July is doing that thing games sometimes do. The loudest release is not always the most useful one to talk about. The better question this week is simpler: what did critics actually finish, score, and argue about?
The answer is a neat little split. Moss: The Forgotten Relic looks like the comfortable pick, D-topia is the quiet narrative game with a softer landing than its ideas suggest, and The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is the co-op horror game reviewers seem to respect more when they have the right group and the right hardware.
None of these are clean slam dunks. That is probably why they are worth tracking. A score tells you where the room landed. The reviews tell you where the floor creaked.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic review consensus
Moss: The Forgotten Relic is the highest-rated game in this little cluster. OpenCritic has it at an 81 Top Critic Average, with 95 percent of critics recommending it, based on 19 reviews at the time I checked. OpenCritic lists Polyarc and Blackbird Interactive as the creators, with a July 16, 2026 release on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC.
The simple read is that critics think Moss survived the move out of VR better than expected. That matters because Moss has always been built around the relationship between Quill, the small mouse hero, and the player as an observing presence. Take away the headset and you risk flattening the thing that made it intimate.
IGN gave it 8/10 and called it "an incredibly charming fairy tale," adding that it is "a very smooth remake that doesn't feel compromised by breaking free of its VR-exclusive origins." That is the center of the consensus: the remake loses a bit of the old magic, but not the heart of the story.
TheGamer makes almost the same point from a slightly different angle, saying that even if The Forgotten Relic loses some of the personal magic that came from VR, Quill's adventure "absolutely manages to stand on its own two paws as a slightly more traditional puzzle platformer." That is a good sentence because it does not pretend nothing was lost. Something was. The argument is that enough remains.
ZTGD landed higher at 9/10, pointing to Quill herself as the reason the world still works. Generacion Xbox gave it 83/100 and noted camera work and simplicity as minor flaws, not deal breakers. TechRaptor was more reserved at 7.5/10, praising the beautiful visuals and endearing characters while saying the first half can drag before the tale picks up.
So the range is roughly 7/10 to 9/10 from the quoted reviews, with most of the criticism circling the same two things: simplicity and pacing. Nobody seems to be arguing that Moss is mechanically deep. They are arguing over whether that matters. For some reviewers, the charm, narration, presentation, and Quill's expressive presence carry it. For others, the light combat and puzzle structure set a ceiling.
That is useful if you are deciding whether to play it now. Moss: The Forgotten Relic sounds less like a systems game and more like a warm evening game. A good fit if you want a polished storybook adventure. Less so if you want puzzle complexity or combat that keeps changing shape.
D-topia review consensus
D-topia is sitting in that slightly awkward middle space where a lot of critics like it, but not all of them think it reaches the promise of its premise. OpenCritic lists it at a 74 Top Critic Average with 62 percent of critics recommending it, across 29 reviews. The creators listed are Annapurna Interactive and Marumittu Games. It released July 14, 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
On paper, D-topia has the more searchable hook: a cozy sci-fi puzzle adventure about an apparently happy future that keeps asking whether comfort and control are the same thing. The reviews suggest the hook is stronger than the challenge.
Nintendo Life gave it 6/10 and called it "pleasant and thoughtful," but said that for a narrative so concerned with ethical questions, it "rarely asks players to grapple with difficult choices." That is the main knock. D-topia wants to be about hard human problems, but some critics feel the game keeps the player at a safe distance from those problems.
The more positive reviews are kinder to its tone. Hobby Consolas scored it 82/100 and said it will appeal to players looking for something "lighthearted yet still memorable." COGconnected had the sharpest comparison, calling it "Stardew Valley as managed by George Orwell," an exploration of complex questions wearing the disguise of a cozy sim. That is exactly the sort of line that makes people curious.
Worth Playing gave it 8/10 and praised the optimistic futuristic story, the memorable cast, and the polished presentation, while also noting that only a small handful of puzzles offer meaningful challenge. NintendoWorldReport also landed at 8/10 and framed the game as a reminder that algorithms cannot solve nuanced human problems by themselves. CGMagazine, also at 8/10, was more measured: good characters, fun little puzzles, decent narrative, not much complexity.
That gives D-topia a pretty clear review shape. Critics like the setting, the cast, and the gentleness. They are less convinced by the actual puzzle design and the weight of the choices. If Moss is a storybook adventure that knows exactly how small it is, D-topia sounds like a small game reaching for heavier questions and sometimes brushing them instead of grabbing them.
I do not think that makes it uninteresting. If anything, the disagreement makes it easier to place. D-topia is probably not the next great philosophical adventure game. It might be a compact, good-hearted one that works best for players who want atmosphere and character more than friction.
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu review consensus
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is the messy one, and maybe the most revealing. OpenCritic has it at a 71 Top Critic Average, with 39 percent of critics recommending it, based on 18 reviews. OpenCritic lists ACE Team and Nacon as creators, with a July 15, 2026 release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
The premise is strong: a co-op horror expedition game set in a mid-1600s Chilean wilderness, with Cthulhu mythos influence, unreliable perception, and creatures that can imitate your friends. The reviews agree that the best moments are genuinely unnerving. They disagree on how much frustration you have to accept to get there.
IGN gave it 7/10 and called it "an entertaining co-op horror excursion that can sometimes feel a bit too oppressive." In the review, IGN describes a moment where a creature uses a friend's character model and plays back recorded laughter from earlier in the match. That is a terrific horror idea. It is also the kind of trick that depends on players being together, talking, and paying attention.
DualShockers scored it 7.5/10 and called it "a spectacular co-op horror game" that can fool players with cunning tricks, but said the difficulty sometimes gets in the way. CGMagazine gave it 8/10 and made a similar complaint, saying the early game is relatively hard and that a three-person team can feel almost compulsory against tougher enemies.
Pure Xbox's roundup is more cautious. It notes that the reviews are mixed and says the Xbox Series X version takes some fiddling with controller settings, while the Series S version struggles visually. It also reports a Metacritic score of 69 at the time of its roundup. That matters because The Mound sounds unusually dependent on conditions: platform, group size, patience, and tolerance for repetition.
OpenCritic's review spread tells the same story. PlayStation Universe and Digital Chumps are at 8/10. GamingBolt is at 6/10. IGN, ZTGD, and others sit around 7/10. The split is not random. Reviewers who buy into the co-op tension and strange tricks seem willing to forgive the grind. Reviewers who run into difficulty spikes, controller awkwardness, or weak solo play seem much colder.
The Mound is probably the easiest one to misread from a score. A 71 does not mean "fine, whatever." It means there may be a good horror game here, but one that asks for the right setup. If you have a dedicated group, the mimicry and madness systems sound memorable. If you are playing solo, or trying to drag two tired friends through early difficulty walls after work, the same systems may feel less magical.
What to do with these scores
This is where review aggregation helps, at least when it is handled carefully. The score is the weather. The words are the map.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic has the cleanest recommendation because critics mostly agree on what it is: charming, polished, simple, and still emotionally intact outside VR. D-topia is more of a mood call. If cozy speculative fiction with light puzzles sounds appealing, the better reviews make a good case, but the lower ones warn that it may not push hard enough. The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is the risk pick. The ceiling sounds high with friends, but the floor is lower than the premise suggests.
For Perthro players keeping a backlog or wishlist, this is exactly the kind of week where a note helps. Not every game needs to be decided today. Moss looks safe to add if you want a storybook adventure. D-topia looks worth watching if you like gentle narrative games about systems and people. The Mound belongs in the "only with the right group" pile.
That is not a bad spread for mid-July. One warm remake, one soft sci-fi question mark, one hostile co-op horror trip. A strange little week, but not an empty one.