CJD87

I genuinely think Asha Sharma is doing a pretty good job in turning around XB. Absolutely she’s needed to make some rough decisions (layoffs etc) - but ultimately the job she’s been tasked to do is reinvigorate the XB brand, make it ‘matter’ again, focus in on the key franchises and IPs + double-down on exclusives to keep the hardware sales alive

I always found it incredible that Fallout wasn’t given some kind of life injection after the success of the 1st TV season…. And I’m delighted to see that the IP is having some energy breathed into it

RIP 'Wildhearts' - which IMO was genuinely a contender for the MH throne, a ton of really cool ideas.... just such a shame it was a busted launch.

The Switch2 version was actually a much better experience, albeit the framerate was a little schizophrenic at times! (was aiming for 60fps..... but hovered anywhere between 40-50s, they should have patched a locked 30 option!)

Just last week I brought back in to the PS ecosystem (second hand base PS5) …. And was hoping for a trio of bangers to justify a sub to Essential, but yeah this month certainly ain’t it!

I mainly want to sub for online play (MH Wilds) and also cloud saves, but I’ll sit back for a bit and look to solo a lot of Wilds I think.

I’m not particularly fussed by recent announcements, but I can see objectively that Sony’s recent gut shot to physical media is a really crap thing for the consumer in general

I’m loving the PS5 so far but expect I’ll stretch this console for as long as possible - no way I’m dropping $1000 for a PS6 that it effectively holding me ransom at the PS online storefront

@16BitHero I'd say you might be worth giving Saros a go, even if you bounced off Returnal. Saros is actually far far more forgiving (IMO) and even includes an in-game difficulty balancer/modifier system + a skill-tree for permanent upgrades (which is pretty generous, I'm unlocking like 5-6 different nodes each run).

I don't like it quite as much as Returnal, but its still pretty great. For me 2026 has been brilliant for games so far. Resi9 was class, and I surprised myself also with Pokopia. Pokopia made my 14hr flight feel like 14 mins lol

@16BitHero Zero Parades is a hell of a game, really cool experience. Falls a little short vs Disco, but that’s a pretty impossible standard for any game to measure up to!

GOTY (so far) for me is Saros, but my top 5 are all pretty close! Esoteric Ebb is a real gem; but I must confess in struggled a bit without VA

Having literally just this week brought back in to the PS-ecosystem (base PS5 model) I'm definitely in no rush for a PS6.

The abolishment of physical media actually isn't too big an issue for me personally, but I definitely feel sorry for those that still cherish this format.... must really suck for a lot of people, not to mention that any instance of reducing consumer choice is pretty negative.

So much about modern gaming is pretty grim right. The layoffs, constant sequels/remakes, studios being purchased and tossed aside (Bluepoint!!).... and then of course the rising prices.

Gaming is truly becoming a 'luxury hobby' and for a lot of people, a (potentially) $1000 dollar console with digital-only access is a huge ask.

Then of course each generational leap is a diminishing return vs the last generation.... and I honestly can't see games really being 'that much better' on the next iteration of Playstation. That aside, some of the best games I've played this year are actually very non-demanding (Mina, Zero Parades, Mewgenics, Esoteric Ebb).... which begs the question, do I really NEED that PS6 extra oomph?

Playing through Saros now and having a great time. And honestly, if Saros was a 'permanent benchmark' for me in terms of maximum fidelity and performance - I'd be perfectly happy.

I'm not sure Sony quite knows how best to navigate the coming years. Whilst Nintendo is perhaps at their least imaginative/creative currently, I'd say that the Switch2 is maybe the best value-proposition at the moment vs PS and XB.

Who'd have thought that Game Key Cards would be the last bastion of physical media?!

The gaming industry is in such a fascinating state at the moment...

I actually just brought back in to the PS5 ecosystem, having had a break for the last 4 years (due to work travel / no home office, I sold my PS5).

Purchased a 2nd hand Disc (!) PS5 just Monday, and managed to grab an absolutely bargain on MH Wilds physical copy, £15 GBP from Amazon. I also got a copy of Saros 2nd hand for £35 GBP, roughly 50% new.

I don't feel particularly aggrieved by Sony's statement though, as generally this seems to be the way the world is going. Gaming is fast becoming a 'luxury' hobby, with some insane prices on consoles and software being thrown out.... and I suppose drawing a 'hard line' on going digital-only will increase margins, but undoubtedly is not great for the consumer.

