Three games from late July and early August with very different reviews: Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is the crowd-pleaser, Beast of Reincarnation the divisive one, and Helix: Descent N Ascent the smaller game making a strong case for itself. The reasons behind each score matter more than the order.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls review scores: 87 on OpenCritic
Released: August 6, 2026, on PS5 and PC
OpenCritic: 87 from 23 critics, 94% recommend
Marvel Tōkon has the clearest consensus. OpenCritic puts it in the Mighty tier and the top 5% of scored games. IGN gave 9/10, Tom's Guide 4.5/5, and Matthew Danielson at ScreenRant 88/100.
It's a four-on-four tag fighter built on Marvel characters and Arc System Works' knack for expressive, readable combat. Reviews keep praising the same things: technical without being hostile to newcomers, a roster that leaves room to experiment with teams, and an online structure that gives you reasons to keep learning past the first week.
Beginner-friendly doesn't mean shallow. You can get in quickly, but the tag systems and team choices still open the usual fighting-game rabbit hole. If you want a new competitive game to practise, this is the safest pick here. If you only want a short single-player campaign, the reviews suggest there's less for you.
Best for: players who want a fighter with a strong online core and enough depth to reward practice.
Beast of Reincarnation review scores: 75 on OpenCritic
Released: August 3, 2026, on PC
OpenCritic: 75 from 74 critics, 54% recommend
Beast of Reincarnation has the biggest sample here and the weakest agreement. IGN and GameSpot gave 6/10, and Eurogamer 3/5. Diego Argüello at The Guardian described a journey shaped by the last words of dying robots, and GamingBolt praised its road-trip feel while noting camera problems.
Game Freak moves into a darker action RPG built around Emma and her dog Koo in a world close to collapse. Critics see the ambition, and they see the weeds: combat, camera, pacing, and the gap between its best ideas and rougher execution keep coming up in the lower scores.
A 75 isn't a disaster, and the split tells you more than the number. It suits players who forgive clumsy edges when the setting, journey or central relationship lands. It's a riskier blind buy if you want a polished action game. (Our Beast of Reincarnation review deep dive goes into the split in detail.)
Best for: players who like unusual worlds and can live with mechanical and technical friction when the bigger journey works.
Helix: Descent N Ascent review scores: 78 on OpenCritic
Released: July 23, 2026, on PC and Switch
OpenCritic: 78, 100% recommend
Helix is the sleeper. It's smaller than the other two, but the early response is unusually consistent. Checkpoint Gaming called its discovery-led puzzle design a fabulous time. Game Scanner gave 74/100, saying the atmosphere and smart puzzles outweigh some technical and pacing roughness.
It's a wordless, monochrome puzzle adventure about exploring a lost civilization and working out what the world wants you to notice. Games like that can turn vague quickly. Reviews say Helix avoids it by letting you make the connections instead of feeding you constant instructions.
A 78 is good, not untouchable, and the pacing and technical notes are worth remembering. But every critic recommending it says the rough edges didn't spoil the central pleasure. If you want to solve something without being walked through every step, Helix may be the most appealing of the three.
Best for: players who want atmosphere, exploration and puzzles that trust them to pay attention.
Which to play
- Marvel Tōkon: the most reliable recommendation, and a game that can become part of your week.
- Beast of Reincarnation: if the setting matters more to you than a perfectly smooth combat loop.
- Helix: if you want a slower game that asks you to look closely and do some of the thinking yourself.
Whichever you pick, a line in Perthro about where the friction started will be more useful later than the aggregate score.
