Constance is a pretty nice Metroidvania, yet another one for the collection, one might be tempted to say. It feels good to play; for the most part, everything just works as it should and it actually touches on everyday topics that many can relate to. You might wish for a bit more innovation, since the game plays it safe within the Metroidvania genre, but a game doesn't necessarily need to set new standards to be entertaining and worth your time, and Constance is a great example of that.

Far Far West is an easy-to-recommend game that has the potential to be a must buy if you're into PvE co-op experiences. Its gunplay requires a good dose of skill, but you can balance your lack of a solid trigger finger with luck thanks to the Joker cards you can pick up during a run. Its design oozes personality, and while I'd love to see more of it shine in more NPC quests scattered in a map, they can come in time.” [Early Access Score = 80]

Everything from the graphics, music and sound to the tank simulation and much more has been improved. At the same time, there are still areas for development, such as the AI, more maps, the user interface, the visibility of your troops, and a more content-rich multiplayer mode. There are also certain aspects of the balance between the troop types that need reviewing. For these reasons, my rating lands a little lower than what I would give the fourth instalment today, with all content included. When it works, it's good, but at present there is room to improve even further.

This is a game, which while not particularly mechanically complex, has been crafted with such a clear creative vision that it's hard to fault. Every part of Mixtape feels as though it belongs, be it the stop-motion-like animated characters, the picturesque and colourful artistic direction, the straightforward but refined narrative premise, the incredible use of music that has been expertly curated. Mixtape is a movie brought to life in a way few can rival and while it may be over in a flash, what Beethoven & Dinosaur has presented with this game will leave a noticeable impression on you long after the credits roll. Seriously, go and play Mixtape. You won't be disappointed.

Wax Heads is a cosy, relaxing little game and especially if you're a music fanatic, it's lovely to potter about running the little record shop. The simple gameplay is perhaps a bit too simple, and the challenge lies in the vague clues the customers give, so it can all get a bit monotonous. However, I think Patattie Games deserves credit for trying something new, and it's actually a great idea they've come up with here and the fact that it's all been created by just two people with help from only a handful of external contributors is even more impressive. If you enjoy good music and are looking for a relaxing and cosy game that's particularly well-suited to your Switch or Steam Deck, then Wax Heads could be a really good choice, and you can try a demo on Steam if you'd like to check it out before you buy.

ZPF is definitely a shoot 'em up worth taking a closer look at. Technically speaking, it's very impressive, and had it been released on the Mega Drive during the console's heyday, we'd probably have mentioned it in the same breath as classics like Galenancer, Thunder Force and Truxton. It gets most things right and really only falls short in that there is sometimes a bit too much happening on screen at once, and that the game's wildly varied environments don't quite give it a sense of cohesion. But with its satisfying upgrade system and a highly customisable difficulty level, it's a must-have for any shoot 'em up fanatic's collection.

It's packed with profanity that rains down alongside the sarcasm we recognise from the series, featuring a colourful cast of characters that does justice to the Invincible universe in a fighting game that anyone can play regardless of prior experience, and have a right good laugh in the process.

In short, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is practically everything I could have asked for in a new game in the series: an experience familiar enough with the past to connect with my fondest childhood memories of keyboard and mouse, whilst adding new features such as factions and game subsystems to make me think and immerse myself fully in its universe and gameplay. It's a new era for strategy, and I'm delighted to be back on this path.

MotoGP 26 remains a very strong game in a series that does justice to the real-life MotoGP, and gameplay-wise it's entertaining, but unfortunately it feels as though the series is starting to slow down a bit too much. There simply isn't enough new content, nor does it feel sufficiently different from last year's title.

What we ultimately have here, what you're being asked to invest in, is the cover band version of Ad Astra. It's a gaming experience that feels as though it's been held together with duct tape, and only in fleeting moments does the narrative emerge that made me forget these otherwise obvious shortcomings. It's a shame, and I take no pleasure in sending a talented studio back to the drawing board, but I cannot recommend Aphelion, not even to those who pick it up "for free" via Game Pass. It simply isn't worth your time.

Gorn 2's virtual brawling is entertaining time-killing fun, whose strengths lie in its consistently high-quality execution and silly premise. The story provides a suitable reason to fight and the game also offers the chance to take on various challenge battles outside the main story. Although you end up facing the same enemies a bit too often and the damage can be a bit too sensitive, Gorn 2 has taken the potential of the first game to the next level and made whacking its rubber foes even more fun.

Ultimately, Moomintroll: Winter's Warmth delivers more of what we saw in Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley. It's an accessible adventure for a younger audience where the charm of Tove Jansson's stories meets simple gameplay mechanics, and it's easy to recommend this if you enjoyed its predecessor. Admittedly, the adventure on offer this time around may not be quite as grand in scale, and much of it can feel a little too familiar and repetitive at times, but a quiet, atmospheric winter's day can, as we know, be just as inviting as a warm and lively afternoon in the sun. Hyper Games continues its tradition of respecting the source material in the very best way, and if you like Finnish little trolls, these digital fairy tales are the very best on the market right now.

Saros is a fantastic example of just how much good can come from giving a razor-sharp developer the time and freedom to create the game they want from a clear vision. For whilst Saros is, in scope, Housemarque's biggest game to date, it still feels laser-focused in its desire to bring bullet hell into a 3D space and equip the whole thing with an engaging sci-fi story set in a fantastic world.

