Offering little value outside of wasting your time, Shieldwall is a painfully dull and hellish slog through each of its levels. Broken AI, abysmal combat and utterly tedious waiting around for currency starves this army of any hope. Even the might of Caesar himself couldn't have overcome this arduous war of attrition.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black isn’t perfect, but its razor-sharp combat and relentless challenge ensure it still stands tall.

Afterlove EP is a poignant and heartfelt visual novel that explores some intense stuff about grief, wrapped up in the conceit of still talking to those who have passed on. However the lack of control, choice and gameplay options left me wanting to process my grief elsewhere.

Whilst initially having the potential for epic battles, Big Helmet Heroes swings for greatness with its fun concept and co-operative gameplay, but bugs and frustrations turns victory hits into misses.

It may not hit the heights of other giants in the business simulation genre, but Blood Bar Tycoon has plenty of personality and good management gameplay to keep it afloat. Who knew serving vampires and chewing on lowly humans could be this joyful and light-heartedly fun?

Trails Through Daybreak II delivers another dramatic episode in the long-running and consistent series. It breaks hardly any new ground beyond a few additions to combat and some new places to explore, but the story is a wild and mature sequel sure to delight fans.

On the surface, Moons of Darsalon looks like it escaped from a time capsule planted in the early 90's. It evokes retro platforming with a challenge often missing in today's games, filling the gap that the likes of Lemmings have fallen into and disappeared. A game brimming with retro charm, it's a great callback to those who ever had a Commodore 64 or a TV heavy enough to anchor cruise ships with.

While Waiting turns life's mundane moments into a game, sometimes a wait is exactly that, just a wait. While it offers some interesting reflections on patience and funny moments, it can leave you feeling as if there is no real progression or final pay off. If you're after something meditative, you'll enjoy the charming visual art and minimalist features with some casual puzzle fun.

Stilted combat, an unruly camera and poor localisation undermine the positives that DISORDER brings to the table. For the asking price, there are many other games doing the same things, only better.

Much like most Star Wars product these days, Jedi Power Battles is a nostalgia driven cash-grab that fails to improve the game other than reflecting some surfaces and modernising the controls. It's inconsistent, frustrating and, most egregiously, gave Amidala Force powers. That bad feeling you have about this? You know it to be true.

DeathOmen is small in scale but dense in horror tension. The half a dozen jump scare moments are immaculately curated, while the atmosphere is fantastically unnerving. It's over too soon and the walking and clicking aren't particularly investing, but DeathOmen is an (un)welcome sign of some terrifying scares to come. I'll be looking forward to leaping out of my skin again.

Despite a compelling central premise of combining RTS castle building and third-person action, Eyes of War is sullied by its severe lack of content, underdeveloped mechanics and a host of technical and presentation issues. In a couple of years this may be a fortress worth defending, but as of right now it's a settlement in disarray.

The land of Bohemia beckons you into one of the most immersive, visually impressive and brutal worlds you could ask for. A masterful RPG that combines impactful decision-making, gratifying combat, meaningful progression and a host of gameplay variety, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a triumph that deserves not just your money, but your time and your appreciation.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is bigger in every facet with more locations to explore, more characters to meet, more story to read and more systems to manage. But with an increase in sheer scale, my journey has felt less significant as a result. I'm a mouth piece of a story being told rather than a Sleeper choosing my path. Whilst that leads to something more definitive, it loses the feeling of being mine. Citizen Sleeper 2 is a sci-fi world that's hard to compare and powerful in its writing, audio/visuals and gameplay making it a must-play dice driven RPG overall.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is here, and it's not reinventing the wheel. It is the same craft that we've seen, with a more cheerful protagonist, in different locales. But that's not a bad thing, as Rebellion have only striven to improve the head-popping formula that they clearly care about. Another trip back behind enemy lines, Resistance is just as fun as any of the Sniper Elite's before it.

Combining monster hunting, colossi climbing, exploration, and crafting, Eternal Strands often feels a little ‘lite’. However it’s defining feature is an elemental physics-based magic-system that is a valid competitor to Breath of the Wild. It’s that rare beast that often just sets you free to explore and find your own solutions, and its wonderful when it does.

Like an unopened box of Celebrations full of only Bounties, Chocolate Factory Simulator promises much and is visually appealing, but delivers very little else. From the laborious process of actually making chocolate to the tedium of upgrading your only source of 'help', this is one factory Charlie would probably send all of his grandparents to visit instead.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins succeeds in both reinventing and rediscovering the bombastic thrill of a series that had drifted from its path. Veterans will likely feel disappointed with some of the personalisation changes and smaller character pool, but Origins delivers the incredible thrill of 1 vs 1000 clashes. With a deepened combat system and brilliant level of performance, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a welcoming spectacle for returning fans and newcomers alike.

An Ys classic remade and now remastered, The Oath in Felghana is the Ys series at its most punishing and retro. Frustrating bosses, challenging combat from one end of the land to the other, retro design, and a dull forgettable story, make this one for the die-hard fans only.

Taken at core value, the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered collection is exactly what fans of the original have been clamouring for. Visual improvements, some minor quality of life tweaks and bonus content make it a welcome return. However, those expecting more might be feeling left sucked dry, only to hope this draws up interest for a franchise resurrection.

Whilst the tropes, atmosphere and Xenomorph fear factor are intact, I'm not bursting from my chest with excitement for Alien: Rogue Incursion. The gameplay is cumbersome and inaccurate, the Xenomorphs' presence becomes a hindrance when you're backtracking and outside of a few great story moments it's quite slow. If you're fan of the Alien franchise, you'll love that it'll transport you into that world but you may have wished you hadn't stayed.

Let’s Sing 2025 doesn’t necessarily do anything wrong (except for online multiplayer stuck behind another paywall, I suppose), but it’s just a bit samey at this point, and the playlist isn’t full of enough pure karaoke bangers to really recommend upgrading if you’ve already picked up Let’s Sing 2024.

NAIAD is a relaxing puzzler that lets you learn through your experiments. Whilst this is perfect if you want a laid back game with impactful themes, the lack of hand holding does create friction on what is otherwise a game all about going with the flow.

The Great Circle represents a huge shift in focus for Xbox, and tells a terrific story full of excitement and adventure. Machine Games have once again created a Nazi-punching sim worth investing in and perhaps, if the quality of the output remains this high, there's hope for Xbox's future first-party line-up after all.

A visually stunning and atmospheric stop-motion samurai adventure, thoroughly retro in its design, is ultimately betrayed by glitches, janky combat and punishingly unforgiving platforming.

Among Ashes is an impressively original retro-horror that's main downfall is its worship to other franchises. There's a great narrative told between multiple worlds and some genuine scares that are worth experiencing. When you're not sure if the game's got a bug or a feature, you know you're in for the right kind of paranoia.

Rita’s Rewind is an enjoyable throwback that Power Rangers fans will appreciate, but its frustrating flaws prevent it from becoming a standout in the beat-'em-up revival.

Featuring a fantastic sense of place, unique style and a riveting narrative, The Thaumaturge is a challenging yet excellent RPG. Whilst the systems are lean, they all work great with each other and features a great detail in its writing, mixing history and dark fantasy into one neat package.