It'll be really interesting to see what moves are made with PS6. Crazy to hear that Sony got rid of Bluepoint.... as a Bluepoint-governed remake of Bloodborne for PS6 would have probably been the best chance of having a 'system seller' game. With diminishing returns each console generation, I'm not sure what will get me in for PS6 - especially considering the assumed pricepoint.

But I'm having a blast so far being back on PS5 this week. Saros is an absolute scream, especially as I think Returnal is one of the greatest games of all time (a hill I'll die on!)

I sold my original PS5 post-pandemic (when work travel opened up again)

But I plan to buy a digital slim PS5 in next month or so, mainly for Saros

Returnal is in my top 5 GOAT games, and I cannot wait to see what Housemarque have cooked up here. I appreciate that some might argue it looks quite iterative of what preceded it…. But I’m absolutely fine with a pseudo Returnal 2, take my money

IG did a great job with THPS3+4, gained a lot of favour with me... keen to see how they could/would revive these FO games via remasters. Watch this space I guess

Oh wow I am utterly surprised and disappointed in equal measure.

I had convinced myself that Sony acquired BP in order to get the studio to produce a Bloodborne remake for a PS6 launch title.... BP would have been so capable of delivering the product that all fans have been clamoring for. A Bloodborne remake by BP would have absolutely been a 'system seller' game for Playstation.

Very sad for the team, they did a great job bringing DeS to a modern standard

I'm really conflicted by this.... I adore BG3, but honestly I don't think anyone is crying out for this TV show to happen.

It has huge potential, but the recent mismanagement of TLoU is a very sobering wake-up call to what the reality will likely be for this project.

Also - the VA work in BG3 is just so outstandingly great, that I genuinely think it would be impossible to cast (if indeed they use the main 'player' characters as a basis for the plot)

I can't fathom anyone else being Astarian over Neil Newbon.... or Shadowheart outside of Jen English. Those performances really breathed such a life into those characters, not to mention Lae'Zel / Gale / Karlach.... all of them fantastic.

Nice to see Sven backing it publicly, as I can imagine he probably has similar panic attacks as to the havoc that Craig can wreak with this IP lol.

Yeh I checked out mid-S2 and won’t be returning.

The casting for this thing is so off-key… I think Pedro and Bella are fine actors, but not suited for J & A.

The overall writing quality seemed to plummet also in S2. I wish they’d done more concerted fleshing out of peripheral characters …. Frank & Bill episode was really well thought out IMO

Fallout is perhaps a good example of how a show can genuinely by bolstered by an excellent cast

"This game is set in the “demon-infested ruins of Paris”, which some would argue is just modern-day France" ..... (!)

Love me some Returnal, have high hopes for this one

@MJF Yeh snap on this...

I'm delighted that people our there are enjoying Nightreign... but for me personally, this is not the kind of output that I want out of FromSoft. I appreciate that the Elden Ring IP is a huge cash-maker for From, but I just really hope they don't end up milking it with a ton of spinoffs and side-projects (squeezing every drop out it, similar to SE and their handling of FF7)

I'd love to see From do something new and exciting in the single-player space, genuinely really enjoyed Armored Core 6 a couple of years back.

Duskbloods has me intrigued, but cautiously tempering my expectations.

@Scrubchub I'm with you on this, I favour Nine Sols to HK/SS as well. I've always been a big fan of parry-based combat, Sekiro being my favorite game of all time, and Nine Sols absolutely scratched that itch.

I'm curious for your take on difficulty here.... Nine Sols, some of the bosses absolutely kicked my ass and took multiple attempts. But with NS, I always felt that the challenge was surmountable and that my failings were down to me (not yet mastering the patterns and openings)

But with SS.... I honestly feel that I'm getting nailed more due to the absolute insanity of how much is happening on-screen! I'm at the flying bug boss, who occasionally summons other flying creatures, and even with the best reflexes in the world I think this would be hard. Also, the 70-ish second run back to this boss is genuinely making me want to throw my Switch out the window lol.

Surely in 2025 we can have checkpoints next to a boss room?!

@betasector So far this is my only real 'bugbear' (pun intended) with the game. The downward pogo mechanic is a nightmare!

