Arcadia Fallen is one of those games you fully invest your time into, and then feel sad when it's over. With the amount of outcomes and potential endings this game has I definitely see myself picking it up time and time again. If you are searching for a new take on a classic style of game, then this might be the very thing you are looking for.

Mortal Shell is a reimagining of what a Souls-like game can be. Although it's not a near-perfect game, it pushed the boundaries of what a smaller studio can do. Through all of its hiccups, this dark RPG brings unique mechanics and heavy combat to a different level, but leaves behind some important features that would've improved the experience altogether.

Wavetale provides a cozy, enjoyable ride of exploration and puzzle solving. The story is one big side quest, but its subtext is well written - global warming, industrialism and the hubris of humanity. Gameplay is fluid and enjoyable with an excellent soundtrack and decent voice acting. Screen tearing and audio glitches distract but ultimately do not deter me from recommending this as a decent weekend getaway.

Midnight Fight Express stands out as a worthwhile brawler. The exciting gameplay is well supplemented by an intricate story, which sometimes interrupts a well-paced level. While some enemy types and certain levels may be aggravating they do not overstay their welcome. The nearly infinite replay value may have you coming back hours after you replay the story to crush your high scores and unlock some sweet new costumes.

After the Fall performs well in the gameplay department. The guns feel great, enemies are terrifying and diverse, and the 80s Apocalyptic setting of a frozen Los Angeles feels amazing to play around in. Vertigo Games has innovated on their already successful mechanics from Arizona Sunshine, taking a page from Left 4 Dead, while raising all aspects of production quality. Grinding in After the Fall is fun and worthwhile, and the multiplayer aspect works well in VR.

Strayed Lights is a visually stunning game, displaying a highly polished aesthetic paired with a serene soundtrack. The interpretive story, while only a few hours long, resonated with me; exploring the darkness, defeating demons, growing stronger and wiser with each win. However, the narrative wouldn't work as well if it wasn't for the compact combat, which is the shining light of the game. Responsive, fluid, and tightly packed together, the face-on parry system pushes you forward through the dark.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is clearly the definitive version of the classic title. This remaster adds many much needed quality-of-life fixes to the 2003 game, from the updated UI to the remastered graphics. This time around it is much more approachable, enjoyable, and the focus on relationships makes the experience stand out among the sea of farming games. However, these improvements can only do so much because the remaster fails to address the underlying problems of the original game. The long, slow days eventually blur together as the lack of strong side activities and festivals hamper the end result.

I've waited for what seems like ages for The Star Named EOS to be released, and was it worth the wait? I think so. It might not be the longest game, but this isn't a bad thing. The story will keep you going, and the puzzles will sharpen your brain, all set in a dreamlike environment. For almost $15, I feel that this game was worth the price. For a short narrative puzzle game, there's plenty to be getting on with, and plenty to take away. If puzzle games with a story are your thing, The Star Named EOS should be added to your collection.

EA Sports FC 24 gets the job done. It delivers a familiar 'FIFA' style game with its own few touches here and there. Fans who have grown accustomed to this formula will be satisfied as it stays true to what makes these games special. Ultimately, EA FC 24's most popular game mode 'Ultimate Team' is what truly makes or breaks a game. So far with Evolutions, it seems promising. However, it is not until EA begin to release content throughout the year that we will be able to reach a proper verdict regarding this game mode's full effectiveness. With Pro Clubs, Career Mode, and even Kick-Off seeming solid, it's safe to say this is a football game that you can sit back, relax, and enjoy playing. (Except for when you rage playing UT Champions of course).

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II isn't trying to do anything especially new or different and I think that's okay. With Call of Duty taking a break from yearly releases next year, Modern Warfare II feels like comfort food - reliable, predictable but still filling. Aside from a few bugs and technical issues, you have solid campaign experience, a great set of missions, and a tight entertaining multiplayer affair. Modern Warfare II is an impressive entry into the iconic shooter series.

The Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack is a great addition to The Sims 4 collection - but ironically, it's not the Getaways that were the biggest draw, despite the heavy focus in promotions. It's actually everything else that's packed into this Expansion: Formative Moments, Imaginary Friends, Archery and Papercrafting, butterfly and moth collecting, and Gibbi Point and its side quests. With all these combined, despite the main draw not being a personal favorite, Adventure Awaits still feels worth getting.

If there's any simulator out there that is very simple but still engaging enough to keep you doing the same task for hours without waiting for any particular reward (other than personal satisfaction), that is definitely PowerWash Simulator. The co-op is also a great way to spend a chill time with your friends and clean together in a relaxing and satisfying manner that clearly real life cannot offer!

While the visual grandeur can sometimes overwhelm, Manifold Garden is one of the most mesmerising and jaw-dropping experiences I've had on the Switch. It manages to take well-known puzzle mechanics and galaxy-brain them into worlds and universes; an infinite meditation on infinity. Top-quality puzzles, unique, mind-blowing visuals, and gorgeous ambient music make this a wholistic, meditative experience, one which everyone should try. It is a work of art.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power does a great job of transporting players to an alternative 18th century Paris. The mind-blowing attention to detail goes from the narrative to the audiovisual design of the entire package. While there was valiant effort to make the middling decisions and errands more interesting, this aspect is saved the game’s charm and excellent writing. If you want a good visual novel experience with more bells and whistles than they typically come with, Ambition might be your cup of expensive French tea.

