On one hand, it's so simple and easy to pick up and play, with such a wonderful presentation, great cooperative support, and a great degree of charm that it becomes very, very easy to love. But at the same time the gameplay often feels too predictable, the customisation systems disappoint, and even after acquiring every Gold and Red Brick available I still cannot figure out who this game is aimed at. With the recent remaster and even the relative recency of the original PS4 launch, it's hard to point a finger at this game and call it a must-play, especially since compared to pretty much every other Lego game available it lacks in almost every metric.

Red Dead Redemption on PC is still an unforgettable game that both new players and fans of the series should experience. Despite its age and visual limitations, it still delivers legendary entertainment value that undoubtedly makes it one of the most memorable western experiences imaginable.

Vendetta Forever is a puzzle game disguised as a shooter, and you'll get a kick out of spinning around yourself to clear a room of enemies while ducking to avoid their projects. It has that 'I've-gotta-try-it-again' feeling and it's definitely a game worth checking out if you're looking for a good and accessible action game to knock the dust off that PSVR2 headset.

The Rise of the Golden Idol is a delight of a detective game and the perfect way to spend these cold, winter nights. It's a short experience, depending on how quickly you can solve the murders, but as you fall further into how the overarching story plays out, and piece more of the puzzle together, it'll easily keep you hooked until you've done it all.

The graphics are spectacular, the gameplay smooth and the world interesting, but there's still something off about it. The dark and gloomy gameplay experience quickly takes its toll, especially when physical nausea is present throughout.

Redacted definitely manages to entertain, but it doesn't quite reach the same level as Hades or Dead Cells. That said, it's not a bad game and I think many can appreciate the developer's new direction. But for me personally, there was more to be desired.

As it stands, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is extremely simple, and therefore quite enjoyable to engage with, and besides, after the first hour or so, you can easily just check in every day or two and open some packs.

The game delivers a unique and visually stunning experience that immerses you fully in the world of an ant. While there are areas for improvement, such as the repetitive soundtrack and limited unit options in multiplayer, the game's impressive visuals, realistic sound effects, and varied story missions make it a memorable entry in the RTS genre.

If you like the series already, this is a must-have purchase, but if you are new to the Metal Slug experience, I still recommend that you give this an honest try. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but Metal Slug Tactics is a hell of a lot of fun to play. What more could you want?

Mario & Luigi: Brothership just lacks some of the magic, the flavour, and the secrets those games bring, it drags considerably, and it gets a tad too dreary a tad too often. That being said, kids love it, it's good to see the return of a series many thought dead, and it does set the foundations for a new branch that can feel different to the Paper games going forward.

If you haven't played this in almost eight years or are about to experience the adventure for the first time, this version is either a good reason to do it again or the best way to do it for the first time. It is therefore quite difficult to oppose this new version when it is as fantastic as it is in many ways. Even if I still can't let go of the idea that it really wasn't needed.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure's sense of surprise doesn't hit with the same force as Life is Strange did nine years ago, but it has managed to re-engage me for a few hours to catch up with a character I've long wanted to see, and leave me with a sense of personal enrichment after playing it. A tempting title for anyone in need of a story in the cold autumn nights ahead.

Bioware is back, and while they're not reinventing the wheel here, they've made exactly the game we wanted them to make. An exclusively single-player RPG that is narratively anchored, far more linear, with all the content tailored and organised by skilled designers and without all the "bloat" that many have criticised Starfield for consisting of. What you have here is lean and mean, and it puts Bioware on an exciting trajectory where it's finally possible to see light at the end of the very dark tunnel they've been in for a long, long while. It's not a perfect RPG, but it's... pretty damn good, to say the least.

If for some reason you've had time to play all the great Japanese role-playing games this year and need more to bite into, I can really recommend Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven Heroes. Sure, most of it is old-fashioned Japanese role-playing, but there's also an innovative generation mechanic that I think is worth trying.

It's great to see really lavish, well-made and successful blockbuster titles like these in VR. The format itself would have needed a lot of these games at an earlier stage to reach a wider and larger audience. If you have a Quest headset, you just can't miss Arkham Shadow.

Treyarch has righted the ship with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. This is the Call of Duty game that Microsoft and Activision needed for a day one Game Pass launch, as it has a strong and thrilling Campaign, a tight and streamlined Multiplayer, and a fun and nostalgic Zombies experience too.

Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is a remaster of one of the craziest games ever made and the fact that it's potentially reaching out to new gamers who will get an experience they've never had before can only be a positive thing - and as I said, it's priced very reasonably.

Aaero 2 is definitely not a game for everyone. It has a fairly narrow audience and you might be a little worried that it's going to get lost in the crowd of games coming out these days - because it deserves better.

Despite a few elements that rubbed me the wrong way, there's not much else you can say about The Smurfs: Dreams other than the fact that this game is a pleasant, sweet, easy, and good cooperative platforming experience. It won't eat up much of your time, it generally will keep you interested with unique level design and gameplay iteration, and the difficulty and degree of challenge means it's an accessible and fitting offering for all ages.

Kong: Survivor Instinct is not a great video game, but it also isn’t a disaster. There are elements and moments where you become quite embroiled in the story and fall into the rhythm of the platforming, and this is bolstered by the fact that it’s quite a tight and streamlined experience lasting around four-to-five hours if you attempt to find everything. You don’t play this game and feel offended and cheated, as was the case with last year’s Skull Island or even at times with the recent The New Empire film, but at the same time, there’s not a lot here that stands out and really impresses. It’s a simplistic and budgeted offer based on one of the most expensive and lucrative franchises in entertainment, and that’s it.

Although the journey felt a little too tiring towards the end and the game does not really engage with new game elements and fairly simple game mechanics, I still have to conclude by saying that I had quite a lot of fun all the way throughout. It would have taken quite a bit of polish to make this a masterpiece, but I still have to say that despite the modest score, it's a bit of a surprise of the year for me. Sure, in retrospect, it's one of those gaming experiences that I will hardly think back on, but I still had a surprisingly fun time during this journey.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a great package that features some of the best levels in Sonic's history, and Shadow's campaign serves as a dark but exciting contrast to Sonic's colourful adventures. If you want to experience Sonic at his best, this collection is a must-play. So if you haven't tried Sonic Generations before, here's your chance to play Sonic's greatest hits, on modern hardware, in a package that offers hours of entertainment

If I could wish, I would like the game controls to feel a little tighter, just like I felt when I played Crash Bandicoot 4. Both Niko and Luna move a little too slowly for my taste and their jumping animations are so detailed that it sometimes feels like they are floating in the air rather than relating to real gravity. However, this is only a trifle in the context and nothing that bothers much in a game that I think pays tribute to old classics from this specific genre in the best possible way.

This could easily have become a real hit of the best double-A kind if the game had received just a little more time, a slightly bigger budget and more polish. Unfortunately, the experience is also muddled by bad combat, clumsy directing and several problems of the technical and visual kind. Still, it's not hard to gleam the diamond in the rough here, and hopefully the developers at Reflector will be given more opportunities in the future after their debut, because there is definitely a lot of potential here.

It’s crammed to the brim - overflowing even - with content, works quite well with a gamepad, has serviceable and often impressive graphics, and full crossplay between PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S so you can team with your friends regardless of where they play. But, it’s not without its limits and issues, and it’s for these reasons that New World: Aeternum could do with a bit more refinement and adjustments to ensure it nails the task at hand of being an exhaustive and unimpaired console MMORPG effort.

It's not the most advanced VR shooter as it's after all an adaptation of the original, and yet it somehow felt better to me than last year's Arizona Sunshine 2. It's neither the looker for the same reason, and you'll find the best of both worlds if you manage to play on PC VR... but with a wireless headset. But at under 30 bucks including all the DLC, or as a 10 bucks update for those who own the first game, I'd say you can't go wrong as far as VR zombies go as long as you're not looking for the depth, or flare, or advanced hand actions of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Resident Evil 4 or Village, or the upcoming Metro Awakening VR.

With a meticulous, intricate and yet stable management system, Citadelum promises city builders and management titles fans a handful of hours of fun. My biggest regret is that there is no multiplayer option to compete against my friends' empires, but the creations we can download from Steam Workshop make up for that. It's time to crown a new Caesar.

Europa is a nice little indie gem, that hopefully gets a few more updates on the Switch. Zee's adventure offers the player adventure and great small puzzles. And considering the game only lasts for a few hours, it's a surprisingly varied experience, too.