While Dexter Stardust is not bringing anything new to the point and click adventure genre, it’s an endearing passion project full of Mexican flair and light hearted humour. It might be a too short and easy for some genre aficionados, and it has a few foibles, but for most it’ll be a pleasant way to while away an evening with a cast of Taco obsessed space traveling characters.

Before We Leave is a comforting and accessible city building simulator that will entice and equally challenge you. The momentum occasionally stutters and micro-managing your ever-expanding cities can be a pain at times, but your Peeps will never cease to entice you back in. Helping this fledging society of tiny cute figures colonise islands and planets from neanderthal to fully-developed modern society is a fundamentally lovely experience. Saving them from space whales is certainly tough, but it’s also a wholesome, worthwhile endeavour.

Spinch is a gorgeous psychedelic platformer that will both delight and infuriate you, aimed solely at an audience that eyes up the challenge and won’t relent until it’s conquered.

Ponpu is weird, wacky and regularly wonderful. It’s a slick take on Bomberman that understands what made the original games so great and evolves it for the modern day. It’s a shame that the multiplayer modes are undermined by ineffective identifying marks that make it difficult to see who’s who. Thankfully a decent sized and suitably challenging single player campaign makes up for that.

WWE 2K25 ensures the series remains the ultimate way to enjoy the most electrifying of sports entertainment, but the microtransaction fleecing is becoming harder to swallow, with an entire game mode built around it that is impossible to enjoy. It's a shame because otherwise, there's so much to do and its gameplay remains top notch. Just don't go to The Island. Yikes.

Centum is thought provoking, unflinching and maybe a little verbose. It's a minimal point-and-click where the messaging is the importance, with the gameplay taking a slight backseat to deliver the story. A rare gem for the medium that I couldn't recommend to everyone either.

Lake: Seasons Greetings is a wonderful return to the popular and well-loved community of Providence Oaks. Seasons Greetings offers more of everything loved with the base game. Whilst perhaps not having the same emotion attached or doing nothing ‘new’. Seasons Greetings serves well as a short reunion back to the charm of P.O.

Beautiful hand-crafted visuals, serene soundtrack and an abundance of nice moments to spend with your adorable companion make Koira a lovely way to spend an afternoon. While not up to the high bar set by Journey or its other contemporaries, Studio Tolima have created an emotionally investing adventure that excels when you slow down and take the opportunity for another game of hide-and-seek.

Soulstice is a melting pot of things Devil May Cry does well and adds interesting demanding combat with two characters and situational countering. However, its predictable somber story and uninteresting world work hard to drain the fun out of things and its camera wants to be more enemy than friend.

A short but impressively realised walking simulator that will unnervingly delight many and disappoint some, POOLS is a purely experiential liminal piece of media. Like all of its halls and corridors, you may wonder where the end goal is, or where the purpose lies. But that’s precisely the purpose of the liminal – to focus on emotion and feeling, even if that’s slightly undermined by its structural design.

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.

If you happen to have a pre-school fan of Pocoyo in your home, this is one party you might want to RSVP too. Pocoyo Party expertly encapsulates the thematic feeling of the show to feel like a natural extension of it. It doesn’t contain a massive amount of content and a few of the mini-games aren’t as well thought out as the others but what is here is accessible and designed specifically for the fun of players aged 3-5.

The PS5 version of Warp Drive is much better than the original version of this game that launched back in 2020 – but it’s still lacking in places. While it comes in second place to the games it’s inspired by, Warp Drive can fill that WipEout shaped hole in your heart, if only for a few hours. There’s certainly potential for more from this concept, should the developers want to make a sequel.

Wednesdays is an earnest attempt to move the medium forward when it comes to exploring sensitive and taboo life experiences. Where it reflects on some of the lesser spoken about aspects of abuse, it succeeds. While it has a positive and optimistic view of healing from said abuse, it can occasionally veer into overly hopeful, which may be uncomfortable for some. Unafraid to tackle difficult subject matter, Wednesdays demonstrates how video games can be a vessel for important messages.

Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is a pleasant companion tool for increasing your productivity and fostering a more mindful space to focus. It’s not really a video game in the traditional sense, thanks to the lack of interactivity and gameplay. However, it has a wonderful set of relaxing tracks and a charming aesthetic that makes it a welcoming, peaceful addition to your day-to-day routine, even if it’s not a gaming essential.

Pocky and Rocky Reshrined is a gorgeous run-and-gun shooter, lovingly and faithfully reimagined. It’s just as much fun as it was back in the nineties, but little in the way of extra content and decidedly old-school controls hold it back from greatness.

Where The Heart Leads is an acquired taste. For those who demand action from their games, or life and death decision making in your narrative titles, this one won’t be for you. The stakes in this game are family sized, the decisions made at a workaday level and the cast almost ordinary. Even with a few niggles though, some smart writing and plenty of charm create a series of characters you can care for. It’s easy to get invested in their fate and to find the decisions directing their lives challenging to make.

Road 96 is an atmospheric experiment in procedural storytelling that is successful more often than not. A dynamite retrowave soundtrack and some interesting characters don’t quite excuse a story that lacks a cohesive framework and too many minigames.

A vibrant and violent affair, Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef is a slice of arcade fun. It’s not aimed at Warhammer veterans, and rightfully so, more for those who like their run-and-gun to be over-the-top. A bit lacking in extra content and polish, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Highly recommend it with friends though.

A.I.L.A is a game of two halves. The first promises an intriguing and mind-bending narrative with gameplay experiences pulling from various inspirations for an exciting, evolving horror experience. The second unfortunately drops much of what makes the game feel unique and special, with a dampened finale and some overly drawn out, familiar experiences. Despite this, it still shines with the glow of an enigmatic A.I machine ready to take the world by storm, even with some technical hiccups.

Whilst it is nice to at least try something different, Immortals of Aveum falls back on way too many cliches to make it stick. Terrible dialogue, formulaic shooting and linear progression are too overbearing in an otherwise colourful shooter.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skate 3 + 4 uses the same gameplay formula as its predecessor, making it almost as fun. 4's redesign feels intuitive, the soundtrack befits the new coat of paint and the core gameplay is heaps of fun. With that said, character creation and career progression is hollow and unfulfilling, with nothing "new" to get stuck into outside of its 19 levels.

Let’s Sing ABBA is a very typical Let’s Sing title with precisely zero innovation or new features. Thankfully, it’s a game based on ABBA’s music, so the set list is to die for. If you’re so inclined, it’s an absolute must for your karaoke evenings.

Even though Democracy 4: Console Edition is an Excel spreadsheet morphed into a colourful set of menus, it’s tantalisingly engaging. Whether falling foul of commuters for refusing to ban petrol car sales or being ousted from Canadian leadership for attempting to wire-tap homes, democracy is an entertaining beast to tame. The real question is whether outlasting a lettuce as a government is that easy after all.

Even though A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead struggles to build and maintain any momentum by design, it's the perfect Quiet Place game. Sound, and it's absence, are the core of this game, for better and for worse. While some may drown in the quiet from the tedious pace, others will adore the serenity of its methodical nature and immense respect for the source material. Personally, I've never felt more on edge opening a door like I have playing this, and that's my screaming whisper of a compliment for it.

There is a lot to love in this indie RPG, with a wonderful level of detail. It’s just a shame that it has only the bare bones of a plot, and some MMO tropes that should have been cut.

Ben 10: Power Trip delivers an adult sized game with a child friendly veneer. The co-op might be partially hamstrung with technical issues and a large chunk of the game might feel mundane but this is the best Ben 10 game to date with an open world that kids love to play around in.

This is one of the most accessible Metroidvanias to embark on. Pronty’s underwater excavation in a city, crawling with well-designed bosses is one for both newcomers and seasoned players of the genre. Combat is lacklustre and it doesn’t reinvent in any game-changing capacity, but it sure is a world worth diving deep in.

