While Waiting is a wonderful game about time wasting, and all the fun and creative ways in which you can do that. Sometimes all you can do is sit and wait, and sometimes that gives the most rewarding outcome. Sometimes the most important thing you can do with your time is nothing, as long as it’s with people you care about. Living life, being with the people you love and doing the things that make you happy is never a waste of time.

There are some fundamentally great things about Atlas Fallen, like its gorgeous desert landscapes and its super-satisfying sand sliding, plus combat that has a tonne of options and flows well. But its open world of interesting enemies suffers from a rinse-and-repeat approach, where what was exciting in hour two becomes boring and repetitive by hour eight. It’s not that it’s poorly made, but its mission structure and by-the-numbers narrative delivered in a boring way make for an adventure that is more generic than unique. Atlas Fallen is much like a mirage in its sandy desert setting; enticing at first, but a bit disappointing once you look closer and realise it’s not what you’d hoped.

Despite some the JRPG royalty involved, Astria Ascending just isn’t able to live up to the high expectations. The good news is that Artisan Studio seem committed to updating the game over time, so ideally the rough edges present will get smoothed out. But at the moment, Astria Ascending’s innovative combat, gorgeous art, and esoteric story are overshadowed by frustrating cutscenes, painful pacing, and many half-baked mechanics. Hitoshi Sakimoto’s soundtrack sets a high bar, but in its current state, the rest of Astria Ascending has trouble rising to meet it.

Disgaea 6 Complete is, overall, a stronger entry in the series than the original Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, yet still leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to game balance, quality of life, and ease of use. The many game mechanics are simply too varied and plentiful, and while the game’s cast and plot are a fun ride, the best of them are left as afterthoughts as part of the pack-in DLC. The performance and stability fixes will be welcomed by those who struggled with the Switch port, as the powerful PS5 and PCs run the game with ease. I would say fans of SRPGs should definitely give Disgaea 6 Complete a spin, but expect a devilishly cheeky time that does not conform to the genre’s traditional values.

Overall, Kiln is a fun little party brawler offering all the tools to make your own unique, custom pots to do battle in. It also features surprisingly deep and well-thought-out battle mechanics, mixing pros and cons of pottery size and class with unique maps to do battle in. Players who stick with it and form their own squads will do well in future, but I do wonder if there is enough here to keep players hooked long term.

Warriors: Abyss wastes no time giving players a tangible story and also appears to lack depth in its opening moments, but that also doesn’t matter. Instead, it focuses on translating the Musou experience into a tactile and fast-paced roguelike adventure and it excels at doing just that, rewarding players the more they put into it. Providing a thrilling and refreshing take on the Warriors series, it is not to be missed.

Soulstice is a truly great action game, which despite taking many cues from stylish action titles of the past, carves out enough of an identity to stand out on its own. The system of controlling both sisters and maintaining auras while slashing through foes is intuitive and simple to master. Although the plot leaves many threads hanging, the development of the central sibling relationship and setting were enough to draw me into Soulstice’s world and want to see more. If you’re a fan of challenging action games and can forgive a slightly annoying camera, Soulstice is definitely worth checking out.

The biggest and boldest Battlefield to date, 2042 combines trademark action with impressive innovations. Experimentation with loadout and attachment changes drive the enormous spectacle of 128 player warzones and dynamic weather events. Hazard Zone provides the grounds for extremely tactical gameplay but needs refinement to make it a lasting experience. The shining star without question is Portal, allowing series veterans to jump back into their favourite legacy maps and muck around with creative modes and features – it's basically four games in one package. If it wasn't for a few poorly designed 2042 maps, combat balancing issues, and performance concerns, Battlefield 2042 might be the best in the franchise.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master shines in places like the graphics and the cars themselves. Gaming Factory has put a lot of love into this, and it shows. Especially using Polish musicians to fill up their radio stations. There are some issues, though; the story itself doesn’t leave an impact, the difficulty of the AI is inconsistent, and there are some bugs. But it’s all about the drifting, and that’s where it makes up for it. The driving is fluid, and the NPCs can be quite challenging. However, the cars sound amazing, it really sounds like you’re driving a Miata! Fans of Tokyo Drift, Initial D and general drift racing sim fans will have a ball with JDM.

