It's not that Wylde Flowers is a wild departure from the genre's norms. But it has thoroughly impressed me – and utterly rejuvenated my wife's interest in virtual chores – in the way it delivers on every standard genre tropes with a high degree of polish, generous design and considerable charm. It's very much one of these games, if you know what I mean. It's just a really good one of these games.

Wayward Strand is a delicate piece of work, as its title might imply. Despite the flight of fancy proposed by the very idea of an airship hospital, it's a remarkably unassuming game–not literally down-to-earth, but certainly grounded in its portrayal of lives nearing their end and one just beginning, and the common hopes, dreams and fears that connect all those lives together.

Return to Monkey Island is the real deal, and like that quote above it’s hilarious. But, if you’re a fan of Monkey Island and the classic adventures from LucasArts there’s an extra dose of joy to be found. A joy that comes from a game and sequel that is born from the past and not one beholden to it.

Ultimately the new Saints Row is a disappointment, especially if you’re a fan of the series. The co-op mode, although highly problematic when trying to establish a game, was commendably solid once up and running, and fun for a while. The new location and characters don’t really land and the sloppy nature of just about every aspect gives the impression of yet another game released long before it was finished. And even though this might sound like a random aside, when a Saints Row game with multiple radio stations features only a handful of memorable or recognisable tracks - to the point where you don’t even notice driving around in silence - you know there are issues.

Cult of the Lamb is a rare piece of art in gaming. It’s probably the best game ever made in Australia at this point and is so because it’s infinitely rewarding. I couldn’t stop worrying about my Followers, or thinking about what they needed next, but I also couldn’t stop abusing my power and letting myself drift into dark places. And I honestly haven’t covered even close to everything. The game is just so full of character and charm and wit and depth. And I can’t recommend it enough -- trust me, I’m a Cult leader.

The best part of the experience is just how much you feel connected to the story and becoming Spider-Man. Even when you factor in open-world design which is a mostly by-the-numbers checklist of things to collect and discover, the world-building and presentation are next-level.

Underneath all of the pyrotechnics is a tale that deals with life, death, and the meaning one can find or cling to. Xenoblade’s story is also as fun as it is heavy and heartfelt, as sad and somber as it is cinematic and action-packed. With a cast of series-best characters and some of the best exploration and combat to boot - it’s hard not to look at Xenoblade Chronicles 3 as anything but a game of the year contender.

After each episode, you even get a chart highlighting the path you’ve taken with spoiler-free hints at the breadth of outcomes and scenes available. And even with all of that, each new twist and turn feels unexpected. As a slice of brand-new interactive choice-driven narrative drama, As Dusk Falls impresses. But it’s an experience held back by its photo-filter visuals and interactivity that never quite feels like an extension of its many dramatic moments.

There’s a touching, melancholy, and ultimately heart-warming story at the heart of Stray, one that plays into the immediately lovable (and somewhat timeless) nature of cats.

In short, because it’s short, you get a more bite-sized piece of the whole Cuphead experience, but its upped challenge sort of makes up for that. I definitely found myself banging my head against the wall, which was to be expected, I just hadn’t wanted to be getting that headache so early on in the piece. It didn’t stop me from keeping on going though, which should give you an idea of the draw and pull here. Part tantalisation, part revenge, all in good fun. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course has certainly sated my hunger and I only hope that while this is meant to be the last service here, that the kitchen isn’t closed for good.

In the end there’s a great game at the core of Diablo: Immortal, and it’s one that looks, feels and plays, exactly like a Diablo game built for mobile should. In expanding the scope to include a robust system of MMO activities, ways to play, and adding many simple progression systems that all feed into each other, what makes Diablo and other games like it so special was lost along the way. Despite the free-to-play mobile design and stingy end-game rewards, I still wanted to keep playing. The tragedy is, Diablo: Immortal didn’t want me to. It wants nothing more than for me to sign-in, play for a few minutes, log-out, and come back tomorrow.

There’s value here for the matriculant willing to put in the effort, but you’ve really gotta want it. And even as a Fire Emblem diehard I found it a bit of a slog. Repetitive and more often than not caked in superfluous activity, Three Hopes is a mash of ideas drawn out beyond its measure, and if you take into account the option to play through each House’s own campaign, the target audience thins to a specific tine, and you might be confronted with an intimidating wall, looming convolutedly large.

As a classic RTS experience, there’s a lot to like about Starship Troopers: Terran Command - especially in terms of translating the look and feel of the action scenes found in the iconic movie into little slices of strategy. Outside of a few pathing glitches and a couple of animation bugs, the biggest problem here is that the default difficulty feels a little too easy in addition to there being not much on offer once you complete the campaign. Without a fleshed out skirmish mode or even something like a co-op mode to take on the Arachnid together, it’s something of a one and done experience. Still, it’s good to do your part because... service guarantees citizenship.