Moving Out 2 plays it safe with more of the same fun from the original. Whilst the game is more cohesive and streamlined with its levels, it loses some of the random craziness that you weren’t expecting from the first. New modes are decent and the addition to online co-op is great but don’t go into the game expecting it to reinvent the wheel.

A twin-stick shooter with simplistic and accessible design, there’s a certain catharsis to blasting your way through various locations as tiny soldiers. It’s hampered by repetitious gameplay and a couple of frustrating issues, but if you’d like an afternoon of running-and-gunning through comically undersized enemies, this might just be the immature cartoon game for you.

The Saints have come marching in once again and while Santo Ileso offers a fun playground for these reborn renegades, it’s somewhat marred by a wealth of graphical issues, some underwhelming gunplay and a predictable narrative. Having said all that, you can customise your character into an orange, hurl yourself into traffic to make money and throw a self-propelled football at enemies to send them into space. It’s Saints Row as you remember, for better or worse, with a new coat of paint and refurbished for modern times.

Anoxia Station struggles to maintain the tense base-building and resource management gameplay it initially compels with. Even so, the looming sense of dread is ever-present thanks to its maddening atmosphere and exceptional use of audio. How far you're willing to dig will depend on your sanity, but there are enough diamonds in the rough to make it worth trudging through the alien sludge.

While it might lose its lustre towards the end, Another Tomorrow is an otherwise well crafted and challenging first person point and click adventure that’ll appeal to long time fans of the genre. A great hint system helps avoid any frustrating hold ups while still allowing you to discover those important ‘eureka’ moments on your own.

Being a step beyond inspiration and dated in its mechanics, Airoheart is an obtuse yet magical game to delve into. Pixel Heart Studio’s debut is great but often hindered by its imitation. Though the unique aspects are what kept me playing, I just wish there was more originality.

It won’t be winning any Game of the Year awards but Chasing Static is a compact narrative thriller worth an evening of your time. Its story isn’t as engrossing as those of its peers and it can be a touch confusing at times, but a mix of crunchy, nostalgia fuelled visuals, high quality audio and a great script make for an interesting combination.

Super Animal Royale treads on the Royale genre with a twist on the formula, a top-down twin stick shooter with cute animals shooting the heck outta each other. Go in gently and with patience as it’s brutal for beginners, but those brave enough to stick it out will find an awful lot to enjoy. And we ain’t lion.

Curious Expedition 2 is more of an interactive board game of level one D&D. A game that balances roguelike tactics, RPG, and procedural storytelling well. A delightful top down surprise with a great depth to explore, do and encounter, that’s if RNG is on your side! If not, it’s into the lion’s den you go. Although slightly repetitive visually, you will likely not get the same story twice.

R-Type Delta HD Boosted offers tight gameplay and nostalgic strategy, but muddy visuals and collision bugs hold it back from greatness.

A satisfying game play loop is the strongest aspect of Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness. Resource management and balancing your character’s needs gives the game a risk vs reward angle that makes it feel more like a survival game than an action RPG. There are issues – frequent texture pop in and a lacklustre story being the most severe – but despite them, Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness is a rewarding experience.

Darkestville Castle feels at home on the Switch, and with a strong narrative and clever puzzles cements itself as a decent point-and-click adventure, despite some niggles.

A few issues aside, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a celebration of the TV sensation that translates much of what is loved about the show into tangible game play systems. The last third of this game is a brilliant showcase of the time manipulation mechanics and puzzle depth that can really push the player and offers oodles of tension. It’s simply a shame that it takes two thirds the game for that to be realised and for it to end so soon after it begins.

A reworked version of the original game that addresses most of the criticism that was aimed at it, Firegirl DX is a much more enjoyable game this time around. It unfortunately falls foul of a few new issues as it blazes a trail on consoles but these flaws can’t spoil what is a fun blend of 2D and 3D visuals in a competent roguelike package.