Some of the platforming sections in the original HK were tough enough, even with the ability to do a directly downward/vertical pogo. In SS the downward/diagonal pogo is so frustrating... maybe a skill issue on my part, but this review has reaffirmed that I can't be the only one finding this tedious.

Otherwise its pretty much what I expected, more Hollow Knight. If you enjoyed HK then its a pretty faithful sequel, but if you hated HK then there is probably nothing that would pull a player in!

Yorkshire-based DLC...?

@thechetearly I’m not normally one to comment, but I completely agree here

“Less is more, simple is best” - a brief message of sincere empathy would have been sufficient, or perhaps nothing at all

But the statement issued is so disarmingly unaware, and quite insensitive to all those who have felt the chop

@Balaam_ not every game is for every player.... sometimes we need to accept something is not "for me".

I love Blasphemous (1 and 2) and can't wait to see the take that Game Kitchen bring to the NG series.... this is a day 1 for me.

I might not be tough enough for the Platinum (or equivalent) but I'll certainly work to beat the base game

I think it has been incredibly lucky to get the nominations it has this year... Season 2 (IMO) was pretty lacklustre. Pedro is just about serviceable as Joel, but Bella is a tragic miscast for Ellie.

The highs of Season 1 (Frank & Bill episode for example) managed to outweigh the lows for me, but I always feared that telling the 'Part 2' story would require aptitude above & beyond what this show is capable of...

On a separate note, delighted to see Severance landing so well with the Emmys. Britt Lower (Helly R) was an absolute MVP all season, and I really hope she gets Lead Actress.

My 2 cents...

I feel a bit like GoY will suffer from the same level of iteration as other 'more of the same' sequels. Namely: TotK, GoWR, Horizon Forbidden West, Spiderman 2...

All great games objectively, but lacking that sense of wonderment and newness that their predecessors managed to provide.

I adored GoT, but do echo the comments here that it seems to be more-of-the-same but on a larger scale

Ahh I read the title and assumed a Switch2 port was in the works... that would/could be awesome, as Lies played excellently on Steamdeck (which should be a reasonable benchmark for indicative S2 performance)

FfXVI is fine, and actually quite good in places… but surely XB owners seeking a JRPG would lean to E33, which is also on Gamepass? GP has been rocking last few months in fairness. My kid has a series S and the GP library is really quite decent, enough to keep you v occupied

I love FromSoft, but I am genuinely curious as to who this game "is for"? It does seem a little cash-grabby, and I hope that From don't start peddling out the Elden Ring namesake in the same volumous fashion as Squeenix do with FF7 (!)

Instead of this, I would have rather that this team/money/resource/time was invested in remastering DS2 and DS3, maybe even then sell as a 3-piece bundle including the 2018 remaster of DS1. Take my money...

Don't shoot me.... but this IMO remains still the best PS5 game out there.

At launch it was a masterclass in visuals from Day1, so it must be set for eye-watering beauty considering the Pro-patch.

Such an excellent 'all round' showcase for the PS5, in terms of visuals / haptics / 3d-audio / and moment-to-moment gameplay.

The devs did a great job listening to community also, eventually patching in 'suspend run' feature. I actually managed to beat the game and platinum pre-patch, but it was extremely stressful leaving ps5 in rest mode (praying that any impending system updates wouldn't close the game and subsequently lose my run lol)

The next Neil Newbon…? Imagine the collab

Someone please clarify here…. So let’s say Elden Ring was the final game in this gauntlet, had the streamer taken a hit in ER then he would have gone all the way back to ‘game 1’ (assuming Dark Souls?)

That is absolutely brutal if so, fair play to the lad

I expect this to be a 3+4 remaster, for which I'd certainly be pumped for.... but I am really really hoping it turns out to be THUG

This is exactly what I was scared of. I'd love to give From the benefit of the doubt, but this article (and more specifically, the swift removal of the excerpt from the Steam page) is fairly damning.

I'll still likely worship at the altar of FromSoft... but this whole direction/strategy regarding Nightreign just reeks of 'Big Corpo'.

Never in a million years did I envisage From releasing something that would encourage MTX/DLC to yield the privilege of 'downloadable skins' (!)

I wish From had pooled the time, money, resources into something more akin to their usual quality and output.

It saddens me how un-excited I am by this...

