If Coal Supper had ended up with a gameplay model that was as interesting to engage with mechanically as it is downright magnificent to look at, experience and listen to, then this would have been one of the best games of the year.

It took me about four hours to play through Mullet Mad Jack and after about half of my playing time, I felt pretty fed up with the monotonous environments and the corridors that everything takes place in.

It's been a great pleasure for me personally to experience one of the modern classics that are considered seminal to the conventions of the genre, and I have to applaud much of Bloober Team's work here. That doesn't change the fact that there are aspects of Silent Hill 2's foundation that appear slightly shaky to me, and your immersion and enjoyment will be dictated by how forgiving you are of a story that becomes a little too thin as the game progresses.

Nioh 3 is simply a good game because it's more of Nioh and Nioh 2 with a few extra dashes of different playstyles, a few new enemies, bigger environments, and some tiny gameplay tweaks. Those of you just looking for more Nioh/Rise of the Ronin/Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty are getting exactly that. Everyone else will forget this even came out by the time Game of the Year awards start in December, because I'll exaggerate a bit by saying this is what AI would have made if you asked it to develop Nioh 3.

All the practicalities: the combat system, the enemies' actual attack patterns and manoeuvres, progression, and upgrades, and the game's item economy. All of this seems less polished, less precisely defined, and for that reason it is easy to recommend Silent Hill f as an experience, but somewhat more difficult as a gaming experience.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is still one of the finest 2D platformers in recent memory, so there's still that going for this upgrade and pack, but at the same time, if you can save yourself close to £20 and simply buy the base game and leave it at that, I wouldn't discourage doing so, as Meetup in Bellabel Park and the Nintendo Switch 2 Upgrade is simply not must-have content.

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.

If you liked this team's previous works and tactical games like Fire Emblem, The Hundred Line: Last Defence Academy is a recommended choice. However, I'm left with the feeling that it's a good idea that missed an opportunity to be something even more unique.

There are parts that impress, features that you will embrace and enjoy, there are also other elements that you will come away from frankly bewildered. It's an odd balance, an end-product that in the days after wrapping it up I still cannot quite wrap my head around in places. But this does mean it's memorable and unique, so if you enjoy indies that push the boundaries of creative expression, Skate Story has a lot going for it.

The game is relatively monotonous and really quite boring in its gameplay loop. The reason I'm giving it a recommendation is because Keep Driving is very much a "vibes" game, and you'll know if you're in tune with that after watching the trailer. The pixel art graphics are gorgeous and the soundtrack features a couple of Swedish indie bands I've never heard of before, but which have been on repeat in my music app ever since.

I was excited to see what The Game Kitchen could do with Ninja Gaiden. Unfortunately, the answer is a bit disappointing. Ragebound is rock solid and feels really good in your hands, but it lacks spark, passion, X-factor, surprises. I could go on. At a time when sharp 2D action games are not exactly in short supply, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a solid revival of a classic series that will probably make the old core happy, but I would start somewhere else, Katana Zero, for example.

This collection is specifically designed for the most die-hard purists, and I think it's a shame that M2/Konami didn't take the opportunity to build the perfect, definitive Gradius collection. Gradius for the NES should obviously have been included, as should Gradius 4, Gradius V, Gradius Rebirth, and Gradius Gaiden. That didn't happen, and there's nothing wrong with the package we got instead, but it does gnaw at me a little that Konami, after the absolutely fantastic Contra collection, didn't quite hit the bullseye here.

Do you need to buy Football Manager 2024 if you already play last year's version? Nah, not at full price. There's not enough new content.

When it works, Laika: Aged Through Blood is top-notch entertainment in prime time, and proof that suddenly there is pure innovation on the indie scene worthy of mainstream attention.

So, is the expansion worth it? Much more than Mario Party, but at the same time don't expect a lot of content or innovation. For me, it's more like a nice icing on top of what was a memorable adventure, as a way to expand on the original experience with the recipe of "more and better". If the Switch title was among your favourites, go swallow the expansion and bump it up a notch in our score, because you won't be disappointed and you'll enjoy a new story with a few additions. If you don't already own the original, you'd better give it a try before jumping straight into the €80 edition.

So, the key thing to take away from my experience with 30 Birds is that this game is a colourful and rich puzzle game that excels thanks to its unusual narrative and beautiful art direction.

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.

As it is now, it is an entertaining action spectacle that is definitely best when played with others. Despite the repetitiveness, I have had a lot of fun with it and I look forward to diving into new planets to save humanity.

If you're into adventure and puzzle games, Killer Frequency is a nice and slightly different take on a game in that genre. But it's not a game for everyone.

The problem I have with MLB The Show 24 is nothing on the pitch, where it is fantastic. Instead, it's that it's starting to feel old. Every year I get a sense of deja vu. It's the same game as last year. I'd love to see the series get a real fresh start next year.

It's a modest visual upgrade that doesn't take advantage of today's consoles, even if wet surfaces, dirt, and textures are slightly more defined, in addition to tighter game controls and a handful of new tools than last time around. If you liked the first game, you will feel at home here as it's more of the same, but if you didn't like it last time, it's unlikely to win your heart this time either.

It's a good game - in many ways better today than it was then, with lots of content and a racing curve that anyone can handle, whether they're just starting to learn to drive or drifting on a daily basis. However, the lack of a proper online mode where you can play with or against others is a missed opportunity. Instead, you have to battle it out on leaderboards that invite rivalry. The AI-controlled opponents tend to behave strangely aggressively at times, with proper PIT manoeuvres that send you spinning, which of course has no place here.

Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is a good game that has something for everyone. But it also has its obvious problems that will be difficult for the developers to correct in retrospect.

This is another title that reinforces the "just one more round" feeling in an extraordinary way. It's very entertaining, and you always know how you can do a little better next time, by making a design a little more efficiently. Even though you can move on to a new island once you've reached a certain score, you can also stay where you are and try to increase your score for as long as possible, then move on to the next one when you can't build any more where you are. It's meditative, relaxing, enjoyable, and very cosy, although perhaps a little too familiar for those of us who played the predecessor.

Ninja Gaiden 4 thus gives a rather mixed impression, but nevertheless one that leans positively. There is a familiar charm to the way the adventure is structured, and although I don't want to brush aside the criticism of substandard graphics and outdated design and defend it with rose-tinted nostalgia, the concept of simple action, built with equally simple game code, works surprisingly well. It's not a game that will go down in history in the same way as its predecessors, but it's still an adventure worth playing through if you're craving more frantic ninja action.

Marathon’s foundations are solid, strong, and well-functioning, and although the game might lack a hook, or simply maps that build on this solid foundation, I feel confident enough, even without Cryo Archive, to recommend Marathon solely on the basis of this rather fantastic loop. That doesn’t mean Marathon is a fantastic game in itself, but it could very well turn out to be one, and that’s more positive than for a great many other live-service games.

While I won't deny that Saltsea Chronicles has a slow pace that often leaves a little to be desired, this indie adventure game does have its moments.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 has a very strong combat system, a visually appealing world, and the huge amount of monsters you can find and command in battle make up for some of its more uninspired elements and a rather dull story. Hardcore Monster Hunter fans, displeased by the "casualification" of the series in Wilds, may find a good excuse to return to the Monster Hunter universe here, but that will depend on how much they enjoy the turn-based JRPG genre, with all of its quirks and clichés.