Architect Life is a well made and intensely detailed look at the world of house design, and those brought up on The Sims will feel that creativity pouring through the screen. Just be prepared to pay extra if you feel like you're missing a cinema.

Metal Eden’s hyperkinetic and challenging gameplay that tested age-old strategies was appreciated, even if it’s science fiction city and story was too safe and generic to be memorable. It is not Metroid however much it might want to look like it on the shiny spherical surface.

Fort Solis is an immensely beautiful game from top to bottom, with outstanding performances from the whole cast. However, it doesn’t completely deliver on the thrills, nor in the story and for a title not entirely rich in gameplay, the other elements don’t shine as brightly as a result.

On its own merits, Bright Memory is short, rough around the edges and has a somewhat forgettable storyline. But as proof of concept and a playable teaser for the forthcoming Bright Memory Infinite, it’s a tantalising look at what’s to come and I personally cannot wait. For the price of a large Big Mac meal, it’s a no-brainer.

What it lacks in narrative, Severed Steel makes up for it in the gameplay department. It’s fast, it’s frenetic, it’s vibrant and by golly, is it fun. There’s no greater pleasure in somersaulting over goons to air out their brain cases in glorious voxel violence. Switch off the lateral thinking and engage those cat-like reflexes.

Timeless and strange, Katamari Damacy is as original now as it was when first released. There’s nothing else like it. REROLL is a faithful remaster, but on PS4 that means retaining a very out-of-date control scheme, and no new features, but even that can’t hold back this big ball of fun.

Wanted: Dead trips over itself trying to tell a coherent story, but its intense blood-spattered limb-slicing combat is satisfying, rewarding and demands mastery. It’s full of ambition and ideas, drenched in personality, but stumbling to deliver. Despite its quirks and failings, it’s got cult classic written all over it.

Children of Silentown has a thought-provoking story, with an art style that is impossible not to enjoy. A point and click adventure spanning over five chapters to enjoy – if you can get past the infuriating mini games – there’s much to be fond of. Unfortunately, the story ends abruptly, but your journey up till then will be full of mystery and intrigue.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 excels in being one of the most interesting iterations the franchise has seen in a long time. However, the standard framework it leans on is more glaring than ever as the new stuff completely outshines it. An entry maybe too scared to take the full plunge in offering something brand new but it at least shows what the series could be in brilliant and polished fashion.

Cris Tales is a stunningly gorgeous indie, with art that’ll make your jaw drop. However many of its time mechanics are relatively skin deep, and it lacks the kind of depth its art inspires. It’s also not the epic it claims to be. It’s a love letter to classic RPGs, if within that same analogy those classics are the full novel.

It can be a bit fiddly to start with, what with the limited view and squint-inducing text. Yet persevere with Disjunction and there’s a great cyberpunk detective story to get your teeth into.

Ys X Nordics focuses on narrative and the essence of being a fun adventure, without much of the fluff that can weigh down more accomplished titles. It’s an open world, but it rarely demanded I wasted time doing fetch quests, and its melee and nautical combat are weighty enough for this kind of mid-length campaign. Ys X Nordics takes the series back to its beginnings, and while I can lament the things we lost along the way, it was still a worthwhile adventure.

Opting for a new semi-open world approach and a more sandbox-orientated set of tools to tinker with, Amnesia: The Bunker forgoes many of its previous series staples in favour of a single persistent threat and a fantastically oppressive World War 1 setting. It stumbles at times owing to crashing problems, a bothersome save system and the occasional gameplay limitation, but Amnesia can comfortably forget its memories of the past if this is the future it has lurking ahead.

A satisfying reimagining of the classic ice-block puzzle with ninja and a revenge narrative, Red Ronin adds a slew of interesting takes on a formula thought exhausted. It’s tightly designed and demands your concentration. Revenge is a dish best served ice cold.

