I started out expecting Heading Out to purely be a racing title, but it is much more than that. The various interactions you have with strangers you meet along the way are impactful, often leading to an outcome that was not immediately evident. Keeping ahead of Fear whilst maintaining your limited resources and competing against the plethora of opponents that are eager to take you down is an absolute joy. The soundtrack is a highlight though, with a mix of synth-wave and Americana tunes that perfectly complements the game's atmosphere and had me hooked right until the final orchestral score of "Take Me Home". The soundtrack alone is reason enough to buy the game, but combined with the narrative, the stylized black and white visuals and the highway racing, Heading Out is a must buy.

Sand Land makes up for its shortcomings with its characters, its sense of adventure, and its world. It is one of the best representations of Toriyama's work in game form in a long time. If you're like me and miss Toriyama's world building and design, but have exhausted the plethora of Dragon Ball titles, then give Sand Land a try. It's a worthy adaptation that deserves attention, and hey, it's way better than Final Bout.

With all that being said, should you play Mullet MadJack? The short answer – YES. The long answer – YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS! All jokes aside, if any of what I said sounds fun to you, give this a shot. Even if you don't like rogue-like games, I think you should give it a shot. I know I'm uniquely in the core of it's core demographic, both aesthetically and gameplay wise, but I think what is here is fun enough for just about anyone.

That said, I can't get too upset about anything in this translation. It is obviously the work of someone passionate about the story they were telling and wanted to share it with the largest possible audience they could. It's also someone with a degree of reverence for the story, as I've seen the translator respond to numerous bad reviews across the English apologizing for his work if it has caused them to misread the story. In a world where games and anime are often mistranslated to include irrelevant political messages or jokes about Gamergate, I cannot hold the rough but faithful work of this translator in much contempt.

It would be safe to say that Sweet Transit could be viewed as being a niche title to the gaming public in general. Whilst the management and optimization of railroad logistics with the resulting growth of a city might not be everyone's cup of tea, the game can still provide a lot of enjoyment for those of us that like such things. Sweet Transit looks and sounds great and with the additional content created by fans the game would seem to have a long term appeal for train fans. And even though it has a rather steep learning curve and I was forced to scratch my head over some of the foolish building decisions I made, I still have to give this one a two thumbs up.

While No Rest For The Wicked still has some mechanics to refine and tune, and a story to finish, its current form is enjoyable and its future prospects are bright. If you can get through the first dozen combat encounters, and improve along the way, you’ll be rewarded with a game that distills elements of many popular games and selectively throws some of their "worst" elements away (weapon durability being the exception), making a more accessible but equally enjoyable extremely challenging action RPG. [Early Access Review Score = 80]

Kill It With Fire 2 can best be described as more of a good thing - everything that made the original an enjoyable experience is here again in spades, along with many new additions such as multiplayer, new spider hunting tools/weapons and new and larger maps. It can be said that the best of sequels take everything from the original and improve upon it - and I can gladly say that my time within Kill It With Fire 2 follows that saying. This war against the arachnid menace seems long-lasting, but so long as this war is as fun as it is, I say bring on the demonic little buggers in order to Kill Them With Fire!

TopSpin 2K25 comes in a polished package. Both single-player and online matches feel good (though a ping differential can cause havoc), and feel lovingly crafted. A few presentational flourishes heighten the experience, but most importantly it's a game that rewards your efforts to improve at playing it. While it would have been nice to see a simulation-type focus on the life of a professional tennis player to flesh out the experience, the truth is, it doesn't need it to feel like a great package. It caters to those who want to continually improve and take on the world after conquering the tournament circuit, and also to those that just want a solid tennis game to play against AI or friends.

The visuals remind me of one of those old Flash games that would be posted on Newgrounds back in the late 1990's and early 2000's. So this means that while yes the game is ugly and amateurish, it also fills me with a warm feeling of nostalgia for a simpler time when I'd come back home from Middle School, and play crudely animated web games where I could subject crude caricatures of politicians and celebrities to cartoonist acts of violence. The style won't appeal to everyone, but it certainly worked for me.