Generally speaking, I worship at the altar of FromSoft - Sekiro being one of my favorite games of all time. I loved Elden Ring, plaintum'd it twice (once on PS, and then did another 100% achievement run on Steamdeck).

Even Armored Core6.... amazing game, wasn't sure it would land for me but it absolutely delivered.

I genuinely hope to be proven wrong, but Nightreign really seems to be an exercise in trend-chasing.... and the 'money men' making a push to utilise From's beloved IP as a tool to lean into the Helldivers2 model? (with a splash of Fortnite / Overwatch?)

I heard Miyazaki isn't involved in this though? Allegedly he is working on From's 'next big project' - for which I am glad, as it infers he is being put to better use than spearheading Nightreign.

Hopefully From prove me wrong

Since recently beating Nine Sols, and still suffering from the PTSD that came from several weeks vs Eigong (final boss) - I’m currently playing 2 puzzle games concurrently:
1) Loco-Motive: a Lucasarts-inspired P&C adventure game, gorgeously crafted with solid voice acting and strong gameplay. A little on the easy side, and doesn’t quite capture the same magic as recent genre peers (Return to MI, Thimbleweed Park, Lucy Dreaming etc) - but a nice chilled enjoyable time.
2) Rise of the Golden Idol: never played the predecessor, but this game is top tier. Sort of a detective-style mystery puzzler - in which you fill in the gaps of various crimes by deducing elements of crime scenes. A high recommend, best puzzler I’ve played since Lorelei & the Laser Eyes

Finally beat Nine Sols, after a couple of weeks getting smoked by the final boss! Practice makes perfect, finally got her done after what felt like 100s of attempts. Proud to say I didn’t drop the difficult and managed to beat her on Standard/normal mode! It was a hard lesson though in terms of just how important exploration is…. And my lack of this meant being severely underpowered upon reaching ‘the point of no return’ - which lead to an even rougher ride with the last boss. An amazing game though, like a 2D-Sekiro. If you love MV titles and Souls difficulty, Nine Sols is an easy recommend.

Now playing the excellent Loco-Motive, a point-click game that clearly wears its Lucasarts influences on its sleeves. About a third through and loving it - the VA work and art style is really great. Maybe a tad on the easy side, although a few puzzles have had me scratching my head for a bit. Maybe feels a bit easy due to Lorelei being the last game I played from this genre, which was remarkably tough!

After Loco-Motive I’m torn between starting the new Ender Lillies sequel or instead Rise of Golden Idol…‘can’t quite decide!

@ear_wig 100% right? Also the assumed PS6 launch date will likely coincide with the rumoured Bloodborne movie… allowing Sony plenty of cross-media synergy (they’ve shown they like to do this, eg TLoU remasters and TV show)

Also these extra years between ‘now’ and launch allow for some extra justification concerning the existence of the remake… not to mention that fans are desperate! (I include myself here)

I’m excited for the quality that Bluepoint will bring to the table, especially with next gen tech

Happy to wait for this tbh, and would rather a full scale remake in a few years va a 60fps patch today

PS6 launch title surely? Sony acquisition of Bluepoint must point towards such...

Get Bluepoint to give BB the DeS remake treatment, 'from the ground up' etc... would be a beautiful creature on PS6 tech, and a real system-seller of a game I think

I think it’s placing is fair, as your mileage will vary depending on your genre comparability (deck games are still relatively niche in mainstream…. Maybe not the same ‘universal’ appeal as something like Astro)

For me personally, it was actually my no.1 this year … but I adore games like Spire, Inscryption etc + I actually play poker IRL.
My top 3 would be Balatro (1) , Nine Sols (2) , Lorelei (3)

I think it would be criminal for Balatro to not be placed ‘somewhere’ in most top 10 lists for the year, but I appreciate the ranking may vary. Been a strong year, and very genre diverse

Laying groundwork for that PS6-exclsuive Bloodborne full-scale remake.... (Sony already fully acquired Bluepoint, who helmed the DeS 2020 remake...so they have the studio ready now alongside the additional 'skin in the game' regarding their relationship w/FromSoft)

I mean... I kind of see it from both sides, and as a Poker player (IRL) I can see how Balatro could be seen as somewhat of a 'gateway drug' into the real world of poker playing and gambling. HOWEVER - I absolutely believe that ratings need to be reviewed for other games, example in case FIFA series, where real loot box mechanics exist.

