It feels like cheating to call Somerville a debut indie title when its creator’s individual pedigree is so strong, but it’s a tremendous spiritual successor to both Limbo and Inside. It takes an ordinary setting, quickly removes all normalcy, and takes the player on a fleeting sci-fi thrill ride that makes use of every second of your attention that it has.

Gotham Knights is both something different and something familiar for Batman fans. While the new role-playing elements create some pacing issues throughout the story, the breadth of abilities and ease of progression stop the experience from being as tedious as it could have been.

Despite working with the same killer premise as the movies before it, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead struggles to sustain tension over the course of its fairly predictable journey. With a tighter focus its glacial pacing and deliberate systems might have made for something special but as it stands, this one is for fans of the genre only.

I’ve had a great time levelling and fighting with my Necromancer so far, and am super excited to be able to play the game with friends when the game is released for everyone very soon. As long as the monetisation strategy doesn’t get in the way of the game being fun to play, I think this could be a game I get hooked on for a while.

Crash Team Rumble is a surprisingly competent online multiplayer arena game that's easy to get into and well-balanced, leading to some tense and exciting games. It's let down hugely by a lack of modes and content though, and I seriously doubt its longevity in the long term.

Underneath it all, RAGE 2 is one of the most energetic and frenetic shooters I’ve played since DOOM. But you must, unfortunately, wade through a poorly paced story, a drab open world, and a few locks and progression gates to even experience the best it has to offer. Those who persist will adore RAGE 2, but it’s such a bizarrely inconsistent journey to get there that it’s hard to recommend to everyone.

What would otherwise be a mess is beautifully brought together in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. While much more simplistic when compared to its predecessors, Travis Strikes Again is a fun and fast paced action game that commands your attention from beginning to end. It has a few pacing issues, especially towards the end and the co-op implementation might not be perfect, but Travis Strikes Again is yet another momentous trip through the wicked and warped mind of Suda51.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT does its best to appeal to a more competitive audience, but in the process, has forgotten what drew fans to it in the first place.

Bright Memory Infinite is a disappointing follow-up to a prelude that made its share of promises. It’s a shame because a polished expansion on the original concept would have had a certain cult appeal, whereas Infinite feels watered down. It’s a pretty game, and best of all it’s free for those who lashed out for the prelude, but in the end, it plays like a game that got spooked by its own shadow and is a result of improbable ambition.

High On Life is the most video game-like video game to come from the minds of Squanch and Justin Roiland to date, and it shows the studio is capable of more than just lightly-interactive experiences packed with fart and cum jokes. Though it has plenty of those, too.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is a big, beautiful puzzle platformer with the spirit of Abe's adventures intact and some interesting new ideas, but it's all very quickly undone by imprecise controls, tedious level design and a shocking lack of polish. Oddworld fans will definitely want to check it out, but they may be better off waiting for a few more updates before investing their time, and even then might come away just a tad disappointed.

Mike Bithell’s writing, as it often is, remains on point as his team establishes new colours within an already riveting sci-fi world, not by replicating what came before—as appropriate as that may have been thematically—but by taking the franchise in a bold direction. It’s a shame this thrilling plot against the archives is derezzed, and perhaps doomed to obsoletion, by a string of confoundingly dull puzzles.

Blair Witch is the best Blair Witch game yet. However, its willingness to get you lost can be frustrating despite being so authentic to the franchise. Regardless, despite some uneven presentation, Blair Witch is a passionate love letter to the first and third films in the franchise. It manages to maintain its scares from beginning to end, even if it becomes a little predictable.

While I sound down on The Precinct, it’s an enjoyable experience. There is something oddly satisfying and novel about playing on the other side of the oft-imitated Grand Theft Auto formula. But while all the building blocks are here for what I hope will become a franchise for developer Fallen Tree Games, it just feels like those blocks haven’t been put together in the best way.

