Mixtape is fun, fantastical and heartfelt. It may be fleeting, but I expect it will stick with you for a long while. Especially when you're inevitably playing one of the game's songs in one of your playlists and someone asks you "where this song is from?"

WILL: Follow the Light, without the few negative hiccups I noted, is a 10 out of 10 game. But as it stands right now, the few nits that exist within the game pull away from that score slightly - but only slightly. That being said though, if these updates and needed fixes are made, I can easily see this being a can’t-miss game. The beautiful, yet heart-wrenching story, coupled with the intriguing puzzles and environment of the game itself make for an unforgettable digital experience.

Although Invincible Vs has some rough spots, it overall succeeds where it needs to in a fighting game. The gameplay is fun, the netcode is good overall and the roster is a blast to play with along with solid presentation. While some character omissions are lamentable… The fact that Quarter Up made me want to try Dupli-Kate out makes up for it and thankfully we’re in the age where bugs can be fixed rather quickly.

Wax Heads is one of the best games I have played this year. It’s full of cozy stories, amazing music, and wonderful characters. I think anyone who is craving meaningful human connection could learn something from Wax Heads.

In an era where so many games seem terrified of simplicity, Motorslice feels confident enough to strip everything back to movement, atmosphere, and momentum, and it is all the better for it.

There’s a few rough edges for now, but the core ‘cute-em-up’ action is good old fashioned shmup fun. Chaotic and gorgeous to look at, Astro Burn is a shooter that is worth playing in early access and keeping an eye on for the full release. [Early Access Review]

Sudden Strike 5 is a solid, if unspectacular RTS experience. It feels authentic and immersive as a WWII strategy game, and really makes you focus on the strategy part of that in order to succeed. It’s clunky controls on console and lack of teaching the player the game hold it back from being great, but any RTS fan should find the experience enjoyable.

It’s always nice to see an IP within a genre that’s difficult to stand out it. While it may never reach the heights of giants like Pokemon, Digimon, etc, it’s important that there are fresh experiences. It’s wonderful when one can take heavy inspirations from these giants as well, while truly making them their own. Monster Crown: Sin Eater deserves a place in the hearts of gamers who love the monster taming, RPG genre. It’s a beautiful, yet dark and dangerous world. Teeming with monsters and people struggling under the weight of evil, fans of the genre should experience the world of Monster Crown: Sin Eater.

While making sure that every item is in its correct location, balanced perfectly, and faced in the correct way; a tedious yet relaxing task, zoned out as if in a meditative state, and lost in your own thoughts, time stops. While you’re absorbing all the stories and requests your customers have, arriving one at a time, indulging in their lives, your outlet to the outside world, nothing else matters. inKONBINI is a reverie, a narrative driven game that needs some engagement, but only asking from you what you want to give it. It nails the very atmosphere of a quiet, slow, nighttime 1993 experience. While its stories could be better delivered through voiced dialogue, it’s an experience I would highly recommend if you are looking for a reverie.

With 7 unique districts to unlock, 18 customizable buses, and the ability to make Emberville your own. Creating routes and learning how the city changes throughout the day, Bus Bound has so much content to keep me entertained for hours.

Is ShantyTown going to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards? No. But is it worthy of your time, and worthy of consideration of those numerous smaller indie awards out there? 100% it is! The beautiful designing aesthetics and relaxed vibes, coupled with a near limitless replayability, ShantyTown has definitely won over a fan of this genre of design game.

Double Fine has created a fun multiplayer experience. Creating your own pots is enjoyable and easy and the gameplay is simple yet effective. Unfortunately the game has very little content at launch with only 1 game mode and 5 maps. Without much reason to progress beyond new cosmetics, the team will need to quickly add content for Kiln to have any staying power. With how fun the game is, here’s hoping they can.

Hyper Games has successfully captured the unique duality of the Moomin stories - the whimsical charm of helping neighbors balanced against the slight, beautiful melancholy of a lonely Scandinavian winter.

Elementallis is a game that pays homage and draws inspiration from an iconic series many gamers love - Zelda. They do this by successfully applying the gameplay mechanics that made us love this top-down, action adventure genre.

Vampire Crawlers is a wonderful follow-up to a game I hold dear. It translates seamlessly from the bullet-heaven genre into the deck building genre. While there are a few frustrating levels and as of now a lack of endgame content to keep me going, there’s enough here to justify playing this for hours on end and keep you engaged. If you’re a fan of Slay the Spire or Balatro, Vampire Crawlers is absolutely a must grab, even if you have no prior experience with Vampire Survivors.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream offers an almost limitless toybox of creativity and player expression, held together by a distinct and wonderful sense of humour that still manages to delight me just as much as it did 12 years ago. With the exception of some restrictions and cut features that feel like they are yet to be added, this feels like the ambitious game that the series has been building towards since its inception.

Visually satisfying and a very cosy soundtrack mask the frustrations I had with the fundamental gameplay of Find My Frogs. The frogs themselves were fun to find, but the secret items would have been bordering impossible had it not been for the infinite hint tool.

Developer DigixArt went bold and unique with Tides of Tomorrow and it has paid off. With characters you can get heavily invested in, a surprisingly deep story and a gorgeous world, there is a lot to like here.

I can confidently say that while I did to a certain extent enjoy my time with Whisker Wanderlust: Unwritten Chapter, the amount of flaws that were present ultimately won out. Between the minimal gameplay time, the audio issues, and what I see as accessibility issues, I really cannot recommend this title, outside of those who are really into these types of games.

If you happen to both love management-type games and deckbuilders, but are also a massive football fan, then I do think that this is the title for you! If you’re anyone like myself, give it a try – you won’t immediately become a fan of Arsenal, but maybe you’ll be curious to check out more of what football has to offer.

If you’re looking for Castlevania of 1987 through a new skin, this is the game for you. It sounds, looks, and feels fantastic to play; a perfect “port” of an old game to 2026. However, if you’re looking for an NES-style 2D platformer with retro gameplay, but expanded upon, this might disappoint, like adding sprinkles on your vanilla ice-cream.

Under Par Golf Architect brought me back to my childhood days of SimGolf in all the right ways. While they could do a bit more in terms of making the management side of the game having more of an impact, everything else hit like a perfect drive.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss presents itself as a homage to one of the greatest horror authors of the 20th century. Even with some minor performance issues, the derelict locations you explore as Noah are some of the most beautifully crafted renditions of Lovecraft’s mythos that have ever been put to a screen.

OPUS Prism Peak feels at times a lot less like a game and more like a work of art. That is if you can handle the joy, the loss, the pain, or in other words, life. It is cathartic, it is real, it is beautiful, and it is sad.

If you're looking for a short, relaxing experience full of charm with puzzles just tricky enough that you'll need to think, but not too hard, Gecko Gods is the perfect Sunday afternoon game to chill out with.

Mouse: P. I. For Hire is a great send up to old cartoons and detective stories as well as being a pretty good old-school style fps. There's a lot to like here with its fun Gunplay, solid story and characters, funny animations and good soundtrack. Although it's difficulty may not be enough for hardcore fans of the genre and some things hurt it's replay value, it's a great package overall.

Replaced’s strong narrative, excellent world building and well realised audio and visual style make it a must play. Exploring the question of humanity via cinematic storytelling and visceral combat makes this 80s cyberpunk thriller worthy of your time.

Gunboat God is slick, chaotic and fun, much like Yeti's titular vessel. The tight controls, striking visuals, and fun tone make it worth your time alone, but that itch in becoming truly godly is incredibly satisfying to scratch. I cannot recommend Gunboat God enough.