Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 29

We're back with the very first Now Playing of 2025! We hope each and every one of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and that the new year is fulfilling all your gaming hopes. We've got a big selection of our team's favorites for you this month, so let's get right to it!

James Burns - Editor-in-Chief

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I think I've officially dumped Dragon Age: The Veilguard in favour of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Indy is really a no-brainer for me, both as a lover of Indiana Jones and the game's developers, Machine Games (who created the absolutely outstanding - and I would say, oft-underrated - modern Wolfenstein games). The Wolfenstein games, despite being action-heavy first-person shooters, are nonetheless filled to the brim with well-written dialogue, superb acting, and some of the industry's best environmental storytelling and set-piece design.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is fascinating for many reasons, not least because Machine Games chose a first-person perspective but did not set out to create a first-person shooter. Indy feels far more like a first-person adventure game than a shooter. In some respects, it reminds me of the Metroid Prime series, with its clever environmental puzzles, emphasis on exploration, and the way it seamlessly shifts between first and third-person perspectives at just the right moments.

Machine Games has succeeded in pulling off what may have seemed impossible at first glance: this is an Indiana Jones game with a plot and characters that are every bit as good - perhaps better - than several of the films themselves. Troy Baker's impression of Harrison Ford is remarkable and is quite possibly one of the greatest voice performances in any video game ever made. It's that flawless. And the art and set-piece design here is phenomenal; there are many stylistic nods to classic Indy shots (you'll quite often enter a room where Indy is strongly backlit; his iconic shadow complete with the outlines of his hat and whip loom large on the walls before you, just as in the films).

I'm still playing through the game, but it's absolutely become one of my games of the year. Machine Games knocked this one out of the park. I think it's their best game to date, and that's saying quite a lot.

Brandon R. Chinn

My partner got me Silent Hill 2 Remake for Christmas and I've been enjoying it way more than I expected. It honestly feels more like a reimagining than a direct remake, even though I have some issues with its art direction and general AAA-ness versus the original. It's very fun to play and scratches that particular itch that only SH can scratch, even when 2024 had some spectacular new survival horror titles.

Vitor Costa

The Witness

After writing my long essay on Half-Life 2, I started 2025 with one of my favorite games: The Witness, which is arguably one of the best puzzle games of all time, and my personal favorite in this genre. The reason I decided to finish this game again is because I am writing my next essay on it, in which I discuss epistemological issues. What I love about this game is how little it says about itself (almost nothing); it just exists, like a painting hanging in an art exhibition in which we can only see it, knowing only the title and the author. I love how it combines artistic subtlety, immersion and freedom of exploration with creativity and puzzle complexity starting from a very simple mechanic. Furthermore, it is not a game about beauty or morality, but about knowledge, something equally important to humans, but which is rarely at the center of a video game's design choices. This time I will try, for the first time, to finish all the extra puzzles in The Challenge. It's really a challenge... I haven't tried to solve such difficult puzzles since SpaceChem, although those games have different difficulties.

Othercide

I'm also playing Othercide, and I hope to finish it by the end of January. I don't know if I'll write about this game. Despite the interesting dark fantasy atmosphere, it hasn't inspired me enough for any essays yet. But it has excellent tactical RPG gameplay, possibly one of the best in this genre. What I love about this game is that it's almost a tactical puzzle, because we have few units (like Into the Breach), moving and attacking require common resources, and each choice needs to be well planned. This "tactical puzzle design" makes the rogue-like elements less frustrating, because intelligence and training are increasingly more important than simply having highly developed units. Maybe this game sometimes appeals more to puzzle fans than tactical RPG fans, but since I'm a fan of both genres, it works for me.

C.S. Voll

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth

I finally finished Cyber Sleuth in 2025. Going into it, I didn't really know how meaty this game was (it took about 69 hours to reach the ending. and I didn't even complete everything). It's an interesting creature-collecting title, that's for certain. Overall, I think the story only really gathers steam in its second half, since the fetch quests often break its momentum. Some of the design choices also irritated me somewhat; why do I have to run all the way back to the office to start a quest, for instance, even when the client is standing right in front of me, too?! For all its flaws, Cyber Sleuth did manage to make me feel like a kid again. Decades ago, when almost every youngster watched a shounen or shoujo show, Digimon was one of my favorites, and I daydreamed about a game like this. Cyber Sleuth allowed me to battle with the digital monsters closest to my heart, and maybe that's enough. I will need some time to really process my experiences with this game.

Suzerain

Now for something totally different. Suzerain is a government/political simulation game with a strong focus on its characters. It's not really a game that goes into granular detail with regard to the numbers, but it does weave an interesting tale and made me think of The West Wing. It takes place in an alternative universe, in the fictional country of Sordland, and it's clear a lot of effort went into the worldbuilding because the codex provides a library of information on topics like each country's history. In the short time I've been playing, it's already made me care about the president and his family too. This is something I can see myself getting lost in for a while.

Jahan Khan

During December a neat little free download dropped on the PlayStation store, titled My First Gran Turismo. I picked up a new television on Boxing Day and honestly, there's no better showcase for graphics on new hardware than a Gran Turismo game, so I downloaded this interesting release straight away.

