Red Dead Redemption 2 is an amazing achievement in terms of production values, but it is also a fundamentally flawed video game that leverages its seemingly infinite resources in such a self-indulgent way that it undermines both its storytelling and your patience for seeing it through to the end.

This is a simulation, and very much not a game, but it’s also the most graphically impressive console experience ever seen and one of the best adverts for Xbox Game Pass so far.

Giving everyone the ability to create video games is a wonderful thing and Dreams is far easier to use, and adapt to your own requirements, than you might imagine. Although the one thing that it teaches above all is that no matter how easy the physical act of video game creation becomes, making a game that is enjoyable to play is something else entirely. That shouldn’t put anyone off though, but instead inspire you with the knowledge that, thanks to Dreams, all that is stopping you from becoming a world-renowned video game creator is hard graft and a vivid imagination.

It’s not ugly by any means but it does all feel a bit generic, especially considering how iconic Fortnite’s map has become. It’s well designed though, which is the important thing, and ultimately has more in common with Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout. [Early Verdict]

An interactive movie where the gameplay is as basic and two-dimensional as the story and acting.

Whether Nintendo intendeds to reuse it for the inevitable Mario Kart 9 is impossible to say, but perhaps there might be some hint as to their future plans once the Booster Pass finally ends. Knowing Nintendo, they’ll more likely keep their secrets to the last moment but it really doesn’t matter because combined with all this DLC it’s difficult to imagine how anything could better Mario Kart 8.

Compared to other extraction shooters, Arc Raiders is very accessible and welcoming, but compared to Fortnite or Call Of Duty, this asks a lot more of players than many will be willing to give. Some will become frustrated at the complex maps and aggressive enemies (there’s a lot more PvE than there is PvP, in the average match), while others will appreciate that this is genuinely something different from the norm, which is what most people claim to want...There’s no way of knowing whether Arc Raiders will be popular on consoles or whether its popularity will last, even if it is, but the initial signs are very positive. This isn’t something you just throw on of the evening, while playing on autopilot, but if you’re looking for something more than that, then Arc Raiders delivers. [Review in Progress]

There is still a long way for me to go, and lots of areas Black Ops 6 can drop the ball from here. That’s even before we get to multiplayer and Zombies. All of that will come in our full review. However, often you get a ‘vibe’ for a good Call Of Duty game early on. A feeling that this could be one of the more important entries in the franchise. Right now, I’m starting to get the tingling. [Campaign Review]

Wave 6 is an excellent set of courses in what has been an excellent season pass, for an excellent parent game. Some might talk of Mario Kart 64 or Mario Kart Wii but for us Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is clearly the best entry in the franchise and by virtue of being so it’s also one of the best video games ever made. Almost a decade later and it’s not only as much fun as ever but it’s almost impossible to imagine how Nintendo might improve it.

So far Shadowlands does not disappoint, with the question of which of the four covenants to soul-bind to being a particularly tricky one, as you get to grips with the endgame content of world quests and dailies. Shadowlands is reminiscent of aspects from earlier expansions, such as Wrath Of The Lich King (even including the grind), but it has a style all of its own and a good sense of momentum that, so far at least, makes it great fun to play. [Review-in-Progress]

Although it’s undoubtedly fun, the biggest question for Helldivers 2 is its longevity and variety. We haven’t played enough to judge that yet but then longevity is always difficult to discuss with a live service game, whose future plans are always in a state of flux. However, especially with its sensible price tag, this is definitely the best of the month’s online-only shooters, even if much of the appeal comes from shooting the wrong targets. [Review in Progress]

Given it’s a free joke download, we’re not going to give The Murder Of Sonic The Hedgehog a score but we still recommend you try it out for yourself, be you a casual or diehard Sonic fan. Hopefully next year other publishers produce more April Fool’s gags of this quality and not just the usual tedious fake news.

It’s unfair to criticise any game for being something it’s not, so instead we’ll say that this is another excellent implementation of VR technology by Hello Games and despite all the years that have passed No Man’s Sky has never been better, resulting in another must-have title for PlayStation VR2.

We say the game wasn’t designed with VR in mind but we’re not sure that’s true. Capcom already did an excellent job with the VR mode for Resident Evil 7, so we imagine they had support for Village in mind all along. If they didn’t then the sequence near the start, where you stumble through the snow in the dark, is, entirely by accident, one of the best VR experiences we’ve ever had. [Review in Progress]

The 60fps option improves the gameplay to a small degree but, almost a decade later, it’s not the graphics or the story that impresses the most in GTA 5, but the open world design. It’s the one element that is beyond criticism and while it is beginning to seem a little old-fashioned compared to newer titles like Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Elden Ring it’s still lightyears ahead of any of its would-be rivals.

For devout fans, the writing in collectable log entries might be more appealing than the main branching narrative. Some connect back to familiar characters like Anderson Dawes, while one particular voice note suggests cameo appearances from the TV series might be weaved in throughout future episodes. It’s fan service but it makes sense in the context of Drummer’s journey at this stage, heightening the atmosphere rather than pandering to replicate it.

We’re not giving this bonus episode a score because it’s only an hour long, and it will mean nothing to anyone that hasn’t played all the other episodes. But we strongly recommend both series to anyone that enjoys slow-burning interactive storytelling. We just warn you that, emotionally speaking, it’s going to be a rough ride – for you and the characters.

Even after just a few hours of gameplay it’s obvious that this is an important contender in the battle royale genre. Whether interest will quickly fizzle out, as happened with Blackout, remains to be seen but the early signs suggest Warzone will rage on for some time to come. [First Impressions Review]

Temtem already does several fundamental things better than its inspiration and clearly has the potential to be the very best, like no one ever was. [Early Access review]

The most baffling Nintendo release of recent years, with a quasi-remake of one of the GameCube’s worst games, that seems specifically designed to irritate and confuse would-be players.

Insanely repetitive, horribly shallow, and pointlessly easy – this is the absolute least interesting thing to do with Zelda on the Switch 2 and bad even by the low standards of the Dynasty Warrior franchise.

It’s a shame this is a greatest hits compilation and not a sequel but seeing the full madness of the series in one game is a wonderful journey of imagination and surreal humour.

An inspired piece of Final Fantasy 7 fan service, and a very good remaster, but as a standalone game the story and gameplay has very little value.

Zelda may have inspired one of the best Dynasty Warriors games to date but the end result is still well below average by any other standard.

An ambitious release that focuses on new animations and gameplay innovations but the execution needs refining, whilst matches feel too heavily skewed in favour of defence. [Provisional Score = 70]

It’s unclear how much Nintendo is going to market Labo as an educational toy but it certainly has great value as such. It not only stimulates artistic urges but making full use of each of the Toy-Con garages feels like the most entertaining science lesson ever. The potential seems limitless and while Labo may not be a video game – and in that sense will provide little relief to Switch owners looking for something new to play – it could well be the next big thing. For big kids as well as little ones.

After the career high of Silent Hill 2, Bloober Team return to their usual routine, with a Frankenstein’s monster of other people’s ideas – all of which are expressed better elsewhere.

A worse game than the already flawed original, whose poorly crafted action is as ineffective as its clichéd attempts at horror.