A short and sweet experiential exploration game, Return To Grace embraces a 60s art style, interesting story and a relaxed approach to gameplay. Unfortunately, the lack of gameplay depth and predictable narrative beats prevent it ascending into the highest echelons of the genre’s grace. Regardless, embarking on Adie’s adventure is a calming and welcome experience in spite of its limitations.

Outside of the new, most sought after destination of Feudal Japan, Assassin's Creed Shadows never really escapes its own shadow of boilerplate gameplay systems and its tried and true open world formula the series is known for. Whilst the game is at the same high standard as every other entry, it doesn't truly excel at anything more specific.

Charming, spooky and just the right amount of cosy for the autumn period, Gloomy Eyes is a fun self-coop puzzler with an even better sense of style. It isn't without its flaws, like its gameplay being a little buggy and puzzles staying the same throughout, but the worldbuilding, visuals and tone are so inviting that you can't help but get lost in the gloom.

A real blast from the past, Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening is as classic an anime as it gets. Whilst it seems like a niche game for the fans, it's an accessible action platformer for old and newcomers a like. Interspersed with original animations and corny dialogue, it's a fun little romp through the golden era of anime and space adventuring.

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.

LOVE is a charming game that ties a time bending puzzle box to a lattice of interwoven dioramas that await the player’s intervention. It’s like a Rubik’s cube but instead of coloured tiles, there’s bite sized narrative adventures to uncover. Not all of the stories are impactful because they’re told exclusively though character gesticulations rather than text or vocal performances but more than enough stick the landing to make this a satisfying experience.

A satisfying platformer aimed at a younger age group, Yestermorrow is memorable for its aesthetics and inspirations. However it’s gameplay doesn’t really do anything we haven’t seen before, and fumbles what could have been more interesting uses of its Everlight and time-based premise.

Spitlings is a satisfying and solid puzzler, and provides plenty of challenge for those who enjoy a fun mechanic with plenty of wacky design. There are so many Spitlings to unlock, that anyone will find the game lasting them a fair amount of time. It encourages completion, through the same “gotta catch ’em all” ethos as Pokemon. If honking up flem and spitting it at others is your idea of a fun evening, maybe do it with this game, rather than off a bridge.

Meet your Maker is a solid new adventure for Behaviour Interactive, boasting a strong community-driven set of systems and mechanics that encourage creativity and ruthlessness in their design. The lack of available options, a poor progression system and grid-locked currencies dull the excitement of raiding somewhat, but the core structure of this outpost should allow it to harvest for some time yet.

While it has lost some of its uniqueness in the 2 years since it launched on PC, BFF or Die still has the capability of lighting up an evening with friends on PS4. 1-4 player co-op puzzles that are more to do with your group dynamic than what’s happening on screen deliver equal doses of hilarity and chaos despite a few frustrating levels. This one would be perfect for a gaming group or as part of a playlist of party games sandwiched between Gang Beasts and a Jackbox game.

Loopmancer has all the hallmarks for a phenomenal game, but is just let down by some mechanical issues and a middling story. It’s stellar visual design will reel you into its Cyberpunk world and its fast-paced combat will hook you into trying out even more outlandish varieties of weapons. Unlike most dystopian cities, the rot only occurs at the top and in patches, leaving a healthy and exciting core to explore for a few loops. Just don’t look at the faces, even Dredd couldn’t make them any more hideous.

A fun new take on the concept of “team deathmatch”, Hood: Outlaws and Legends is a blast to get into it. However, with one game mode and promised roadmap content down the line, it’s a lot to ask players to buy into on faith in later additions.

Turrican Flashback is a rose-tinted ride to the heady days of the Amiga. However you can’t help but think this is a wasted opportunity considering the lack of extra features.

Labyrinth of the Demon King is a nostalgic and pummelling entry into the survival horror/dungeon crawling genre. The Feudal Japan setting and atmospheric level design sets itself apart from its contemporaries but doesn't quite sustain its thrills in story or puzzles. Whilst the combat is rigid and slightly unfair, it's a core element to it's differing approach of retro style PS1 horror.

