REVIEW: Sanshui: Poker Puzzle 三水 (2026 Video Game)

By Jon Donnis

Sanshui: Poker Puzzle is a neat little logic game that takes the familiar rules of poker hands and turns them into a series of card-based puzzles. Despite the poker theme, there are no gambling mechanics here. This is purely about using logic, planning your moves and finding the solution to each challenge.

You start with three rows of cards, with three on the top row and five on each of the other two. Each puzzle gives you a target poker hand to create, such as a Flush, and you need to work out how to arrange the available cards to achieve it.

The interesting thing is that Sanshui does not explain everything to you. There is no traditional tutorial walking you through the controls and mechanics. Instead, you are placed straight into the first puzzles and expected to experiment. Fortunately, the basic system is easy enough to understand, particularly if you already have a basic knowledge of poker hands.

You can move cards around and swap their positions, but the most important part of the game is the token system. Tokens give you different ways to manipulate the cards, including changing the layout, replacing a card or changing its suit. Knowing when and where to use these abilities becomes increasingly important as the puzzles become more demanding.

Progression introduces additional tokens, which means the game gradually expands the number of possible solutions available to you. Early puzzles can be solved fairly quickly once you understand the fundamentals, but later challenges require more consideration. You need to look at the cards available, identify what is missing from the required hand and decide which ability will get you closer to the solution.

This gives the game a satisfying balance between understanding the rules and actually applying them. It is not simply a case of making the strongest poker hand possible. You have a specific objective and a limited set of tools, so working out the correct sequence of actions is where the real puzzle lies.

The presentation also works in the game's favour. Everything is laid out clearly, with the cards and available actions easy to see. There is no unnecessary clutter competing for your attention, which is exactly what you want from a game based around studying a card layout and spotting possible combinations.

Being thrown into the first puzzle without much explanation could initially be confusing, particularly for players who are unfamiliar with poker terminology. However, it is not a complicated system, and it does not take long to understand what the game wants from you. Once the basic mechanics click, the lack of hand holding becomes less of an issue.

A basic understanding of poker hands is certainly useful, but this should not put off anyone who does not normally play poker. You only need to know what the different combinations mean, rather than understand poker strategy. If you come across a hand you do not recognise, it is easy enough to check its definition and continue.

Perhaps the most appealing thing about Sanshui: Poker Puzzle is that it manages to make poker feel like a puzzle mechanic rather than a gambling theme. There are no bets or money involved. The cards are simply tools that you manipulate in order to satisfy the objective in front of you.

That also makes it an accessible concept. Anyone who enjoys logic puzzles should be able to understand the appeal, while players familiar with poker will have the advantage of already knowing the different hands. As the game introduces more tokens and increasingly complicated layouts, there is plenty of room for the puzzles to become more demanding without abandoning the straightforward foundation.

Overall, Sanshui: Poker Puzzle is a simple concept that works surprisingly well. The lack of a tutorial is its biggest weakness, but the mechanics are straightforward enough to discover without too much frustration. Once you understand how the tokens work, the focus shifts towards planning your moves and finding increasingly clever ways to create the required poker hands. It is a clean, accessible logic puzzle with an unusual card-based approach.

Sanshui: Poker Puzzle 三水 is currently in closed testing, with a free browser version available to play. The first 5000 sign-ups get a promo code for the full game unlock when it launches on December 23, 2026, at 19:00 EST. 

It is a straightforward concept that becomes increasingly engaging as new mechanics are introduced.

Play the free demo and watch for in-game messages.

Check it out at https://fourstreetplo.com/

REVIEW: Murders & Mistresses (2026 Video Game) - on PC Steam

Review by Jon Donnis

Murders & Mistresses is an unusual adult visual novel because there is considerably more going on here than the adult content. Beneath the adult material is a surprisingly detailed detective game, with five cases covering murders, kidnappings and hostage situations.

You play an ex-conman turned police consultant, with the freedom to investigate cases while making plenty of questionable personal choices along the way. The story gives your decisions genuine consequences, affecting relationships and the fate of the people around you. It helps that the protagonist has enough personality to make these choices feel like part of the story rather than simple dialogue options.

The investigative gameplay is the real surprise. Story Mode provides a more straightforward experience, while Detective Mode asks you to properly piece together evidence, deductions and theories. You are not simply handed the correct answer at the end. You decide who you believe is guilty, sometimes without having absolute proof, and the game remembers your decisions.