Minishoot's Adventures has nothing new to say about twin-stick shooters, shmups, or the typical Zelda formula. It's the things you know, just remixed in an innovative way, and perhaps that's enough. It doesn't change your relationship with these respective genre frameworks, apart from convincing you that these frameworks are flexible enough for this sort of thing to be entirely feasible, and that's probably a victory in itself.

When it stumbles, it falls flat on its face, but when Masters of Albion succeeds, it reminds you why Molyneux is still in the business after all this time. It has a quality to it that lets you overlook a lot of its most glaring flaws, a sense of humour that reminds you of your first time playing Fable, and a unique, ambitious approach to a genre we don't see enough of these days (aside from the other recently released god game Sintopia). Masters of Albion is not a triumph. It won't knock Fable down to become Molyneux's new legacy-defining game, but it certainly leaves its impression. [Early Access Score = 60

The team behind Tides of Tomorrow made a name for themselves with the brilliant Road 96 and Road 96: Mile 0 - both of which were great stories. Tides of Tomorrow is no different, and the game had no trouble keeping me hooked during the 11-13 hours it took to complete. DigixArt are good at telling compelling stories, and they do so again with this game; this time, they spice it all up with this 'asynchronous multiplayer' mechanic, which is certainly a nice gimmick - and which makes the game one of the freshest narrative adventure games we've seen in a long time.

Arcadia Fallen II has pleasantly surprised me. I could easily see myself going back to play the first game just to get the full story. If you're a fan of visual novels, this is a really good choice with a strong story, good characters and solid dialogue. It's a quiet game. A game you play over a hot cup of coffee. Or tea with a little bit of honey in it.

Right now, the game is sorely lacking in content, but if they expand the number of playable monsters (its Pokédex), introduce more mechanics such as Terastallising, Gigantamax, or even the long-forgotten Z-Moves, it could offer greater variety. The question is how much of the (surely massive) player base will remain by then. Right now, it's all about the novelty and the fact it's free, but once everyone's had a go, will there be more than just the hardcore fanbase left? We'll see. For now, Pokémon Champions is a good introduction for new players, but the seasoned veterans will surely feel that something is missing.

Vampire Crawlers is nothing short of outstanding and its possibilities are dizzying. Play at your own risk, for this is, if possible, even better and more polished than its predecessor.

It's beautifully designed and takes you through some impressive and mind-boggling worlds, but I'd say you need to be a real fan of these detective games for Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss to be worth your while. As mentioned earlier, there are elements that make the whole thing a bit too convoluted and slow the game down even further than it already is. There are also a number of technical issues that are hard to overlook.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is cosy and full of creative joy for anyone willing to take the time to build a Mii community with personality. I would argue that it requires a fair bit of imagination on your part as a player to get the full value out of the experience. By that, I don't just mean a desire to create visually, but also an overarching concept of who your characters are and what their relationships with the other residents should look like. Essentially, build your own story and see what happens. For me, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is primarily a great tool for creative thinking, whilst it's then up to us as players to decide what we want to create.

There is so much charisma exuding from this game it's almost hard to dislike it and the pacing and gunplay is strong enough to keep you entertained when you aren't dazzled by the incredible art and animation.

Replaced is, after all, about emotion, which it has in abundance, with a story that resonates deeply, feels refreshing without reinventing the wheel, and, moreover, doesn't feel the need to provide all the answers.

All of the features that Outerloop has incorporated work as intended, and while there is a bit of jank in the movement and exploration, it is a generally well put together game. But it also feels like there could have been much more here, or rather, a grander focus on a few design features and an elimination of others to make for a more refined creative vision. As it is, Dosa Divas is a perfectly acceptable game, but it had the potential to be much more.

Pragmata simply works too well not to recommend it, and the magic lost in the empty spaces may not be as obvious to you as it is to me. That's why I'm giving in and recommending Pragmata on the strength of its strong gameplay profile and well-constructed loops and structures, even though part of me would have liked there to be a bit of edge beneath the cool exterior alongside all the great design.

There's quality and genuine brilliance in this game, but at the same time I can't help but feel as though it'd benefit from either having more interactivity and player-geared gameplay or rather a complete focus on narrative and letting a hand-crafted and highly refined story flow of its own accord. Perhaps we'll see a change in the future of the series, but whatever ends up happening, one thing is clear and that is Reunion once again nails the core elements of what makes a Life is Strange game special, so credit to Deck Nine on that front once more.

If you're not exactly a die-hard RPG fan, People of Note can be a nice, accessible and cosy little RPG that tries to do things a bit differently by adding musical abilities to a traditional RPG, and if you buy into the slightly simple premise, it actually works.

At its core, this is a very ambitious and impressive video game that's a massive improvement on much of what the mobile platform offers, but it's weighed down and held back by the inclusion of the intrusive and demoralising mobile elements that continue to give the platform a bad rap. Does it work as a game to log into for 20 minutes a time while commuting to work? Without question. But could you sit down and play The Division Resurgence for hours, eventually clocking hundreds of hours into the gameplay as is easily the case with its console and PC counterpart projects? No, it does not have the structure or legs to be such a title.