It simultaneously tries to be as ‘mature’ as possible through constant depictions of excessive brutality while also being stubbornly unwilling to engage with its source material beyond the aspects most problematically aimed at 12 year olds. It is in the most basic of senses very fun, and I will be coming back to it again when new Operations missions drop for free over the next year. Its combat loop is exhilarating and its visual splendor immaculate. Its entire package just sits in such tonal disharmony within itself and worse so still when compared to other recent 40k video games...Perhaps ironically that makes Space Marine 2 the truest and most immersive satire of fascism in gaming yet though. Just a whole lot of hollow sound and fury.

Long may the Duck Detective franchise continue. If this game is anything to go by, it has a bright, compelling future ahead.

Shadows over Loathing will put a smile on your face, and keep it there. It’s a detailed and endlessly amusing RPG, with a delightfully lighthearted vibe and a constant stream of delightful, funny gaffs for you to nourish yourself on. Asymmetric knows how to make a good comedy game, and it’s well worth getting in on the joke.

Nostalgia aside, this is the most feature-rich and engaging Mario Party we’ve seen yet, with each of its many facets combining to make a layered party game perfect for multiplayer or solo rounds. Mario Party is officially back, and everyone is invited to join in.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure presents strong reasons to return daily, with story hooks, moreish quests, and fun bite-sized puzzles to romp through. It struggles to retain the excitement of its opening pace in later-stage gameplay, where quests become more reliant on higher, more difficult-to-obtain friendship levels – but beyond this foible, it maintains a warm and wholesome charm that should keep fans of cosy adventure games enthralled.

While this expansion pack does present a whole new array of challenges – from diaper blowouts to random morning temper tantrums – it adds a much-needed sense of wholesomeness and realism to The Sims 4. It enhances the quirks of Sim relationships, provides goalposts for every Sim to strive towards, and provides a narrative-less game with a real sense of shape. With plenty of new achievements to nab and activities to enjoy, Growing Together breathes new life and vigour into The Sims 4.

Whether you’re lured by a host of familiar food-based faces, or you’re a complete newcomer to the world that Snoozy Kazoo have created, it’s safe to say that this game will give you a taste for veggie rebellion – though perhaps not for a veggie dinner.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard feels like it ticks almost all my boxes. It's fun, it's grippy, it's cheeky. There are steamy moments. There are freaks. It's a game that feels like it was almost entirely made for me, and while it may not be perfect on a clinical level, it's deeply satisfying to explore.

Viewfinder is a short and sharp exploration of a strong concept that builds an unimposing space to play with those ideas, and fosters a mild, continual hum of gratification as you go on that journey. A pleasant exercise in gently massaging your brain synapses, it’s like a brisk refreshment that leaves you feeling slightly more satisfied when you’re done.

In pushing forward into the realm of narrative storytelling, WWE 2K23 makes a memorable, well-earned mark. It’s loaded with polish and personality, and should rightfully be considered one of the best wrestling video games of the modern era.

Where Horizon Forbidden West leant heavily into alienating futurism, Burning Shores successfully grounds its stranger elements within a story that remains defiantly human throughout. By its closing curtain, Burning Shores proves definitively that even despotic future warlords are no match for the strength of human bonds.

At the end of the day, it’s a game about killing. But here, death and beauty are linked – and the act of killing is given a gravity that must be clearly understood. It’s not killing for the sake of killing, and while past games have tried the same tact in their depictions of death, the approach of Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels far more mature and interesting.

This isn’t quite a revolution for the series. But with a range of smaller tweaks, and improvements to its storytelling and delivery, WWE 2K24 still makes a compelling case to make the upgrade.

If Yakuza/LAD is the MCU of video games, then Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is its Thor: Ragnarok. It’s an enjoyably breezy romp that opens the property up in a fun new direction, but that still feels shackled to what came before.

I remember my grandpa telling stories about his beloved motorbike that he got as a teenager – the freedom he felt to explore the countryside, to map out the land he loved, knowing, perhaps, that one day he’d have to leave it. Decades later, he still remembered how the Abergavenny of his childhood looked, how it sounded, how it fit together. A Highland Song might not be Inkle’s best game, but it’s the studio’s most evocative work – it’s a reminder that wherever we are, we are surrounded by stories.

While Sumerian Six does require active engagement, and you will need to work towards conquering each level with patience, it presents rewarding reasons for doing so. There is a balance of challenge here, and one that’s matched by the elation of moving forward, unlocking new skills, perfecting your timing, and finally defeating those magical Nazis. It may tread familiar ground, but Sumerian Six explores fresh territory with every twist, for a game that is moreish and clever at every turn.