There is a good variety to the cases, too. The game moves between different types of investigations, including double homicides, locked-room mysteries and hostage negotiations. This keeps the detective side from becoming repetitive, while the branching structure gives you plenty of reason to revisit earlier chapters.

The adult content is extensive, with more than 40 scenes and 145 animations, while the relationship system includes three different marriage paths. There are also dates, hangouts and other activities away from the main investigations. The chapter flowcharts are a particularly useful addition, showing the choices and scenes you missed and making it easy to replay individual sections.

Graphically, Murders & Mistresses is well made. The character presentation is good and the animated scenes are of a high quality. It also helps that this is a complete game, offering around eight to twelve hours for a single playthrough rather than making players wait for future episodes.

The main drawback is that the adult content will naturally limit its audience. It would have been interesting to see a non-adult version using the same detective gameplay and story, particularly because the investigation mechanics are strong enough to appeal beyond the game's intended adult audience.

We do not cover many games of this type, but Murders & Mistresses has clearly made an effort to offer more than the usual adult visual novel experience. The detective mechanics give it some genuine substance, the branching choices encourage replaying the cases, and the complete release means there is plenty to play from the outset.

Murders & Mistresses is not going to appeal to everyone, but for those comfortable with its adult content, it is a surprisingly well-rounded investigative game with more depth than its premise initially suggests.

I score Murders & Mistresses a surprising 8 out of 10

Out Now https://store.steampowered.com/app/3740030/Murders__Mistresses/

REVIEW: MXGP 26 - The Official Game (2026 Video Game) - on PlayStation 5

Review by Jon Donnis

MXGP 26 - The Official Game has some genuinely strong ideas, but it also feels like a game that was pushed towards release before it was ready. The move to Unreal Engine 5, dynamic track deformation and revised physics all improve the core racing experience, yet the lack of a proper career mode and several technical shortcomings leave the overall package feeling underdeveloped.

Dynamic track deformation is easily one of the game's best additions. As bikes repeatedly pass over the surface, ruts develop and new lines appear, meaning the track changes throughout a race. This has a tangible effect on the racing, forcing you to adapt rather than simply follow the same lines lap after lap. It adds a welcome sense of unpredictability and makes longer races more interesting.

The Unreal Engine 5 upgrade also makes a noticeable difference. Tracks have greater detail, lighting is improved and the environments look more convincing. Rider animations are smoother, while the overall presentation does a better job of capturing the look and feel of modern motocross.

The revised physics give the bikes a convincing sense of weight, although the handling can take time to master. Once you understand how the bikes respond and become comfortable working with the physics, there is plenty of satisfaction in carrying momentum through corners and handling jumps cleanly. The demanding nature of the controls will not suit everyone, but it gives experienced players something to get to grips with.

Unfortunately, the game does little to teach you how to reach that point. The tutorial content is limited, with advanced techniques such as whips and scrubs receiving very little explanation. Players are often left to experiment and figure out the mechanics themselves, which makes an already demanding handling model unnecessarily difficult to learn.

There are also moments when the physics do not feel entirely consistent. Mid-air corrections can sometimes behave unpredictably, while making precise adjustments through corners is not always as responsive as expected. These issues do not ruin every race, but they can undermine the sense of control the game is trying to create.

The AI is similarly inconsistent. Opponents can behave unpredictably and do not always appear to cope well with the changing track surfaces. Updates are being released to address these problems, but issues of this nature should have been properly resolved before launch.

The official 2026 championship content is well represented. The licensed riders, bikes and teams provide plenty of authenticity, while all 19 official tracks are included across the MXGP and MX2 categories. Compound, Time Trial, Quick Race, Championship and Online Multiplayer provide a reasonable selection of ways to race, with Championship mode offering the closest thing to a traditional season.

That brings us to the game's biggest omission. There is no proper career mode, meaning there is no progression from MX2 into MXGP, no team management and no opportunity to develop your bike over time. For a licensed motocross game built around an entire championship season, this significantly limits the sense of long-term progression.

Once the novelty of the new tracks and deformation system starts to wear off, there is less here to keep players invested than there should be. The individual races can be enjoyable, but the wider structure does not provide enough of a journey around them.

