A Storied Life: Tabitha offers a formula that unfortunately should work better than it does in practice. Players become stuck between creatively crafting Tabitha’s life only to end up with a nonsensical outcome or adhering to a rigid, predetermined path, resulting in a better ending but less joyous experience. Even still, there are some delightful puzzling elements within this short, bite-sized experience that is really exquisitely presented. I enjoyed A Storied Life: Tabitha despite its shortcomings, but it didn’t tug on the heartstrings as I perhaps expected it might.

Perhaps Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow isn’t the triumphant return the series needed, even if the game itself is somewhat fine. In essence, virtual reality fans may enjoy it, while long-time fans hoping for a comeback in the vein of the original series may be disappointed. I hope whoever at Eidos is in charge of the Thief brand doesn’t shelve it for another decade, because I’m still holding out hope that the franchise will have a decent revival worthy of the Looking Glass Studios titles.

With Disco Elysium being one of my all-time favourite games, I was eager to check out Rue Valley with all of its similarities and although it does not stand side-by-side with it, it does have its own merits. As such, I encourage you to give it a go and see how you can make your 47-minute time-loops make a difference in a town filled with drama, looming corporations, family feuds, and even a possible alien or two.

As the biggest Metroid Prime game to date yet it’s fallen into the trap that many open-world games succumb to, an overwhelmingly feeling of emptiness. The actual levels themselves are good, look great, but are dragged down by interfering NPCs and linear layouts that defeat the point of a metroidvania entirely.

My gripes with Little Corners are mild. It’s a really simple title but what it sets out to do, it does largely pretty well. I’d have liked some more options when it comes to sticker placement and organisation, and I do feel it suffers slightly from being a game that begins to feel a tad repetitive after a while. Yet despite all of this, I’d say Little Corners is more than worth its meagre asking price of £5.99. It’s the type of game that you can dip in and out of, leaving behind your worldly woes for a whimsical sense of fun.

Overall, The August Before offers a quick, yet impactful look at the changes that come with teenage life, the pain that comes with heartbreak and moving on, but most importantly, the strength and excitement of moving on.

Call of Duty deserves so much better, and if there’s anything that I’ve learned from Black Ops 7, it's that the annual releases need to come to an end ASAP, so that the developers can have more time to ensure that each new release lives up to the legacy of this series that has been built over the last two decades. Hopefully, the next entry will get the series back on track.

The Berlin Apartment does, as I said, undoubtedly offer an engaging narrative, even if you will have to endure several half-baked gameplay elements. It’s a beautifully considered look into the human experience, offering players a concept that is creative and engaging, even if it might not quite unlock its full potential. At the end of the day, the world needs more empathy and The Berlin Apartment, I feel, succeeds in promoting that, and that fact alone should be reason enough to give it a go.

While Keeper won’t offer you a fully fledged sense of closure, it’s most definitely an experience I’d recommend to anyone looking to unwind. It’s a slow, meditative game that’ll take you out of your own world and into one that is equal parts intoxicatingly beautiful and utterly baffling. The simple yet compelling gameplay is surprisingly engrossing. I may have rolled credits feeling baffled, but Keeper isn’t a game I’ll forget any time soon.

It’s a huge shame that after so many years in development, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has ended up not quite living up to its potential. The RPG features have been drained away, leaving behind a husk of an action-adventure title that sometimes passes as interesting. Set your expectations accordingly for this one, as it doesn’t live up to the series’ name, no matter how much it uses its compelling setting.

Little Nightmares 3 feels like a sequel in name alone. As a co-operative experience with either a friend, family member or partner, it’s a good time and should give you sufficient spooks and scares as well as a few laughs here and there. Visually, the game is on point with some gorgeous and intriguing settings, but they lack depth and get moved along too quickly. The story is the biggest drawback though, and if you’re expecting a story on par with the first game’s, look somewhere else.

It’s always frustrating marking a game down due to very simple, but easily fixable flaws. Arctic Awakening has been receiving frequent patches during the review period, so it’s entirely likely that a lot of these bugs have been squashed. Nevertheless, this was still my experience of the game after playing through to completion. I enjoyed the narrative, and quite liked seeing the mystery unravel over the course of the story. I just found it to be a frustrating experience on the technical side.

It falls short with the combat unfortunately, which is a shame because it’s such a huge part of the game that you can’t really avoid it. Like I alluded to before, the final boss was a slog to get through and not the kind of finale I was hoping for, but it’s clear a lot of love went into the game so I’m trying not to judge it too harshly. I’d still recommend trying it for yourself, but don’t be surprised if the delightful visuals don’t keep you invested till the end credits, it needed a little more.

Overall, Hell Is Us has all the makings of an incredible game but is let down by clunky combat, a meandering main quest and lack of direction. However, it must be praised for its environmental storytelling and attention to detail when it comes to art direction and world building. If you don’t need direction and objectives to enjoy a game, this could still be the one for you as curiosity will always be rewarded in Hell is Us.

