Batora: Lost Haven is a mix of a lot of different ideas, some of which work well, others which don’t. The grand scope of its planet-hopping setting is impressive, but the moral choice aspects and supporting cast feel underdeveloped and shallow. The Nature-switching combat and puzzles also show promise. However, the limited combat options, and puzzles that make use of only a small number of your abilities, cause the experience to become repetitive before its brisk playtime is through. Despite these issues, Batora: Lost Haven is a unique and decent enough experience for sci-fi and action-RPG fans to consider checking it out.

The Invisible Hand is oftentimes more frustrating and confusing than it is fun. It’s definitely made for people who are more knowledgeable or interested in the subject matter of trading stocks. Though, even from the point of view of someone who knows nothing about stock markets, I can see its value to those who do. It’s satirical and well crafted for what it is. Even I could have some fun while playing the game. Ultimately though, this game is not made for everyone, and that’s okay. Those who find themselves in The Invisible Hand’s niche corner will no doubt find some nefarious fun to be had.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed succeeds when it suits you up as a Ghostbuster for the first time. You relish the thrill of capturing your first ghost and learning how to hunt them down. Playing as a ghost is equally fun, learning how to haunt and scare everyone out of the building. Unfortunately, playing this game by yourself will quickly become boring, as the single-player experience grows dull quickly. With friends or other players, the true fun of the game comes out. But even that will be short-lived if played too often, as a lack of variety and objectives to achieve will dull the fun.

Overall, Shuten Order’s real selling point is its sense of style. Each screen of the game is a feast for the eyes full of colour and interesting designs. While its main story is solid, the individual routes vary in quality and their gameplay often feels a little lacklustre. Even still, there is a lot to love in this strange world and it’s hard not to enjoy the time spent there. Praised be the Shuten Order.

Kao the Kangaroo is a nice 3D platformer for getting your feet wet. The gameplay from previous entries is the same and it is easy for beginners to pick up. The graphics look good and keeping it simple fits with the game’s theme. Unfortunately, the game feels too short, ending just as it picks up momentum. Collectibles feel like unnecessary game padding, the story feels like an excuse plot, and the voice acting leaves a lot to be desired. This may satisfy fans who were looking forward to Kao the Kangaroo’s return, but there isn’t much for players who were hoping for a great, modern 3D platformer.

Thymesia is unlikely to blow anyone’s socks off, especially if they are a Souls veteran. A snappy, fluid, and visually striking experience doesn’t quite make up for the lack of character and purpose the game unfortunately suffers from. You’ll likely enjoy your time playing the game and fighting through the different locations and bosses, but Thymesia still fails somewhat to leave a lasting impression.

Little Nightmares 3 presents gameplay and location design that mimics the style of its predecessors, while maintaining none of the depth or exploration that the horror genre champions so effectively. Till now, Tarsier Studios has steered the Little Nightmares games through caricatural horror to plumb the depths of those life-sized fears. But now Supermassive Games has taken the wheel, and the proverbial ship has veered frighteningly off-course into shallow waters.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a valiant third-person shooter in the titular universe, yet still falls somewhat short. As a bite-sized, mindless action game on the surface, blasting away hordes upon hordes of xenomorphs with the M41A Pulse Rifle is excellent. Trying different classes, abilities, and unlockable weapons help keep gameplay refreshing during your first run. However, Fireteam Elite wants to be replayable and what’s on offer simply isn’t that fun to return to. Formulaic level design and often buggy AI make finishing missions a chore rather than a triumph. Series fans will enjoy the package, but Aliens: Fireteam Elite may struggle to survive against other co-op shooters. “Another glorious day in the Corps…” but not much longer than that.

Despite not completely lacking in fun, MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy stops short of doing anything interesting with its academy life sim elements or its dungeon crawling. Try-hard ‘funny’ dialogue waffles for too long, academy activities is largely messing around in menus, and dungeons are one-note and house the same enemies and traps that don’t offer a true challenge. If this is your very first dungeon crawler and you’re under the age of twelve, you might find enough fun to get you to the end, but for everyone else, this one will likely lie unfinished on the shelf after the first five hours.

