What Justice Sucks does, it does brilliantly, it’s just a shame that there was a little more the game could have done, and there was some unused charge in the battery.

Never before has a Kirby game made me feel so inadequate as a gamer while also making me want to become better. Enjoyable in short bursts, those who dive into its systems and challenges will find their efforts rewarded.

Fury Unleashed makes you the great action hero on the way to save the mind of your creator, facing off against hordes of enemies in an addictive experience that keeps you coming back for more.

The more you dive into the metaphors and abstractions that are brought to bare, the more affecting this experience will be. Developers Punk Notion succeed in what they have built here, weaving a vivid tale more than worth the few hours of your time.

Everything about the game flows well and feels satisfying to play. Where some games tread like honey, making you aware of every minute you’re spending in their world, Len’s Island feels like a bare-foot beach break, and not a second spent with it feels wasted or lost.

Road 96 is an emotional and politically heavy story with incredible character work and fiercely held beliefs.

The love of Thief, and even more recent stealth gems such as Mark of the Ninja shine through in Wildfire, but it’s the game’s own systems that help it to stand out amongst its peers. There are a small number of issues affecting the gameplay, but overall this is a very polished, suitably challenging and wonderfully realised concept that toys with your pre-conceptions of the genre.

With a fantastic foundation, but a ceiling that wasn’t quite reached, Saint Slayer is an excellent playing experience that will leave you wanting just a little bit more from it.

An unrivalled adrenaline-pumping platformer, Sonic X Shadow Generations arrives as a launch title for the Switch 2 in perfect condition. Fans of the franchise or genre should, without doubt, have this on their must-buy list.

This is a very special experience that will stay with me for a long while. I said it before and I’ll say it again; there are so few games that scratch the same itch that Suikoden did, and this is one that fans will really enjoy.

Fresh yet familiar, deep yet welcoming, Civilization VII offers turn-based strategy that is hard to resist. A good game already, expect it to only get better with time as Firaxis adjusts to community discoveries.

Bears in Space is a Saturday Morning Cartoon experience in the guise of a twitch FPS. Its absurdity, tight shooting and charm easily paper over the game's weaker elements making it a solid game to play in between bigger and deeper releases

The best round of virtual golf you can play, PGA 2K25 is a wonderful improvement over the previous entry and is sure to keep players walking the course for months and months to come.

MechWarrior 5: Clans takes the core of its predecessor and expands upon it by giving you on interesting cast and story to explore alongside the combat. Though some of it might be overpowering at first, you’ll find a lot to enjoy, despite the challenge of some of its missions.

Khazan had its hooks in me so deep that I kept throwing myself at the game, pushing myself to get better. When playing most of the games in this genre, I would just grind until I was powerful enough to overcome the boss fights. Not this time. I had to get better. I had to win. And there is no better feeling than conquering that mountain.

Tina’s madcap mind brings joy, humour and originality to a franchise that was starting to lose its shine. A must-play for fans of the Borderlands.

This is the best version of a great game. It’s got its flaws for sure, but that doesn’t stop it from being an action-packed rollicking good time.

Warriors games come in all shapes and sizes, but Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is one of the best. Great fun for green players and veterans alike, this alt-history rollercoaster delivers what you expect plus more.

Tell Me Why’s focus on authenticity in storytelling makes it an absolute narrative triumph. The perfect pace allows you to reflect on each element of the story as it unfolds, and clever use of gameplay mechanics makes each choice feel impactful yet organic. A must play for fans of the genre.

In the end, PGA 2K23 isn’t a revolution. It is however a wonderfully thought-out and considered upgrade from the previous title. Every aspect of the career mode has been tweaked and improved, the gameplay, while much the same, has been tightened where it needs to be and the presentation aspects have come forward in leaps and bounds.

For now, enjoy the best Jurassic Park game we’ve had to date.

Though there are imperfections, Grow: Song Of The Evertree soothes a restless soul like few games can.

A visually stunning but too faithful recreation of a cult classic held back by its dedication to the source material.

Mind Control Delete expands on the Superhot universe in every conceivable way. While there’s a lot of fun within its bigger time-manipulating shooter playground, the lofty ambitions result in a unique concept extended beyond its limits.

While Metroid Prime 4 suffers from some poorly implemented hub-region design, and a grating Myles MacKenzie, every other part sings, and Nintendo fans should celebrate the return of this video game icon.

The perfect slice of Kiryu for returning fans, Like A Dragon Gaiden is a piece of fantastic filler to keep players entertained while they wait for the bigger games to follow. Those new to the franchise need not apply.