All things considered, Abyssus is a good game with a solid foundation, that could easily be a great game come future patches. Even now, it’s great fun to dive in and blow enemies away, particularly with a squad of friends, even if that does inordinately ramp up the difficulty. At the introductory offer price being offered in the Steam store until August 19, I’d feel more than comfortable recommending it to a friend, and it has the potential to be a staple evening’s enjoyment if it can get over the biggest hurdles discussed in this review.

With Magic Inn receiving regular patches in an attempt to fix the teething problems that launched with the game, I would still recommend giving it a shot as players will find a cosy, life simulator with that touch of magic. It may not be as polished as others in the genre but, issues aside, it still offers an enjoyable experience with heaps of replayability.

Some small annoyances aside, Mafia: The Old Country is a great entry to the long-running series, and it’s done a fine job at adapting the formula to a brand new historical context. It does run the risk of alienating long-time fans, as the jump back in time makes it quite an adjustment. However, if you just let it tell the story it wants to, you’ll find it can match the quality you've come to expect from this series.

On the whole, I got a lot of joy from Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, and perhaps in different hands, more skilled hands, the opinion would be even more positive. Perhaps those who will play this, yearning for the days of TMNT in a grotty arcade will get a kick out of the quirks and eccentricities here. I have my complaints, but I’d still recommend this game to everyone I know who likes a challenge or appreciates the retro style.

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings game doesn’t reinvent the cosy formula, despite several promising glimmers of originality. Any sign of promise is, unfortunately, cancelled out by mediocrity and an experience that is dominated by untapped potential. The game, despite these issues, has undeniable charm but it’s difficult to claim that it’ll resonate and land with the masses.

I’m finding it apt to compare Killing Floor 3 to Payday 3’s launch, which is another series I absolutely adore. Fans will remember Payday 3 launched with a lot of problems, many of which seem to have been repeated here. Tripwire Interactive has a long road ahead to persuade fans that making the jump to the third game will be worth it. And I truly believe there’s an excellent foundation here to turn it into something great, but I’m not convinced this is what that game is right now.

When the writing works, it really works. And when it doesn’t, it painstakingly doesn’t. From the looks of it, it seems as though Metal Head Games is planning for further expansions later down the line. I hope this gives the developer an opportunity to build on what makes the game good, while improving upon some of its more unsteady aspects.

For all the gorgeous visuals, and flashy, beautiful effects that spark and burn from abilities, there’s nothing offering any real bite. There’s no hook, and if a roguelike needs one thing, it’s a hook; give me an excuse to stay up until 2am figuring out new builds and synergies to slay your, admittedly, brilliant, bullet hell enemies. And so, I walked away from Dragon is Dead, which is a very odd title, by the way, feeling underwhelmed.

I think if I was more invested in the TRON world, or had a passion for the narratives that have already been told, I would have enjoyed TRON: Catalyst much more. With the lack of drive to see this world unfurl before me, it really felt like a simple action game, moving from point-to-point, with decent combat. It’s dripping with gorgeous design, and I could walk around in the world happily, or zoom around on my bike, all day, but the isometric view does remove some immersion. There’s a spark here, and a high level of polish, but I think it just wasn't really for me in the end.

Still Wakes The Deep: Siren’s Rest won’t convince anyone who found flaws in the original—as the same issues persist here, but it’s a good recommendation to anyone who enjoyed the original game’s twisted body horror extravaganza.

Sure, at times To a T feels like a kid's game, and that could put off some players, but for me, while dipping in and out of it over a few days, it felt like a welcome distraction. The visuals have that bold innocence so typical of cartoons of our youth, and playing simple mini-games allowed me to revel in the silliness while also respecting the story of acceptance. To a T is not a Takahashi classic, however, it’s a welcome distraction from a unique mind that can’t help but make you smile.

Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is a delightful time capsule that harkens back to a much simpler time when linear games still had a magical feeling of worlds feeling much bigger than they were. It’s an absolute joy to revisit for retro purists who appreciate a few modernised tweaks. So what are you waiting for? Go play it already.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage comprises two parts and yet I’d argue that the collective release feels like one part of a larger whole. Rage does little to conclude the events of Bloom, instead providing unsatisfying answers while withholding larger mysteries for a sequel that could take years to manifest, and that’s if it’s given the green light. I retain the opinion that there’s something very special about what Don’t Nod has conceived here; I just find myself struggling to find any sense of closure within the events of Rage. I’ll be there day one for a sequel. I just wish my satisfaction regarding this game didn’t rely on another that’s yet to exist.

What frustrates me the most, is I really wanted to love Star Overdrive. I wrote about it for a little news story, highlighting how good it looked - honestly, the visual design is simply lush. The trailers sold me on a joyous adventure balancing combat and exploration, and I ended up wishing for more, and feeling sadly disappointed.