The Sinking City is easily the best H.P. Lovecraft game yet, throwing players into a well-realised but characteristically melancholy town that’s coming to terms with its cosmic fate. It’s a classic detective game through and through, which rewards smarts and isn’t afraid to let you explore and immerse yourself with no handholding. It’s just a bit of a shame that’s hindered by some rudimentary combat, shoddy technical issues and an open world that’s a little too big for its own good.

Destiny 2: Lightfall is far from Destiny's worst expansion, but just as far from its best. For every step forward, there's another step back, and what you get out of it ultimately comes down to what you prioritize. It simply isn't as well rounded as The Witch Queen, but still offers many excellent gameplay additions and quality-of-life improvements that elevate the whole experience.

Black Ops 7 is, without question, the most disappointed I’ve been in a Call of Duty campaign. It’s not because it’s the least fun, necessarily, it’s because it’s a regression in every field that Black Ops excels—it’s a thoughtless, homogeneous mess that feels more like a Zombies off-shoot that, in an attempt to call back to better games, only serves to cheapen their memory.

Alone In The Dark is an ambitious reimagining that does little to differentiate itself from the games it's inspired by. While it's clearly taking inspiration from both Resident Evil and The Evil Within to be a survival horror powerhouse, the flat feeling combat and timid horror elements stop it from standing above the games that inspired it. Despite this, a unique take on the story and the strong setting makes it well worth a look for horror fans.

Call of Cthulu is one of the better games based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and despite its visual shortcomings does a great job at commanding your attention from start to finish.

While PAYDAY 3 will no doubt please series veterans and newcomers, it's still a few updates a way from being definitively better than PAYDAY 2. When everything is working seamlessly, it offers some of the highest highs in the series thus far, but frustrating omissions and questionable progression design restrain PAYDAY 3's ability to be consistent.

State of Decay 2 is just as good as the original but fails to make good on its major promises. There’s some great quality of life improvements here and there, but the repetitive goals to work towards and cursory co-op options stop it from being any better than the original. Despite all this, State of Decay 2’s gameplay loop is strangely alluring, but many won’t put up with its technical shortcomings.

Detective Pikachu Returns is a decently fun little detective story. Don’t expect any intense logical deductions or unpredictable twists – but it’s fun enough to follow along with even so. The relationship between Tim and Pikachu is a highlight as are the Pokémon who help you along the way. Uninspired human character designs marr an otherwise decent presentation full of cool Pokémon and fun music.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions gets the core fundamentals of Quidditch right - it's fast-paced, frenetic and a joy to zip around the field. But despite some robust multiplayer options, there's just not a whole lot here to keep you interested beyond a few hours.

The Dark Pictures: Little Hope makes an earnest attempt to build upon the formula established by Man of Medan in many ways. It offers an engaging and well-paced story, great characters, and an intriguing yet typical twist that genre fans will no doubt appreciate. Despite numerous improvements to the underlying gameplay and excellent production values, incessant jump scares prevent Little Hope from standing on the shoulders of Man of Medan, instead merely beside it.

The new Saints Row doesn’t break any new ground, however it's still a relatively fun time. If you’re a fan of the series, there’s no reason not to give this one a spin.

The Teal Mask is a great first part to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's pair of DLC packs. While it suffers from the same presentation issues of the base game, The Teal Mask offers a digestible standalone experience that simultaneously satisfies and teases you with the promise of more. A more condensed open world, great characters, and fantastic new Pokémon designs make for a worthwhile return to the world of Scarlet and Violet.

Windbound is a beautiful artistic accomplishment in terms of presentation, but fails to make good on its promise of bringing together an open-world single-player game and typical crafting-survival elements. Despite attempts to make it approachable for all, it is an ultimately frustrating affair that squanders its potential with the same rigid survival mechanics that we've seen in a lot of other games and that's a real shame.

FBC: Firebreak features an unexpected mechanical depth that gives it longer legs than a game launching with five levels perhaps deserves. With regards to set up, I think it somewhat squanders its place in the coveted Control universe, however, the parts that do break on through from the other side, like its humour and creativity, make for a surprisingly fun live-service shooter.