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.

For those looking for a shorter, narrative driven game to dive into, I highly recommend The Posthumous Investigation. It’s an intriguing character study that keeps you guessing and makes you wonder, who truly was the culprit and why? What in the human condition made this man both so loved and hated? You’ll have to play to find out.

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.

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.

Often feeling like a game chasing greatness, Crimson Desert is in every sense of the word ambitious. Sure, Kliff’s story of revenge is one that been told a thousand times, but it’s seemingly endless open world begs you to chase the adventures beyond the horizon. When you tie this beautifully crafted playground together with a combat system that encourages the player to experiment and think outside the box, you get a game that feels impossibly complex while feeling eerily familiar in the same breath. Crimson Desert is many things – dangerously ambitious, clunky, beautiful, messy, and most importantly: mind-numbingly addictive.

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.

Docked is a solid next step in the sim category for Saber Interactive. I loved every second learning about all the new machinery and how best to use it. The introduction of a story was a nice touch that a lot of simulation games don’t have. The few performance issues didn’t take away from the fun I had with Docked. However, the lack of continuing to play after I finished was a bit of a letdown. Working so hard to get my port fully upgraded, and not being able to really use it.

If you’re familiar with the survivor genre, you’ll likely get some enjoyment out of this, as the games difficulty will hold your attention, especially with the sheer amount of unlocks the game has. However, if you’re looking for a more fun and relaxing game you can check out of and just play, there’s easier, and better, games in the genre out there to try.

Although the game can get frustrating if you're playing alone, Scott Pilgrim EX is definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of brawlers. It's light on the plot but its chaotic combat and fun cast of characters more than make up for it. This is definitely a game where it's definitely better to partner up for, but frustrating or not that's pretty much the case with any brawler of this nature.

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.

Clockwork Ambrosia is a solid Metroidvania with some interesting and well-executed ideas, and while it hits its target with a satisfying bang, it lands wide of the bullseye.

Styx: Blades of Greed is a genuinely enjoyable stealth-em-up with satisfying kills, traps, and sneaking. Built on a world and story that started 12 years ago, newcomers might be a little lore lost but that won’t get in the way of you slitting throats, melting corpses, or mind controlling a soldier to his doom.

Overall I had a blast with High On Life 2 from start to finish. With improved gameplay and in my opinion improved writing as well, fans of the first game and maybe even some detractors will find a lot to like here. Although the reduced metroidvania elements are disappointing and some tech issues can be annoying, it wasn't nearly enough to bring the overall experience down. If Squanch decides to go with High On Life 3, I await it greatly.

If you enjoyed PowerWash Simulator 2, then you will absolutely enjoy The Adventure Time DLC. It plays the same as the base game. Just more things to clean, with the added joy of the Adventure Time art style and characters.

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.

With one of the best campaigns you will ever see in a racing game and a great arcade style of racing, Screamer is one the best racing games we’ve seen this generation. Its flashy artstyle is great to look at and while there is a lot going on with it’s gameplay, once you get a grasp of it, you will wonder why more don’t do dual stick racing. With a few more small tuneups to its difficulty and car handling Screamer could sit atop the genre. As is any gamer, racing enthusiast or not, should fall in love with Screamer. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another 30 years for more Screamer.

I enjoyed my 5 hour playthrough of Call of the Elder Gods. The puzzles, environments, and voice acting were all fantastic and that’s all you really need for a fun weekend chomp of a title. However, the move from one island to jet setting across the globe in those five hours didn’t do the pacing of the story any favours. There’s a lot going on, and the game rattles through some of it’s reveals at a fair clip, losing a lot of the intrigue that made the first game so compelling. When it comes to facing the Cosmic Entities at the end of the world; I think I’d have preferred a little less movie conspiracy, and a little more actual mystery.

Embracing the nature of relaxing, High Above is one to find solace in time and time again. With so many ways to play and decorate, each serene rooftop is a little escape. No timers, just a quiet space in the clouds for your creativity and dreams to come alive.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is a distinctly unambitious game. It is utterly uninterested in functioning as a faithful remake of Yakuza 3 or pushing the series forward in any meaningful way. RGG Studio has created a Frankenstein’s monster of thrown together mechanics from past entries that wears the skin of a flawed, but significant and in many ways beloved legacy title, and bundled it with an ultimately meaningless spin-off that only escalates growing concerns with the franchise’s future.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake indicates that there is still a lot of potential in the series’ unique flavour of occult paranormal J-horror. Unfortunately, this experience is marred by tedious combat encounters, inconsistent pacing, and technical issues that keep it from reaching the heights of its modern horror remake contemporaries.

The Caribou Trail left me caring for an unknown war story. Fisher, Gordon and Lonnie’s human tale of small island men being cast into a global conflict is equal parts sombre and heartwarming. The title’s great voice acting and audio design immersed me into this short story deeply.

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.

Everything about John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando just works. SnowRunner with Zombies about sums it up. So far, I’m having an absolute blast. With each completion giving me enough to upgrade something to make me feel a little bit stronger. I haven’t been able to complete a very hard mission yet, but I’m getting so close. With a couple more levels and full communicating squad, that Sludge God will be mincemeat.

Darwin’s Paradox is a strong debut from ZDT Studio, cleverly utilizing cinematic platforming genre staples to create a fun, well paced 5-hour adventure. That being said, an abrupt ending unfortunately robs the game of a satisfying conclusion, and it’s clear that the Nintendo Switch 2 version needed more time in the oven to properly utilize the hardware.

Though its level design and technical performance can be frustrating, I can’t help but love Romeo is a Dead Man. While it may not be their best, it is in many ways the ultimate Grasshopper Manufacture game, paying homage to the studio’s legacy with an unbridled level of creativity and style, and incorporating everything great from its past work into something fresh.

While its tight controls and emergent mechanics create a strong and satisfying blend of 3D platforming and involved, reactive game design, Big Hops’ structure feels at odds with itself. Its narrative focus limits the scope of its open-ended ambitions, resulting in an experience that makes some hops that are certainly big, but don’t always stick the landing.

For returning fans, this is easily the definitive way to experience Kain and Raziel’s intertwined fate. For newcomers who are willing to wade into the deep lore, it’s a fascinating, if sometimes stubborn, relic of a different era. Imperfect, dramatic, and unapologetically gothic, Defiance still has fangs, even if they’re a little worn.

It might not be a groundbreaking experience, but Directive 8020 delivers as one of the Supermassive’s best games.