In its approach to campaign integration, Sparking! Zero is much weaker. While it presents strong ideas in having branching story pathways, the narrative’s varying quality and beige storytelling is a letdown. The flash and style of individual battles may be enough to dazzle you, but those looking for anything deeper will need to dive further back into Dragon Ball‘s video game past to find it.

The reverence for Asian martial arts films of all kinds is evident in Sifu. But in mixing ‘of all kinds’ together, it diminishes the individual identities of each. Just like martial arts films are more than a select sequence of fight scenes, culture is more than a cool aesthetic. Sifu uses homage to include everything, say nothing, and is ultimately just vexing.

My time with Rollerdrome was likely filled with more failed runs than successful ones, with long periods of exasperation after failing increasingly difficult stages, multiple times. But when everything clicks, and you’re in the zone – pulling off those perfectly timed shots and dodges, racking up enormous combos, performing ridiculous tricks, narrowly avoiding rockets, and nailing enemies straight between the eyes from 50 yards away to find victory – it’s so incredibly invigorating. Rollerdrome deals in style and hard-fought satisfaction, and getting Kara to the top is well worth the effort.

The stories in Citizen Sleeper are worth hearing, but the fairly sparse and restrictive mechanics underpinning the game begin to buckle under the demands of that storytelling. More complications resulting from task categories may have expanded the possibilities here, but despite this, Citizen Sleeper remains a great cyberpunk diorama, and it’s well worth uncovering all its little details.

There’s a kind of scrappy, desperate feeling to a firefight in Jagged Alliance 3. Hits to the arms reduce accuracy, and damage to the legs impedes movement. Cover can be destroyed. Losing line-of-sight allows your merc to re-enter Sneak Mode and return to surprise the enemy. Saving a couple of AP to drop into a prone position at the end of a turn can be the difference between seeing the next turn or bleeding out. Yet, despite all this tactical granularity, the successful play is often a matter of running around the cover the enemy is hiding behind and shooting them in the back. Assuming you don’t miss, of course.

The strange politics of its dystopia feel fresh. Numerous cuts to other points of view leave you disoriented in a way that only adds to the intrigue. There’s also a pleasing glitch aesthetic that permeates every aspect, from the writing to the art direction, raising doubts whenever something tangible threatens to materialise. It’s a mystery well worth falling headfirst into.

Between its major beats, and the classical adventure of the protagonist, brought to life in such beautiful noir shades, Gunbrella is an adventure with a real sense of vigour. Its narrative remains gripping, even in its weaker beats, and paints an evocative picture of a dark world that isn’t so different from our own.

For all the game’s foibles – that largely stem from a slightly dated version of the series recipe, as well as some ideas that perhaps never really quite worked – Like A Dragon: Ishin! Is still an enjoyable Yakuza game brimming with stories and activities, and it still has a firm grip on the sense of drama and comedy that fuel its enduring soul. That soul is unique, charming, and special, and transcends setting, time, and rough edges alike.

This is inevitably going to be a divisive title. There’s no two ways about it – we’ve already seen exhaustive social posts bemoaning certain aspects (and assets) of the game. And while a lot of that criticism has justifiable ground, there is still a lot to enjoy once you get past the flashes of flesh. Personally, I found Stellar Blade to be a solid, engaging experience. Regardless of how often I booted it up, I’d still laugh at the fact that “ponytail length” found itself a home in the main settings menu (I’m on team Short Ponytail, for what it’s worth), and it’ll never get old seeing EVE draw a full-length sword out of said ponytail.

Though the combat and puzzles didn’t feel new enough to really lift to the next level, and devotees of the original might feel a bit let down by the lack of a real leap forward when it comes to those elements, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II dazzles in the mere existence of a full, well-rounded world – a world where reality and fantasy collide just as often outside Senua’s mind as it does inside.

For an escape from the real world, into a land where even a meteor strike is simply taken in stride, Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom is brimming with opportunity.

While the multiple storylines provide the option for replays with exciting twists in the tale of Fódlan, the repetitiveness of some game mechanics make it difficult to envisage being able to play through the whole game many times over. However, for those committed to learning the full story of a vastly divergent universe than that of Three Houses, Fire Emblem: Three Hopes delivers countless hours of exploration, frenetic battles, and heartfelt interactions with the game’s beloved characters.