The 18 cert probably hasn't harmed Balatro sales though, with the notoriety and additional publicity likely facilitating some great exposure.

On a side-note... I am curious to how many Balatro players/owners are actually under the age of 18? I wasn't sure if this game would be able to permeate the sub-18 crowd, who I'd imagine are more bound by live-service/annual release titles like Fortnite, COD, FIFA etc??

I genuinely hope to be proven wrong here, but for me personally - this is not something I would have wanted FromSoft to have pursued. For the longest time, FromSoft have been a great bastion of 'identity strength' and put forward such a strong foot in their uncompromising approach to curating their portfolios. With Elden Ring, I feel they almost achieved the impossible - by catering for long-term fans + managing to on-board many newcomers to the genre. Sekiro remains one of my favorite games of all time, and I even had a blast with AC6.

Nightreign though...... just reeks a little bit of a 'corporate suits directive', working to chase recent co-op successes like Helldivers2, splicing in Rogue elements and even a smidge of Monster Hunter. Having pre-set 'hero' builds also just makes me die inside a little, when build-diversity and personalisation is such a key facet of From's games (less Sekiro of course).

I do appreciate From not going down the MTX/Live-Service route.... but this is one of the rare occasions where I actually think this game would benefit from such. I'm definitely notn sold on committing to an outright purchase (at assumedly approx ~50 $USD or circa). A F2P model might actually encourage more players to dip the toe in the water, as opposed to turning people off by an up-front price point (Concord....?)

My Christmas wish would have been for FromSoft to invest time/resource into patching in their own 'official/native' version of the well-known Seamless Co-Op mod being used by PC players (effectively allows a full co-op playthrough for entire game) and implementing cross-play alongside such. I think that would have been enough for long-term ER fans, and yielded a great deal more investment from the installed base.

I'm actually pleased to see Miyazaki has farmed this job out to another employee, which suggests he will be/is working on the next big game....

Like I say, I am genuinely willing this game to be a success - and will always root for FromSoftware - but this to me just seems like a wild mis-step, in the spirit of trend chasing (Something that From certainly does not need to do!)

BMW is a ‘fine enough’ game… but nothing ground breaking in my opinion, moreso a cocktail of clear inspirations from other genres/games. BG3 it certainly ain’t…! (A very worthy GOTY)

Whilst Astro wasn’t my personal pick this year (#1 Balatro, #2 Nine Sols, #3 Lorelei) I’m personally really pleased Astro won. It’s a great game, and a brilliant example of ‘fun for all the family’ - immaculately presented also and making great use of the hardware. Nice to see a bit of competition vs Nintendo in this regard, who would usually monopolise this genre. The Astro dev speech was great as well, calling out Big N as a clear influence (I like that kind of thing)

The sore loser discourse from the BMW team however, just pathetic

@Xbox_Dashboard This is probably one of the few examples ever where I think the product they are pitching would actually BENEFIT from being pushed out as a F2P/live-service. Personally, the idea of spending a 'standalone' premium £££ on this concept has me a little cold. I would have liked the chance to jump in via a F2P model, and discern from that if it is 'for me' or not.

Why on earth are From not investing resources instead in making the 'seamless co-op' mod a native/built-in official update patch? That would be so awesome.

I really hope they pull it off, but this doesn't feel like the FromSoft I know and love. I'm all for innovation, but this seems like a push from the corporate suits upstairs - in an effort to capitalise on the good-will and branding associated with ER

I absolutely hate to say this, especially as a loyal advocate of 'all things FromSoft', but I feel that this endeavour is a big mis-step for the studio.

For me, they have always been uncompromising in delivering on a clear vision.... maintaining a consistent quality output, for a core fanbase.

Nightreign (dreadful name also, right?) seems like a real trend-chase, almost like a mish-mash of Hades/Helldivers/MonsterHunter..... I'm cringing at the very thought of Fromsoft utilising 'skins' and having pre-determined hero builds.

For my 2 cents - it would have been AMAZING if they had instead worked to create a native/official version of the already existing 'seamless co-op' mod available for PC players... and also made this cross-play. Just imagine how great that would have been!

I'm certainly not going to write this off until we understand more... but initially I'm a little disappointed that From is going down this route, as it reeks a little bit of 'trend chasing'.

IMO, From have always been a great example of an 'identity-based' studio - very confident in their output, which has a distinct feel and a core audience.

