I think Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is an excellent remaster that respects what makes the original game fun without adding anything too contrary to that experience. The new content is excellent and doesn’t feel too out of place with the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the conversion to HD and new controller support is excellent for PC players, and it’s also great that this will be available on platforms such as Nintendo Switch. Having played most of my hours on Steam Deck, I see this as being a great on-the-go game.

That most of the game takes place in a virtual world constructed from a dying man's fading memories, accessed via high-tech headsets and computer programs, is purely a background element in a fulfilling, affecting experience that will leave most players solemn and silent at its end, but happy, too. Because while To the Moon is definitely a sad game, warm and generous humour runs through it, especially in the interactions between the two doctors.

The game was made by a modest team over the course of four years, grappling with the thousands of miles between the two lead developers in the UK and in Japan. There are a small number of quibbles I have, like the fact that it is sometimes difficult to know who is speaking out of the expanded cast of characters and that it'd be great to have a switch that lets the dialogue flow between the two so I can focus on the shifting settings. However, I recognise that it's a deeply personal project and one that has been shared with the world. For those in need of hunkering down while a silent storm rages on every side, I recommend No Longer Home.

All I can really say about Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip is that for the few hours I spent with it nothing else mattered. I wandered around sometimes focusing on exploration, sometimes switching up and concentrating on furthering the upgrade of the taxi. I chuckled a lot, I explored because I wanted to see and collect as much as possible, and it felt like a nice detour. It was a pleasant diversion in my gaming this week, where I didn’t have to fight big monsters or sit through extended cutscenes. All I had to do was live in the moment, mooching around this bright, colourful and wonky town that constantly delivered humour. I can’t recommend it enough.

The main gripe I see some people having with New Pokémon Snap is that it's a full-priced game. If you're the type of person expecting a deep narrative that will last for over 10 hours, and have no interest in sticking around after the credits roll to pump up your PhotoDex, then you're going to have a bad time. But if you're like me, you're gonna stick around, max out the research levels on each course, complete all the research requests to unlock stickers, and discover all the cool secrets, fun interactions and hard-to-uncover Pokémon. And you're going to love it.

Strategy games often take themselves way too seriously whereas Minecraft Legends does the exact opposite. It’s an enjoyable, lighthearted hybrid that prioritises exploration as much as tactical battle gameplay. It’s accessible for younger audiences and RTS newbies while still being challenging at later stages in the campaign. The Minecraft Midas touch has turned another genre to gold but a few hiccups mean Legends isn’t quite a diamond.

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.

Little Hope is a genuinely good time horror game, that isn't quite at the apex of what the team behind it can achieve. It's good fun alone but really comes alive when shared with another person, or group. I have no doubt that when the full Dark Pictures Anthology is complete and sold as a package, that history will remember it quite fondly. Despite the well worn path this entry treads at times, it whittles out enough of a memorable story for those who dig these kinds of games to really find enjoyment in.

If you loved the first Jurassic World Evolution, and have been chomping at the bit to play more new experiences, Jurassic World Evolution 2 will go down a treat. It’s the perfect follow up in a way that expands on what was good with the first game and offers new styles of play and narrative scenarios that really help it feel fresh. The comparisons to the original bring all the good and the bad from that first game, so anyone who’s played it knows exactly what they’re getting themselves into. I just wish the visuals were as polished as its predecessor.

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.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is a wonderful counter to games like Baldur's Gate 3, thanks to its focus on action, co-op and replayability. It's straight to the point with its arcade action, endlessly fun combat, and well-crafted levels that beg to be explored. Although it's good when playing solo, it really comes alive when playing with friends, and brings back memories of playing games like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the Nintendo GameCube. Seriously, don't sleep on this one.

For all its promises about an expansive world that players shape with their choices, Dying Light 2 is essentially a by-the-numbers sequel that doesn’t offer much that’s new. But that’s no bad thing when the reality is that I haven’t had quite this much fun with a AAA video game in years. Techland’s long-awaited zombie RPG mostly delivers the goods in style, providing an expansive - if not entirely original - open-world playground that’s filled with epic action, pleasingly brutal combat, and some difficult choices. The end of the world has never been so entertaining. Just try not to rush through the main story, okay?

Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a fine action-RPG and one that takes full advantage of new-gen hardware. While it treads a path we’ve all been down before, the way it sets itself apart is through its world building, characters, a great blend of action and strategy gameplay, and some gorgeous visual detail.

As a revisit to a game that has solid foundations in the RTS genre, Age of Mythology: Retold does enough to warrant a new release. It gives players spectacular powers and so many ways to play that it’s dizzying. And yet, it’s held back slightly by a lifeless set of campaigns and the minor frustrations of controller play. Of course, if this is your only way to play, you’re going to have fun, but you might find yourself pining for more precision and a bit more polish.