Another Crab’s Treasure is an example of a game having its cake and eating it too. The combat is fun and varied enough that you won’t get bored, and the narrative, especially the dialogue is a blast.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream reintroduces Nintendo’s zany life-sim to modern gamers. Though it feels a little too similar to the 3DS version at times, there’s plenty of entertainment waiting for both seasoned and new fans to sink their teeth into. Its new customisation tools also ensure it has a long and healthy life ahead as it will no doubt prove to be popular with creative gamers.

Chorus is a joy from start to finish and I strongly implore that anyone who has ever enjoyed shooting things in a spaceship gives it a good hard look.

As a Roguelike, Jupiter Hell stumbles with the randomness that shakes up each run instead, allowing the player a lot of control over how they want to build their character. Despite this, there is fun to be had with the tactical shooter.

Red Dead Redemption is an unbelievably good game, even in 2023, however the lack of effort put into elevating the game to the current day’s technical benchmarks damages its modern legacy.

If you have an itch for a fixed-camera horror and the patience for punitive controls, this is your game. If not, the Tormented Souls experience will feel less like a nostalgic embrace and more like a frustrating relic.

An excellent game in its own right, and one of the PSP’s best, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII’s remaster stands shoulder to shoulder still with some of the best and most enjoyable JRPGs of the modern day. There are certainly some aspects that have aged poorly in relation to other aspects, but the core pillars of the experience sing as loudly and as strongly as they ever have. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was already one of the great JRPGs, and a major player in advancing the genre, but now, 15 years on, it’s still right up there with the very best. With Final Fantasy VII hype greater than perhaps it has ever been, now is absolutely the time to check out this all-important prequel chapter.

An interesting premise and solid execution are let down by a narrative that treads a predictable path, reaching for a poignant epiphany it isn’t able to realise.

It tried to do something different, and it did it in a distinctly Don’t Nod way, and the end result was a beautiful story about characters I will remember for a long time to come. Red and Antea’s tale is one of love and loss, and it finds the beauty in both.

If you are a fan of either roguelike’s and deck-builders or just a fan of martial arts in general then I recommend giving this a try. There is nothing sweeter than a flawless victory over multiple opponents.

Every game has its flaws upon release, but not many games are able to offer the unique coupling of entertainment, laughter and critical thinking that Evil Genius 2 delivers.

In many ways Nightreign will probably live or die for players based on how well the matchmaking works, or if they have two other friends willing to invest the money and time into buying and playing together.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a remake that builds on the original in all the right ways, and is recommended for anyone looking for a quaint, charming farm story to sink some time into. In some ways it may be shallow and a little outdated, but overall it makes for a lovely experience.

Mirage is a good-but-not-great entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It is wonderful that the series went back to its roots but it is just a shame Ubisoft didn’t use this opportunity to fix the problems that these foundation games always had.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership was on the verge of greatness, and it was largely due to some content balancing flaws that prevented the game from firing on all cylinders.

As a re-release, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is pretty lacklustre, but as a video game, it’s still from the very top shelf, and cannot be missed.

It’s not going to change your view of VR, but the view from Cosmonious High is pretty great.

You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and with so many links in the Sakuna chain, you expect something to give way at some stage – but it never happens. Every part of the gameplay experience holds up, and meshes together so well that it takes several disparate elements, that for all intents and purposes, simply shouldn’t go together, and brings them together in a wonderful symphony that must be played before it can be truly appreciated.

If you have ever enjoyed Civilization, I can confidently say that Humankind is going to be right up your alley, bringing enough differences to step out of the shadow of its inspiration and stand on its own as a must buy strategy title.

My feelings about Master Detective Archives: Rain Code are complex. There’s some incredible gameplay at its core, mixed with some tired and unnecessary sexist and immature tropes that feel out of place in the current media landscape. If nothing else, it’s definitely a game I’ll remember, for reasons good and bad, which in itself is an achievement.

The world’s best turn-based tactical game makes its way to the Switch mostly intact, ready to entertain and frustrate fans once again, this time on the go.

Unfortunately, while there are moments when Party Animals shines and is a fun competitive mini-game experience, these moments were brought down by some confusing design choices that hampered my enjoyment while playing.

What Airship Syndicate have done is show the world that the Darksiders IP is more than a one-trick pony, and for those who’ve not been tempted by the core franchise entries up until this point, there is now a very different sample of the IP with which to taste.

Yooka-Re-Playee takes the solid, if flawed foundation of Playtonic’s original game and enhances it in just about every way imaginable. A good game in 2017, Yooka-Laylee has become a great one in 2025.