With Elden Ring (base game) I thought they did a brilliant job in walking a tough line - managing to appease the hardcore fans, whilst onboarding newcomers to the genre.

However - Nightreign seems like they are wanting to ride the wave of recent successes like Helldivers/SpaceMarine etc (with even a bit of a MH flavour...).

I appreciate that Miyazaki has farmed this one out to a protege, assumedly whilst the former works on the next 'mainline' From game, but nonetheless this just doesn't feel right to me.

I honestly hope I am pleasantly surprised, but this to me is not From's wheelhouse.... and my expectations are well and truly tempered.

NB. - What I would have loved to have seen instead = FromSoft working to patch in their own native/official version of the 'seamless co-op' online mod, allowing for cross-play also if possible. I think that would have landed spectacularly with audiences, especially considering how popular the mod is with PC players.

TGA is a fun time, maybe best watched in 'chunks' though as opposed to live.... I look forward to it each year, and glad we have something to cap off the gaming calendar.

Honestly - and this may actually be hugely unpopular opinion... - I think the Game Awards results were generally pretty fair!

Astro wasn't my personal GOTY, but I like the fact it managed to take the main award - alongside the various other awards it pulled.

Great to see Balatro sweep a few also.

Some of the announcements were genuinely exciting I thought - the new Elden Ring rougelike/co-op title seems quite ambitious, and I'm really keen to see how From handle that. Witcher4 also looks pretty awesome... and new Ninja Gaiden for Switch? Yes please.

My largest bone of contention still is the nomination of Erdtree.... even moreso that it didn't win, almost making its inclusion somewhat pointless?! Unless it was just to garner more hype for the new co-op game en route?

Would have been nice to have seen Nine Sols get nominated, but I appreciate the console release was too late (even though it came out on Steam during summer).

For the record, my personal top 3 this year: 1) Balatro 2) Nine Sols 3) lorelei and the Laser Eyes

Fun award show, and I continue to salute Geoff for putting this thing on every year... irrespective of the contentious discourse!

Delighted for the team behind this...!

Balatro is my personal GOTY, and I'm thrilled to see it nominated for the 'big league' award later (not just relegated to the Indie nominations)

I don't suspect it will win out, especially with stiff competition from Astro & Rebirth, but am hopeful in that the exposure and nomination itself will yield increased interest/sales for Balatro.

Still unsure how I feel about Erdtree being in the mix, and the rule changing/bending/breaking to accomodate this (!)......However, these awards are generally a pretty fun time, and enjoyable as long as theyre not taken too seriously.

I hope Geoff continues this each year, genuinely look forward to it.

This is a great game, but I’d probably only advocate it for those who enjoy games like Sekiro and Hollow Knight - where difficulty spikes and tough bosses are staples of those experiences. Whilst Nine Sols does have a ‘Story Mode’ (and difficulty slider options within this)… it sort of defeats the point of the game a bit. NS generally ‘is made for’ players wanting to overcome a tough challenge, and the ‘Standard’ normal mode is quite well balanced IMO

It is definitely one of the best MVs I’ve ever played, and would rank it comfortably with the new PoP, Hollow Knight,Blasphemous games, Metroid Dread etc

I perhaps favour NS slightly more due to the parry elements… being a huge Sekiro fan

Delighted with this! Lies of P would have been my GOTY easily last year, but BG3 swept my heart away last minute...

Such a cool game, I wonder if the devs will lean into the post-credit scene for DLC-inspiration?! (no spoilers...)

@Balaam_ I genuinely back this. I think it makes sense that Sony have avoided pushing any kind of remaster to this point, or even 60fps patch, due to full investment in a 'from-the-ground-up' remake.

Also, Bluepoint have been incredibly quiet since Sony's acquisition of them...

Why not, it worked out great for Kendall and Roman...

How accessible is this game for people who are completely cold/new to the ATLUS portfolio? I've never played the Persona/SMT titles, but Metaphor has really piqued my interest.

I'd never played a CRPG until last year (BG3) so I am definitely open to new genres.

But equally, I'm conscious that the game might take for granted that the player is reasonably fluent with other ATLUS mechanics/systems?

It genuinely is great.

If Salt & Sanctuary is "2D Dark Souls", then Nine Sols is very much "2D Sekiro". One of the best games I've played this year.