NHL 25 makes some minor strides to improve on last year's game, but will mostly appeal to those interested in team management and being a superstar forward. As a franchise, it continues to wait for a top draft pick that can turn things around in a meaningful way.

EA Sports FC 25 delivers on the usual incremental improvement model of this sports franchise. It's a solid football game with plenty of variety that fans won't be too conflicted about getting stuck into.

Much as I like the Age of Empires games, Age of Mythology's god powers and myth units dial up the fun factor significantly. The dramatic graphical update and small but sensible gameplay tweaks in this Retold edition make it easy to recommend for new and returning players alike.

Frostpunk 2 isn't afraid to shake things up and bring a different kind of experience to the franchise, although that new design philosophy leaves a bit more to be desired in mechanics, UI and narrative elements.

Sumerian Six almost perfectly emulates the games from Mimimi, offering a satisfying covert strategy experience that involves weaving through patrols, dissolving bodies, and scaring Nazis to death.

NBA 2K25 is an improvement from last year, but still suffers from most of the same self-inflicted issues. The over-bearing presence of microtransactions does the great on-court gameplay a disservice.

Athena Crisis is squarely aimed at long-time Advance Wars fans, who will likely find much to enjoy in both the official missions and the potentially endless content created by the community. It falls short of the best in the genre, like Wargroove or Into the Breach, but is still worth a look for those who get a kick out of sending pixelated soldiers to their deaths.

Ara: History Untold is a decent foray into the historical 4X, with enough borrowed and slightly tweaked elements to make it worth a look for fans of the genre. Its original ideas become too much of a slog however, along with a scattering of UI issues and performance hiccups that need addressing.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is unable to recapture the magic or originality of its predecessors, nor keep up with the current leaders of the genre. It's an open world racing game that lacks content and has too many frustrations to qualify for the starting grid.

The Plucky Squire has a nice art style and some clever tricks with shifting between two different perspectives on the world, though ultimately this storybook will appeal to younger players the most.

Despite great visuals and hectic combat, Space Marine 2 stumbles on its repetition and generic missions. While co-op has limited appeal, the single player is boring and the competitive action is mostly an afterthought. And even devout followers may lose faith due to the technical issues.

The criminal undercurrent in Star Wars Outlaws creates an enjoyable and unpredictable story, and the competent stealth, gunplay, and space dogfights ensure that fans of the original trilogy will enjoy the stunning views while earning a reputation.

As an entertaining, accessible, and polished 3D platformer, Astro Bot offers plenty of variety in both visuals and gameplay, delivering a lively space adventure with plenty of PlayStation references.

Phantom Spark pares away everything inessential to provide a blissful time trial racing experience, buttressed by pleasant pastel visuals and a calming soundtrack. There are no extra bells and whistles, but what this indie racer does, it does very well.

Solid deck building fundamentals are let down by a lack of progression and weak not-quite-RPG questing. If you like the idea of a deck builder with a relatively open overworld and a cheery fantasy vibe, you might still enjoy this one, but it's hard to recommend above its more sophisticated indie peers.

The Crush House has its share of solid moments, but it ends up oscillating between creativity and boredom. The day to day filming schedule needed to be spruced up to avoid repetitive dialogue and bland footage.

Dustborn grabs the generic modern day adventure game formula and adds a bunch of cliché and often annoying characters, a subpar story, some low-grade music, along with a heavy-handed dose of politics front and center, resulting in a middling and overlong road trip that's more concerned about its poorly delivered message than anything else.

There is a moderately intriguing narrative in Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss as you solve mysteries within a well-preserved shipwreck, but flimsy clues, tedious wandering, and technical blemishes mean playing it can be like fighting to keep your head above water.

World of Goo 2 picks up right where the original game left off, offering more levels and entertaining conundrums to construct your way out of. It's no longer the unique physics puzzler that it once was, but the mechanics have proven to be timeless.

With appealing pixel graphics and some smart tweaks to the bullet heaven formula, Swarm Grinder is a lot of fun... until it isn't. The lack of variety in playable characters, levels, and weapons drags down the experience, but die hard fans of the genre may still enjoy the grind. Those prone to nightmares involving insectoid aliens who want to suck your face off should probably avoid.

Given its low price, Nobody Wants to Die may be worth checking out for the visual style and unique atmosphere, but the basic gameplay and underwhelming story make for a forgettable adventure.

Featuring enjoyable dungeons and intriguing plot developments, Dungeons of Hinterberg is a fun escape to a magical version of Austria. It doesn't stray far from its comfort zone, but the basics here are solid enough to prop up the highlights of the experience.

Anger Foot’s rapid-fire, door-kicking action will compel some to dance along to its vibrant beat, but repetition and lackluster levels mean not all will be swept off their feet.

More a cyberpunk city creation tool than a game in the traditional sense, Dystopika can offer a brief distraction - or awaken the urban architect within you. Either outcome seems fair for its low asking price.

#BLUD may not bring anything new to the table, but it has a fun personality and unique presentation to make it worth taking a chance on for fans of the genre.

Until Then has an interesting art style and some decent writing, but mundane pacing, limited interactivity and contrived, poorly delivered drama make for a forgettable adventure.

Although not quite the triumphant homecoming fans hoped for, Homeworld 3 is still a sleek and at times spectacular space RTS.

Aided by its magnificent setting, purposeful suspense, and slick pacing, Still Wakes the Deep is a nicely crafted first-person horror game that needed more complexity.