Only some incredibly infrequent and immensely minor technical hiccups interfere with Jot’s wonderful debut adventure. Here’s hoping there’s more to come.

An incredibly thought provoking archaeological game of big questions with even bigger philosophical implications. Though hampered somewhat by clunky physical mechanics, translating an ancient language has never been so enticing or exciting.

If one could sit back and honestly be happy with a six-hour experience with beautiful voice acting and music, non-frustrating gameplay, and most importantly, is fun from start to finish, then Olija definitely a game you want to check out and one we can easily recommend.

Deep down, Persona 5 Tactica made me a bit mad at myself. I want to be sick of the Persona 5 crew, but I’m just not, at least not yet and if you strip away the Persona skin, there’s still a very enjoyable tactics game here.

A reminder of a more innocent time, Puzzle Quest Immortal Edition is the same great game it always was, just released in a more cynical and jaded world.

Dosa Divas is an entree sized meal, with the heart the size of a main menu item. A good meal can sometimes do a lot with little, and Dosa Divas is a perfect gaming example of that.

A little light on content and a touch on the pricey side, Samurai Showdown on the Series could have perhaps been packaged better. But there is no denying the joy offered by its blood soaked and engaging one on one battles.

FixFox isn’t a game for teens or adults who act like teens (you know who you are). There isn’t enough challenge or engaging gameplay to be had. For the pre-teens out there though, FixFox is adorably cute, enjoyable and fun with a story that they can follow! The developers knew the audience that would enjoy this and delivered well.

Anodyne 2 is a surreal 3D Zelda-like with 2D Zelda-like dungeons, but it’s also much, much more than that. Analgesic Productions output is singularly distinct, and the Anodyne games stand as their greatest works to date.

Xcom: Chimera Squad is proof positive that Firaxis are masters of the genre. The perfect starting point for newcomers, yet featuring enough depth for franchise vets, there is no reason to skip this title, especially at its bargain price.

Whilst it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the greats, this is still a compelling experience that’s more than worth your time. Come for the visuals, stay for the gripping combat.

With lots to love for new fans, and a tonne of respect shown to existing diehards, Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is the first strong step towards what will hopefully be a full franchise revival in the future.

South of Midnight has so much soul that the specifics don’t matter. It told a story that has been criminally undertold in the games landscape so far, with fresh characters, in a darkly intriguing world. I’d take all the underwhelming combat in the world if it meant we got more games like this one.

There’s a game in here that is easy to wholeheartedly recommend, but it’s caked in so much garbage that you really have to ask a lot of questions about what you want from it, about what you’re willing to put in.

Coffee Talk 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly floods you with emotions and does not really ever let up. Whilst some people may be turned off by the lack of interactivity, if you want a laid back, chill game where you just talk to people and make drinks, this is best in class.

This sort of game lives or dies on how much support it receives from the developers but at this point in time Bloodhunt is a blast that is sure to entertain Battle Royale players and fans of the Vampire IP.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road ultimately left me disappointed. It has certainly paved the way for more dynamic gameplay and interesting battle mechanics, but the shallow storyline and lamentable writing was hard for me to look past.

An engaging story that gives players a satisfying sense that they control their own destiny, As Dusk Falls is "choose your own adventure" at its best.

There’s a very real chance that 10-15 years from now, interviews will feature many up and coming devs attributing their first step and successes to Game Builder Garage.

For all its quirks, I do hope that Screamer finds a regular and loyal fanbase. The story may be naff, and some tracks are better than others, but there remains an enjoyable core at the centre of it all. The potential for online play, particularly in all-out team races, is highly promising, but it’s a promise that can only be fulfilled if Screamer can entice enough an audience to purchase and persevere. It’s an excellent, flawed, unique, undercooked racer that just may yet manage to become a simply great one.

A no-brainer delightful JRPG to start the year with beautiful aesthetics, endearing characters, and an easy-to-engage storyline. I implore you to not miss this call to our classic JRPG foundations.

Demonschool is a perfect mix of all the things I love - cheesy retro horror, tactics-based role-playing, kicking bad guys in the face, and hot characters I can chat up. What’s not to love?

The gameplay is superb and the action a joy, but there is just not enough to do to keep players coming back for more, especially if your friends and family aren’t willing to join you for a match.

The most interesting and inventive campaign in the franchise makes this well worth the price of entry. Sadly the multiplayer modes don’t live up to the high bar set by the single player mode.

Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay Trials of Mana is how much it impresses me retrospectively. While I’ve had a great time blasting through it in 2020, I can only imagine how forward-thinking and impressive many of its systems and mechanics would have been in 1995. For fans of more modern entries in the genre like Kingdom Hearts or recent titles in the Ys or Tales series, Trials of Mana is a chance to discover a missing link which stays true to its 16-bit roots while improving the experience in numerous ways.

It’s upbeat puzzle-platforming fun at its most deceptively chaotic, and while some aspects of it still feel stuck in the past, there’s also lots here to remind people of what made it so great in the first place.

Samurai Showdown is a unique fighter in a world where many games in the genre can feel similar. The slower pace/high damage fighting system is a joy to master and provides players of all skill levels the feeling that they are always in the match, no matter how bad things are going. This, along with a huge range of entertaining fighters, smooth as silk gameplay and a solid PC port means this is a game that fighting fans should at the very least check out.

EA’s long-awaited return to the golf course is a solid effort, not an outstanding one. There are some structural and balance issues that hold the game back from greatness but there is still an enjoyable walk around the virtual course to be had.

While not perfect, it is hard not to be excited about the first genuinely enjoyable WWE title in what seems like an age.

The definitive version of a colourful adventure that will charm you from start to finish, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is an edgy Mickey Mouse tale to be remembered. This version is much more than just a new coat of paint!

If you missed Spider-Man 2 on PS5, the PC version will be a great way to experience it, just not yet. I just wish Sony would learn from their mistakes and stop these sorts of releases from happening, but sadly their PC port rollercoaster just keeps on rolling.

This won’t be one for the action-platformer fans, but if you’re after something a little more cruisy to get that puzzle brain ticking, this will likely do the job. It’s safe to say I had a great time chasing after that big gorilla, and getting far too attached to my mechanical children in the process.

At the very least, anyone who has lost themselves in Deus Ex, Dishonored, Bioshock, Prey and many other titles that have cribbed heavily from the blueprint laid out here owe it to themselves to see where it all began.

While Trigger Witch is not a game that will have you enthralled for hours, it is a highly enjoyable experience, especially if you have someone to join you as you cut a murderous swathe through the creatures of Evertonia.

Ultimately though, Planet Coaster 2 does amazing at a lot of things, and will likely get better over the upcoming years. Frontier has shown they care about the community and their games, and they’ve poured a lot of love into this title. I think this is their best game yet, and should just get better.

Monster Hunter Stories might be eight years old, and might have been succeeded by a newer entry, but those factors do not diminish its incredible quality. Now accessible more than ever before, Stories is a game that must be accessed by fans of the franchise as well as JRPG-fans as well.

Rather than burn me out, Hanger 13 has done a fantastic job overhauling the original Mafia while staying true to its spirit in this remake which has left me itching to fire up Mafia II Definitive Edition – so do yourself a favour and pick up the trilogy set if you haven’t already.

The Story is world-class, the weight of consequence second-to-none and the interactive systems a chaotic sight to behold. The camera and control issues hold the game back from true greatness, but not by much. Weird West is something that you just can't find anywhere else and is an adventure that is more than worth your time and money, leaving a lasting impression long after the credits have rolled.

A unique and charming strategy title that won’t change the world, but will give players an entertaining spin on game concepts and tropes they have enjoyed before.

It’s goofy, and earnest, and consciously inclusive in a way that makes me, a queer person, scared to talk about it on the internet (even after all these years). It’s bold, and comfortable in itself, and even in its weaker moments, It does feel different to the past games, but for me, it’s a good kind of different.

It isn’t terrible but there is no denying that the NBA 2K franchise is on a downward trend. The focus on everything but the Basketball is this game’s biggest sin, one that almost ruins the entire experience.

The product of years of toil from Techland, Dying Light 2 easily exceeds anything they have previously released and is one of the premium open world experiences available today. Any aspiring zombie hunter shouldn’t hesitate to dive right in.

Wild Bastards aims to mash up frantic first person skirmishes with board game exploration and a roguelike structure. Though it works, it might be a bit bloated and unnecessarily complicated for some.

Take on alien creatures big and small as you try to find your way home in this sequel that improves on the original in almost every way.

While not difficult, The survivalists hooked me in with its take on the survival genre and the creative use of the local monkey population to help me survive.

Rise of the Ronin isn’t always great, but when it’s switched on, it’s really switched on. The combat system is dense and rewarding, the missions are exciting, and minus some missteps in the open world and with NPCs, this is still a tight experience that feels very good.

I know this game isn’t going to be for everyone – but I don’t think it needs to be. We Are OFK is by no means perfect – but it’s undeniably something special.

Like a jam filled donut, Super Perils of Baking oozes with excellence when you bite into it.