveless top and short shorts. Both characters are standing on some kind of observtion deck looking out at a purple void with a scattering of lights. Also on the observation deck is a computer console and a cardboard box containing orange dots.

Bubsy 4D

Developed by: Fabraz

Someone made the call to stick this in the pre-show before the main presentation, and that’s baffling to me because it’s one of the most interesting nostalgia revivals I’ve seen in a while.

Immediate takeaway: Fabraz seems to be leaning hard on self-aware and self-deprecating comedy here. An understandable creative choice, given both Bubsy’s wisecracking persona and the series’ charms having been overshadowed for three decades by this game’s infamous predecessor Bubsy 3D.

The jokes in the trailer are amusing enough, but what really sells me is the joyful creativity on display in the overall design. The look of the 3D animation has this real nice exaggerated style, especially in Bubsy’s facial expressions. I also appreciate the level design tossing aside any sense of realistic proportions in favour of goofy abstraction and fantastical sights. Really rooting for Fabraz here, I think they’re onto something special.

Promo image for game Denshattack, depicting a bright yellow train car speeding along a yellow rail towards an oversized baseball. To the right of the train car is a cobblestone wall, to the left of the train car is a dense cluster of trees with full green foliage.

Denshattack!

Developed by: Undercoders

Stated Release Date: Spring 2026

I think my brain is still trying to process this. The core idea seems to be to take the concept of platforming via grinding on rails - think the Tony Hawk skateboarding games or Jet Set Radio - and marry it to a visual style evocative of especially eccentric manga. Also, instead of a person riding along objects, you’re controlling a train car that can somehow perform jumps and mid-air tricks. It’s visually a lot to take in, but that feels like the right approach.

Promo image for game Keeper, depicting a lighthouse with legs walking along the side of a cliff. It is shining its light at some kind of growth hanging over the cliff's edge. To the right of the cliff are various rock structures semi-obscured by fog.

Keeper

Developed by: Double Fine Productions

Stated Release Date: October 17, 2025

Offbeat premise, unorthodox lead characters, gameplay mechanics that play with genre expectations… yeah, that’s a Double Fine game if I ever saw one. You’re apparently guiding a sentient lighthouse and its bird companion through a fascinating fantasy landscape, solving puzzles and platforming along the way.

Promo image for game Absolum, depicting a blue elf-like man and a bearded man in brown robes fighting off a trio of goblins, while standing underneath a tree-mounted wooden structure in a forest environment. To the left of the elf-like man is a large brown boar.

Absolum

Developed by: Guard Crush, Supamonks and Dotemu

Stated Release Date: October 9, 2025

Pitch me a 2D animated beat-em-up about various melee fighters, magic users and who knows what else defending innocent animal people from attackers? Yes, you have my attention - the animation and art style looks great in motion, and I’ll always have a place in my heart for anthropomorphic characters doing action stuff.

Promo image for game Long Gone, depicting a pixelated man with dark hair, wearing a grey shirt, blue pants and a light brown backpack, in the overgrown front yard of an abandoned house. The man is pointing a pistol over a weathered white picket fence at a zombie.

Long Gone

Developed by: Hillfort Games

Looks like a pixel art visual style applied over 3D environment and object design, depicting an overgrowth-heavy variation on a zombie apocalypse that seems to be at least dipping its toe into black comedy. I came away from the trailer thinking of early 90s LucasArts games - whether or not that’s the intended angle, there’s promise here.

Promo image for game Sonic Racing Crossworlds, depicting blue character Sonic the Hedgehog standing next to yellow orb-shaped character Pac Man. Pac Man is winking and pointing his left thumb towards Sonic, who is pointing his right thumb toward himself. In the background is some kind of red and white striped structure and an assortment of rock ledges with checker pattern sides and grass-covered tops.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds/Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds developed by Sonic Team

Stated Release Date (Pac-Man DLC) - Early 2026

Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac developed by Now Production, based on original work by Namco Hometek

Stated Release Date (Sonic DLC) - Late 2025

The Sonic Racing game looks good, the track record on those is solid, ditto the Pac-Man World titles. Yes, obviously we’re getting this cross-promotion because it lines up with Pac-Man’s 45th anniversary. He looks great here, there’s precedent for him showing up in these sort of crossovers, and Pac getting a Sonic costume is adorable.

Promo image for Lego Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight, depicting Batman from behind as he glides towards a busy street at nighttime. Around Batman are various old brickwork buildings, billboards for local businesses and neon signs reading "Shirley" and "Music".

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Developed by: Traveller’s Tales

Stated Release Date: 2026

This… is definitely an odd situation. The pitch seems to be to (try to) create a coherent “greatest hits” Batman story out of the most recognizable movies and TV iconography, which might make for fun referential gags but also runs the risk of watering down each work’s distinctive identities to try and make it all fit together. How do you square the bold Gothic influences of Burton with the stripped-down deconstructive bent of Nolan, the neon-lit camp excess of Schumacher, and the neo-noir hodge-podge of Reeves? 

Traveller’s Tales is good at making LEGO games, but I do worry this might be too much of an ask.

Promo image for game Warhammer 40 Thousand Dawn of War 4, depicting a battle between Space Marines and what appear to be Necron forces as viewed from slightly above. On the edges of the image are various game interface details, such as resources counts, the level map, the current lineup of combat units in play, and a detailed description of one of the units.

Warhammer 40'000: Dawn of War IV

Developed by: King Art Games

Stated Release Date: 2026

Folks didn’t much care for the last Dawn of War, which as I understand tried to split the difference between the first game’s traditional real-time strategy structure and the second game’s more restricted squad-focused gameplay. So a new studio's taking a crack at the series, it looks like we’re getting a pivot back towards the original’s gameplay rhythms, and the Mechanicus and Necron factions are getting their time in the spotlight.

Looks cool. Looks like a polished strategy game. Looks like 40K. Hope it turns out well.

Promo image for game Onimusha Way of the Sword, depicting a dark haired man in black robes kicking one mutated sword-wielding enemy behind him while locked in a sword duel with another enemy. Just behind the man is some kind of wooden structure and hints of a nearby forest.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Developed by: Capcom

Stated Release Date: 2026

I’ve been hoping Capcom has the goods when it came to reviving THIS particular property, given Onimusha is very much rooted in the peculiar anything-goes development scene of early-to-mid 2000s Capcom. This showing nudged me more in the direction of optimism - there’s a certain excess and hard-to-define weirdness to the monster designs that feels fitting, and the hack-and-slash combat looks slick.

Promo image for game Unbeatable, depicting a pink-haired woman with black sports bra smacking a baseball with a metal pipe. The impact of the ball on the pipe is emphasized with the word "Bam" on screen. The whole image has a light pink filter over it, save for the woman and the pipe.

Unbeatable

Developed by: D-CELL GAMES

Stated Release Date: November 6, 2025

I spoke about this punk genre-blending title last year, and I’m still impressed by its bold look and defiant energy. Bring it on.

-FIN-
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