Broken Roads is certainly a tribute to Outback Australia as much as it is to role-playing games of the past, and as an Aussie myself, I found this refreshing.The bleak surrounds and the harshness of many of the characters really set the tone of the post-apocalyptic storyline. The Moral Compass and the ability to level up your character’s abilities in any way you choose ensures that the game feels more personalised as you travel from one location to the next. And although the questing can feel somewhat laborious at times, and the citizens can be somewhat abrupt, there is a story behind every interaction - one that provides hope for those that have struggled to survive the 'wide brown land' they call home.

Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck is not a mainline game but a rather a smaller spinoff, a first foray into VR, if you will. It's decent, and if you have a couple of hours and 24.99 to spare, it's a fun venture into the wilds of the Breathedge universe. But it isn't a must buy. This is definitely more for the fans of the mainline game that want more or people that want something new for their Meta Quest and have already exhausted other VR titles.

The Thaumaturge is a very strange title, both intentionally and sometimes unintentionally as well. On the surface level, it's a dark, narrative-driven game filled with morally-ambiguous choices which will oftentimes influence specific events in the story.

Children of the Sun is a game that's probably going to appeal to a different general audience than its visuals may imply, but whether the grungy, ultra-violent visuals seem tempting or it's the unique puzzle mechanics, there's a lot to love. However, it's worth noting that what a player wants out of the game will affect the dollar value of the package. It's possible to plow through the whole thing in a long afternoon, and it's the pursuit of better scores and a higher ranking on each level's leaderboard that adds true longevity.

In all, Pepper Grinder is a very fun time with a creative way to stand out from other retro-styled platformers thanks to the drill at the very centre of the gameplay. Add in enjoyable level design that encourages replayability, challenging but satisfying boss fights, and you have a very enjoyable and short retro platformer that is sure to delight fans of the genre!

The result is a pretty easy, very low-stakes action game which is fun to while away a few hours on but grows stale very quickly. This is something of an advantage, as the game is incredibly short and you will probably experience everything it has to offer in under ten hours, which is about as long as it could hope to stay interesting. However this fact does make the $30 price tag costlier than it initially seems.

The developers have done their due diligence when it comes to researching historical aspects of the D-Day invasion. Every detail was thought out and then presented in a realistic manner. The troops and their large inventory of equipment and weapons are realistic and true to form for a game based on history. The cut scenes and commentary serve to further the narrative about individual solders serving behind enemy lines with their quest to free the world from Nazi dominance. Developer Absolutely Games stated that their ambition concerning Classified: France '44 was to tell an authentic story about these soldiers and I think they did a fine job of it. Replayability is high with the inclusion of a mission creator and modding tools which will ensure a lot of available player-created content.

With a large amount of skill paths, plenty of stash space for all of the loot you'll be picking up, and a lot more features that can make a player feel more than welcome venturing forth into this new world, Last Epoch may mean 'Final Age', but it can be the start of an adventure for many a player.

The visual and audible treats presented by Slave Zero X can only carry it so far, and even the unlockable customization options (overlay filters that range from pleasing CRT-styles to some that are quite painful to look at, and different character colour pallets) do little to increase engagement in those areas. While the combat is fun enough, it's not without its frustrations, and your move set from the first level is the same as your arsenal against the final boss. There's no growth there outside of player skill, and the ceiling isn't so high that the climb lasts even as long as the game's runtime, which came in at a punchy three and a half hours. It's undoubtedly cool that a sequel to Slave Zero exists, if only for the curiosity of it, but it failed to learn lessons from its predecessors in terms of repetitive gameplay and lack of total variety. Fortunately, if you want to see the story through, not a lot is asked of you to do so, but even conquering the game's frustrating points leads to little feeling of satisfaction.

Once you've become accustomed to the pace of play and mechanics, Solium Infernum is a charming and strategic game. If you can get over the slow movement and learn the rules, you'll find an engaging grand strategy game that is rewarding on subsequent playthroughs. And, if you've got a few friends to betray, the overall experience becomes heightened. I struggled with that pacing at times, but after sinking more time into it the hurdles because less and less imposing. The only problem is you have to spend that amount of time over a series of rounds, rather than a long one or two.

