While the big September 24 double-bill still dominates the timeline, today’s scoreboard has a quieter steal: Well Dweller is out now across PS5, Xbox Series, Switch / Switch 2, and PC — and early critic math has it sitting with the year’s elite. Add a loud Graveyard Keeper 2 launch split, a cooler Guardian take on CONTROL Resonant, and another Switch 2 love letter for Capcom’s samurai revival, and you’ve got a Tuesday worth bookmarking.
Well Dweller — a stealth 90 for the Metroidvania crowd (multi / Game Pass)
Kyle Thompson’s dark fairy-tale Metroidvania (Top Hat Studios) is the clearest “wait, this is out today?” story of the cycle. OpenCritic is hovering around a 90 with near-universal recommends in the early sample; Metacritic’s PC band has been quoted in the 91 range as more outlets land. Day-one Game Pass availability on Xbox makes the timing even noisier for console players who weren’t watching Steam wishlists.
The consensus lane is polish over reinvention: Worth Playing’s 9/10 and The Gaming Outsider’s Switch 2 9.5/10 praise tight platforming, readable combat, and a map that rewards poking around without becoming cryptic homework. Higher still, several outlets (including Console Creatures and Hey Poor Player in the Pure Xbox roundup) have floated perfect tens, framing it as an all-timer for fans of Crypt Custodian / Islets. Softer notes land around accessibility versus depth — Press Start Australia’s 7.5 is the useful “beginner-friendly, not genre-shifting” counterweight.
Read the reviews: Worth Playing — Well Dweller (9/10) · The Gaming Outsider — Switch 2 (9.5/10) · Pure Xbox — review roundup · OpenCritic — Well Dweller · Push Square — PS5 launch / scores
Graveyard Keeper 2 — cozy apocalypse, uneven grades (multi / Switch 2)
Lazy Bear / tinyBuild’s grotesque life-sim sequel also ships today, and the scoreboard is messier in a good way. The Outerhaven goes full marks at 5/5 for the bigger automation loop, voice acting, and undead-army escalation; Metro’s PS5 read is a cooler 6/10 that likes the crafting tree and pixel look but bumps on onboarding and a missing sense of pressure. Between those poles, DualShockers lands at 8.5/10, and OpenCritic’s early band has been sitting in the low-to-mid 80s with a mixed recommend rate — classic “your mileage depends on how much spreadsheet-cozy you want.”
Read the reviews: The Outerhaven — Graveyard Keeper 2 (5/5) · Metro — PS5 (6/10) · DualShockers — Graveyard Keeper 2 (8.5/10) · OpenCritic — Graveyard Keeper 2
CONTROL Resonant — Guardian cools the Manhattan hype (PS5 / Xbox / PC)
Yesterday’s NGC roundup already had IGN / VGC / PC Gamer on the board ahead of the September 24 launch. Today’s useful new voice is The Guardian, which frames Resonant as accomplished but safer — strong progression and presentation, less of the original’s happily recondite Oldest House weirdness once Dylan’s story spills into a more familiar New York playground. That cooler read matters because the high end is still loud: GameSpot’s 9/10 (combat-first praise from Mark Delaney) and aggregates still hanging around the mid-80s mean the argument isn’t “is it good?” so much as “how much of Control’s strangeness survived the genre pivot?”
Read the reviews: The Guardian — CONTROL Resonant · GameSpot — CONTROL Resonant (9/10) · Pure Xbox — CONTROL Resonant (8/10)
Onimusha: Way of the Sword — Switch 2 keeps getting 9s
Pure Nintendo posts a 9/10 for Capcom’s RE Engine samurai revival on Switch 2, calling docked presentation one of the best looks on the hardware with smooth frame pacing. Earlier Metacritic chatter already had the Switch 2 cut near the top of the multiplat board — another Capcom port win.
Read the review: Pure Nintendo — Onimusha: Way of the Sword (Switch 2, 9/10)
Silent Hill: Townfall — DualShockers joins the high side (PS5 / PC)
Quick addendum to yesterday’s Townfall split: DualShockers files a 9/10 leaning into St. Amelia’s atmosphere and CRTV stealth (with a nod at thin enemy variety). Against GI’s 8.25 and VGC’s 3/5, that 9 widens the vibe-vs-stealth gap ahead of September 24.
Read the review: DualShockers — Silent Hill: Townfall (9/10)
NextGenConsole exclusive — September 22, 2026. Scores and links point to the original outlets; aggregates can still move as more reviews land.