Outside of the game not being too friendly for complete beginners (especially once they remove pulse combos), it having a small roster, some overpriced skins and a few teensy network problems in multiplayer, I can wholeheartedly recommend 2XKO.

If you haven't played Ark before, I don't think you'll be disappointed when picking it up now. For fans of the original like myself, the biggest downside about Ark: Survival Ascended may be that buying this game is basically becoming a required investment if you want to keep enjoying Ark. Because as I understand it, Studio Wildcard is working actively to phase out the original game, having already shut down its official servers. This leaves players with no option but to upgrade. However, after overcoming the hurdle of paying again for a rework, there's not much holding you back from enjoying a prettier and better version of an already highly likeable game.

For those looking for a strategy game to plug away at for the rest of May, Songs of Conquest may just be the ticket. It's crammed with content, has a polished sheen that many other games fail to achieve, is easy to pick up and play, and has systems that make even its more complex elements approachable or surmountable.

There is plenty to play in Cassette Boy, although, as mentioned above, it involves a lot of searching and endless trial and error. I'm actually a little annoyed by the game's unnecessary cryptic nature, because in other respects it's a fun little adventure that's really worth getting to know and has a lot of delightful things to discover.

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.

The Cub is an ideal game to work through in an evening or two, and for that matter, and considering the interesting storyline and pretty graphics, it's a decent showing from Demagog.

Slots & Daggers is a great game - through and through. It's addictive enough to keep you coming back for a few nights in a row to keep spinning out the right symbols and getting further and further on the map, unlocking more and more new things. It's also got a great atmosphere, a great jazz beat, and a very accurate and beautiful aesthetic.

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.

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.

Paper Trail is a really nice puzzle game, but it didn't quite blow me away. There's nothing wrong with it as such, and the various puzzles should provide a good amount of challenge, but it feels like something is missing.

Nightreign is, in my opinion, a highly successful experiment at a fair price, and while there are some obvious kinks to iron out - the lack of new enemies and maps other than Limveld being the most acute - the gameplay foundation is rock solid, and that's what matters most.

Forspoken is fun to play most of the time, but it's a damn shame that the game's remaining elements eagerly attempt to ruin that enjoyment at every turn.

Dread Templar is an outrageously fun retro FPS. It's straightforward, simple, thrilling, action-packed, and exciting, and is the perfect sort of game for anyone who is solely looking for an old-school Doom-like title.

Supermassive Games has maintained the style and atmosphere that the series is known for, and they should be commended for that, but they have also played it safe. Apart from the addition of co-op, there is nothing significantly new in Little Nightmares 3. This may sound reassuring to fans of the series, and if you are one of them, you can safely dive in. But there is a lack of evolution. There is a lack of development in the universe, not because they have to reveal a whole lot, but because it should be expanded more.

Titans of the Tide begins as a "great" platformer and steadily slips into "good" territory, perhaps even "mediocre" at times…

Despite a disappointing ending and some irritations with the dialogue and combat, Beyond Galaxyland is an RPG that will remind you of the heady days of your first Final Fantasy, mixed with a Pokémon blend.

It's a slightly odd mix of fast-paced arcade racing, an unbalanced game, a story that takes up too much space, almost too many systems, and controls that demand a lot from the player. Screamer isn't a bad game, but it tries to do almost too much. I would have liked it to be more straightforward. More like Ridge Racer could have been in 2026.

While there are a few weird and unusual bugs that plague the game as well, for example certain lighting instances actually changing the colour of your golfer's hair, generally speaking, EA Sports PGA Tour is a fun and entertaining golf game that excels in the places that matter the most; the gameplay, the courses, and the experience. If you're looking for a way to double-down on golf this Masters weekend, then EA Sports PGA Tour is a good title to take a look at, just save yourself some disappointment and keep clear of the Store tab.

Aside from some clunky controls and annoying speech, I still had quite a bit of fun with Tourist Trap. However, it didn't take much more than two hours to complete and I can feel that's a bit on the small side.

With its vibrant visuals and looping roguelike elements, Ultros is a Metroidvania that dares to be different and for that alone, it earns my respect.

Echoes of the End is an ambitious game with some really good ideas and a beautiful presentation, but also with technical issues and design flaws that detract from the experience. I would actually recommend it, but only if you can wait for a few updates.

I have no doubt that the more players share their experiences after finishing the game, the more different approaches to their journey and its conclusion will be seen. If you don't mind having to deal with a tense scenario and perhaps facing your own inner demons, Dead Take offers you an all-star cast in their roles and a story that grips you from start to finish.

If you're a lover of the musou genre, this is a must-have title for you. But if this is going to be your first time playing this type of game, it's good to know that repetition and "routine" combat is part of it. In any case, you will feel like a truly "unique" hero.

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.

This is just the RTS genre at its absolute best, and while Relic could have done more, they really could, what they have done works well overall, and at a lower price, it's hard not to recommend it.

Hide the Corpse is something different. A quirky puzzle game that dares to be weird and embraces its macabre sense of humour. The simple but clever concept holds up for several hours of fun, even if the nausea creeps in. The overall package feels a bit half-baked, repeating itself too often, but with a little polish, this indie oddity could evolve into something much bigger. There's plenty of potential in corpse-hiding chaos.

For the first time in many years, I feel like the Madden series is going somewhere. It's been stagnant, it's had major problems with all sorts of things, and it's mostly been frustrating. That feeling has mostly not been present in Madden NFL 26. It's definitely not problem-free, but it's the best this series has produced in a very long time, which in itself, is nothing to brag about.

The House of the Dead 2: Remake is a refreshing blast from the past. It proves that old-school game design still has bite and that rail shooters deserve a comeback. The remake could've used more polish, and there are definite issues, but especially in co-op, it's still a fun ride worth trying even for those who didn't experience it the first time around.