Biomutant is full of creative ideas and unique thoughts that, when combined with such a gorgeous and compelling environment to explore, could have made for a top-tier experience that is easy to recommend. However, the fact that it has so many ideas crammed in that it almost feels like too much, and an open world that can feel very by-the-numbers, makes Biomutant a solid game that misses the mark almost as much as it hits the nail on the head.

Where The Heart Leads is a terrific narrative game that has you make hard, fascinating life choices on behalf of its characters to create a story that feels your own. It utilises its surreal elements sparingly, instead opting to focus on the realistic personal lives of its many richly nuanced characters. Despite some slight issues with dialogue, menus, and the camera, Where The Heart Leads is a great experience, and a fascinating exploration of issues rarely covered in games.

Featuring a cute lizard protagonist and an imaginative archipelago of puzzles, Gecko Gods is just too rough around the edges to earn its stripes. At its best, it emulates the same wonderful feeling of free exploration you get from the Zelda series, but these moments struggle to shine through frustrating controls and low graphical fidelity.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is good for a short time, not a long time. What could have been a glorious game full of compelling contracts and challenging assassinations gets muddied by boring regions that are just begging to be filled with objectives to make them seem worthwhile. Instead, you’ll spend more time walking around than actually sniping the baddies. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 feels unsure of whether it can truly be a strong sniper simulator so instead it tries to outgun other FPS and assassination games – unfortunately, despite it’s fun sniping gunplay, it misses the mark on both.

Moros Protocol is a decent roguelike FPS with a cool visual aesthetic, but it could have been better, especially as a solo experience. The moment-to-moment combat is enjoyably fast-paced, with a good variety of weapons and upgrades to customise your loadout. However, the sluggish meta-progression and repetition of taking the experience from the top after each death wear down the experience over time. If you’re looking for a fun roguelike co-op shooter, you can certainly do worse than Moros Protocol, as long as you bring a friend.

The Last Alchemist has some good puzzle-solving which immerses you in the life of an alchemist. Experimenting and treating every resource with respect is part of the charm. But it feels like the game relies on padding to extend its length. There aren’t many activities to do in-game and the game length is short. The puzzles are certainly interesting, but there isn’t much to do outside of running around and finding essence ingredients.

Shattered – Tale of the Forgotten King has so many things going for it. It looks absolutely stunning with its protagonist filled with jagged edges, its melancholic soundtrack with its twangy acoustic guitars, and the story behind its creation is super sweet and inspiring. However, this is a game that has been in early access for nearly two years. Steam is full of players offering suggestions in their reviews of what needs improving, but a lot of these repeated suggestions have not been taken on. Shattered needed to be worked on a bit more before it was smashed into pieces and served up to its audience.

Tunche combines familiar mechanics with a setting that is rarely represented in video games. This keeps the game’s visual design fresh, but the combat is more than familiar and not up to the standard set by other games in these genres. Tunche can’t scratch the side-scrolling beat-em-up action of River City Girls or the honed roguelike structure of Hades. Unfortunately, this means the game’s charming art and characters are at battle with lackluster gameplay.

Impaler is a good time for shooter fans looking for an instant nostalgia fix. The gameplay, music, and visuals achieve the ideal 90s aesthetic with a gothic twist. While it is limited in content, short, and a little too easy for the genre, the cheap price tag is appropriate if you want to give the game a stab.

Blanc is a great game to play if you’re looking for another co-op game to share with someone close to you. There are some noticeable issues including a lack of visual cues and a camera that’s just not as effective as it should be. Though the journey the game takes you on is fun, and the beautiful art style is clearly evident. It’s a short enough game and there’s definitely room for improvement. But it’s also clear that the passion is there. Another good and wholesome game for anyone to play.

SOULVARS may have been a hit when it came out on mobile in 2022, but its PC version has not made enough changes for it to feel like it is meant to be played on other gaming devices. The game had an opportunity to increase its interactivity by including more explicit instructions, adding many more narrative elements and by spicing up the game’s landscape. However, as it stands, I’d be sticking to the mobile version of SOULVARS as the ported version lacks a lot of soul.

