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.

A compelling and atmospheric story of twin girls exploring a haunted village is marred by its gameplay. Had Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly Remake been a more straight forward third person combat adventure I may have enjoyed it more, but I found the first person camera-based combat disorienting, cumbersome, frustrating and repetitive.

Continuing with the series' revival, Legacy of Kain: Defiance is again another spruce up of the old vampiric duo from 2003. Fans will appreciate the new look, quality of life improvements and better camera control. It may be a hard sell to newcomers, but it's still an accessible game in its own right. Paired with the Soul Reaver remasters, it's a good time to take a bite into it.

A sum of its parts indeed, Resident Evil Requiem silences any doubts about the previous entries it's mutated from. A mix of tense survival horror and action setpieces, Requiem is a welcome addition, perhaps even surpassing those you already hold high. It's beautiful, it's disgusting, it's over-the-top... it's Resident Evil, that's for sure.

Death Howl is an excellent and original soulslike deckbuilder, that's only mired by its pacing. Progression is sluggish, and the combat is so unforgiving that these challenges may dissuade some players. However, if players want that challenge and love turn-based card battlers, then it doesn't get better than this.

A decent offering from the weird mind of Goichi Suda, Romeo Is A Dead Man is a welcome return to the madness. Whilst fun to play, the inconsistent story beats, occasional jank and insanely bright and blinding fights can become too repetitive. Definitely one for the fans of Grasshopper, perhaps not so much for the unaware.

Reanimal is a whole beast of its own from Tarsier Studios, but only vaguely beyond the surface. It's a dark yet tasteful turn into more mature horror, with a striking art style, and a tremendous level of world building. However, its gameplay doesn't quite feel like the improved pivot every other aspect Reanimal has, as it's what we've come to expect from the studio. It's still an unnerving spectacle to trudge through, but it just feels a little too familiar to be impactful.

Nioh 3 expands the series from tight bitesized focus to expansive open world design over multiple time periods. And while the third samurai soulslike still plays incredibly, its structurally compromised by recycled enemies, easy difficulty, too much loot and a nonsense plot. Bigger is not always better.

Two new AI Lords that offer meaningful challenge in both defense and sieges makes The Sergeant & The Lioness a tantalising expansion. The Trail of The Cobra delivers yet another brutal yet brilliantly rewarding skirmish campaign to master, all wrapped up alongside a new editing tool that lets you create your own Trails and Lords. Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition is quintessentially the ultimate way to experience this RTS all-time classic.

The Game Bakers have a good eye for art, with Cairn now successfully rubbing shoulders with its stablemates. The joy in climbing outweighs the rough moments, that which will hopefully iron out over time.

As the hours tick away and you find yourself forgetting what hour it is or how many runs you've done that day, Roots Devour will have sunk its roots as deep into you as you'll have done in its addicting hybrid of strategy and card-placement gameplay. The atmosphere reeks of Lovecraftian madness, complimenting a commitment to the depravity of bloodlust. Some minor imperfections spoil the purity of the blood, but this is nonetheless a feast for the Outer Gods, and players alike.

Overall, Visions of Four Heroes is a good quality expansion to Dynasty Warriors: Origins, but may feel too pricey for the lack of fresh material. The two new weapons and early prototype for strategy battles are interesting, while the core gameplay remains excellent. However, the storytelling continues to tread water and the expansion doesn't take much of a risk with its ideas, which may leave some feeling short-changed by its asking price.