Challenge and satisfaction go hand-in-hand in this sim, making each choice anxiety-induced and rewarding in equal measure. In that regard, Two Point Campus gets so much right about university life – and the management simulator genre.

There’s hope that the technical issues with The Sims 4: High School Years will be resolved, but frustrations abound during the launch window. The pack goes a long way towards defining the teen experience in digital form, but there are a few pimples to be popped before it can be considered truly worthwhile.

Bear and Breakfast is a unique management sim with memorable characters. Roleplaying as a bear who flips abandoned old B&Bs is unexpectedly entertaining. The dark, existential humour somehow manages to make a depressed turkey feel relatable. But I suspect the game will be much more enjoyable to play once the kinks have eventually been ironed out.

Madison loses itself to out-of-place flights of fancy during its middle periods, allowing you to time-travel as you solve a series of colour-coded painting puzzles that do little to advance the overall plot of the game, and feel more like placeholders than real, mechanically or thematically-relevant puzzles. It says a lot about the audio and visual design of the game that this lack of self-control doesn’t actually impact the experience too much. That said, if you’re the kind of person who gets easily hung up on inventory puzzles, Madison may test your patience as much as it tests your nerves.

Escape Academy is more than just an escape room simulator. It’s a narrative-based puzzle adventure bursting with personality. There’s a fine balance of characterisation, story exposition and puzzle solving that creates a uniquely enthralling experience. It’s a delightful way to pass a few hours that left me hungry for more.

In breaking away from tradition, Dinkum has the potential to be something truly great. It should certainly reckon with its ties to Indigenous Australia before development advances – but there’s magic in this adventure that makes it certain Dinkum will escape the shadow of its predecessors, in time. [Early Access Score = 80]

I’d like to say that Born Punk concluded how it began, with humour and alcohol, but that’s not the case. The ending was bold, but inconclusive. I’ve definitely been on a journey from humble beginnings, through finding a community of powerful and unlikely friends, to somewhere entirely unexpected. But aside from a few general criticisms, like how Eevi’s hacking interactions were rarely used, the creators can firmly count me in for whatever is next. I’ll have more of the same, please.

Wiping the floor with your stupendous army can be fun, but is it as fun as being a clever underdog or meticulous planner? There’s great satisfaction in winning a battle that is challenging, but fair. Songs of Conquest was the experience I was actually looking for when I purchased HOMM 7 recently. It’s bewildering that something as simple as a creature cap, and a few other significant tweaks, could transform an intensely familiar genre experience into a new game that I was excited to learn all over again. [Early Access Score = 100]

Stray gets so much right about being a cat. It's not just the way you travel through the world. There are moments when you stop to rub your side against someone's legs. You can press a button to scratch the carpet and there are even a couple of puzzles that make smart use of this ability. The way you stretch out one paw to tentatively bat at a suspicious object or how you curl up on a cushion in the perfect pretzel… it's just so exquisitely, believably cat-like.

As Dusk Falls tackles intimate themes with intimate storytelling. It spends meaningful time with believable characters and complex personal issues. It attempts to explore answers to those relatable and sometimes unanswerable questions about ourselves. And most importantly, it doesn’t get distracted or lost along the way.

The fumble at the end is largely a disappointment because of everything that comes before it – a ripe setup, deliciously-built tension, and plenty of creepiness. Mothmen 1966 starts off with an excellent pace, beautifully told in both dialogue and visuals with characters that feel real, but the lack of satisfying pay-off and the slow devolution of the game’s plot leaves you wanting much, much more by the end.

Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg is an experimental experience, but one that effectively balances its oddness with brilliant storytelling flourishes. This is a game that shines with welcome weirdness, in every twisted laneway and cardboard coffee cutout.

With a rock-solid foundation and a roadmap of promising post-launch additions on the horizon, Sunbreak is quite simply an excellent Monster Hunter expansion.