MXGP 26 therefore ends up feeling like a collection of promising improvements that have not been given enough time to develop into a complete package. The dynamic terrain is excellent, the Unreal Engine 5 visuals are a clear step forward and the racing can be rewarding once the handling clicks. However, the weak tutorials, inconsistent AI, occasional physics problems and lack of a proper career mode all hold it back.

The impression is that MXGP 26 was rushed towards release so it could carry the 2026 name before the year was over. Another six months of development could have given the game the refinement and additional depth it needs.

There is a potentially fun game here, but too many shortcomings get in the way.

I score MXGP 26 - The Official Game a disappointing 6 out of 10

Out Now

https://link.amazon/B00hOoGAz

REVIEW: The Trolley Solution (2026 Video Game) - on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

Philosophers have spent countless hours debating morality and the choices people might make in impossible situations. The Trolley Solution takes one of the most famous thought experiments and turns it into a collection of simple point-and-click minigames.

The premise is straightforward. You are presented with 20 variations of the trolley problem, plus the original, and must decide what you would do when faced with a moral dilemma. Each scenario is paired with its own minigame, giving the experience a little more variety than simply answering a series of questions.

The black and white presentation is simple but effective. It suits the stripped-back nature of the concept and keeps everything easy to understand. There is also some genuine fun to be found in the minigames. One has a Where's Wally-style approach, except you are searching for your trolley, while others provide similarly straightforward challenges.

The problem is that the concept wears thin very quickly. However many variations are added, the basic premise remains the same, and the minigames cannot completely disguise that repetition. Once the novelty disappears, there is little to keep you engaged.

The game is also extremely short. You can work through the main content in around ten minutes, leaving very little reason to return afterwards. The idea has potential, but there simply is not enough depth or variety to make it feel like a substantial game.

That becomes particularly noticeable at £8. The Trolley Solution feels far more suited to being a free or ad-supported title, perhaps as a quick browser or mobile game. At that level, its simplicity and brevity would be much easier to overlook.

There is nothing inherently wrong with what is here. The premise is clever, the presentation is clean and some of the minigames are entertaining. Unfortunately, the limited content means the experience is over almost as soon as it has begun.

The Trolley Solution is a decent idea that needed considerably more content to justify its asking price. It can provide a few minutes of amusement, but there is not enough here to keep you entertained beyond that.

Score: 4/10

Out Now on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3219410/The_Trolley_Solution/

REVIEW: Silent Hill: Townfall (2026 Video Game) - on PC

Review by Jon Donnis

Silent Hill: Townfall is an ambitious new chapter for the series, and for much of its running time it feels like a very confident one. Set on the fictional Scottish island of St. Amelia in 1996, it takes Silent Hill away from its traditional American surroundings and gives the series a distinctly British setting. It is a change that works remarkably well. Unfortunately, Townfall also makes some questionable decisions with its stealth and combat, and those weaknesses become increasingly difficult to ignore as the game progresses.

The first thing that stands out is just how well St. Amelia has been created. The fog, deserted streets, abandoned communities and forgotten corners give the island an oppressive sense of isolation, while the recreation of 1990s Britain is one of the game's strongest achievements. Estates and shopping centres in particular have a convincing period feel, making the setting feel tangible rather than simply designed as a generic horror backdrop.

Screen Burn has done an excellent job with the world itself. There is a constant feeling that something is not quite right, even when nothing particularly frightening is happening. Townfall understands the value of atmosphere and small details, allowing the environment to tell parts of its story without constantly pushing information in front of the player.

The decision to present the entire game from a first-person perspective also suits this approach. It makes exploration feel more immediate and places the player directly inside Simon Ordell's experience. The restricted visibility provided by the fog adds to that sense of vulnerability, while the close perspective makes strange noises and unexpected discoveries considerably more effective. 

Townfall's story takes a similarly measured approach. Rather than immediately explaining Simon's connection to St. Amelia, the game gradually exposes fragments of the past and allows the player to speculate about what they mean. That patience works in its favour. There is enough information to encourage theories, but enough uncertainty to keep the mystery alive.

The use of three character perspectives gives the narrative another dimension. Seeing events through different viewpoints makes the story more psychologically complicated than it might initially appear. Themes of loss, consequence and introspection sit naturally within the setting, and the multiple endings give the player's actions additional significance.

