Smudged on all sides with technical bugs, crashes, audio failures and performances mishaps, the best of Gothic 1 Remake's qualities only just manage to shine through the grime. While there's a truly compelling game nestled under the surface, this nugget of ore needs more sprucing up before it's ready to be sold on.

Hollowbody is a fantastic homage to 6th-gen survival horror, whilst maintaining a distinct style and knowing when to utilise those retro mechanics. The push and pull of conserving resources and embracing what lurks around the corner make for a tense experience throughout. Whilst the plot is forgettable and the menu can be too cumbersome sometimes, the atmosphere, worldbuilding and moment-to-moment make my problems ring hollow, as everything else is so great.

Whilst initially impressive in its concept, Yerba Buena falters in its longevity. The puzzles soon become attrition, with slight mistakes setting players back, as well as a plot and overall tone that tries too had to be subversive. Fun if this is your go-to genre, but unlikely to draw in the unitiated.

IO Interactive have delivered their vodka Martini shaken, though it causes plenty of stirs along the way. It's a rip-roaring, globe-trotting adventure that delivers thrills galore, with a shockingly good emotional core to deliver on the premise of 007's origin story. One of 2026's best games has arrived, and what a privilege it is to have James Bond back in full, unapologetic confidence.

A strong concept and appealing retro visual style struggle to elevate Dread Fields beyond its average walking simulator gameplay and lack of any significant dread. It's an earnest effort from an indie developer, with a sprinkling of interesting moments, but when the scariest aspect of this field is the hard graft instead of the paranormal, well, that's just a regular old farm.

Mina the Hollower is a fantastic addition to the pantheon of soulslikes. It has a concept so vivid and a style so different to anything else out there, that it sits almost as a must-play for fans of the genre. I had no end of fun with its intricate puzzle areas only traversable with the fine-tuned skills of a Hollower who has spent hours with the game already...I found the combat really was not that far away from Bloodborne. I appreciated the angle towards aggression for healing, and it really emulated that genre feel of only taking on one enemy at a time, rushing back to your hole with your accumulated bones etc. I also found a world that felt well-conceived, well-written, and well-loved by its developers. Being a soulslike that actually places emphasis on its plot and had a named character, should put it on a pedestal before you even consider the rest of the package is verging on perfect.

A fun and vibrant roguelite with two major inspirations, Hades and Monster Hunter. Procedural levels and fun Hades-like combat against monsters that you can harvest for parts to make armor and weapons. It’s a winning system that can be fun for a while, but it lacks depth and a compelling narrative that would have elevated it to the next level.

A chilled yet rib tickling poker simulator that mashes together 4 iconic characters from various corners of the webosphere, Poker Night At The Inventory is a curio that's worth revisiting for fans of the original release. For everyone else, your milage will vary depending on your affinity to the quips of a violent rabbit and a mini-gun touting meat head.

On its own merits, Luna Abyss is a tightly put together first person shooter/platformer with an interesting enough story and concept. The gunplay is rewarding and not bogged down by tacked-on upgrade mechanics. The platforming is a neat little mix of brute force and lateral thinking, sometimes both simultaneously.

A few quirky characters and some turn-based battles struggle to hide that Starbites is a very middling JRPG far more concerned with silly banter than a compelling plot. It's passable salvage, but there's better out there if you know where to look.

Whilst the constant cheese puns and fourth wall trope-busting may grate after a fashion, there's a lot to enjoy in Mouse: P.I. For Hire. The old school shooting, with even older visual style, brings back nostalgia and challenge in one hit. Whilst more shooter than detective caper, it's still a gouda time.

A magical and charming adventure into a Moominvalley transformed by the elements, Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth puts Moomin at the fore in a whimsical story that always respects its source material. Subtle realignment of gameplay to suit Moomin and a continuation of every good aspect of its predecessor makes this wholesome treat of a game a wonderful cure for winter melancholy.

Firefly Studios continue to expand Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition's roster with two new strong additions in Baldwin & Bullseye. Baldwin has been a long sought after addition, while both provide engaging strategies to counter and account for. The new Trail of the Eagle is suitably grueling, once again proving there's plenty of life left in this desert yet.

Futurlab continues its trend of solid licensed DLC packs with Adventure Time. Five brand new levels to play offers real value, and the in jokes and easter eggs will have Adventure Time fans cleaning up.

