Rainbow Six Extraction is a uniquely enjoyable entry in Team Rainbow’s history, though the significant crossover with its predecessor makes me feel like Ubisoft could’ve opted for a Siege expansion instead. It's not a huge problem for Ubisoft+ or Game Pass subscribers, sure, but it's a steeper ask for everyone else...That said, Extraction remains great fun, and the new settings meant my time with the familiar operators still felt fresh and interesting. It’s surprisingly challenging at times, and while missions do require trial-and-error, the level design is excellent. Extraction won’t set the genre alight like Siege did, though if you’re after a new PvE experience, I’d still give it my recommendation.

Whatever its faults, there’s really nothing much like R-Type Final 2 on the market right now. It’s unabashedly old school in its approach and delights in letting you go hog wild with its dozens of weapons. Frustration and visual crowding aside, there’s plenty to love here for space fans.

The Callisto Protocol gave me nightmares. It's the best horror game of the year, and a bright new contender in the survival horror genre.

Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection offers players an almost exact recreation of the original titles in the series, down to terrible controls and an unforgiving difficulty. While the hand-drawn portions of the game look absolutely amazing, the rest looks rather cheap, hasty, and uninspired. Worth picking up for superfans, those looking for a better Ghosts 'n Goblins experience should seek out games such as Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, or modern titles like Battle Princess Madelyn.

Besides some dated boss battles, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos Remaster shows that the original game is still leagues above some of the best that Sonic and Mario have to offer. Many will disagree, but that is just conditioned bias. Croc is a nostalgic blast of absolutely epic proportions.

Performance issues severely hamper the experience on Nintendo Switch 2, but there's still some enjoyment to be had with its customization systems and somewhat fun combat

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 2 closes Don’t Nod’s branching narrative with a powerful, emotional finale. Though pacing stumbles and some moments lack clarity, its themes of grief, rage, and trauma come together in a quietly compelling way. Patient players will find the slow burn worth it.

Aside from that, though, Rune Factory 5 is a solid revival of a franchise without a new entry for the best part of ten years. It pushes the formula forwards thanks to its 3D perspective, and nails the gameplay that made the series such a hit in the first place.

On PC, Madden 23 makes a couple of decent changes to the established formula, but not enough to truly move the chains for the series.

As you can probably tell, Recompile is rather special. The mix of the stunning aesthetic, beautiful music, fun combat, and interesting hacking systems all make for something that feels different to any other Metroidvania I've played before. I really like it, and the fact that it's so open and full of potential means this is the kind of game people will be telling their own stories about for ages to come.

I genuinely believe that Battlefield 2042 will one day be the game it's trying to be. It has everything it should need to become a go-to game for me and a group of friends. Right now though, it's just not ready for that mantle. Fixes are desperately needed that can bring Battlefield 2042 to its full potential.

While it starts out slowly, Stonefly grows into something truly special – a heady mix of beautiful graphics and fun gameplay that feels strangely relaxing to play, and entirely unique to look at.

Gotham Knights is worth playing for its story and characters, but its RPG stylings feel counterintuitive and clunky compared to the Arkham games.

Though it has plenty of great ideas, High on Life is too overbearing and never quite commits to its best moments.

While Last Stop doesn’t give a lot of freedom to its players it creates a compelling enough story that can be enjoyed over a short playthrough. Fans of dialogue-heavy adventure games like Life Is Strange or anything from TellTale will find something here to enjoy.

Pokemon Champions is a disappointing, battle-focused spin-off that lacks the depth, story, and visual flair needed to justify its existence over the mainline games. Marred by a limited roster and uncharacteristic pay-to-win mechanics, it fails to recapture the magic of Pokémon Stadium for both casual and competitive players.

Biomutant’s positives ever so slightly outweigh its faults and with more time (and patches), it could grow into a much more entertaining game. Its unique world, extensive customisation and pool of interesting moves and tricks in battle make this game fun to play but for now, a colourful but empty world, a wealth of glitches, and dull objectives make it a tough sell.

Monark is a nice debut effort from Lancarse but I wish they’d spent more time balancing it. It’s got interesting ideas and a great combat system but is bogged down by repetitive level design, narrative cliches, and grindy gameplay. If you’re seeking a JRPG with a more horrifying aesthetic, you’ll have fun if you can look past those flaws. Shin Megami Tensei fans will probably enjoy what’s offered but otherwise, I can only truly recommend this to the JRPG faithful.

FBC: Firebreak is Remedy’s quirky dive into co-op extraction shooters, blending the surreal world of Control with chaotic missions best enjoyed with friends. While it lacks polish, online features, and content at launch, it’s an ambitious but currently incomplete experience that can only be better with a full squad.

Switchback VR is an impressive showcase for PSVR2 and its new features, I just wish it was scarier.

Atlas Fallen is a solid if unspectacular addition to the much-loved open world RPG genre.

Scars Above is an interesting toe in the water for many different genres but as you start to descend, you realise how shallow that puddle really is. An interesting world and decent elemental mechanics are held back by poor exploration and an unwillingness to push the boat out.

Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is another fun entry in this series. The improvements made to battles add some much-needed depth, while the Special Story is well-told. History Mode is disappointing and more new characters would have been nice, but this is a good step in the right direction.

Forspoken is both ambitious, yet incredibly flawed. It pairs hammy dialogue and some poor pacing with a world I want to explore. Forspoken is a game tied between two worlds - losing out by never quite understanding either.

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League delivers a solid looter shooter experience wrapped up in an actually hilarious narrative, with incredible performances from the cast of misfits. While live-service elements and repetitive missions muddy the experience, Suicide Squad is solid fun that, even after 30+ hours, I’m still jumping back into every night.

Gibbon: Beyond the Trees tells a hugely important story wordlessly and effortlessly, combining the gameplay and story in ways that inspire both powerlessness and hope.

3DClouds' simple approach has left the final product feeling lacking in King of Seas. Yes, it is sort of fun, but it's not anywhere near as fun as it could have been. It would have been a much better game if they had spent more time building out the skeleton crew that exists here.

Alone in the Dark is a game that is worth a shot when it’s cheap, or if you’re a longtime fan of the series. For everyone else, it’s best to avoid.