Let Them Trade is a cute and cosy city builder, where you don’t have to micromanage everything. It’s easy for newcomers to understand, with helpful tutorials and a fun campaign. It also never punishes the players for making a mistake. But, there are areas where it needs to improve, such as explaining some of the upgrades, and better accessibility. Let Them Trade has a unique style to it, with wooden tiles where you can see the grain, and hilarious dialogue (even if it can be too real). There are no repeat scenarios, and each of them doesn’t overstay its welcome, either. It’s exciting to see what Spaceflower will bring to future updates, and what comes next for the cosy city builder genre.

With the release of PATAPON 1+2 Replay comes vibrant and wonderful flashbacks to a colourful, vibrant, arcade-y and, most importantly, fun, era of games that don’t really exist anymore. It was a joy for me to visit these games for the first time, and I’m finally well invested in the majesty and magic of the RTS and rhythm fusion harmony that the franchise is known for. With how grandiose and exciting the battles get with their devotion to music and busy, frantic chaos that explode across the screen, I’d be hard-pressed to find any fan, new or old, who doesn’t find joy here, smiling like a huge dork as your units chant and stomp across the world. Though there’s still the oddball of funk, including some poor tutorialisation in the first game and real brick wall moments that require grind, I’m glad PATAPON is back in a largely unaffected package. Players should jump right into this here nostalgia-infused release. The water’s fine, and you’ll be remembering the Patapons’ spirit songs for years to come.

A chilling fever dream of dystopian hope, After Us takes the mechanics of an atmospheric puzzle-platformer and uses them to create a beautifully unsettling experience that feels a little too real. Its satisfying traversal challenges through gorgeously rendered wastelands provide plenty of engaging gameplay moments for platforming fans, though its relentlessly oppressive environments may prove too harsh for some. Haunting and immersive, but definitely not for the faint of heart.

The Tartarus Key is a good experimental indie horror venture. It never outstays its welcome and creates a thrilling, brooding experience that never cheapens itself with jump scares. Feeling a little existential in its atmosphere, this too is bolstered by the low poly PS1 era art style the game is going for. Though not every puzzle is the most fun to work through, they are at least all well thought out with plenty of fun quirks that work well with the escape room vibes. I enjoyed being in the heat of the moment, feeling something in my brain click when I solved a brain teaser and it resulted in rescuing another character’s life. Rounding it out is a fun cast I’m needing to see more of, with Alex as a force of nature of a horror protagonist. Rest assured, The Tartarus Key is a secret little gem that should be high on indie horror fans’ lists.

Planet of Lana is a vibrant and vivid dreamscape. From luscious greens to bright blues, it’s very clear how important art is in a game like this. Some issues hold the title back, such as a lack of checkpoints leading to frustration in puzzles. Though the environmental storytelling is strong, the puzzle elements largely work with the use of “companion-based gameplay”, and the stealth sections, while basic, make for a fun time. All in all, Planet of Lana is an engaging and unique game, and a world worth experiencing.

Souldiers is quite good, but doesn’t quite reach the peaks that it aims for. However, despite its unbalanced and restrictive class system and frequent difficulty spikes, there is a ton to recommend, from its detailed and varied world, beautiful animations, and engaging combat. Souldiers is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re prepared for its challenges and looking for a deep and engaging metroidvania platformer to get into, Souldiers is worth the recommendation.

Tetris Forever is best approached as a tribute to the cultural legacy of Tetris. It’s not the definitive way to play the game, but it’s an essential experience for anyone interested in gaming history. Just don’t go in expecting the perfect Tetris fix—this is a museum exhibit, not an arcade.

The Stone of Madness feels like an admirable gamble of a new direction for The Game Kitchen, and one that mostly pays off. Besides the frustrations with the stealth, sanity system and inconsistent tone, its core prison break loop remains a satisfying one, and the monastery’s environmental design and artistic direction make it a compelling playground to explore.

Overall, EA Sports FC 25 is another solid entry in a franchise that has now spanned three decades. It still offers something for everyone, whether that be casual fans or more passionate fans of the sport. It still has that classic accessible gameplay, but also has the meat on the bones for the hardcore to really dig into. You can manage your favourite team, play for your favourite team, or start from scratch and live your dreams as a professional footballer. The multiplayer aspect of playing football against another human, for me, is up there with the most exciting (and frustrating) tests of patience and friendship. This series has always been the gold standard for that experience. Despite throwing a controller once or twice this time around, I still want to go back for more.

