2026 is slowly but surely moving along, and as it does, some more big titles are releasing that should keep our attention. But not that many. Not yet. So, us Gaming Respawners find ourselves, once again, revisiting older titles (some less old than others) to pass the time. Check out Gaming Respawn Plays (February 2026) and see what games some of us are going through as we wait for the “big boys” to release (come oooon, Crimson Desert).
Peter Keen
Battlefield 6 and Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
So, after saying last month I was taking a break from Battlefield 6, I carried on playing it! Not only did I play it, I have now platinumed the game too! Some of the multiplayer trophies were unnecessarily hard, some just play the game, others are pretty easy. One trophy in particular was difficult. “First Blood 2” (only 1.3% have it) is where you have to get 10 takedowns in a multiplayer match. That isn’t melee kills, it’s the complete surprise, takedown animation, get their dog tags variety. I struggled with that one but got it thanks to a multiplayer lobby of Breakthrough being filled with enemy bots! Still only got the last takedown with ten seconds left in the game!
The trophy “1,200” (2.7%) requires 6 sidearm headshot kills in one match. I got this pretty easily, but what surprised me most was how high up the leaderboard I was in the match where I got it, purely using a sidearm for the whole game. A positive KDR and second with around 23 kills!
The last trophy that really grated my gears was the rarest multiplayer trophy, “A Joyful Nurse” (0.7 %). This requires you to get 1,996 revives as a support player in multiplayer, i.e. play as a medic and revive people. At first, I hated trying to get this as I had to follow the really dumb players (who just run straight at objectives like there isn’t anyone trying to stop them) but found a really good way to rack up the revives in certain maps in certain modes.
Breakthrough is a superb mode to get revives, and in one match alone, I managed a whopping 80! I really did feel like that medic from the film Hacksaw Ridge. Leaping over buildings, sprinting to downed enemies, it actually was a lot of fun. I also found playing this way had me top scoring for my team by a country mile a lot of the time.
Once I got the multiplayer trophies, I hoovered up the single-player ones, which were all pretty easy for the “cha-ching” – Platinum, number 38. (0.2 %).
The other game I’ve played this month, to perfectly chill from BF6, is Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders. What an awesome little game. I bought it for £18 and already put 16 hours into it. My passion in life, much bigger than gaming, is skiing. There aren’t many games that nail the “skiing on a piste” experience. Steep is all about tricks, free to roam stuff, but Snow Riders is as damn near close to a “find the best run down a mountain trail” type game (Grand Mountain Adventures on the Switch is currently the best on piste skiing at a resort style game). Thanks to the leaderboards, I can see that around half a million people have at least put a time in on the first tracks on Snow Riders though, and I’ve managed to get as high as 77th in the world on one particular run.
Such a shame the developers/publishers Megagon Industries didn’t give us a review code for the game as my review would have been GLOWING about how much I like it. Next time, perhaps.
Next month, I know I’ll be writing about a certain…”BOY!” LOL!
Ian Cooper
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
So, 2026 has arrived, and with it, new games. But through all the spanking brand-new efforts given to us, what game have I been playing?
You’ll be surprised to know I’ve been reliving a true classic. Young ‘uns may not be inclined to realize the true beauty that video games were back in the day, for their gaming experiences are limited to Fortnite, Call of Duty and even GTA Online.
Well, pin your ears back, children! Gaming was full of heart, substance and imagination. Games were all on a single disc, so there was no need to bug mumsy for her bank card for more V points.
Anyway, I’m quite passionate about games of days gone by and the ignorance of young gamers nowadays. So, what have I been playing recently?
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven…let those words simmer and eject from your lips. A true classic. From the fantastic intro movie with its catchy Japanese tune, you knew you were in for an awesome, sneaky ride. This was a ninja game through and through. Birthed on the fabled PlayStation 2, you play as femme fatale Ayame or masked assassin Rikimaru as you trawl through level after level sneaking up on enemies and dispatching them in bloody, flashy fashion. To traverse, you use a trusty grappling hook to whip up onto roofs and then drop down to deliver a devastating one-hit kill move, driving Rikimaru’s katana through the enemy’s chest or using Ayame’s twin daggers like a pair of scissors. Perform enough of these, and you are granted a new skill. Tenchu rewards the sneakiest of players.
Picking up items scattered across each level can give some aid and also help distract enemies. Caltrops can injure pursuers, and your standard weapons can be swapped out by found halberds or spears. These are handy when your sneaking skill fails you, and you are spotted. You have two choices: flee or turn and fight. Fighting is tough. Enemies are smart and can block your attacks before delivering a combo of their own. Face off against two or more, and you’re toast.
Levels take place in an assortment of locales, and the plot goes nicely with them. After an introductory task of eliminating a pervy overlord and his band of merry men, you’re tasked to seek out Three Jewels: one of Heaven, Earth and Virtue. There are others that seek them, though: a powerful wizard by the name of Tenrai, and he is aided by old enemy Onikage, complete with The Crow-like face paint. He provides an ominous presence throughout the campaign, and he is no pushover.
If reading this makes you want to play it again, or if it makes you want to play it for the first time, be warned: The controls and camera are tough to get used to at first. Backing up against a wall doesn’t allow you to freely control the camera for a perfect view as this was before the twin stick controls were a standard. It’s easy enough to learn, though, and once you have, you’ll play through a true gaming gem that every gamer should experience.
Tasha Quinn
Sons of the Forest
It’s been a while since I’ve delved into Endnight Games’ acclaimed survival horror, Sons of the Forest, but that’s what I’ve been playing lately. It’s one of those games that I just keep going back to because, even though I’ve played the story to completion, it has so much to offer.
The first time I played this game, there were only three of us, but we’ve since persuaded a couple of others to pick it up, so now there are five of us. The other two haven’t played it before, which gives us the perfect opportunity to play through the story.
We’ve got a nice little community going. A nice communal house with our shared supplies, though some of us have started to build our own smaller dwellings. Me? I’m quite fond of the houseboat. It’s nice and cosy, with the big stone fireplace and the shelf full of skulls I’ve now got above my bed. I’m going to make a leg lamp too, but unfortunately, I haven’t unlocked the blueprints in this playthrough yet.
So, yeah. It’s a nice little community feel we’ve got going on: working together to build, scavenge and, of course, mercilessly slay the countless cannibals who decided they’d like to make a meal out of us. Then, of course, we toss the bodies onto the fire so we can make armour out of their bones.
Well, most of us do. One of my friends has a real aversion to armour — something about aesthetics. Admittedly, she does pretty well without it, but I think walking around looking like some sort of lord of bones is a pretty badass aesthetic.
It’s currently winter in-game, which amps up the survival element because we take cold damage, and we can’t rely on our water catchers or the nearby lake for drinking water — but it looks beautiful. You could almost forget the island is crawling with cannibals and flesh-eating mutants.
