Category: Features

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40 Years of Mario: SmashPad’s Favorite Mario Games

author image by SmashPad Staff | Features Nintendo 3DS Nintendo DS Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Wii Nintendo Wii U | 0 Comments | 10 Mar 2026

The SmashPad staff celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Mario franchise by unveiling their Top 10 favorite Mario games.

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FEATURE – Nioh 3’s difficulty is great for newcomers but a double-edged sword for fans

author image by Andrew Farrell | Features | 0 Comments | 05 Mar 2026

Nioh 3 is the fastest selling game in the series thus far, having moved over a million units this month alone, but it also does a lot to open the series up to new players that hadn’t yet experienced the games. However, these changes, which seem to be good for broad appeal, are also leaving diehards with a sour taste in their mouths.

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The Legend of Zelda: SmashPad’s Favorite Games

author image by SmashPad Staff | Features Nintendo 3DS Nintendo DS Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Wii Nintendo Wii U | 0 Comments | 02 Mar 2026

Nintendo seems to have forgotten about The Legend of Zelda’s 40th anniversary, but we haven’t. SmashPad staffers and contributors were asked to provide their Top 5 Zelda games. We’ve taken those lists and turned them into the staff’s Top 10.

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Everything we played during Steam Next Fest

author image by SmashPad Staff | Features Steam | 0 Comments | 23 Feb 2026

This virtual festival of sorts on Steam has been going on forever, but this year, we’ll cover it in ways we’ve never done before. Over the past couple years, we’ve bolstered our staff a bit to put out more content, and this year throughout every Steam Next Fest event, we’ll bring you hands-on impressions for the games that really speak to us.

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FEATURE – Love, Loss, and What Comes After “Dear me, I was…”

author image by Tanay Sharma | Features | 0 Comments | 21 Feb 2026

Dear me, I was… is a tale of a woman who, through the many chapters of her life, has experienced the different textures of human nature. Through sublime visuals and heartfelt soundtracks, the game plays the role of an interactive story lived through the eyes of someone who is, by all means, a human being. 

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REVIEW – “Persona Live 2026: Awakenings” brought the vibes in first batch of U.S. concerts

author image by Danreb Victorio | Articles Features | 0 Comments | 27 Jan 2026

First announced during Anime Expo last year, Sega and Atlus held the first overseas performance of its Persona Music Experience series. Mainly relegated to Japan, shows like Persona Music Live, P-Sound Bomb, and Persona Super Live have graced Japanese venues…

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Review in Progress: The middle of “Big Hops” might be too big of a hop

author image by Danreb Victorio | Features Nintendo Switch PC PlayStation 5 | 0 Comments | 12 Jan 2026

When I first got my hands on Luckshot’s Big Hops at GDC last year, I thoroughly enjoyed what I played and needed more. Unfortunately after a few hours, it hasn’t been nearly as enjoyable.

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SmashPad x Temple of Geek – 2026 Fantasy Critic Draft

author image by SmashPad Staff | Features | 0 Comments | 06 Jan 2026

We’ve collaborated with Temple of Geek for another Fantasy Critic Draft! Will Kurosh keep his crown?

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SmashPad’s Top 10 Games of 2025

author image by SmashPad Staff | Best of 2025 Features | 0 Comments | 31 Dec 2025

Like last year, 2025 has been a year of great and bad moments, so let’s look back at what stood out the most for us.

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Chris’ Top 10 Games of 2025

author image by Chris Selogy | Best of 2025 Features | 0 Comments | 31 Dec 2025

This year has been quite a challenging year to cover games. The weekly news showed how badly studios did if they didn’t release a hugely successful game and needed funding for their next game, as all of that money seemed to be going to AI bullshit that is soaking up so much of the stock market. So much so that we’re on the verge of a recession when this bubble bursts. It’s a disheartening time to pretend everything is great in this industry when so many have suffered, and others are fearing for their jobs.

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Danreb’s Top 10 Games of 2025

author image by Danreb Victorio | Features | 0 Comments | 30 Dec 2025

2025 has been quite a year, not only in gaming but for SmashPad. I think I’m the one in charge of writing our overall Top 10 Games of 2025 article, but I wanted to take another opportunity to thank both…

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Brandon’s Top 10 Games of 2025

author image by Brandon Perkins | Features | 0 Comments | 29 Dec 2025

If for nothing else, 2025 is going to be remembered as the year where we were absolutely inundated with good games. Genuinely, actually ranking these titles was a struggle, as several of them would more than qualify as a top…

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