Red Dead Redemption returns and is only marked down a single point due to the near-perfection of its sequel, this is nevertheless the definitive way to experience John Marston's story, with a fresh lick of paint and an update that may just transport you back to when you got off that train the very first time. Just brilliant.

More of a restful afternoon doze than a full blooded nightmare ridden REM sleep, Skyward Dream is a middling experience that's short and ultimately fine. The parkour and story elements, while initially intriguing, lack any real substance, leaving this a rest that's functional, though not refreshing.

Encompassing mastery in almost every facet of its design, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a near flawless JRPG experience that shouldn't be missed. A ridiculously addictive gameplay loop that's overflowing with depth, visuals and sound that are some of the most epic you'll experience, and a story full of enthralling characters and themes, Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of - if not the best - games of 2024. Potentially, even beyond.

Last Time I Saw You presents a good coming-of-age story with great pacing and heartfelt moments. Moments that are only sold even further through the fantastic hand drawn visuals, stunning visuals and snappy dialogue. Whilst it's light in the gameplay department and cherry picks from different genres resulting in something middle of the road, the heart of it all remains intact and is a lovely debut from Maboroshi Artworks.

Starship Troopers: Extermination is an example of how a game has potential to be good. As it stands, it still needs some balance and polish to its core. But aside from that, it shines when it works well. The real joy comes from playing with friends, standing fast against obscene amounts of bugs. It made lack the wit and satire of the film, but for an ambitious mutiplayer shooter, it may not eclipse Helldivers 2 or Space Marine, but it will stand on its own. Let's hope time is kind to this one.

The Smurfs - Dreams is a smurfin’ spectacular platformer and a glorious introduction to the Smurfin’ universe. From glorious, intricate level design to the soundtrack that’ll be stuck in your head for weeks, Ocellus have spun gold. This is one dream you won’t want to wake up from.

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.

Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition Remastered is, again, a solid remaster of an already-great game. Whilst it may struggle to draw in newcomers, there's a reason why THQ keep trotting this out. Solid gameplay, fusing elements of other titles of the time, as well as a solid story make it a great time. Bolstered with updated visuals and all of its original content, it's certainly worth giving it a go if you missed it the first (or second) time around.

Whilst the core gameplay loop of riding, swerving and tricking across different parts of an elaborately designed city is fun, the gameplay variety falls short very early on. If you're set on just getting packages from point A to B in sick and quick succession then Parcel Corps may just be the package for you, but those looking for more bite to their bike may choose a different delivery service.

The opening absurdity of Squirrel With A Gun lives up to its name with some of the most ridiculous moments I've had in a video game. Once the novelty wears off however, you're left with a hollow, janky and frustrating video game that's a better meme than it is a gameplay experience. Still, the initial hilarity may be worth it for the more immaturely minded.

Diplomacy is Not an Option demonstrates the art of negotiation by being totally unflinching in both its vision and level of difficulty. Massive, bombastic battles are an absurd delight, provided you can muster the bravado to keep smashing your head against these rather thick, unmoving walls. Despite its flaws and missteps, Diplomacy is Not an Option is a sturdy castle that can withstand a good few of the ridiculously gigantic onslaughts it faces.

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.

Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 has near-perfectly recreated the feeling of what the original did decades ago; knowing exactly where to stay strictly within the source material and where to add some modernisation. Performances are the best they've ever been, combat is a simple yet hard hitting improvement and the world of Silent Hill has a new level of terrifying. If you're an old fan or a new player, there is no better time to revisit that town than now.

Fabledom is a charming cosy city builder with oodles of fairytale goodness. Despite a few bugs, this is an easy time sink and will have you entertained for hours. The game has a great art style that pairs well with the fun gameplay. That said, this might be a recommendation for the future, once a patch or two releases to iron out the kinks in this royal cloth.

If you like your action games to be fast and furious, Shady Knight presents a series of brutal and bombastic challenge boxes to overcome and look awesome doing it. It's unlikely to click with everyone, especially when it's prone to frustrating platforming moments and overwhelming mobs that diminish the engaging sandbox. Shady Knight struggles to let go of all of its demons, but there's plenty of hope the shadows won't keep it down for good.

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.

NBA 2K25 takes everything from its predecessors and takes a step into greatness. With astonishing visuals, incredible immersion and tons to be getting on with, NBA 2K25 feels like the most complete iteration of basketball thus far. The microtransactions continue to bring down the entire experience, and there's a sense that it feels more like a casino than ever before, but if you have the strength to avoid them, you'll have one hell of a time.

With an addictive gameplay loop that's hard to put down, Shogun Showdown is a brilliant roguelike in a year full of them. Sleak pick-up-and-play battles and deep systems offers so much play time, as long as you don't mind dying a lot.

In attempting to land another visceral knockout blow, Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns instead Johnny Cage uppercuts itself right in the nads. The underwhelming story chapters undercut the climactic finale of the vanilla campaign, while the new roster is comprised of welcome returning characters, or the uncertain potential of three unique icons. For the price of half a full game, Khaos Reigns doesn't have the substance to hold this timeline afloat.

Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open is a sweet ode to Malaysia but not very good at delivering impactful gameplay moments to support it. It's a number of ideas not fully realised with a subtle story of familial struggle, all whilst under the guise of a supernatural child's tale. It will click extremely well for some but not everyone.

Expanding on the original's vision in almost every conceivable way, Frostpunk 2 is a city-building triumph of a sequel. The intense challenge remains while the experience is bigger, bolder and yet streamlined and far more intuitive. In spite of the horrendous conditions and hostile environment, Frostpunk 2 is a joy to play, even when you're enforcing child labour and exiling a faction for daring to request you listen to their reasonable demands. Even if the end of the world is nigh, New London beckons to have you as its steward, and you'd be foolish not to heed its call.

Invigorated by exploring one of the lesser known periods of World War 2 history, 63 Days' rebellion is unfortunately stamped out before it can truly ignite. Frustrating controls, flawed stealth and far too much wasted time relying on save reloading undermines this resistance movement before it can truly make a mark. Much like any battle against a larger, more substantial oppressive force, there are glimmers of hope, but you'll have to fight tooth and nail to find them.

Antstream Arcade is not a perfect service and the games included are not all absolute bangers, but what's on offer is more than enough to justify its subscription price and more, with a treasure trove of delights from way back when and games that you may have always wanted to try but never quite found the time. Now is the time.

Whilst not perfectly optimised for console, Shadows of Doubt is one of the most interesting detective games I've played. The procedurally generated premise completely nails how authentic it might feel to crack a case, and the many avenues of investigating keeps you on your toes for hours on end.

A lovely time capsule of a game, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is exactly the kind of nostalgia we need. A fresh lick of paint brings Mickey's adventure up to today's standard, with a simple approach to gameplay to draw in the young and old alike.

The Plucky Squire does a great job of hopscotching you across worlds and genres whilst keeping the gameplay simple and understandable at its core. It's a real life fairy tale full of wit, charm and a smidge of meta cynicism, that's only bolstered by its fantastic hand drawn art style - overall outshining my complaints of low stakes and technical issues.

Dead Rising 4 might have almost buried the series, but Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is breathing life into something we thought had died long ago. You know, like a zombie.

A solid collection, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics will appeal to fans of 2D fighters. A few new tweaks don't detract from the arcade charm, making this a worthy collection for those who have always wanted to settle a bet about whether Ryu can beat Cyclops in a brawl.