Another drop in the Soulslike well, WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers is if anything a spirited and colourful take on precedings. But lush visuals and a smattering of some tweaked mechanics don't really do much to differentiate from practically any other offering in the difficult action-adventure genre. One for the devout, perhaps, but nothing new to those that are getting Souls fatigue.

It ironically has a few bugs, but The Forest Cathedral’s dramatized portrayal of Rachel Carson’s research into pesticides is still one worth your time. Short and succinct, the game blends narrative focused exploration with 2D platforming into a seamless experience. While none of its component elements are particularly earth shattering, the way they are combined makes this game more than the sum of its parts.

Let’s Sing 2024 brings new modes and a killer setlist to the stage which gives it wings for another year. This one feels like an evolution of the series, even if the presentation is lacking and the songs are once again a little too easy to cheat your way through. Still, if you want to feel like a rockstar there isn’t much competition out there, so grab the mic, put on the wig and have an absolute blast.

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.

Eriksholm the place is a beautiful creation, full of detail and complexity. It’s a shame that Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream lacks the same kind of complexity. With only a handful of stealth tools or route options, it feels like a guided tour of the city rather than a stealth adventure where anything could happen.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii exemplifies the pure thrill of being a hugely entertaining pirate themed adventure. What it loses in gameplay water depth and broadside storytelling, it makes up for with a streamlined approach to the Yakuza formula, an often times hilarious tone and a willingness to let the player go utterly wild. Goro may not achieve Blackbeard infamy in his pirate antics, but the blast from his cannons causes enough of a splash to make Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii worth a trip to Honolulu.

The nomadic lifestyle translates into an interesting take on the resource and management genre, that is more interesting for its ideas than its execution. However, those who fancy a more contemplative slow going game will find solid goal-oriented challenges in this journey back to the source.

Cute cartoon aesthetics, satisfying spell customisation and a variety of creatures to add to your party makes Necro Story a pleasant experience. The dialogue occasionally falls flat, the ending is conflicting and party system lacks depth, but these don't stop this necromancer rising from the dead to have a good time.

Care Bears: To the Rescue! successfully delivers a short and sweet, charming and accessible platforming adventure suitable for all ages. Its gameplay, cooperative features, and faithful representation of the beloved franchise make it a worthwhile addition to any gaming library, but may be too easy for seasoned players familiar with platformers.

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break is more of what worked in the previous games with a handful of new modes and a creation suite. A tactical tower defence game that’ll have you scratching your head combined with an arcade physics derby that’ll have you grinning over the destruction left in your wake, it’s a lot of fun to play. It’s still not perfect but for those who’ve had fun with the previous 2 games, this instalment builds on that formula in the right places.

Mafia: The Old Country strips back much of what weighed Hanger 13's previous entry down. While the story and gameplay rely solely on solid and well-trodden tropes in a much more linear design, the intense focus on great characters and a gorgeous Sicilian setting make this a leaner experience that's worth the lower price of admission. This Mafioso family has a long way to go to re-establish its place at the head of the table, but the beginnings of its criminal enterprise are promising.

Descenders is a game that once you get to grips with can be a lot of fun, unfortunately, it probably has one too many flaws for it to be considered great.

Celebrating the series 20th anniversary, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a hugely challenging trip through the greatest hits of the series, showing off classic courses rendered beautifully for the new systems. The Party Games remains the jewel in the Monkey Ball crown, but there’s more than enough to get your brain working whilst you’re balancing out a monkey in a ball on perilously thin ledges. It’s good to have Monkey Ball back.

The frame rate can slow down, it occasionally crashes and there are aspects of Necromunda: Hired Gun that don’t live up to their potential. For fans of the 41st Millennium’s most infamous planet however, the fast paced FPS combat, detailed game world and strong narrative that Streum On Studio have created, all steeped in Warhammer 40K lore, will be compelling.