Between wonder-filled stages and mini segments of mine cart riding and flying, there’s plenty in Klonoa Phantasy Reverie that feels familiar, but fresh. The collection naturally evokes a purer time in gaming where simplicity was key, and loveable mascots were trendy. While Klonoa was never the mainstream success it aimed to be, this remaster is the perfect opportunity for the franchise to dazzle a whole new audience.

I’ve just rolled the credits as I write this review, and it feels like there’s a hole in me. It longs for more stages, it wants to chase that exhilaration. I’m hoping that someone goads me on Twitter tomorrow, to spur me into rushing back into the early stages. I can’t wait to get back out there with a purpose. Neon White has style. Neon White has intensity. Neon White makes me feel alive.

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.

My time with Dread Delusion left me with so many questions… I’ve just thought of another one: The experience points you earn for completing quests, then use to level up your skills, why are they called delusions? Like, what does THAT say about where all this is really headed? So, so many questions. Following its progress through Early Access should be fascinating. You should dive in and see if you can touch the bottom. [Early Access Score = 80]

Rogue Legacy 2 is the perfect sequel. It retains the core of what made the original fantastic, with every feature adding tremendously to the experience. Its cleverly revised class system adds near-limitless gameplay variety, which makes each attempt fun – even when you fail abysmally. This game is everything I wanted from the follow-up, and then some.

As a mobile-first game designed to be played every day, there’s a potential future in new updates, recipes, and daily ingredients – but for now, it’s a dish best served with tempered expectations. While it’s an excellent iteration of the classic Cooking Mama recipe, it’ll probably take some time in the oven before becoming fully-flavoured.

With a well-designed progression system and new abilities worth nabbing, it’s a game pack that earns a hearty howl at the moon.

Diablo Immortal is built to keep going forever and sustain your interest the whole time. Whether it be the voice acted story, grinding for new loot, levelling your Battle Pass, competing in seasonal leaderboards, hanging with friends, or representing your chosen faction, you will probably be like me; hunched over, trying to stay warm playing this game until hell freezes over – and trying to wrap my head about how it could have possibly all come together.

Beautiful, charming, smartly-designed and a joy to play, Please Fix The Road is one of 2022’s best puzzle games. And best of all, no animals were harmed in its solving.

It feels so exciting that after seven long years (and a collection of middling to decent entries in the Dark Anthology series), Supermassive has created something that surpasses the game that put them on the map all those years ago. The Quarry is a loveable achievement – whip-smart, beautiful, and more than willing to pull the rug out and blindside you in the way the great horror often does, all while paying tribute to icons of the genre.

Perhaps there’s some sort of allegorical tale that evaded my attention. There are hints at some deeper mysteries in the progress through different environments, the area you return to between levels, and the recurring motifs, the various symbols that greet your successes. But if Silt has anything to say beyond ‘You might dig this moody atmosphere’ then it was lost on me. Some of its scenes, however, will stay with me for a long time to come.

Even moments spent floating quietly outside each uniquely designed station, tomb, or cave can be beautiful, as the starscape shifts in the nether and violins swoon softly through your headphones. Opus: Echo of Starsong is a very particular kind of game, but when you give your time to it fully, it’s a rewarding and wonderful experience.

Card Shark doesn’t quite live up to the full promise of its concept, but it has a few good tricks up its sleeve.

The game ends by imploring players to donate to gibbon conservation, and by condemning the social media fuelled obsession with gibbons as exotic pets. The true goal of the game – raising the plight of the gibbon as one of the most endangered primate species in the world – is admirable and touching. If anything, the simplicity in the game’s design only serves to stop this key message from being crowded out.

Conan Chop Chop, like any good roguelite rewards your playtime and marks your progress by increasing the amount of variety you encounter each time you play. It’s cheery, lighthearted entertainment, but the focus on local multiplayer comes with the loss of a stronger game for solo players, where it’s a lot easier to think about the missed opportunities and strange restrictions contained within its bright facade.