All in all I came away from Shutter, with a satisfied level of fear in my gut and most of my scepticism put to rest. It may not have the polish it perhaps needs, but through a combination of classic survival horror elements and interesting gameplay mechanics, Shutter still managed to create tension, and leave me feeling more than a little uneasy.

Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock isn’t anything new of course. It’s familiar sci-fi tropes alongside well-worn point-and-click puzzling. Convention can of course still be appealing, it is just a pity this adventure doesn’t have much of an identity to set it apart.

As a joke, Goat Simulator excels in every single way. As a game, it lacks the content that would have turned it into something more. The games own developers even encourage players to wait for the game to go on sale and trust me, that is a recommendation that I wholeheartedly agree with.

It's always ambitious to take this route, and for that much I have to at least congratulate the developer on daring to tread this difficult subgenre. I can see what was supposed to be, and how if it was able to be pulled off, could've become one of the greats of indie horror games. Luckily the memories themselves are interesting enough that I kept pushing forward, even if the 'here and now' aspect of the game left me feeling wanting. It's perhaps those alone that keep Inner Voices from falling out of my favor. Those moments are what save the day and bring the game out on the other side as a decent journey for a low price.

Sword & Souls: Neverseen is a fun RPG-lite game that is simple to play, but the repetition in both the training and the combat makes the game become stale rather quickly. The added challenges to the training do help, but once you get to the highest training level, even that becomes monotonous. It is probably a game that is best played in short bursts, which lends itself to being more of a mobile game. Indeed, the simple nature of the controls, the turn-based combat mechanics, and the animated visuals all point to the same conclusion. But as a PC title, the game is fun but somewhat limited.

With just a little more variety thrown in, Mutant Mudds would have been an easy recommend, but as it stands it just doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself in an increasingly saturated indie platformer market.

Vertical Drop Heroes places a new spin on a tried and true genre that has spanned decades. The spin may be simplistic, but it is appreciated nonetheless. The repetitiveness may not be for everyone, but for those who don’t mind falling down again and again, you could do worse than this bright, slightly charming game.

Rain of Reflections: Chapter 1 proves to be a mixed bag. It’s clear that Lionbite have put a lot of time into the story that holds your interest but this is broken up by dull, immersion-breaking gameplay. With Chapters 2 and 3 still to come, we hope that Lionbite Games will take these points into consideration. As the game stands, however, it’s hard to recommend it above the competition.

If you are a casual racing fan or someone who has not played a racing simulation with any regularity, NASCAR 2013 is not the game for you. The lack of a comprehensive tutorial pretty much prevents you from gaining any sort of entertainment out of it past the first hour or two. But, if you are a fan of NASCAR and its simulations, or if you have plenty of experience with racing simulations, I think you will be able to look past the obstacles and find a relatively enjoyable game within.

Dandara isn't a bad game, it's just perhaps not the game for me or for many others. The control choice has made it very niche, and while it's likely to perform much better on the Nintendo Switch, it just feels like it doesn't quite have a home here on the PC. If you're willing to take the leap, you'll be greeted with beautiful pixel art visuals and candy for your eardrums - and that's fantastic. But, it comes at the expense of having to wade through gameplay that never really feels like it fits if you use a keyboard and mouse, and that only improves slightly if you use a gamepad. This game was meant for touchscreen, and most PC gamers don't utilize touch screen controls as there has never been a major reason to do so, and that remains unchanged even after Dandara's arrival.

Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel is a perfectly tolerable survival-horror game. You won't regret playing it. But likely because a month from now, you won't recall ever having played it.

If they had put another year of development toward it, maybe then we would've seen what we were hoping it would be.

It’s a fine addition to the Warhammer fantasy IP, and you’ll especially enjoy it if you like dungeon-crawlers, or are a Diablo fan. But beyond that, it falls somewhat into the category of genre-clone, no matter how much you might enjoy its setting/lore.

I was prepared to give the game a pass at the rough animation and frequently dodgy art direction. That was until I beat the game, and a lovely ending cinematic played that could boast some excellent animation and disturbing visuals that were not present in the game. Where was that the entire game!?

