A beautiful looking game with simple-yet-engaging sword and gunplay, it’s hard to think that this was made by one man. Yet Bright Memory: Infinite is proof of a passion project done right, even if it does suffer from a surprisingly short runtime, forgettable story and extremely linear progression system. Still, it’s better than this period’s AAA offerings.

If you enjoyed Hyper Light Drifter and like me, you’re a sucker for good pixelart, there are things to like in Resolutiion. It’s got plenty of HLD’s beauty, just little of its charm. Basic combat, an empty world devoid of reasons to return, and some odd design choices, mar its otherwise great potentia.

So there’s really not an awful lot to recommend, despite Snakeybus doing what it does fairly well. In this climate there are so many better games at the £10 price range you can get stuck into that it’s not even worth the minimal RRP. It’s doing solid numbers on Steam which is great, you can’t begrudge a game that definitely has its fans. It’s just really not for me. This bus journey offers little thrills and a whole lot of frustration. Much like a normal bus journey then, I suppose.

Some of its endings might leave you feeling a little derezzed, but the branching narrative journey you take to get there makes Tron: Identity an experience worth having. Thought provoking writing and incredible music are coupled with an enjoyable card game in a tale that tackles new frontiers in the world of Tron which will be essential for those that ‘fight for the user’.

Player choice has a profound effect on the narrative in Hindsight 20/20 – Wrath of the Raakshasa. Even the choice of weapon can have unexpected consequences later down the line. The game occasionally struggles to wrangle all of this in a coherent way and there are some rough edges but for those that like a game that gets better the more you replay it, this is certainly worth your time.

World War I returns with the Italian theatre authentically recreated for some grounded, methodical FPS action. The real war was a grind and Isonzo maybe captures that feeling a little too well with a lack of variety in maps and modes, coupled with some major technical and visual issues. Even so, it’s an earnest effort that’ll draw in appreciators of history and those who like their FPS experiences to be more tactical and threatening than the Battlefield 2042s of the world.

With a different gameplay focus, bright and breezy presentation, a simple yet effective match engine and a long overdue women’s football management mode, We Are Football does a pretty decent job of setting itself apart from Football Manager. However, a cluttered and messy UI, when combined with a frankly overwhelming amount of information to process, served to be pretty off-putting and left me pining for the relative simplicity of FM Touch. If you want to dig into some boardroom minutiae, this might just be the game for you. As it is, there was just a little too much white noise around the good stuff to make this a unanimous recommendation.

Walking your patrol as a rookie in The Precinct will fill you with wide-eyed hope thanks to some great arcadey Police gameplay, packed with chases and satisfying arrest work. Much like a disillusioned veteran, however, over-exposure to the same shallow mechanics, predictable story and lack of consequences will have you eying up retirement sooner than you may have envisioned.

When Potata: Fairy Flower is doing what it does best – tense platforming among open, branching levels loaded with danger – it’s excellent. Sure, it can be punishing at times but it has been quite some time since a game made my palms as sweaty as this game did at times. For that, it has to be commended. It’s a shame these moments are offset by meandering, sometimes nonsensical quests coupled with reams of text to read, some of which are confusing, and puzzles which grind the game to a halt.

Amidst the sea of rogues and Survivors, Devil Jam rocks up with its effort. With solid gameplay, colourful visuals and a neat beat mechanic, it can be fun. But it doesn't offer much in terms of substance, and is subsequently more for the hardcore genre fans only.

A passion project led by a small group of dedicated developers, Copycat delivers an emotionally driven tale about the nature of home, belonging and change. In spite of the occasional thematic misstep and limited replayability value, Copycat is both an enjoyable and reflective piece of art that's worth your time. Whether bapping gnomes off walls or wrestling with deep feelings, you'll feel moved throughout this short-but-sweet feline adventure.

Whilst offering up very little from its clear influences, Park Beyond is a fun and visually thrilling theme park sim that offers a central mechanic which gives it quite the edge in the genre. It’s still hair-tearingly frustrating in places but has enough creativeness and inventiveness about it to hold the attention of long-term theme park simulator fans.

Super Toy Cars 2 is one of the worst examples of this genre I’ve played in the past few years (surprisingly not the worst). The visuals, much improved over its predecessor and a decent soundtrack are its only saving graces.