TimeMelters has an ambitious premise that could very easily have gotten out of hand for a small, three-person development team, but the experience is an incredibly enjoyable one through and through. However, the small team and modest budget do come through in the form of quite dated graphics and uninspired enemy design. Fortunately, that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise excellent package, and strong gameplay and unique mechanics make TimeMelters an easy recommendation for anyone to whom the premise sounds even vaguely appealing.

The gameplay is hectic, the boss battles are challenging, and the mini-games are enjoyable and allow for some respite in an enjoyable game that pokes fun at itself and other games of the genre.

Alone in the Dark is surprising. It doesn't have the budget to fight the big boys, but through sheer care it manages to punch above its weight. Its biggest detractors reside in its combat, and its biggest strength are just about everywhere else. It's clear to me that the entire production understood the assignment. Even with its missteps the combat design has valuable ideas. The audio and visual designs are a delight. The acting is probably its greatest strength. The writing, led by Soma's Mikael Hedberg, brought lessons learned from both his previous involvements and the legacy of the series to make a more refined story. He also showed, through a nuanced understanding, that Lovecraft's world extends so far beyond tentacles and old-Gods named Cthulhu. It's far from perfect, but it exists, at the bare minimum, as a great starting point for a revitalization of a series that has fallen from influential to forgotten.

Everything Outcast does, it does just well enough. That may sound like a knock against it, but I promise you it's not. It's incredibly hard to make a good game with any budget at any studio. What Appeal did is make a good game that does just enough to keep you playing. In a landscape where every game is either highly polished or barely functioning, it's great to see something that sets a goal and delivers. Outcast: A New Beginning is a prime example of why we need 'Double A' games. I have no nostalgia for Outcast as, as stated previously, that ship sailed long ago, but should you, intrepid reader, journey into its wilds? That all comes down to personal taste, but for me, I'm glad I got my chance to travel to Adelpha. It was fun and hopefully someday I get a chance to go back.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden delivers satisfactorily with all its gameplay mechanics and narrative elements. Whether you are a gameplay-first, or story-first, type of player, there will likely be more than enough on both fronts to keep you interested all the way to the very end. While it still has a few technical hiccups and oddly implemented game mechanics, it still manages to rise well above what we have normally come to expect from most modern AAA and AA games. If you have $50 to spare, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is well worth a go anytime.

As is the case with most other players, I genuinely want to see The Outlast Trials improve with time, something I am sure the developers agree with in principle as well. Where they and I must differ is in our priority for said changes. They appear to prefer focusing on cosmetics, new optional challenges, and implementing new social activities, whereas I prefer more core maps and a darker tone, truer of what Outlast has, up until now, been defined by. Whatever the future may hold for The Outlast Trials, one can only hope that they strive to find a more definitive balance between these two disparate directions.

It's clear there is a lot of love and passion put into it. The good, for the most part, outweighs the bad as it is quite charming and fun when you're not fighting against the wonky camera or frustrating glitches. I would recommend Penny's Big Breakaway only to fans who love the genre. If Evening Star can take what they've learned here and iron out the kinks, then I think they could make something truly spectacular.

Skull and Bones was more of an arcade style game than I was expecting when it comes to the gameplay – but this makes the game more accessible to players of all ages. Being able to leave port, target a passing ship, and then aim down the sights and fire away is a breeze. However, this can become stale until you come across a new blueprint which enable you to take on tougher opponents and settlements. Skull and Bones looks gorgeous as you sail from one settlement to the next, and despite the lack of an interesting storyline, the open-world nature of Skull and Bones allows players to play however they want. Skull and Bones is a sleek and sturdy vessel, but the lack of some sword-based combat means that it trails well behind the original Sid Meier's Pirates! which still remains my favourite – even after all this time.

Sixty Four will serve to satisfy the many manufacturing enthusiasts out there. It is an in-depth simulation that provides a mysterious and very complex gaming environment. Developer Oleg Danilov has done an excellent job figuring out all of the intricacies of Sixty Four and when the factory is running automatically it is a wonder to behold! I have made some comments about being able to move things around but in the grand scheme of things that really doesn't matter much. This game is a keeper and it should be on your list of games to play because it requires the game player to think ahead and to plan instead of willy-nilly placing things all over the map like I tend to do!