In the end, people will remember Fight Forever in one of two ways: either as a missed opportunity or as a stepping stone to something great. For something akin to a freshman effort, it has a lot to offer, and might be more of a victim of circumstances than anything else. Its largest competition is coming off a great game, and even though the styles are different, there's still an element of trying to simulate something fake connecting the two. With reports coming out that development was scaled back during its many delays, there's no doubt that the version we got was the best we could expect in a timely manner. These elements combined to make something fun in the moment, but possibly forgettable shortly after. If it hopes to have legs, it's going to need more free updates (like the announced battle royale mode that looks as ludicrous as it sounds) to entice its players to stick around. When you're in the action, though, you can practically see the CRT and corded controllers connecting you to the dropkicks and pins. For better or worse.

Guild Commander is neat little title that fills a niche, but doesn’t really have much for anyone outside of its narrow demographic. It has lots of detailed little things to tweak and manage while ultimately being held down by some clumsy UI organization and a lack of viable playstyle variety options.

Warlocks 2 is a fun but flawed game, one that comes with a good amount of charm and the dialogue will certainly make you laugh. It proves to be a lot more of an enjoyable experience with others, with action elements feeling more balanced across a party of players. Overall it’s not an experience which ever truly pulls you in, and ends up leaving you wanting more. If you’re playing as a group, you could do a lot worse than Warlocks 2 but for anyone playing alone, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Ultimately Oscura’s light is, I think, destined to fade into the darkness of forgotten platformers.

Sid Meier's Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies isn't what I was expecting. It did not have the depth I expected from a Sid Meier game, or the charm of Wings! for that matter.

King of Meat is more than just a novelty concept. It successfully marries a vibrant, gameshow-inspired aesthetic with a satisfying, dynamic combat. Its blend of fast-paced action, rewarding replay loop, and robust co-op play makes it an entertaining entry that deserves attention from fans of medieval action and platforming alike.

The issues with This is the Police 2 mostly boil down to pacing. The cutscenes are so long that you can forget that you're playing a game at all, and they serve to space out the moments of gameplay a bit too far, creating a disjointed feeling between the other aspects of the game. Trimming down the dialogue and letting players have more interaction in each cutscene could have gone a long way toward tightening up the pacing while keeping the world and character building just as strong.

There is talk of a future patch that will allow players to slow the game down, but it’s the game that is on offer today that I’m being tasked to judge. As it stands, there is enough here to keep it afloat, but it is only a token victory.

While it's nice to have this story accessible for newcomers, the reality is that the original Yakuza 3 was never the series' high point. Kiwami 3 fails to elevate the source material, instead hampering the experience with unfinished-looking cutscenes and a bizarre "chrome" aesthetic. With the original Yakuza 3 delisted from many digital storefronts, your only alternative is the Yakuza Remastered Collection. Given the high price point of that bundle and the lacklustre quality of this remake, there is very little reason to recommend Kiwami 3 as a standalone purchase.

Despite the gripping story and the intriguing mystery, Black Mirror has a lot of software issues that detract from the enjoyment of the gameplay experience. I can’t help but feel that if the game had been designed from the get-go with a more Book of Unwritten Tales type control scheme and gameplay experience, most of my gripes would be dealt with. If you play games for their story, then do play Black Mirror. Just beware that you will have to suffer through the gameplay to get to it.

Caromble! is a high-octane, polished evolution of a classic genre. While its insistence on mouse controls might alienate those looking for a casual couch experience on the Steam Deck, the precision it affords is necessary for the complex, puzzle-oriented levels found in the later game. If you're looking for a game that respects the history of Arkanoid while pushing the physics and level design into the modern era, Caromble! is an essential addition to your library. Just remember: avoid the red power-ups, and keep your mouse hand steady.

Although I do have a few little concerns with Gunscape, the game is still more than adequate and will only get better as the community and developer interaction continues.

Quake is pretty much unchanged apart from the fact that the game can now be played on something other than a 640x480 resolution. Yes, it still looks and plays largely the same as the original but is there anything wrong with that. The game played well when it first came out, and that has barely changed at all. Does it still hold up against modern shooters such as Doom Eternal or Borderlands? Probably not. It does feel quite basic, in both the gameplay and in the audio-visual experience. But if you want to relive some fond memories of taking down the monsters from the crypt, then Quake Enhanced will hit the mark.

Superfrog HD isn’t a game which pushes the boundaries of what the genre is capable of. In fact I doubt it ever intended to. What you do get is a cute little platformer which I believe would be a great introduction to the genre for kids.