Life Eater is a game I’m a little sad I can’t rate on concept and premise alone. Snooping through timelines of activities of potential targets and investigating tidbits to try and correctly take down those requested is good on paper, offering the same highs of franchises such as Hitman. However, its execution is a little underbaked. The qualifiers for targets are equally too vague and too simple with little variety, leading to friction and distrust about whether or not you’re on the right track. There is quality design in the way you’re managing meters to avoid suspicion and maximising your time, along with some stellar returning performances from the likes of Xalavier Nelson Jr. However, Life Eater needed a little more time bunkering down, taking notes, and just getting every little thing right. The perfect hunt it is not.

Exoprimal makes a fantastic first impression as you enter the world of futuristic dinosaur combat. You have an intriguing mystery, cool exosuits, and several varieties of dinosaurs to fight. Unfortunately, the gameplay quickly becomes stale as you realise its repetitive nature. If you want to enjoy the mystery, you must play a large number of games. Only the most hardcore PvP players will want to continue, as others may tire of the lack of variety. As interesting as the concept is, Exoprimal doesn’t take full advantage of the premise, instead providing a decent multiplayer experience for a few hours.

It must be said, I was absolutely blindsided by JETT: The Far Shore. The marketing was vague enough that I could envision this game working. The aesthetic that I found so dazzling is still there, but everything else falls by the wayside. At best, the gameplay teased me with what could have been. At its worst, it was a frustrating and laborious mess. Storywise, there were few sparks of interest to be found. Should something catch alight, it would be quickly smothered by boring office chatter. It’s the purest form of a game that presents itself as a well-designed art piece. JETT: The Far Shore is something to ogle at, to mull over, to discuss. It has no desire to lower itself to the medium of video games, and the mechanical tedium bears that out.

Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed is like a younger, more immature sibling of the original. Gameplay wise, it is bolder and more logically put together, but overall it lacks the comedic intelligence that the original presented. Sure, Destroy All Humans! wasn’t exactly an intellectual experience, but it did offer discussions on social commentary that had a lot to say about society as a whole and problems with 1950s America. It seems as though the developers spent more time on improving gameplay than they did on developing a script and story that would offer the same elements of satire and intellect as the first. Although the original was released in 2006, a very different time socially and politically, this remaster could have ironed out a number of the narrative problematic edges. Unfortunately, by sticking with the “nature and soul” of the original release, the world of Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed doesn’t quite feel right in this more progressive world of 2022.

It becomes harder and harder as we get older to be astonished by the simple things in life. The way that Miniatures asks the player to slow down and explore four different memories, each so beautifully drawn, made me feel that sense of curiosity and awe in the worlds the game has created, a feeling that doesn’t occur as naturally as it once did. Though the narrative missed an opportunity to discuss deeper themes and make each tale offer some deeper meaning to the audience, there is still a lot for players to get from this short, yet sweet, point-and-click narrative experience.

If you’re reading this and thinking ‘Gee, that sure doesn’t sound like a particularly great game’, well, you’re right, it’s kind of not. The Thing: Remastered so gloriously channels the vibe of something you’d rent from the video store on a Friday night and binge across the weekend that I can’t help but love it anyway. Level layouts are often uninspiring, what few puzzles there are tend to be mildly annoying in their design, companion and enemy A.I. alike are completely wretched, and from start to finish it filled me with childlike delight in a way that no new game has in years. I’ve always had a soft spot for earnest B games, and The Thing: Remastered is the most earnest B one I’ve played in a long time.

Open Roads is a very well-executed story about the relationship between a grieving mother and daughter. Both characters are incredibly likable and there is so much chemistry between the voice actors that it’s easy to relate to and care about both of them. While it’s a short experience and one that could benefit from further expansion and animation, Open Roads still has a lot to offer. It’s just a shame it finishes a little earlier than expected because the narrative is strong enough to carry beyond its credits.

Enjoyable enough to play for an hour or so, but Grit & Valor – 1949 quickly gave me the feeling of wishing I had the tools I needed to make responsive tactical decisions, and left me wanting to be offered choices that would lead me to different battleplans than the ones I started my runs with. In the end, providing giant robots just wasn’t enough to win the day.