With a more interesting lead character, tighter pacing, and better scares, The Assignment is that rare story add-on that may even be better than the main game.

Aliens: Dark Descent sees Tindalos serve up a cracking RTS that manages to capture the essence of this terrifying sci-fi series whilst giving players plenty of sweet strategy to sink their teeth into. Tweaking the established XCOM setup to better suit the nature of the enemy at hand, this is an Aliens adventure that leans into stealth, studious preparation, consideration of resources and slow-burn exploration as you manoeuvre through evocative environments whilst attempting not to disturb the deadly xenomorph hordes. There are a few rough edges here and there, and some strategy fans may mourn the loss of individual unit control, but overall this is one express elevator to hell we absolutely recommend taking.

Mega Man Legacy Collection feels incomplete, even at the relatively low asking price. You get the first six titles that form the basis of the Mega Man Legacy (which is apt, given the compilation's name) but other than an entertaining challenge mode, there doesn't appear to be much in the way of love shown to the franchise here.

Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings is a fitting way to round out the baseball season and a great excuse to invite friends over for some local multiplayer action. While another mode and online functionality would've made this package an absolute grand slam, the core gameplay is so addictive and well-executed that it's hard to think of it as anything less than a home run.

Let it be known that Outlast is a genuinely stressful and nerve-racking experience, but that’s exactly what a true survival horror game should be, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Plucky Squire is a delightful kids adventure with a fun and unique core mechanic that's been realised incredibly well. Jumping in and out of Jot's storybook to explore the "real" world, engage in light puzzles and face off against Humgrump's minions is a constant delight and, even though the game is never as challenging or as devious as we'd have liked, it's got a ton of heart. A must-play for kids, then, and a breezily nice time for any adults playing alongside them.

The original Disney Epic Mickey was a good game that evidently suffered from an issue or two on the Wii, and those have been successfully thinned and repainted in Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. We're really impressed by just how much effort has gone into this remake (especially the new visuals), and although it's arguably a bit too pricey at launch, there's definitely fun to be had with this one if you're a Disney fan or just a fan of platforming games in general.

The gameplay is complex and interesting, with a range of difficulties which range from easily accessible to completely unreasonable and it's startling how effectively the simple presentation can evoke a whole range of emotions.

The Division doesn't have many ideas of its own, but the way it unites traditional open-world design with online multiplayer makes it an addictive social shooter. The repetition does wear thin after a while, and the end-game content isn't as robust as it needs to be, so there's a legitimate concern as to whether the game will remain engrossing in the long run. Still, Ubisoft has erected a solid foundation.

It took us slightly over five hours to complete Planet of Lana, and while that might seem short, it felt like just the right amount of time for a game like this. We had a blast completing its unique and varied puzzles while also admiring the stunning scenery along the way, and it's definitely an experience that lives in the memory once you've completed it. This is the first ever release from Swedish developer Wishfully, and they've done a fantastic job bringing yet another superb indie adventure to Xbox Game Pass.

This is a well-made and entertaining collection that's sure to put a smile on the face of the most curmudgeonly party guest and become a staple amongst regular gaming buddies.

Yakuza games have been arriving thick and fast over the years, but Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio still hasn't lost its touch. It's hard to think of another series with such regular entries that manages to constantly evolve at this level. While most don't add too much to alter the formula, Lost Judgment throws just about everything it can into its world without feeling over-saturated. With the main story, side quests, school stories, mini-games, exploration and other distractions, it's hard not to be impressed with what's on display. There's still an element of hold handing in the detective sections we'd love to see worked on and the lip-syncing may not be the best, but the team's first attempt at delivering a simultaneous worldwide release for the series is a gamble that has paid off and perhaps offers the best entry in the franchise so far.

For the first entry in a brand-new series, Frontier has done a great job with F1 Manager 2022. The 3D race engine is consistently engaging and visually stunning for a management game, the user interface is well-designed, and even the controls are easy enough to get to grips with on Xbox. There are definitely balancing issues that need to be ironed out at launch, but if Frontier can add some updates pretty sharpish, we'll happily bump this review up to at least an [80].

Islanders doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel and may have a few control issues, but it still provides a hugely enjoyable time that's always there to dive into between other games. It also has a very enticing price point of £4.19 / $4.99. The game has quickly become a perfect title to wind down with when extended sessions of Splitgate have aggravated us or the intense subject matter of Lost Judgment has become too much. If you’re looking for something to break up your gaming life, Islanders: Console Edition is a fantastic choice.

Keeper is a tough game to score, and I think certain aspects deserve a 7/10 and others deserve an 8/10. I'm going with the latter because, taken as a whole, Keeper is a very charming, well-designed and memorable game with stunning visuals, and it's clearly had a lot of love poured into it by the development team. Some people will inevitibly be turned off by its slow and subtle story, as well as its overall lack of challenge and a first half that isn't as good as the second half, but I still think it deserves to be classed as a "Great" game, and it's well worth a download on Xbox Game Pass for sure.