Technically, it's a demo of Gran Turismo 7, which is unusual as the main game has not only been available for a while now but it's been hugely successful in both sales and critical reception, as well as a money-making mainstay in eSports. Oh, and there's a movie too.

My First Gran Turismo isn't just for newcomers, or players looking for a trial of Gran Turismo 7; to me, it was an opportunity to rekindle my love for the franchise. I absolutely adored the series until Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and then fell off as I became an Xbox player and Forza became my thing. The whole Forza vs Gran Turismo debate isn't worth getting into right now, but I'll say that coming back to Gran Turismo was a treat. The graphics are utter eye candy and a great showpiece for my new TV. The music is what kicked the nostalgia into high gear, I'd forgotten how perfectly curated the soundtracks are for these games.

I completed everything in My First Gran Turismo and immediately dove into Gran Turismo 7. I'm still hopeless at customizing cars, and to be honest, I know nothing about cars, but thankfully the game isn't just about simulation, it's got arcade shenanigans too, and for myself and many, the music rally mode is pure addictive brilliance.

I needed more, so I also got Gran Turismo for the PlayStation Portable. The experience is beautifully translated into a portable pick-up-and-play on the go, one with a fiendishly addictive gameplay loop. It looks and performs brilliantly too, smooth like butter.

Gran Turismo is the ultimate comfort food on Sony consoles. Even if you already have Gran Turismo 7, completing My First Gran Turismo unlocks a heap of new cars and rewards.

Taylor Levesque

I’m kicking 2025 off on a good note with Another Crab's Treasure. Once again, I’m finding that the labors of love created by a smaller dev team are some of the best games to play.

So far, the game’s been great. While it is indeed a Souls-like, Another Crab’s Treasure still manages to maintain a lighthearted and funny feel with its jokes and dialogue. This is definitely a unique take on the genre – from the art style and audio to the one-liner popsicle sticks. The fact you’re a tax fugitive crab that suddenly finds itself homeless doesn’t hurt, either.

The combat has been fun, and still has the classic timing that souls games are known for. Different types of shells you can pick up provide different umami abilities to keep the fights spicy, not to mention the fact a hermit crab using a soda can or bottle cap as a shell has its own kind of comedic charm, as well.

Nathaniel Kelly

Star Wars The Old Republic

I've been on a bit of a Star Wars kick lately, realizing that the far reaches of the franchise's force choke extends into many of my other hobbies. Starting with the TCG that launched last year, I started watching the whole series in timeline order and got the itch to play one of the Star Wars games. While the obvious choice to satiate me might have been Jedi: Fallen Order since it would have neatly fit into my binge of the story, I chose to play the 2011 MMORPG based on Knights of the Republic, two games that I have never played.

Frankly, the decision was the correct one. I'm having an absolute blast in this MMO. It offers a brilliant questing experience with meaningful decisions throughout. While these decisions don't necessarily shape the world, they shape your character and even allow you to change from the dark side to the light side if that's the story you want your character to experience. As somebody who loves Star Wars and most role-playing, this offers a unique single-player experience I haven't seen captured by many games where you play as a created character.

The questing also grabs my attention, (or perhaps DOESN'T in this case) as traveling through planets to complete side quests feels very natural and doesn't overload you with too many quests as to be overwhelming. Clutter quests are very neatly kept in one area where they can be engaged with or ignored very easily and the repeatable quests also have a separate symbol to let you know that you need not bother with them if you don't want to.

My favorite MMORPG of all time is certainly still Final Fantasy XIV, however for the casual player balancing work, family, friends, and other responsibilities, Star Wars The Old Republic has to be my favorite offering and I can't wait to keep playing.

Alexander B. Joy

This month I’ve been playing Paper Planes, an early-access arcade-style flight sim from Creekside Interactive.

At its heart, Paper Planes is a freeform air combat game in the vein of a stripped-down Ace Combat. You fly around, you blow up targets or other aircraft, and you have a grand time doing it. But the game’s main hook is its aesthetic: Instead of fighter jets, you pilot planes of folded paper or balsa wood; instead of seas and skies, you skirmish in bedrooms, backyards, and city parks. It’s an extremely appealing setup. Like the Army Men games of yesteryear, Paper Planes captures that childhood sense of imagining great battles in one’s quotidian surroundings, using whatever toys are to hand as allies and enemies. Accordingly, you’ll spend your time in Paper Planes fending off things like wind-up robots, garden gnomes, model ships, and teddy bears. This pervasive sense of playfulness throughout Paper Planes makes the mundane magical.

 There are a lot of rough spots, however. Its default control scheme is uniquely terrible. The left stick controls thrust, while the right stick steers; meanwhile, face buttons govern your camera, and the control pad fires your sub-weapons and power-ups. It makes no intuitive sense whatsoever, and remapping your controller is a chore. The game is quite unoptimized at this early juncture.

It’s tricky to judge titles like Paper Planes that are still in their infancy; given that they’re works-in-progress, one should evaluate them not in terms of what they are, but what they might someday be. In that spirit, I see Paper Planes as a fun proof-of-concept that shows great promise but doesn’t yet have the juice to hang with the best of its genre.

A big thank you to our writers for dropping by and to all our loyal fans for being here to check it out! Be sure to tell us what you're playing in the comments and check back next month for more of what our team is getting into. May you all have a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!