Channelling your inner desire to become just like Spiderman, Windlands 2 has some epic moments that are buried under tedious combat design, poor story structure and inconsistent grappling that is hindered by the current PSVR tech. When the harmony of swinging works, it encapsulates the best of what only immersive VR can do, if only the game itself could provide the platform to let it spread its wings and soar.

Somerville is a short but sweet sci-fi apocalypse story with an attempt at telling a human story. Whilst the narrative does fall flat by feeling no connection to the characters, the action set pieces, puzzle mechanics and overall art direction are spectacular. If you can look past the inconsistent controls and lacklustre story, there’s a lot to enjoy about Somerville and it’s a quality debut from Jumpship.

CSI meets a walking simulator in Forest Grove, proving to be a compelling – if flawed – detective puzzler. The futuristic setting and web of personal intrigue make cracking the case a fun and engaging exercise, even if the process of gathering the evidence fails to ignite your detective excitement. The Kunstimatigaard holds an intriguing mystery to solve, should you decide to jump into the future.

A bargain God of War inspired adventure, this is one for those with the soulslike fatigue. A tightly delivered narrative, characters with more than average depth, and combat that mostly works, Echoes of the End is a solid title that delivers far more consistently than most AAA games in recent memory.

Twinkleby is a charming, whimsical take on the decorating sim, offering creativity without consequence. It’s light on challenge and sometimes drifts into slow territory, but for those who find joy in arranging, customising, and soaking in cosy vibes, it’s a floating-island daydream.

At its heart, Front Mission 3 Remake is a mostly-faithful adaptation of the 2000's original. It retains the same tactical mech action, with some smoother transitions and polished graphics. But with the looming accusation of AI asset usage, and not much else being done to draw in newcomers, it may be a slightly harder sell than expected.

The potential behind Way of the Hunter is there to give the likes of the Cabela series a run for its money. It’s just marred with a few too many technical issues that prevent it from being a fun and immersive experience overall. Stuff it and move on to the next quarry instead.

Chock full of cuteness and charm, Tin Hearts also unravels into a well thought out and crafted puzzler experience. There are means to make it easier, should you wish, but also the option of playing it without aid to challenge those that seek it.

Beautiful Desolation may have some gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds, but its impenetrable plot, two-dimensional characters, maddening indirect quests, and cryptic puzzles make it very hard to recommend to anyone but diehard fans of obtuse point-and-click adventures.

When you get over the niggling feeling of what seems like a mobile port, Dustoff Z is quite fun. It has an element of grind to it, sans microtransactions, but treat it like a simple-minded arcade game and you’ll have a blast.

If you like big-breasted anime females then Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars has got you covered. With lacklustre story, shallow hack-and-slash mechanics and ancient graphical presentation, there’s little here worth your time. If you’re a fan of action or RPG games that are anything more deep than a puddle, Ninja Wars ain’t gonna be the one, basically, especially if you don’t fancy balancing barely-glad animated women on peaches.

With an interesting take on the core gameplay of asymmetrical horror and a clear love for the franchise, Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Video Game is dreadfully unbalanced and unforgiving for solo players. Whilst the game has great art direction, the animation and overall movement feels dated. If you like the franchise or indeed Illfonic’s asymmetric outings you can probably dig this, but otherwise it’s not all too memorable.

Taken as a whole, PolyAmorous doesn’t get everything right with Paradise Lost, with some maddening technical issues too often dragging me out of potentially powerful or touching moments, but there are enough terrific little touches here that – when combined with a compelling narrative, haunting sound design and some interesting background storytelling – serve to make it worth a playthrough. Just be prepared to do a bit of squinting.

Overall, Button City has more depth than I anticipated and the replayability is high if you fall in love with the mini games. Main story can be completed in under 6 hours, but there is more fun to be had after with the mini arcade games, and finishing side quests. The story is touching and has a really emotive meaning behind it. The characters are designed well, and are utterly charming and I can imagine some good merch coming out from their cute faces. The music is a bop, the art style is charismatic but there are a few hitches along the way. Movement speed can slow your game down a lot. There are a few technical bumps, but I would recommend for anyone who wants to free flow through an adventure narrative of Fennel and his Friends.

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.