Little Nightmares II is bigger and bolder, which builds upon the foundations from the first game. The game is host to a disgusting, decaying world that opens up as you progress through each chapter. Its inhabitants will haunt your dreams for days and the emotional connection it draws between Mono and Six with absolutely no dialogue is powerful. It's a shame that frustrating chase sequences and clunky combat scenarios consistently break the immersion, as the game is just shy of being something truly special. As it stands, Little Nightmares II is a thrill ride filled with visual striking moments of pure nightmare fuel, which may invite you to leave your lamp on for the foreseeable future.

Square Enix has successfully revived Dragon Quest 3 once again with this HD-2D Remake – making it more accessible than ever for newcomers with an array of quality-of-life updates and offering up more than enough new content for veterans to make it worthwhile revisiting. Even if it has aged, this is another great addition to the company’s HD-2D line and well worth playing if you’re a fan of old-school JRPGs.

The Evil Within feels like an old-school survival game made for the new-school generation. It doesn’t ignore what modern horror games brought to the genre, but it scales it down and puts the focus back on actually surviving.

Revenge of the Planet successfully shifts the series to a third person perspective in order to bring us a sequel that's a slicker and more confident affair all round. This is a colourful, clever and creative romp at every turn - one that's enhanced significantly when played in co-op - and a game that gives you a cool world stuffed full of silly creatures, crazy weapons, and a ton of possibilities to get lost in exploring. Come for the co-op, stay for the Grob, we always say.

Metal Hellsinger is a slick and addictive rhythm FPS with style and attitude to spare. With shooter action that's heavily reminiscent of Bethesda's 2016 DOOM reboot mashed together with superbly well-realised rhythm game aspects that enhance the core combat experience, this is a fiendishly satisfying arcade game that sucks you right into its twisted hellscapes and refuses to let you go. Get ready for some super-sweaty Heavy Metal vengeance.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a solid soulslike experience that serves up top-notch combat in a hugely atmospheric setting which incorporates real-life historical events, Chinese mythology and dark fantasy elements. There's a clever battle system at the heart of proceedings here with deflections, ripostes and screen-shaking fatal attacks the order of the day, whilst an innovative morale rank and recruitment system makes for action that's flexible enough to cater for newcomers to the genre. The narrative isn't particularly cohesive, and a handful of the missions on offer are a little too short for their own good, but overall this is Team Ninja's finest soulslike experience to date and a must-play for action fans.

It all feels good in practice, and you can compete in quick races, online multiplayer, and a primarily story-less, but nevertheless enjoyable enough career mode. Some of the races are definitely more engaging than others though, with more standard races tending to be the most thrilling, whereas events focused around destroying other players, for example, are a bit too hectic and luck-driven to get overly excited about. Pacer is at its best when you're flying past other racers at ultra high speeds, rather than being forced to follow other objectives such as destroying them.

Riders Republic is a fantastic open world sports game that delivers big on massively multiplayer arcade mayhem whilst also giving solo players a ton of content to dig into. There's an enormous, breathtakingly beautiful world to explore here that delivers carefully curated tracks and events for each every one of its sports disciplines, whilst also giving you free reign to head on out and cut your own path through its seven national parks' worth of wonderful wilderness. Yes there's some painful dialogue here and there, as well some issues with bugs and crashes during this launch period, but none of that is enough to put us off getting stuck in and just enjoying the smorgasbord of arcade sports action that Ubisoft Annecy has served up.

Drinkbox Studios has served up another great time here with a colourful and clever dungeon-crawling adventure that gives you a ton of options as to how you approach its challenges. Switching up forms, mixing and matching skills and hoovering up an absolute ton of loot is addictive stuff here and, although it can be a tad repetitive, this is one of the slickest indie RPGs we've played in quite some time.

The Quarry sees Supermassive Games back on top form with a spiritual successor to the superlative Until Dawn that comes mighty close to knocking that classic off its lofty perch. There's a fantastic cast of well-observed characters to get to know here, a narrative that packs in several threats and plenty of twists, turns and light-hearted moments to sit alongside its shocks and juicy revelations. With jaw-dropping visuals, a cracking soundtrack and plenty in the way of replayability in order to see every outcome on offer, this is an interactive horror experience that's well worth jumping into.

FIFA 23 marks the end of a thirty year era for EA and, thankfully, it does so by sending this long-running series off on something of a high note. FUT has seen some excellent changes in its chemistry mechanics and the addition of single player Moments, whilst on the pitch this is the best the game's felt to play in quite some time. Women's club footie finally arrives on the scene, set-pieces have seen a slick revamp, power shots are a fantastically arcadey addition to the action and overall this is just a hugely engaging and generous package that's stuffed full of ways to play on and offline.

While some archaic design choices and patience-testing difficulty spikes will attempt to compromise your enjoyment on occasion, the moments to follow generally smooth over any past transgressions.

Overall, we can recommend a second dive into Agent 47's murky world.