Phoenix Point is a game I desperately wanted to love. It has exceptionally complex and deep mechanics, solid turn-based combat systems and fun global strategy gameplay, coupled with a decent story and some decent new additions to provide it its own identity. It is also, however, riddled with technical problems, inconsistent mechanics and frustrating difficulty spikes. Like a true phoenix, it can rise with glory when it wants to, I only wish it didn’t thud back down to ashes so frequently.

A delightful central relationship gives this love story RPG wings, but generic survival beats and somewhat empty worlds leaves Haven not quite the essential indie experience we were hoping for.

Transmogrify is a Portal gun that’s been remodeled to transform your expectations of a typical puzzle-platformer. It has the occasional issue with bugs (literally and metaphorically) and the usual frustration that comes hand-in-hand with the genre, but its an earnest and delightful little game that’ll keep enthusiasts hooked for a good while.

Vertigo Games have perfectly captured the essence of a Metro game with Metro Awakening. The more humble yet engrossing story telling is met with some painfully slow moments that bog down what is otherwise a great shooter set in Russia's nuclear fallout.

Whilst a bit janky on the Switch, Blair Witch offers a decent first-person horror title based on an established mythos. And a dog!

With the foundations of Arcade Paradise well and truly intact and even some subtle improvements to the game’s economy, the VR experience elevates many aspects of the base game. However, with some difficulty in its controls, some jarring flat screen moments and a few bugs this isn’t quite the new way to play.

SpellForce 3: Reforced is a valiant effort to mesh RTS and RPG into a functional package on console. In theory, it shouldn’t work at all, but for the most part it succeeds more than it fails. There’s plenty of issues, whether it be the shallowness of the tactics for success, the visual oddities that plague your journey or the overabundance of burdening dialogue to cut through, but the essence of this fantasy game is good enough to shine through.

Classified: France ’44 sits comfortably within the XCOM genre, content to replicate a good, solid formula without much deviation. This resistance group suffers from all manner of technical flaws and they don’t present themselves as particularly interesting, but the missions you’ll send them on will keep you engaged right up until the Allied assault of D-Day begins, and you’ll have earned that victory lap.

It’s short, has little to no replayability and still doesn’t fulfil the potential that the premise has. That said, Bouncy Bullets 2 is a move in the right direction for the series, offering bite sized, first person platform challenges. It’s nicer to look at, has a much better soundtrack and there are a handful of levels that show glimpses of what this series really could be. It’s just not frequent enough to elevate the game out of mediocre trophy fodder.

Bounty Battle might be the most ambitious cross-over event in indie gaming history. It unites 22 indie games under one banner and has their heroes duke it out in Smash Bros-esque fashion. This project might have been too ambitious though as the touted story mode is missing, the existing single player content is mundane, the AI needs work and the fight stages lack variety. Still, the game looks first-rate and with friends, all the mechanics are there for a good night of scrappy indie combat.

The race feel takes a little getting used to, it’s sorely missing any licensed legends and it has some technical/design issues but in the game modes where Monster Truck Championship revels in the magnificence of these vehicles and what they’re capable of, this game is capable of raising a smile.

The novelty of the absurdness wears off pretty quickly. But it makes up for it by being a fun little football game.

Atlas Fallen is at its best when you’re kicking seven shades out of enormous crabs and snakes, and unfortunately has little else that lives up to these moments. Whilst the traversal is solid, going back and forth through a treacherously dull wasteland doesn’t particularly inspire replayability, and when you’ve done it thirty times, you don’t want to do it again. Rent for the combat, then return it and there’s a chance you’ll probably never think about it again.

Atomic Heart is a solid yet over-indulgent first entry from a developer that maybe had more ideas than it could manage at once. The individual atoms and particles have wonderful potential, but their quantum connection to each other feels wholly missing thanks to their competing directions. I have hope a sequel could deliver on the fantastic premise and stellar world-building, but just like nuclear fusion, it’s an optimistic dream rather than an exciting current reality.