A fancy title must always be attached to a fancy game. Evan's Remains has a certain quality of intrigue to it that is evident from first glance. Gorgeous pixel detail, an isolated environment, and a keen focus on human psychology and heart. Suffering from some issues with landing the endpoint and gameplay prowess, it will inevitably be a selective title for many, notably those with the mindset that story always goes before gameplay. But for those looking for a thought-provoking, immersive game that costs less than a standard theater ticket, the search for Evan is definitely filling in those aspects.

It will go largely ignored, and that is what makes the tale of SHEEPO so tragic. Fans of the metroidvania genre have another prized title to add to their backlog. SHEEPO is immersive, detailed, and full of a whimsical charm rarely found in either AAA products or the indie scene. It understands what it wants to do and only goes as far as it needs to to settle, allowing the player to be just as imaginative as the world provided here. Wondrous, bizarre, and most of all addictively fun, if not for a few minor points of contention, this would be one of the most recommendable indie games of its type.

Cosmic Top Secret is a fun exploration of ordinary lives hiding away incredible secrets. Cosmic Top Secret succeeds as a documentary and as a video game, effectively using the gameplay to encourage players to push forward with the narrative and discover more things within its surreal world. Despite the finicky controls, the puzzles and presentation of this surprisingly personal and vulnerable interactive experience make it a mystery well worth diving into.

I can highly recommend Not Another Weekend to anyone who A) enjoys retro-style Point and Click Adventures, B) has fond memories of the 1980s and C) wants to play something genuinely funny. It would be harder to recommend it to anyone who would answer ‘no’ to any of those questions.

Dying Light Platinum Edition carries its plentiful DLC and flawed base game into an overly expensive package. The amount of content might justify the cost, but its problems and age make it hard to justify spending the money on a six-year-old game. Regardless, zombie fans will be delighted to check it out as they prepare for the sequel releasing later in the year, but you might want to wait for a sale.

Dread Hunger is a fantastic Social deduction game, putting a lot more emphasis on survival, which makes its gameplay more interesting. With nobody feeling left out of the fun, the hours can fly by without you even noticing. It's by no means perfect and has quite some bugs, but its premise is executed flawlessly.

The star of Lost Eidolons is the combat system, bringing together a lot of things and managing to make them enjoyable and complex at the same time. While there are minor issues such as the stiff facial animations and the choking Turn Limit, Lost Eidolons is still a great title to sink our gaming hours into. Even if you're not a fan of tactical turn-based RPG games, you should try this game out.

Sonic Frontiers has definitely brought back hope for the franchise with this new format. Between the smooth experience in the Open-Zone, cool combat (especially titan bosses) and an enjoyable quality of story writing. There are however still some polish to be done around the display of obstacles and platforms. And by far the least appreciable aspect is Cyber Space, both in its lack of originality and control which robs the game of a much higher rating.

Aliens: Dark Descent is a heart-pounding game that stays true to the franchise's roots, bringing action-packed sequences paired with horrifying atmosphere where dangers lurk around every moment. From the terrifying enemy AI to the Unique Quirks that define every soldier at your disposal, Aliens: Dark Descent is the perfect recipe for those who seek a definitive Aliens experience.

Frank and Drake is a unique narrative tale which is heavily influenced by the Gothic genre. The hand-drawn art style is mesmerizing and keeps your eyes glued to the intertwining tales of the two men. Cramming a bundle of interactivity into a relatively small game, each path you take will have you asking questions that are begging for answers. It isn't often I take the plunge to discover all endings to a branching narrative, but the excellent writing, eye-catching art and array of puzzles as well as a short run time feeds the urge to replay. This urge is then turned into a necessity upon seeing the endings play out, needing to unveil the mysteries plaguing Frank and Drake.

Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator successfully delivers on the title's promise, removing the gruelling labours of a gardener and replacing them with rewarding gameplay mechanics. The controls are simple and repetitive, but never becomes stale as plentiful tasks will keep you on your toes. Plant growth feels responsive to your actions as you nurture nature, the resulting flowers bright and vibrant, as are the decorations you can place around the garden. Aside from the plant limit preventing a full scale botanical gardens and the slightly wearing inventory sorting, Garden Life is a peaceful and pleasant experience which allows you to play at your own pace, enhancing the cozy vibes.

Continuing in its triumph of comedic storytelling, Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space succeeds in almost every way. The writing is still on point with the majority of characters and the tales that Beyond Time and Space tell are quite enjoyable. However, most of the new additions to the cast don't hit the mark compared to the returning cast members. Other than that we still have head scratching puzzles, fun minigames, and the game looks and sounds brilliant thanks to the enhanced features.

Overall, I found myself enjoying the concept of Magical Delicacy more than the actual gameplay. I had fun, but it was a little frustrating to run into the aforementioned issues. In my opinion, the cooking aspect was more restrictive than anticipated. I adored the artistry of it all, but the mechanics were much more strategic - pushing the coziness to the back burner. I would highly recommend to those that can thoroughly enjoy a management game.

PowerWash Simulator 2: Adventure Time DLC is a well-crafted expansion that delivers exactly what fans expect: more levels, a fresh visual theme, and the same relaxing gameplay. Its biggest strength lies in its presentation, successfully capturing the charm of Adventure Time while maintaining the satisfying core loop. That said, it plays things safe. The lack of new mechanics and deeper narrative elements means it doesn’t significantly evolve the experience. Even so, for fans of the base game, this DLC offers solid value and a relaxing, visually engaging return to power washing.