The CRTV is perhaps the game's most distinctive idea. The portable television acts as a modern reinterpretation of the series' familiar radio, allowing Simon to pick up unstable signals containing clues, fragments of conversations and glimpses of events. It is more than an alternative way of delivering exposition. It becomes part of exploration, puzzle solving and dealing with threats, giving Townfall a mechanic that feels genuinely connected to its story, even if it feels a bit like the nonsense they use on Most Haunted, or Ghost Hunters.

The puzzles are generally effective for the same reason. Many are rooted in the narrative and the environment rather than feeling like arbitrary challenges placed between sections of the game. Discovering the answer can therefore feel like piecing together another part of St. Amelia's history. A few later puzzles are less successful, however, with unclear solutions occasionally pushing the player towards trial and error instead of deduction.

Audio is another area where Townfall deserves considerable credit. Environmental sounds constantly keep the player alert, while the soundtrack by Pilotpriest dynamically responds to events and helps shape the mood. The combination of music, distant noises and the unsettling sounds of the environment creates some genuinely uncomfortable moments without relying exclusively on conventional jump scares.

Unfortunately, the game's biggest weakness is also one of its most prominent features. Stealth is central to a large portion of Townfall, but the mechanics are not reliable enough to support it. Enemies can sometimes detect or grab Simon despite what appears to be a successful attempt to remain hidden, leaving the player unsure whether they made a mistake or whether the detection system simply behaved unpredictably.

That problem becomes more noticeable because there is relatively little enemy variety. Once the initial novelty has worn off, several encounters begin to follow familiar patterns, and the emphasis on avoiding rather than confronting threats can make certain sections feel considerably longer than they need to be.

The situation is worse in some of the later areas, where enemies that cannot be killed force the player to concentrate almost entirely on finding a route past them. This can produce moments of genuine tension, but the effect does not last indefinitely. Eventually, hiding and waiting for an opening becomes an exercise in patience rather than fear.

The CRTV introduces another problem when Townfall occasionally places enemies into encounters where they cannot be detected through the device. While this can initially seem like a clever way of keeping the player uncertain, it can also feel as though the game's established rules have suddenly changed. The result is an encounter that feels unfair rather than frightening.

Combat does not provide a particularly satisfying alternative. The melee system can feel clumsy, while firearms do little to make confronting enemies especially enjoyable. There are situations where abandoning stealth and simply fighting becomes the less frustrating option, which is not ideal in a game so heavily built around avoiding danger.

These issues are particularly disappointing because Townfall's other systems are considerably more successful. The CRTV gives the game its own identity, the narrative has enough mystery to keep the player interested, and the setting is among the most convincing new environments the series has produced. The multiple perspectives also add something meaningful to the story rather than simply providing another gimmick.

There are also moments when the different elements come together beautifully. Exploring St. Amelia while listening to an unsettling soundtrack, discovering another fragment through the CRTV and gradually understanding what happened there captures the essence of psychological horror far better than some of the more action-focused encounters.

That contrast ultimately defines Townfall. The game is at its best when it slows down and allows its setting, story and atmosphere to do the work. It is at its weakest when it demands prolonged stealth sequences or awkward confrontations with enemies. The former can be genuinely memorable, while the latter can feel like obstacles standing between the player and the parts of the game that are considerably more interesting.

Despite those shortcomings, Townfall does succeed in reimagining Silent Hill without losing the qualities that have made the franchise distinctive. Scotland in 1996 proves to be a surprisingly effective setting, and the game's commitment to atmosphere, psychological storytelling and environmental detail gives it a strong identity of its own.

The problem is that the encounter design is not on the same level as the rest of the game. By the later stages, the stealth-heavy structure has become a slog, and some of the tension created so effectively earlier has been replaced by frustration. There is too much time spent waiting for enemies to move, searching for safe routes and dealing with systems that do not always behave consistently.

Silent Hill: Townfall is therefore a game of considerable strengths and some equally obvious weaknesses. The atmosphere is exceptional, the setting is superbly realised, the story is compelling, the CRTV is an inspired addition and the three perspectives give the narrative genuine depth. Unfortunately, the stealth and combat prevent those strengths from carrying the experience all the way through.

Townfall hits more often than it misses, but when it misses, it can miss badly. There is an excellent psychological horror experience here, buried beneath some frustrating encounter design and an increasingly tedious final stretch.

I score Silent Hill: Townfall a disappointing 6.5 out of 10.

Out Now

UK https://link.amazon/B0j8FF3ps

US https://amzn.to/4z69ca9