A cute and quirky management sim with lots of character. Lacks some polishing but is quite well done otherwise.

Expeditions: Rome is astounding in every area I was presented with. Constantly I felt like there were tons of things for me to explore and pay attention to, and truly simulates how I picture leading an entire war campaign.

Children of Morta is pieced together in such a way that no element feels out of place, and the wonderful roguelite gameplay is backed with a deep and emotional story that kept me engrossed until the very end.

Northgard is one of the prettiest titles in the genre, and with a very addicting gameplay loop, players are sure to spend several dozen hours to it.

Horizon Zero Dawn truly expresses how videogames nowadays are an art form, if not only through its visuals and storytelling, then certainly through its expertly incorporated combat. A glee-filled experience through and through.

Timberman VS built on everything that made Timberman the great game it is but sadly the absolutely dire state of the multiplayer matching means a large portion of it simply cannot be enjoyed unless you have a built in friendship group ready to play or do so alone.

Littlewood is a wonderful city builder, relaxing life-sim, and collect-a-thon game. I only wish that its social aspects had been a bit more centre focus for it falls short in comparison to all of the other systems in place.

Lacuna is a beautiful looking futuristic noir detective story with a great soundtrack that really makes you realise how much your decisions matter. Be prepared to do a lot of reading and research in-game so you make informed choices, because if you don’t a bad ending is waiting for you!

Adventures of Pip's unique mechanic makes it stand out from the rest of the platformers I've played; the game makes wonderful use of the mechanic. Challenging enough to not make it a memory platformer but also not dull, this game is sure to charm any fans of the genre.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 2 builds on everything that the original did, whilst ditching some annoying systems along the way. With a large variety of fighters and a very well made campaign, this game is definitely worth a purchase.

A reasonable top down shooter from Weird Beluga. While the complete package doesn’t seem to mesh together right, it still has enough substance to tickle some pleasure senses.

NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM suffers the most from questionable game design choices throughout its campaign. The free battle mode, however, offers a nice variety of characters, and some customisation options and a competent enough AI to make it worthwhile.

Behind the times and lacking in its reason, to imply that Collapsed is an exercise in any of its design would also imply it exerted in the first place. Boring gameplay with no feedback, a story simply uninterested in being told, and a visual design too zoomed out to appreciate, it struggles to find reason in a genre that allows you to exist by default.

Lake is a lovely, slow-paced indie game to play in your downtime. Rich in personality and character, well worth replaying.

Blue Reflection: Second Light is a relaxing RPG with great combat and characters that will pull you through to the ending.

Clockwork Aquario is a great title if you are looking to be transported to the arcade from your house. It’s bright, colourful, and has a fun co-op mode so you can share the experience with a friend. If you have a Switch this is a title to check out!

SCARF is a singer without a voice and a dancer without legs. There were tons of things that could have been great within it, but none of them were capitalised on, and it felt like there weren’t enough resources spent on where it mattered.

Chorus is a veritable smorgasbord of action, exploration, and captivating story. One that I’ll enjoy for many moons to come.

The Fatesworn expansion feels like an attempt at milking a game for content, with 6 hours of main quest that ultimately turns into a glorified fetch quest, and newly implemented systems that felt poorly thought out. If you absolutely must buy this, get it on a discount.

343i had failed to live up to the high bar set by Bungie — until now. It was worth the wait to see Master Chief return in such an impressive manner and I am once again excited for the future of this franchise. The multiplayer and campaign combine to make a stellar experience.

Firegirl: Hack ‘n Splash wastes no time throwing you right into the platforming action with a trusty axe and high-powered hose to navigate the levels and rescue the survivors. With only three-minutes the game forces you to think fast and figure out how to conserve your limited water supply. With procedurally generated levels, no two runs will feel exactly the same.

Happy's Humble Burger Farm is full of untapped potential and although it has some fun elements to it, the lack of polishing and bad development choices ultimately bring it down.

A storybook with half the pages missing, Little Bug rushes towards an ending whilst attempting to leave everything in the dust, including its fantastic gameplay. Take your time and you’ll find a shining core of fun, challenge, and excitement, failing to be extinguished by its lacking narrative.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a fun and cute game for everyone willing to either pay up or be patient. Expecting this game to give you more than a decorating sim is simply a mistake.

This is The President won’t deliver much in terms of strategy, but will provide great writing that should pull you through an entire term of virtual presidency.

Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is a faithful recreation of the PlayStation titles that weren’t available to everyone in the ‘90s. The CD monster creation system has been replaced with a large music catalogue and the ability to fast-forward through battles is a welcome addition as the game can feel very repetitive when you are constantly in tournaments.

An intriguing concept that falls flat thanks to a repetitive mission structure, a lack of rover variety, wonky controls, and nothing to keep players engaged. Enjoyable for an hour or so, but by then you’ve seen everything Rover Mechanic Simulator has to offer.

GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- is a great fighting game and a great sequel to an old franchise which successfully caters to both genre veterans and newcomers. It is a bit on the expensive side, but the gameplay, art, and music all justify it.

Undungeon is a great game with tons of unique innovative designs that I have never experienced. If the staggeringly large amount of text doesn't scare you off, and a sci-fi story is something you're interested in, I definitely recommend it.

A short but fun platforming experience. Explore a castle; fight goblins; even play as a dog that collects bacon! There are a few flaws in certain areas, but as a whole this is a fine game.

The Kids We Were is a must-play game with an incredibly good story that focuses on childhood friendships and family. The voxel-style graphics look beautiful, the cicadas in Japan sound great, and a catalogue of items from the 80s to collect made me feel so nostalgic.

Part Pikmin with a splash of Metroid, The Wild at Heart takes these concepts but never utilises them to their full extent. That said, it is fun in short bursts when you need to unwind. With a touching plot and beautiful hand-drawn visuals, this is an impressive first outing for developers Moonlight Kids.

Archvale is just plain fun. It does what it does well, and as a bullet hell provides a serious challenge without feeling unfair. I cannot recommend this game enough.

Despite trying to present itself as an advancement of the series, Battlefield 2042 instead feels like a severe dumbing-down. The Battlefield Portal offers some familiar fun, but it’s just not enough to warrant buying the game.

Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 is a surprisingly calming game that teaches you more about motorcycles, with deep customisation and attention to detail that could make you lose hours of your life.

An open-world experience that loses interest in its own promising setup over time, before finding renewed interest in the idea of “AFK gameplay” instead. An experiment that just barely succeeds in its endeavour, despite uninteresting characters and lacking visual design attempting to drag it down.

The gameplay is pretty good, but it is sadly sullied by a lack in all other areas. The story is almost non-existent, the graphics and audio are merely adequate, and there is a definite lack in replayability. A real shame, but there is potential for more in the future.

Faraday Protocol is an interesting first-person puzzle game that has an intriguing storyline and puzzles to challenge your brain. The unique combination of futuristic visuals and Egyptian themed elements creates a mysterious and unique world for you to explore.

Brain Meltdown Into Despair is a beautiful game that really lives up to its name. It delivers an incredibly difficult experience that changes the way you have been controlling your game character for years. Controlling two characters at once sounds easy, but it’s not!

I will say if you even remotely like the look of the art then Blightbound is a must buy to experience that alone, it's worth every penny in that regard, but if you are looking for anything more then I’d sadly give it a miss. I really wanted to like Blightbound, it's clear there is some real passion and brilliance in places but it just never reaches anything close to its potential. The rabbit hole is horribly shallow, the promising first leap into the magical world being cut horribly short as you hit the earth with a deafening thud.

Although somewhat lacking on the horror front, PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water is a fun time with an interesting story and gorgeous graphics. The audio could use some improvement, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

If you like insane difficulty, oddness, and prog rock, this game is for you.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is gorgeous in graphics, with in-depth gameplay mechanics, and a deep, emotional story about mental health and trauma compile it into the masterpiece that it is.

Pushing out sheer pornography with its visuals while also testing you with fast paced combat, Bright Memory: Infinite teases you like a temptress. It brings you oh so close, then leaves you wanting more.

A speedy roguelite with confusing narrative content that bogs down an otherwise fulfilling blueprint of satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay and positively off-putting visual design. A case of carte blanche backfiring in the face of a finale that fails to uphold a promise on one end, betraying that quick-thinking nature.

Gynoug is a memorable shoot ’em up that is a must play for anyone who loves this genre, especially with a retro look. This game will definitely work your eyes to the max, so I recommend playing earlier in the day because late at night when you are tired I am sure you will be frustrated!

Forza Horizon 5 looks phenomenal, plays well and is practically flawless. It is undoubtedly the best entry in the series and has the most detailed open world in any game to date.

A solid port of an important game in the series. It’s just a shame that it’s not that interesting mechanically. Still, it’s a fun time and the quality of life additions make it a lot more approachable to newcomers.