That’s what this game is: something special. All its potential doesn’t feel like it’s been given enough room to breathe, alas that’s the burden that all indie devs contend with. Still, despite its niggling flaws, it makes for an impressive, interactive illustration of how far your dedication can take your dreams. Uniqueness isn’t black and white. It doesn’t always make sense, nor can you always put your finger on the "x factor" that has you so taken in, yet you’re invested all the same.

I’m fairly confident Scorn is aimed specifically at fans of body horror and the darker sides of humanity, because suffering is a key theme here. But fans of dread-filled atmospheres and H. R. Giger-inspired aesthetics will not want to miss it, so long as you have the emotional resolve required.

What Black Forest Games and THQ Nordic have achieved with the Destroy All Humans! remake is impressive. It certainly doesn't feel worlds away from the original, which is always a concern when there's a classic of this calibre being remade. Although some of the enhancements are a bit hit and miss, most do work really well, and can make you wonder how you coped without them in the original. It's clear that a great deal of effort has been put into enhancing what already was a stellar title, whilst also introducing it to a new audience. Players who have been dying to play as Crypto-137 once again will feel right at home when they're tasked, once more, to Destroy All Humans!

This title so steeped in local folklore makes for an unforgettable experience, though not always for the right reasons. My time with Cat and Ghostly Road wasn’t always pleasant, nor did I feel the satisfaction I’d have liked to upon its completion. Still, seeing a cat reunited with its master after such an onerous journey is worth overcoming such inaccessibility. In this instance, it’s the unique destination we eventually arrive at, not the journey, that makes Cat and Ghostly Road such a memorable game.

At this stage, it feels like I should be certain of my feelings towards Sunset Hills, yet all I feel is conflicted. As much as certain aspects of its gameplay make my cosy loving heart sing, there are too many issues that can’t merely be overlooked or forgiven. As curious as I am to see how the story properly ends, I’m not certain I’m passionate enough to push past the cons of the experience I’ve detailed above. Improvements need to be made for Sunset Hills to come into its own, and I fear that those improvements will come too late, if they even come at all.

Overall Nintendo Switch Sports brings forward a fun, first-rate, much-loved Wii series to the Switch console. Classics such as bowling and chambara can now be enjoyed by newcomers, while long-time fans of the series can relish new additions to said classics - for example, special bowling - as well as new mini games. Time will tell if the update brings another level to the game, and whether DLC additions will make the roster of events more attractive (golf is due, post-release); but right now, Nintendo Switch Sports is a lively reinvention of a Wii-era essential.

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions may be a game about students playing football, but it feels more like a tactical battle experience. You wear teams down by crushing their players. You smash through defenders and score ludicrous goals. It's not realistic but that's a good thing. It's about something more fanciful, more spectacular, more theatrical.

It might obviously borrow from the likes of Tron and Another World, Superbrothers and even Ready Player One (the old-school pop-culture nods become comparatively exhausting), but there's just enough here that feels forged anew, born of fresh imagination rather than successful precedents, to give Narita Boy an edge over a lot of other titles in its genre. Digital stores across computer and console formats aren't exactly lacking in side-scrolling, pixel-art action-platformers - but this is one worth finding time for, pulsating as it does with promise that actually, largely, delivers.

Cutting right to the chase, Frogun is primarily a game for players who want to go back to the 1990s. From its visual style to its gameplay mechanics, everything about it screams retro, and that’s both a good thing and a bad thing from where I’m standing. Yes, it succeeds in channelling the past but the downside to that is some awkward controls and punishing levels.

Ultimately, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a game that is accessible for all ages, with its gentle pacing, undemanding mechanics, and cheerful premise. What struck me the most in its story is that there is not one adult character in Pinar del Mar that brushes off Alba and Inez, or speaks to them as though they're ill-informed (well, barring one, but that's a spoiler). A pride flag waves in the sea breeze from one of the balconies along the beach, and there are a range of identities and personalities represented in Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. It's a short and sweet adventure that will really resonate with young gamers with an interest in conservation... and older gamers who miss the Spanish sun.

The game has appeal and can easily pull in players from various demographics. Kids will love the chaos, older players can find a place to blow off steam. Whether Bang-On Balls has a long life depends on your attention span; it was fine to play in ten-minute bursts (perfect for Steam Deck) in between other games, but it contains so many ‘moments’ of carnage that get lost among the pinballing back and forth. For all the carnage, the collectibles, and the skirmishes, it’s not a memorable game, but it is incredibly enjoyable for those few-minute bursts.

It's less of a binge-watch kind of game, and more one you may want to pace yourself with; but that takes nothing away from it ultimately being a successful fusion of punchy interrogations, well-written narrative twists, and brain-itching puzzling.

My hope is that The Wild Gentlemen return to the game after seeing all of its success, either through DLC or simply creating it into a full, feature-length title. What started out as a simple prequel has grown into something bigger, something that can hold its own away from the eccentric personalities of the Chicken Police’s Marty and Sonny.

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.