Welcome to the sunny shores of High Isle, an idyllic zone and Chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online. The storyline is down to earth, with politics and conspiracy at the crux of a deep but a little less engrossing narrative. Companions Isobel and Ember are useful fighters with great character-building quests. While Volcanic Vents aren’t an amazing multiplayer activity, the Dreadsail Reef is a challenging but satisfying trail to grind impressive gear sets. However, the cherry on top is Tribes of Tribute, which you’ll spend too much time mastering the mechanics of the new in-game card tournament. If the lack of PvP doesn’t bother you, High Isle offers another year of excellent content for The Elder Scrolls Online.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger makes big strides for the RPG offshoot of its long-running creature collector series. Despite some small missteps in story and side mission pacing, it’s a vast, colourful and exciting world to visit, filled with all your favourite possible digital monsters. For RPG freaks out there, there’s also a lot of involved systems and mechanics that feed into one another and result in some wicked cool, tactile and punchy combat. You’re in good hands with Time Stranger. Come on in and hang with some adorable monsters. The water’s fine.

Star Overdrive rides with so much damn heart and style that it’s hard not to appreciate its charm. While the combat definitely feels like more than a speed bump, and the camera can be road rage inducing, the exhilarating thrill of movement, unique storytelling and killer retro vibe keeps the somewhat bumpy ride going. Everything is nicely wrapped up in a compelling mystery, and if you’re down to drift through the world of Cebet to solve it, Star Overdrive definitely earns a place in your indie collection.

Wylde Flowers is what you get when you take a farming/life sim, such as Stardew Valley, and focus more heavily on the narrative and characters. A constant shift of events and huge amounts of voiced lines brings this world to life, even if that focus does mean the simulation aspects of the gameplay are reduced. With a lovingly detailed world and equally lovely examples of diversity, you could do a lot worse than spend your week playing Wylde Flowers.

Sand Land is ambitious, full of ideas, and clearly wears its admiration of Toriyama’s work on its sleeve. Your ever-growing pantheon of Bots is a highlight, letting you explore the world and take on enemies as you please. The town-rebuilding aspect is deeply rewarding, and the game becomes more beautiful as you keep playing. However, the abundance of menus required for crafting, the monotonous out-of-vehicle combat, and the endless fountain of repetitive chatter mar an experience that’s nonetheless worth experiencing. I think Sand Land is going to be the infrequent RPG I continue playing after review, but maybe on a better computer.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a thoroughly enjoyable sea-faring adventure filled with delightful ship combat and hectic brawling and swordplay encounters. Though it might rank somewhat lower in the series thanks to its weaker story and somewhat disappointing substories, it won’t bother players all that long when they merely engage in some of the open-world chaos that comes with living out a pirate’s life. Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a Mad Dog’s life for me.

BALL x PIT is a fun blend of old-school brick breaker and shoot ’em up games. Its creative ball fusions and frantic gameplay will sell you, but the variety will keep you engaged. It’s still a roguelite with some occasionally exhausting moments and very challenging bosses, but it’s ultimately inventive and full of personality.

Crimson Desert is clearly a labour of love whose developers filled it to the brim. While many central mechanical systems work well, they are accompanied by numerous side systems that never quite earn their place in the wider world of Pywel. There is plenty to enjoy here, but you can’t help shake the feeling that if Pearl Abyss had focused on fewer systems and a more grounded narrative, Crimson Desert could have been truly special.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is an easy recommendation for fans of the Danganronpa series. It’s got the same dark humor and an unapologetically weird premise, and it features a slightly different take on the contradiction-smashing gameplay that made the former series stand out. There’s some room for improvement in what’s been added, but if you can stand some stale anime tropes and imperfect graphics, Rain Code is a crazy enjoyable ride full of twists and turns.

Rogue: Genesia is one of the most ambitious bullet heavens out there and is all from one hardworking developer, Ouadi Huard. It combines the best parts of genre titans to create a game with unlimited build potential, deep meta-progression, and a massive power curve. But it’s not perfect. Weapon imbalances and upgrade power mean challenge often takes a backseat to sheer spectacle, and the visual clutter may be overwhelming for some players. If you love min-maxing, insane scaling, and watching enemies evaporate by the thousands, this game is for you.