Cthulu: The Cosmic Abyss falls prey to the greatest source of madness: boredom. Bogged down with its litany of technical issues and crashes, its fragile story and bland walking simulator gameplay fail to inspire even a modicum of intrigue. It's not Cthulu who'll cause your mental degradation, but the endless tedium of trying to reach the finale of this abyss.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits lands on Switch 2 in good condition, but the feeling can't be shaken that it could be much better. Whilst the heart, story and the fantastical wonder remains, technically we've seen far better on the hybrid system, and this port does a disservice to a game that should be treated with more care.

Still shiny, still enormous, still a Bethesda RPG, Starfield arrives on PS5 in style, allowing the game to flourish visually the way it was always supposed to. The game remains a vast, wild and at times enormously frustrating experience, but the starlight here tears through the blinds, and it's well worth staring back.

Dosa Divas isn't without some ingredients missing to create a robust RPG, but it's a well-seasoned narrative adventure that's exciting your senses. The story and characters are heartfelt and impressively written, the combat system although not expansive is fun to engage with; and the cooking minigames, whilst not perfect, are an excellent detour to round out the gameplay loop.

Pragmata is a much more reserved and grounded title than its premise may suggest, but that's for the better. Its central duo of Hugh and Diana form a likeable bond, its gameplay keeps itself tight and focused with some great-yet-cumbersome hacking mechanics. Even with some imprecise controls and visual mishaps, Pragmata makes a trip to the moon a sight to behold.

Emerging from the shadows of the Crossroads, Melinoë leads the charge for Supergiant's sequel that sits at the very top of the roguelike genre. The combat is exceptional, the visuals are divine, the story is mythical and its expansion as a sequel is first-class. Hades II safely resides in the hallowed halls of Olympus, worthy of its place amongst the immortals.

Rich gothic atmosphere and solid roguelike, inventory management puzzling give Fortune Seller a promising sales pitch. The ever-increasing payments and frustratingly imbalanced economy demands, however, mean its a hard sell thanks to overzealous haggling. Once this promising antique is better tuned and polished, it'll be ready for more bartering.

Easy Delivery Co. is a laid back low poly vibes based game, until it isn't. The core gameplay loop of delivering packages, whilst thinking about your resources, is a fun couple of hours. However, the gameplay becomes stagnant as no real progression is felt until you've almost beaten it. There's an iceberg to delve into post-game, probably found on message boards, but none of it is earned in-game.

Delivering on the promise to slay hundreds of dragon spawn with a sandbox of build diversity and compelling hacking and looting, Dragonkin: The Banished uses its Diablo inspirations to create a wonderfully addictive action game. It may not have the production values of the best in the genre, but this fledgling dragon spawn has spread its own wings and taken flight.

Bungie are once again at the forefront of sci-fi with their extraction shooter Marathon. Whilst none of the elements are purely unique individually, Bungie have cultivated a brutal ecosystem that gives you as much as you're willing to put in. The barrier to entry is high, and the player base are already daunting, but what is on offer is an FPS with exceptional gunplay and heightened encounters, wrapped in a brilliant setting.

A poor attempt at a Vanillaware style game, Ariana and the Elder Codex is not the dark academia tale I wanted. Instead its a sad and shallow mix of frustrating combat, dull narrative vignettes, and tiresome level design, that left me wishing I had borrowed it from the library and could take it back. Do not judge this book by its cover.

In fully committing to its themes of artistic inspiration, trauma and self-doubt, Project Songbird shows a willingness to be emotionally raw and vulnerable, creating a real space for reflection and empathy. The psychological horror elements have a depth that slowly expands over the game's runtime, outshining its relatively straightforward combat and occasional technical problems. A nightmare is always distressing, but maybe there's beauty nestled within the pain.

With three exciting missions, a new batch of weapons and customisation options, Ready or Not: Boiling Point is a fitting conclusion to the three-arc DLC packs. It adds a new offensive element, a new treat and new challenges to overcome. It may be a deep end to jump into, as I did, but I'm a newcomer and I'm paddling just fine. Boiling Point brings the heat, I'm ready for it.

Bearing the legacy of Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando lands with an almighty bang when it comes to gunplay and spectacle defence sequences against armies of undead numbering in the thousands. It's unfortunately saddled with lame writing and meagre fresh ideas, which can thankfully be ignored as you unleash armageddon with bullets and explosions with your friends.