An impressively successful follow-up to Vampire Survivors, that features entirely different gameplay but a similarly deceptive sense of depth and nuance to its charmingly low-tech action.

A noir boomer shooter rich in style and atmosphere but limited by its unremarkable gunplay and flat writing, which fails to capitalise on its fun premise.

The joy of playing something that isn’t a sequel or licensed tie-in is considerable in its own right but this tightly designed third person actioner is a pleasure from beginning to end.

It’s not hard to take issue with Champions but for better or worse it’s clearly not finished yet and… it’s free. If you’re a veteran Pokémon fan then the only real benefit you’re getting here is easy access to a constant stream of online matches, since the matchmaking is actually pretty good. Otherwise, this seems to be aimed at a slightly awkward mix of hardcore esports fans and people brand new to the franchise, who want to know how the battles work (and to be fair, the tutorials are pretty good and the interface fairly straightforward)...Champions fulfils that remit reasonably well but it’s a hard game to get excited about and probably something you’re better off just making a mental note of, so you can come back later when it’s working properly and is more content complete. [Review in Progress]

A loving homage to the original X-COM, that’s far more interested in turning up the difficulty than coming up with any new ideas.

A more family friendly attempt to mimic the likes of Limbo and Inside but while the graphics are impressive the gameplay feels stolid and poorly paced.

An impressive, near-essential expansion for Borderlands 4, with an excellent new vault hunter and some of the best level and mission design in the franchise.

Super Meat Boy in 3D seems to be an inherently flawed concept and while this does its best to make navigating the third dimension feasible, the end result feels frustratingly imprecise.

Whilst ultimately an underdeveloped entry, it does make for a loving send off for Max Caulfield. Unfortunately, being another weak entry, it may also play that role for the franchise itself.

With base building, monstrous sea beasts, and a slow progress from hapless crash survivor to king of the ocean depths, it has more or less the same cadence as the original Subnautica, which was also very good. It does feel slightly like a missed opportunity that this isn’t quite the sea change (pun, I’m afraid, intended) it could have been. Especially given how long the actual sequel is taking.

It’s a well-made game, but lacking in magic. The anodyne character design, lacklustre script, and battles that have challenge but little excitement, conspire to make it feel oddly pedestrian. Still, if you’re craving a decent sized role-player on your phone this certainly manages to tick all the right boxes, even if that’s all it does.

Although the game moves fast, you don’t have to, gradually moving your avatar and adjusting their angle of fire as you smash your way through its stages. It lends itself well to mobile conversion and remains just as addictive as it was on PC and console.

While point ‘n’ click adventures experienced their apogee in the 1990s, it’s still a genre that manages to generate new outings. Mystery Of Silence is one, telling the story of a journalist investigating a mysterious island monastery.

A tough, flashy, and surprisingly versatile extraction shooter which houses a magnetic loop of death and loot beneath its occasionally obtuse idiosyncrasies.

An inessential but enjoyable expansion for the best 2D Mario game of the modern era, with some fun multiplayer distractions and a soupçon of new single-player content.

An anime-infused arcade racer with a full-blown story, cracking multiplayer, and an OTT driving model that gamifies every part of its tricky, knife edge races.

A bizarre mishmash of disparate gameplay elements, with absolutely no sense of coherent design or narrative… and yet its stunning game world is still a fascinating mess to explore.

One of the best puzzle games of recent years is also one of the most empowering and cleverly designed, as its stretches seemingly simple mechanics to impressive lengths.

A mostly successful remake that reimagines Fatal Frame 2 for the modern day, and while it can veer a little too much into action territory it’s still an impressively horrifying video game.

An impressively full-bodied Japanese role-player that’s good enough to attract non-Monster Hunter fans, with the Pokémon style collection process making up for the flaws in the storytelling and combat.

A missed opportunity for an exciting take on medieval history, that’s inferior to Kingdom Come: Deliverance in every respect.

A competent Left 4 Dead clone that seems to have gained little from the association with John Carpenter, but it is a sensibly priced diversion for those that want a new co-op shooter to play with friends.

An atmospheric and evocative action role-player whose rough edges and lacklustre combat are balanced by compelling world-building, beautiful environments, and a far reaching sense of consequence.

Like its predecessors, it’s incredibly lightweight, your choices set out so briefly you’re regularly left guessing about potential outcomes; a sense the game attempts to paper over by throwing so many of them at you. It’s occasionally amusing, but too insubstantial to be satisfying.

This release includes all seven DLC packs, comprising challenge tombs, new weapons, and outfits, making it a real value for money proposition. It’s great rediscovering Lara’s swift journey from ingénue to casual mass murderer, via a whole lot of looted historical relics.

Rhythm action combat proves a fun way to get sweaty, assuming you like the style of music, but the extreme brevity is only slightly extended by online leaderboards.

Slay The Spire is not a game that sounds very exciting to describe and that’s certainly true of its sequel as well. But once you get a feel for how it works it’s enjoyably addictive in the way only the very best video games are. The early access version isn’t cheap, but the original game can currently be downloaded for just £4.99 on Steam, so if you’re not convinced you can get a good idea for whether you’ll like the sequel from that. [Early Access Review]

Following up last year’s well-received game is an unenviable task, but WWE 2K26 manages to build on what’s come before with some game-changing mechanics and welcome refinements.