Promenade is a great platformer with loads to do. If you romp through the campaign without stopping to take it in, you’ll be doing it a disservice. A game to be savoured. Perhaps a bit too tough in latter stages to the extent we ran out of steam.

In a sea of auto-shooting survival games, Brotato is by far the best. It's as maddening as it is addictive but in the best way.

A Little to the Left offers you the chance to clean up someone else's clutter and that's either going to be right up your street or the worst thing you can imagine. If you're in the first camp then this is for you.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is a carefully crafted repackaging of Lara Croft's most loved early adventures. With warts and all, it has been genuinely enjoyable to dissect the decisions that shaped these games. There's several options to smooth over some of the bumps. I think the modern control scheme, despite some compromises is certainly capable. Including the expansion packs makes this a great value proposition. It still doesn't escape the shackles of time but this is probably the best way to experience classic Tomb Raider.

For a game limited to a single location, Grotto does a surprising amount with it. The constant visitation of the cave gives you plenty of interaction and the use of the constellations can feel relatively novel. The writing works well to weave these little decisions together and give off the impression of a larger narrative. It does settle into a repetitive loop but I was still determined to see it through. It's unique enough to recommend and I do find it a memorable and atmospheric experience.

Turret Rampage might have worked better on something like a Nintendo Game and Watch back in the '80s but this level of simplicity, from both the gameplay and presentation, probably doesn't cut it in 2024.

Overall, Tekken 8 is an impressive product. There's a variety of content here to keep players satisfied. I would've liked more new characters but two of them at least offer something different. The story delivers plenty of bombast and manages to tie up some loose ends whilst Arcade Quest tries to romanticise the arcade community in an endearing way. Online play has been very smooth and the fighting overall has been fun and kinetic. It also think the teaching tools are great for getting newcomers onboard.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink delivers a very polished experience with a main story that packs plenty of momentum. Combat is very kinetic but simple to handle. Perhaps that's detrimental when boss fights stretch into long encounters but the chaotic spectacle is thankfully easy to read. It's a shame the side content retreads old haunts and the post-game becomes a repetitive grind. What's here is a decent package but I wish the combat had a few more options to explore.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a good Metroidvania and a welcome return for this long dormant series. We just wish it had dynamic difficulty as some bosses are just that bit too tough. There’s only so many times we can face failure.

If you can get past the poor first impression, Starward Rogue ends up being a very enjoyable twin-stick shooter with lots of interesting gameplay mechanics.

There's definitely a sense that a couple of decisions here were the difference between a good game and a great one but we found ourselves enjoying Shinorubi more and more over time.

On the one hand, War Hospital is successful at setting out an appropriate tone for a terrible time in human history. Unfortunately, it can be a difficult game to crack the surface on. The game can proceed at a slow pace and, despite the ability to speed things up, time can feel like such a precious commodity. The dour visuals and downtrodden narrative can make it very hard to feel encouraged, even by the most minor of victories. The interface can take some getting used to but I think the game's biggest obstacle is the mood itself.

Nephenthesys is a vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up that does just enough to warrant its cheap price but nothing more. It's not particularly nice to look at or fun to play but it has a basic level of challenge that keeps it interesting for an hour or two.

The Cub is a fair platformer with a great sense of place. The plot loosely follows the Jungle Book but comes to a conclusion somewhat bafflingly. The platforming is generally alright though jumping is maddeningly inconsistent at times. Over its brief lifespan you’re likely to be entertained by it for the most part.

Cookie Cutter is far from perfect but it's a slick and interesting example of a genre that is often presented in a lazy, retro style. There are issues but the game's strengths just about outweigh the negatives.

I think Woodhill Interactive have done well with Orten Was the Case. Whilst it is a small town tale, the time loop allows proceedings to reveal a decent narrative. The puzzles and objectives mostly avoid wild jumps of logic whilst allowing a player's own hindsight to cut corners and streamline each attempt. The presentation won't be too everyone's taste but I kind of liked the exaggerated, grotty characters and detailed surroundings. It's a shame the movement can feel occasionally clumsy and checkpoints aren't always well placed.

Trinity Fusion is a good action platformer with a nice dimension hopping angle. It’s not startlingly original, though the issues that exist are minor and unlikely to bother anyone too much. It’s well worth playing.

For everything Hammerwatch II does well, there's a downside. In a series that is now a decade old, this is the worst game in it and it suffers from issues that the studio should have resolved long ago. Maybe it just isn't a good fit for consoles or maybe the developers technical skill doesn't match their ambition but whatever it is, we feel pretty let down by this one.

Gangs of Sherwood is a hollow effort that, despite the decent visuals, struggles to raise a compliment out of me. For a game so short, it runs out of variety quickly. The lock-on might be a struggle but combat is so without risk it barely matters. Perhaps a robust cast of characters could've saved it but even they overlap in abilities and movesets. I've played worse but those worse games have arguably had a lot more to say.

Stickman's Arena takes all of its inspiration from Brotato but fails to get close to its greatness in any facet.

I may have small battles with the controls but the comprehensive package of Train Valley 2: Community Edition is really compelling. I think the presentation is really polished and the ways in which the levels escalate is enjoyable to figure out. There's a leisurely feel to the visuals and sound which are very comforting and I never felt under extreme duress to complete a challenge. Perhaps it's a little too relaxed in its pacing but I have enjoyed tackling the game's many challenges.

Custom Mech Wars clearly shares some DNA with the EDF games but it fails to deliver on the promise. If you see it a lot cheaper, there's some fun in seeing what sort of mechs you can make but taking them into combat is such a flat, empty experience that in the end you'll wish they took the combat out and just made this a mech-designing sim.

Truckzilla - Monster Truck Mega Ramp Mania is a game of two halves, the campaign mode is passable but the ramp stages are an unmitigated disaster. Pop-up is very evident, the likes of which we’ve not seen since the original PlayStation. Oh and while there’s a slider for music volume, there’s no music. A bit of a mess all told.

Pinball meets Horror in this niche, but enjoyable, side project from the masters of Pinball, Zen Studios.

Pesterquest is a decent addition to the genre. The pursuit of friendship can be a little twee and it doesn't always mesh well with the adult content. Generally the tone is light-hearted and the visuals to well to reflect that. The soundtrack is really well done. I do wish more was done on an interactive level. Each volume can feel very small with just a couple of decisions to make and it doesn't branch in an interesting way.

Hiveswap Friendsim is a reasonably competent visual novel. The focus on friendship and the short chapters can make the act of relationships a little trivial. It can be a little too convenient at times and the writing lays on the humour thick. At least there's plenty of personality on offer with the friends having their own interests and problems. It's not doing anything special within the genre but fans of whatever the Homestuck universe is will be feel right at home.

Battle Stations Blockade intrigues with its cute, colourful and chunky visual style and wide array of weapons to play with but the overall design, mechanics and variety all need a lot of work still. There's fun to be had here but also, unfortunately, some boredom too.

In trying to find things to like about this ball-based platformer, there isn't much to say and, yet, it still kept us compelled to keep playing it until it was beaten. It could be improved in many ways but ultimately The Perplexing Orb: Bounce N' Roll is more enjoyable than you'd think.