A stylish throwback to a couple of decades ago, this platformer will appeal mainly to those who still miss the Dreamcast. A few niggles with the camera, a couple of minor bugs and some rather harsh difficulty spikes stop it from being a world-beater, but it's a solid piece of fun despite these small issues.

Bonito Days is a super cute and simple game that is reminiscent of Super Monkey Ball, but with camera issues and short single-player game it’s hard to fully recommend.

Moonglow Bay is a fun and relaxing game that I found very rewarding to play, there’s a huge variety of things to do in this game so I never get tired of it. Every day I play I can’t wait to go back and see what monster-sized fish I manage to catch and see what kind of new dishes I get to create in the kitchen.

Corpse Party (2021) is a super creepy and disturbing game that will keep you on the edge of your seat. You will die a lot and get bad endings so you will have to go back and try to change your actions to change the outcome, but when you figure out what you need to do that just makes it more fulfilling.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl may be basic on the surface, but the exhilarating gameplay and edge of your seat action more than makes up for its lack of content by providing players with a fun platform fighter that rewards those who take the time to learn its surprisingly complex combat mechanics. I just wish online multiplayer was more active (come find me online and let’s fight! I main CatDog).

While not without its flaws, Industria offers a nice bite-sized experience with enough lore to keep you wanting to discover more.

Time Loader is a great game for just about anyone to play. As long as you're not expecting action-filled gameplay, but rather a relaxing journey, there is barely a reason not to give the game a shot.

Sunshine Manor is a fun and creepy 8-bit game that has you travel between the human and demon world, solving puzzles and testing your hand-eye coordination with platforming sections. Slightly buggy in one level, but if you persevere you can get past it and continue saving the poor ghosts and your friends from the demon.

A huge shot of nostalgia for those who grew up on classic FPS games, this 90s throwback is more than accessible for modern gamers, however the lack of any narrative to keep you engaged may be off-putting to some.

A fantastic game for any base-building fans, The Riftbreaker’s tight combination of action-RPG and tower-defense elements produce an addictively fun experience well worth the inevitable hours you’ll lose to it.

I initially booted up Guardians of the Galaxy with tempered expectations but was surprised with how much fun I ended up having. Despite having a few setbacks, Guardians of the Galaxy is easily one of the best games of the year thanks to its fantastic story.

Nira is only worth it for its low price - there are already games that do the same thing, but far better.

Collection of SaGa: The Final Fantasy Legend is the perfect collection of these classic Game Boy screens, looking and sounding even better than the originals. Just keep in mind that they are early style RPGs so they require a ton of grinding!

Nuclear Blaze is an absolute graphical feast, with beautiful colours that popped gorgeously, and a very nice pixelated graphic style. I only wish the game had been longer and more difficult, as the two hour campaign truly did come as a disappointment.

While Astria Ascending’s gorgeous world has a basic gameplay loop that can satisfy for a while, it lacks the knowledge to challenge minds or the spirit further. With no strategy in the later battles, a story moving too quickly to be poignant, and severely unlikeable stereotypes as characters, the lessons are forced and the result is grating.

Evertried is a 2D isometric roguelike strategy game that challenges your brain every step of the way. It can definitely get frustrating, but you get a great sense of accomplishment when you make progress and reach a new floor.

Cozy Grove's day-by-day mechanics can be frustrating to some, but is a definite welcome addition, allowing me to slowly unravel the story and giving me more playtime in the long run, completely enhancing my mornings.

eFootball 2022 isn’t just a bad football game, it’s a bad videogame. It took Konami most of the 2010s to take Pro Evolution Soccer from a mediocre football game to something respectable, and can’t be expected to turn eFootball 2022 around quickly. Playing it sucked all of the enjoyment out of football, and I can’t help but feel it would have been better served being released as a digital pachinko game.

Flynn: Son of Crimson is a beautiful looking and great sounding platformer game is a must-play title that gives you a powerful and cute wolf companion. This title does not have an auto-save feature so keep that in mind.

Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars is full of fanservice and anime girls with big boobs, but not much more. Insanely long visual novel talk segments, and the story is so silly there’s not much motivation to keep playing.

A taxing puzzler that very much has its roots in electrical engineering logic. Sadly, the lacking audio and niche target audience bring down an otherwise decently solid game.

Reventure plays like a puzzle adventure game that excels at the puzzle aspect and providing a feeling of completion, with very fun gameplay having me doing the dumbest things trying to get an ending. However, it falls short on its story.

A great retro style shoot ‘em up with beautiful visuals and a large selection of weapons and a bunch of replayability. I just wish the game was longer as it felt like it was over in no time!