I’m an optimistic person. I try to view games as more than the sum of their parts, flaws and all. I’m struggling to maintain that train of thought as I reflect on my time with Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion. An odd release here or there from a studio is forgivable. They can be viewed as an off-game, one where they weren’t at their best. Two uneven titles down into the mech series, and it’s clear there are problems with this series down to the core. If this is an IP that is to be continued, something fundamentally needs to change. Fans who see that diamond in the rough here deserve better.

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.

In its 10-15 hour runtime, Deliver At All Costs delivers (haha) a short and sweet package of iconic video game driving nonsense. The driving mechanics handle well enough to feel satisfying to play, while also being unwieldy enough to turn you into the worst road menace of the 1950s. Focused on feeding you laughs every chapter through its gameplay and juxtaposed seriously dramatic storyline, reckless endangerment has never been so much fun.

New Tales from the Borderlands could have played it safe by using characters from the well-established universe that people know and love. However, Gearbox Quebec’s decision to create a whole new bunch of ragtag characters that connect so clearly with Borderland’s existing humour, art style, and lore has really paid off. New Tales from the Borderlands isn’t a gameplay-heavy game, but the visuals, narrative, and the way the character’s personalities are so well-developed kept me riveted and surprised. With what Gearbox has created here, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see even Newer Tales From The Borderlands in the future.

I feel it is perfect for newcomers to the genre presenting a fun and cartoony experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Bye Sweet Carole features a magnetic, magical and also horrific 2D world to explore that takes the conventions of 2D animation and turns them on their head to create a memorable story filled with narrative themes and puzzles that are nailed with pinpoint precision. Without a shadow of a doubt, Lana’s story is one worth experiencing, and it’s a unique horror adventure. However, it’s marred by the sheer scale of a few of its faults, including significant bugs and scarce, unnecessary sequences that take away from the gem that’s there. There’s a magical time to be had here, and I wholly want people to have that… it just hasn’t quite fully found its voice yet.

Rune Factory 5 is more of the familiar, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It makes enough small improvements that it does feel newer, but if you are looking for something leaps and bounds different from the last game, you will be disappointed. The game has a lot of charm and love put into it, but the abysmal frame rate does make it hard to recommend, even though I thoroughly enjoyed it. With some future patches addressing the game’s framerate issues and input delay, Rune Factory 5 could easily turn into a wonderful game.

WILL: Follow the Light offers a few glimmers of promise amidst its fog of missed potential, but they are too few and far between to recommend. Stiff delivery, rough writing and uneven puzzles all would have been better served by being thrown overboard so WILL could focus on its atmospheric sailing strengths. Instead, WILL is better left adrift at sea with only its lost promise to keep it company.

The main problem with Chains of Freedom is that it never stakes its own claim. It doesn’t carve out territory that feels unique and often feels more like an imitator of other games than something with its own personality. While the core mechanics are largely serviceable, without a unique angle, there are far greater entries in the turn-based tactics genre to spend your time with. Ultimately, the predictable narrative delivered by dull characters and the repetitive combat make this a difficult recommendation for all but the most die-hard fans of the genre.

SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream is a love letter to the Sword Art Online franchise. You get to play your favourite characters from both Sword Art Online and Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, in a story that unites both worlds. It’s compelling and it adds shock value, especially if you follow the anime or light novel. In addition, the multiplayer campaign is well-built as it encourages teamwork and knowledge of your chosen character. Lastly, there is an incentive to play the game over and over as the in-game achievements challenge you to achieve the highest score and learn what happens to your favourite characters.

No two basketball games play out the same, and the same can be said for NBA 2K24‘s variety of modes and features. ProPlay was a welcome addition to the overall feel of the gameplay, adding an extra level of realism. Some modes work extremely well, like The W, and others like the career mode fizzle out, but overall the gameplay itself is great. Unfortunately, having microtransactions at what feels like every corner is a real letdown for something that otherwise has real potential.

Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a good remake. It paints an engaging and delightfully horrific world to delve into, with shocking twists and secrets to uncover at every turn. While players will very likely be left picking up the pieces of its narrative largely told through readables, it’s rewarding when it all clicks into place, painting a harrowing picture set in Southern Japan. It may be a remake that is still very of its era, with finicky camera movement and some questionable female character skins that can only come from that of gaming in the 2000s. However, in every other aspect, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse revels in its origins. On offer is wicked, tense and tight combat performed creatively through the Camera Obscura. It’s environmental design and scares are begging to be picked apart in true throwback fashion. Well worth the resurfacing indeed.

Serial Cleaners has taken the monotonous act of cleaning and spun it on its head by placing it in a gritty criminal world with characters that are eccentric and passionate about getting the job done. Though the gameplay can be repetitive and the dialogue may make you wince, the location art and the special abilities of each character makes up for the lack of “action” in this “action crime” game. Instead, the elements of dead bodies, shining pools of blood, and the game’s dark colour palette brings the excitement as you clean up the carnage other games would usually have you create.

Demon Turf is a good game begging the eyes of those invested in the collectathon niche. Plenty of fun hours are on offer to watch those numbers tick up and pull off some tight and joyful platforming. It may waver in some of its later combat and ability design, also proving unfriendly for younger audiences. Though just as much forgiveness is issued when you consider how devoted the game is to tackling its genre. If you’re looking for a more modest and fun game to wind down the year, this is it.

Firmament is an immersive experience that facilitates a beautiful, albeit lonely world to explore. This is brought down by lacklustre storytelling and bland narration. With little to show outside of admittedly great audio and sound design, Firmament fails to hold its own amongst great puzzle games. The beautifully quiet and immersive atmosphere of a world abandoned will keep players immersed, unsettled and intrigued. Unfortunately, its tedious gameplay and puzzle-solving present a tired and uninspired experience that will have you looking towards Cyan World’s more notable titles.

I really, really enjoyed my time with The Gunk; a fleetingly brief experience that left me feeling tranquil and at peace. It is rare a game can have an effect like that on me – what with the smorgasbord of violent games and intensity on offer around every corner. Do not let the quirky name put you off, The Gunk is more than deserving of a play during a lazy summer (or winter for you northern hemisphere dwelling folk) afternoon. Bugs and minor flaws do prove to be an inconvenience, although Image & Form Games have still managed to deliver a solid 3D platformer that’s worth a look.

NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS is quite the disappointment. Presenting as a step back for the series in many ways, there are simply better adaptations to spend your time with. The game comes with a middling story combined with a lack of spectacle that serves as a mediocre attempt at celebrating the IP. Whilst some fun can be had with the stacked roster and it’s easy to jump into, you’ll often be reminded that there are greener pastures elsewhere.

The Chant storms out of the gates with a kooky but intriguing concept of cosmic-horror, but simply isn’t able to live up to its own ambitions. It has some good ideas if you look hard enough, but the clunky combat, milquetoast puzzle solving and forgettable story firmly plant this one in the category of B-Grade horror, which, to be fair, is definitely the vibe the developers seem to have gone for. Even with a few good foundational ideas with the use of prisms and a couple of cool boss fights helping The Chant slightly redeem itself, the biggest misfire is that it’s just not that scary, and without that, this cosmic-horror is just a cosmic-snooze.

Though far from perfect, Eternights has a lot of good ideas that heavier hitters in the action dating sim genre should follow. Despite being a small team, Studio Sai provides a fun and enjoyable experience in the scene, offering charming and equally viable dating options to get to know, even adding a queer romance option. There’s an engaging mystery to uncover in-game too, every so often taking the time to showcase this in gorgeous 2D animation. Though polish could’ve been greater in distracting HUD and menus, combat checkpoints and the like, what the studio has done for the genre is create an earnest and wholehearted positive step forward.