Classified: France ’44 is rather good as both a turn-based combat experience and an exploration of one of history’s darkest periods. Whether you are sneaking around taking down Nazis from the shadows or heading in guns blazing, the game is fun and decently complex, with enough variety in terms of units to recruit and factions to side with to encourage multiple playthroughs. While the missions themselves start to blend together after a while, and the soundtrack could have stood to throw in one or two new battle themes for the sake of variety, I think any fan of history or turn-based combat is going to have a rather good time with Classified: France ’44, and I look forward to Absolutely Games hopefully building on this foundation with future games exploring different periods and settings.

An intense atmospheric adventure with an intriguing premise, The Callisto Protocol delivers a solid horror game that focuses largely on its satisfying combat. It doesn't have much variety and is lacking a bit of creativity, but it makes up for that with impressive visuals and disgusting, intimidating monsters. It might not meet the expectations of its obvious inspirations, but The Callisto Protocol lays a strong foundation of terrifying atmosphere and crunchy combat that makes it satisfying and spooky nonetheless.

You don’t need me to tell you how much of a tough sell Dolmen is this year. Still, if you’re at all a fan of the Soulslike genre and willing to forgive a little jank that comes with slight overambition and a smaller budget, I recommend giving it a go. For every frustration I had for not having quite as many “Aha!” moments when opening a door or discovering some lore, it’s equalled with other ways the game is working to impress. On offer is a solid nightmarish journey from the darkest depths to the dreadfully eerie conclusion at the world’s own horrific ground zero. This is held up by clever combat implementations and a rewarding sense of experimentation and exploration. Atmospherically enticing and fun to play, Dolmen is a game I won’t let you all forget. Even if I’m one of the few banging my drum, championing it.

Miasma Chronicles takes the turn-based strategy formula and throws on additional layers of stealth to enforce guerilla-warfare strategies. It largely succeeds in this goal, ensuring players take in their surroundings while taking out as many enemies as they can. When combat starts, you use various abilities and character strengths to survive. This gameplay immerses you well, making you want to plan out your next strategy as soon as possible. There are some flaws in the gameplay, such as abilities and environmental objects not working as intended. It’s also too easy to accidentally commit to a mistake while looking over the battlefield. But there are more strengths than weaknesses that allow Miasma Chronicles to deliver a fun strategic experience.

PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC is a solid remake of a cult classic platformer from the genesis of the 3D platformer boom. Fundamentally, it demonstrates both how well PAC-MAN WORLD’s mechanics, levels and boss design have mostly held up after 23 years, and how the experience is still perfectly enjoyable for someone who has not played the original release. On the other hand, it shows its age in other areas, including short length, lack of narrative and dated gameplay features. For platforming fans looking for a blast from the past, PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC as an experience still works well and is worth checking out. That said, don’t expect it to stand toe-to-toe with other 3D platformers released more recently.

Potion Permit is a game I can sink my teeth in and play for hours, not realising that it’s actually 5am. The days are quick, so it’s tough to do everything in one go, but the game also doesn’t pressure you to complete things in a timeframe very often. There are annoying bugs that can limit access to side-quests and mini-games, which is disappointing to see. Though with loads of things to do, you never feel that dreaded sense of aimlessness. Potion Permit is a cozy game that makes me excited to get back into it.

Big Hops is a really solid platformer that doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel to make for a good time. From the incredible movement to the brilliant Veggies mechanic, exploring every new world is a constant joy. Even when levels feel lacking or simplistic, the speedy gameplay mixed with such gorgeous biomes always results in a fun time. With a bit more polish to fix some technical issues, Big Hops could end up as a hidden gem of the 3D platformer genre.

With Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Team Ninja has produced yet another rather good Final Fantasy action game. With its deep yet more forgiving combat system, it can appeal to those not seeking the challenging experiences of something like Nioh. Furthermore, with its complex mix-and-match Jobs system, it brings a uniquely Final Fantasy flair to the hack-and-slash genre. Unfortunately, its dull protagonist and plot may struggle to keep the attention of anyone curious about the backstory it is trying to create for the original Final Fantasy. The loot system could also do with some overhauls. Still, you can certainly do worse than Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin if you’re looking for a new multiplayer action game with some clever Final Fantasy twists.

Three games down in quick succession, Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden manages to mostly avoid that infamous and known series fatigue. That’s largely thanks to yet another compelling fantasy story and enchanting immersion of a tabletop campaign journey. It’s in fact my favourite story of the trilogy, complete with a new and welcome mechanic that is monster collecting. It just is ever so slightly barred from being great due to more obvious padding and traipsing around until it reaches its wondrous conclusion. Regardless, we have another good entry in this weird little Square Enix series. That voice inviting you to play cards? Trust it. It’s as enjoyable as ever.