Crea-ture Studios have achieved a great feat by making the most authentic skateboarding game to date, seconded only by going out and practicing kickflips yourself. The physics-based controls are incredibly intuitive and satisfying to learn. There’s a steep learning curve that may put players off but if you stick with it, there’s no other game that does skateboarding as well as this. It’s not without its minor flaws, but look past them and you’ll find a game with endless replayability.

As a straight story of Stranger Things meets Sylvanians, Beacon Pines is written beautifully, drawn evocatively, and compelling to play. But as a deconstruction of narrative that lets you rebuild your own story from the pieces, it’s stellar, captivating stuff. An unfettered joy from start to finish.

A glorious pulp style mixed with engaging stealth gameplay makes Serial Cleaners a compelling 90s narcotic to sink your time into. The trip may be a little bumpy on account of the bugs and inconsistent AI, but you’ll be left feeling fulfilled and ultimately satisfied, which is more than Scarface or Vincent from Pulp Fiction can attest.

You likely won’t want to replay it to see the multiple endings, but for a single play through, Whateverland is a charming, charismatic if rough around the edges point and click adventure. It stumbles a number of times before the credits roll but with multiple solutions to puzzles and quirky characters to get to know, this game is a perfectly fine way to spend a few evenings.

Akane’s break-neck pace and cyberpunk setting is not one to overlook. The lack of variety isn’t a huge issue when everything it presents is impeccable and you get as much as you put in with the game. The arcade elements make for an addictive game play loop that’ll keep you repeatedly fighting through the night.

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.

An absolute blast of a rhythm-based shooter, Metal: Hellsinger is a love letter to all those that throw their horns to the sky. Packed with challenge, chugging tunes and a cavalcade of the genre’s finest vocalists, there’s a lot to enjoy. Riff and tear.

I really wanted to like Bear and Breakfast more than I did. It isn’t a bad game, it’s just lacking the polish that could make it exemplary. With some simple quality of life improvements like faster movement, and cooking and crafting from the box, we could have a much smoother game on our hands. As it stands, it’s a little too jarring — much like waking up at one of the rooms I built for my visitors.

A card-based choose your own adventure game that emulates your favourite board games, Foretales has a novel gameplay idea that sadly gets a little too repetitive to hold your attention for the multiple playthroughs its story options offer. It’ll make for a warm and comforting couple of sessions play and there’s a lot of scope for an expanded sequel, but what’s here may leave you wanting even after just one playthrough.

Horizon Chase 2 is a superb arcade racer that will scratch the itch of damn near every gamer who fondly remembers classic rubber burning titles from the 90’s. With a pitch perfect soundtrack and plenty to unlock, it’s reason enough to subscribe to Apple Arcade.

Mutropolis evokes the same feelings its older and most revered predecessors do. However, the technical problems and clunky sometimes nonsensical puzzles holds the title back from being a point and click that stands out of the ever-growing crowd.

The Hittites are an excellent addition which add extra hours of playtime and additional playstyles to be enjoyed, and are the highlight of the DLC. Unlike Alexander’s attempts to conquer Psersia, however, the scenarios are a bit of a miss. An experienced player who knows the game very well may well be able to emulate Alexander himself, but for a new player they very well may end up on the wrong side of history.

A challenging and addictive driving game, You Suck At Parking maximises a simple premise to provide hours of laughs and fun. Either in single player or against friends, this game is among the most pleasing arcade games you’ll play this year.

Expedition Zero hooks you in with its first hour of tense atmosphere and excellent world design, only to fling you away with horrendous combat, counter-intuitive survival & exploration mechanics, and a barebones story. This expedition simply isn’t worth embarking on, but maybe one day there’ll be an adventure worth going on.

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.

Svoboda 1945: Liberation defines why some stories should be told in the medium of games. This multimedia experience is filled with impactful emotions and hard truths that are long overdue in lesser known war stories. Although its short lived as far as games go, the lessons you learn are so unique that Charles Games has set a precedent in storytelling.

A succinct and well-told story, Jack Move’s character-writing and dialogue are endearing, and its pixel art charms. It’s a short and satisfying bitesize JRPG of around 8 hours for players with a bit less time on their hands or perfect in between 100-hour behemoths.

This is an easy recommendation to anyone who loves a unique and interesting story and yearns for a casual platforming experience. An adventure to be discovered by many. Little Orpheus has creativity, beautiful visuals and smart witty characterisation. With a run time of three hours split into nine small episodes, it certainly will not disrespect your time.

Sunday Gold is a gem mined from the rough and the dirt. The writing is on point and witty, the gameplay streamlined yet satisfying and the art style is catchy and engrossing. There are some rough edges to this golden nugget, but it’s enough to form an ingot which the game’s playable gang would promptly steal. Peaky Blinders meets comic book noir, better grab your whiskey and peaked cap.

Yet another success for Paul Raschid, The Gallery is a unique, poignant and often powerful FMV game set across both 1981 and 2021. With an engaging branching narrative, top class acting talent and quality of life tools to keep you playing, it’s a high quality entry into the genre. There are a few endings that fall flat, but when there are so many endings to unlock, this feels negligible.

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.

City Eye is a surveillance simulation game that has an interesting concept but disappoints in many areas. From bottlenecking progress in late stages by padding the game unnecessarily to repetitive mechanics and a lack of variety, the game fails to capitalise on an interesting premise. You’ll find yourself less likely to be fighting crime, and more likely to be waiting for them to happen.

A stylish, well-voiced, visual novel that tells a poignant and heartfelt story over five, one-hour episodes, We Are OFK is more interactive TV series than game. Let yourself drift away in its peaceful melancholia, but don’t expect much in the way of gameplay.

NBA 2K23 has something for everyone to get stuck into – whether you want to get engrossed in the Jordan era or have your own come up in MyCareer, all provide a lot to work with. With some of the best visuals to hit consoles and deep gameplay that plays so solidly, NBA 2K23 is a great iteration of the franchise.

A bespoke table top adventure brought to digital life, Betrayal At Club Low is incredibly well designed and a lot of quirky fun. Like a battle of whits against a dungeon master that’s determined to make you smile as much as they are to defeat you, Betrayal At Club Low is a dark horse for sleeper hit of the year.

Justice Sucks: Tactical Vacuum Action rights all the previous wrongs that Roombo: First Blood set. The presentation, gameplay improvements and variety this game has to offer when you’re just a Roomba killing folks makes for an entertaining gameplay loop that finally sucks the landing.

Steelrising is a more accessible Souls-like which has plenty to appease rookies and veterans of the genre. A stunning visualisation of revolutionary Paris and a more direct story make for an engaging romp and while the combat has some balancing issues, it has the variety to remain interesting through its runtime. A Souls game with delicious French flavour, you’ll want to hear these people singing the song of angry Automats.

An asset flip of a game you can play for free in a browser, Hover Racer is a poor, uninspired and content light anti-grav racer. If the creatively devoid track designs and lack of polish don’t put you off, the incessant screen ripping (even when played on a PS5) probably will.