A Little Golf Journey is a treat from start to finish, and should be a wonderful addition to almost anyone’s library.

Hunter Girls has an unfortunately high number of flaws, but there are at least a couple of positive aspects to somewhat make up for the failings.

It’s decent exercise, and a great experience for those who can’t visit the mountain range for a climb. Cheaper than all of that mountaineering equipment, too.

Traversing the mind of your character is as much a plot as the case you’re trying to solve, and once you’re immersed into the world of Revachol, you’ll be struggling to leave.

The Caligula Effect 2 is a game that deserved a better budget than it got. It’s combat system is amazing and engaging, but everything else about it could be better.

One of the more distinctive horror games to be released in the past few years, Mundaun tells childhood stories with an adult filter, a foreign narrative in a universal core, and hosts gameplay that, while occasionally obtuse, is a hop, skip, and a jump away from other titles in the same vein.

Mayhem Brawler is a fun, energetic “beat-em-up” adventure. Its excellent art style, voice acting, and room for improvement excite me with what could be added through possible updates.

The Artful Escape is a great visual-novel and a rock and roll dream. It is one of the best looking games I’ve played with an equally interesting narrative. However, the severe lack of interactiveness really drags down the game.

Lost in Random performs expertly on its gameplay and graphics, but falls very short when it comes to its little effort in the dialogue aspect. It’s also a shame to see how little polish the ending received.

Fuga: Memories of Steel is a turn-based strategy game that is unlike any other one I have played. The story is incredibly deep and a lot more serious than you would expect a game with cats and dogs to be. Definitely worth checking out if you like RTS games mixed with RPG elements.

Back 4 Blood has built on the great foundations that Left 4 Dead laid over a decade ago. The gameplay is brilliant, there’s also that little bit more to keep the challenge fresh and to keep zombie killing fun.

OCO is a puzzler that will keep you coming back for more, with visuals and audio that make the jump well from mobile to PC.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is a surprisingly good racing game that brings your childhood imagination to life while offering you endless creative options for customising your toy racers and designing your own tracks. No matter your age there is tons to love here!

Severed Steel assaults many of your senses and rewards your bullet dodging, slow motion ballet dancing with satisfying kills while caressing your eyes and ears with the striking visuals and soundtrack it presents to you.

Far Cry 6 is two steps forward and a step back. The characters are brilliant, as is the work put into bringing them to life. Sadly, the game continues to be bogged down by more pointless content. The epitome of ‘less is more’.

Wavelengths manages to capture so many emotional moments and story beats, packaging them all up in a short-and-sweet experience that connects the world of Life is Strange together in a way unseen before. Wavelengths is everything and more we could have hoped for with a DLC.

Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards has the potential to be an excellent game with intriguing storytelling and unique characters but it gets dragged down by a tedious combat system and a world that offers little substance.

Claire de Lune is a great take on the genre, but sadly is somewhat marred by a couple of small but consistent flaws.

New World is a great title for new MMO fans to get themselves lost in, but it may be a struggle to entice older fans of the genre to leave the worlds they know.

Tsuki’s Odyssey is a very charming game, and one I absolutely adore playing whenever I have some free time to go and visit Tsuki and see just what he’s up to. One I would recommend everyone to try out.

Pumpkin Jack is overall an alright game. Every aspect added to it wasn’t deepening the depths of the ocean, but rather lengthening the size of the kiddie pool. Many things were added, but it felt like an attempt to hide its lack of depth because of the terrible implementation.

A good first attempt by a studio that has only worked on animation, but not enough substance in the gameplay to keep you hooked to the very end.

A game that will test your trigger finger as well as your strategic planning, Lemnis Gate is a refreshing entry into the competitive shooter market, forming a solid foundation full of promise and subtle charm.

Knockout Home Fitness is perhaps not the best fitness game on the market but makes for a decent starting point for those wanting a bite size workout at home.

Islanders is the perfect strategy game for people who love that genre or gamers who are just getting into it. It’s a simple game that is incredibly addictive and is very hard to master! I hope more industry and building packs become available as time goes on!

There’s a few hours to be whittled away in Drake Hollow. And can be a good blast with a friend or two, as it helps to mitigate the constant need to return to base, allowing for an explorer to do their thing, a builder to do theirs, and a battler their own. Unfortunately as a solo experience, it erred more toward frustration because of the timed mechanics.

If you like clean up games but don't like having your screen brightness up then I would recommend staying clear from this game.