Describing the game as chaotic in action is definitely apt, and for sheer speed this is one of the fastest ‘Mario Sports’ games to date. In a way, that goes against what you kind of expect to see from Nintendo, but in execution Mario Strikers goes all in on the fast and dirty game of Mushroom Kingdom soccer.

The Quarry delivers on its interactive horror movie premise, the characters are all wonderfully realised, the violence, terror and scares are all here. Meaningful choices, multiple endings and memorial set-pieces sit alongside stellar performances, excellent cinematography and cutting-edge visuals. A summer camp experience you won’t soon forget.

All in all this is a sequel that builds on the original in impressive ways, and a timely reminder of why the rogue-lite genre has taken off in the way that it has.

It is an absolutely stunning game with a great story and an excellent presentation (as well as beautiful audio), but it didn’t quite reach the top of the mountain it set out to climb.

As much fun as it is to see Nintendo Switch Sports bring back some of that Wii magic, that party room vibe, it’s hard not to look at this as anything but a missed opportunity. Having all progression and customisation locked to online play feels like a missed opportunity, and although we couldn’t test the online stuff during the review period it’s hard to see how the Wii Sports formula would substantially improve on the same-room formula.

Tunic is a near-flawless experience that celebrates games and gaming from a bygone era in one of the boldest, most confident displays of game-design and creation I’ve ever experienced. Its nostalgia game is strong and my heart strings have been well and truly tugged, strumming a tune(ic) of thanks and adoration for an adventure truly elevated and engrossing; challenging and full of surprise and wonder.

Outside of a few mostly inconsequential panel-based vignettes scattered around, and levels that take you from a small town through to a backwoods swamp and then through to industrial and supernatural locales, Forgive Me Father’s narrative is mostly a mystery. In the end it’s hard to look at this as anything but a missed opportunity, where the mix of old and new doesn’t quite come together. The horror aspirations amount to little more than set dressing. Fast-paced shooting is where Forgive Me Father settles, a place where enemies move in predefined patterns and strafing is just about all you need to do to survive. As fun as that can be in doses, there’s little incentive to keep going once you realise that’s all there is.

Through excellent world building, great characters, and a branching story, you’ve got a great slice of locally-grown sci-fi well worth digging into. Or, pointing and clicking through. And even though it’s held back a bit by its not-that-great inventory system, and a few cumbersome puzzles, the story is where it shines.

It’s just very easy and bite-sized in the grand scheme of it all. None of the cool ideas are ever fully fleshed out and it tends to feel one-note after a while. I get it if you’re a crazed brick collector, as that’s what these games are designed around, but as a gaming experience outside of co-op, I found it, as Vader would say: “all too easy”.

Getting the grapple-hook is nice and shifting the action to modern urban environments is cool, but it's all a little jarring. That said, the retro-inspired first-person shooting is by far the strongest aspect of Nightmare Reaper, and the mix of levels, secrets, loot, and rogue-lite elements is something that works together to deliver immediate, addicting, and engaging action.

There’s just so much to discover and learn for yourself. I didn't want to spoil the experience, because for me it was incredible. Gritty and majestic, all at once.

And if it's racing with a story that you're after, The Crew and Need for Speed franchisers have you well covered with their mix of outlandish, goofy storytelling and arcade style racing. Perhaps if Legends cut the story entirely, pared down the overly long career mode, and simply focused on being a multidisciplinary arcade racing game, it might find that niche it once occupied on the shelf, back when it was simply known as TOCA.

In the end, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a confident and very welcome step forward for the Borderlands series. It embraces its action-RPG roots in ways that feel fresh and familiar, and does so without being a detriment to the core concept of being an experience with a bazillion crazy guns to equip and have fun with. But in keeping a lot of the core of the series, in terms of mechanics and UI, and even the number of gun types (sniper-rifles could have been removed entirely), there’s just enough holding it back in a place where it, well, borders on brilliance.

At any rate, what’s here is fun and it’s Nintendo and there’s co-op for families or friends, but it’s all just so incredibly lite-on. And I say this with full appreciation and love of the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Yoshi’s Crafted World -- there’s no challenge outside of 100% collection of items and in beating Treasure Road times, the rest is simply a cakewalk, and unfortunately all the bad doggo Awoofys in the game can’t make me think otherwise.

In the end it’s interesting because even though there’s thematic weight and meaning behind all of the open-world elements, they never really come together in a way that feels in-line with the smooth hand movements of Akito and KK performing a charged up elemental attack. Disappointing combat, lacklustre progression, and way too many collectibles-to-find aside, the Tokyo you get to explore serves as an impressive and memorable backdrop for a supernatural tale. With some great cinematic storytelling across the main narrative and the many side-missions you discover, Ghostwire: Tokyo becomes more than the sum of its parts.