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.

LEGO 2K Drive is at its best when it focuses on the last word of its title - driving around and taking part in wild and wacky side missions as you run into them is the best way to tackle this open world racer. The actual racing lets it down a touch, and we think the game is a bit pricey for its presentation levels, but this is still a fun and varied affair for all the family. If you're itching for a bonkers LEGO-themed take on Forza Horizon this pretty much nails it, just don't expect the same levels of AAA sheen as you'd get from the Xbox exclusive series.

Redfall sees Arkane experiment with melding genres, to mixed results. There's plenty of flashes of the style and narrative flair we've come to expect from this incredible studio as you explore the town and face off with its undead inhabitants. However, the mixing of FPS action and story beats with open world exploration and a relatively relaxed pace leads to a balancing act that may leave hardcore shooter aficionados and Arkane super fans alike wanting more. If you come at it looking for a chilled out bit of vampire hunting there's still plenty to enjoy here, but some irksome AI issues and a lack of clarity over what it really wants to be leave it feeling a little lost in a limbo of its own making.

EA Sports PGA Tour is an excellent return to the fairways for the studio, delivering the most realistic and deep golfing action currently available on consoles. There's a slick and rewarding sim to dig into here and, with recent new additions to the choice of control set-ups, it's an experience we thoroughly recommend to golfing pros and newcomers alike. With plenty of modes, top-notch presentation, best-in-class ball physics and a fine selection of courses to master, we can see ourselves spending plenty of time with this one in the weeks and months ahead.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a remake made under difficult circumstances and for that reason its shortcomings are certainly more than understandable. However, the fact remains that the resulting game falls short of the standard we've come to expect from Frogwares' excellent sleuthing series. There's still some reasonable investigative work and a nice atmosphere for fans to enjoy should they decide to bite the bullet here, but rough edges, a lack of scares, dialled back level design (compared to Chapter One) and detective work that plays it too safe makes for a Holmes outing that's rather hard to fully recommend.

The fact that Dead Island 2 is finally here and enjoyable to play is nothing short of a miracle given the game's 10+ year development cycle. We feared this one may end up being a real mess, but Dambuster has largely delivered on what you'd expect from a sequel to Dead Island - just not much more than that. We'd have loved to see the team expand on things a little more to fully capitalise on the game's absurdity, but a safe sequel will do just fine in this case. Dead Island 2 won't blow you way, but it's shiny and dumb and fun, and definitely worth a play if you're looking for a light hearted zombie romp on Xbox.

Minecraft Legends looks like Minecraft and somewhat feels like it, as you would probably expect, but it really does play like its own proper game with the action strategy elements - even if it doesn't quite match the depth of certain other titles within the strategy genre. Overall, Mojang and Blackbird Interactive have done a good job adapting this mega video game IP to yet another category, and have definitely provided a fun multiplayer experience, despite some learning curves which might be a challenge for younger Minecraft fans and newcomers. This is a welcome introduction to the strategy genre and is worth a look if you're seeking more adventures in the Minecraft universe.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is another unique and atmospheric adventure from Tango Gameworks that delivers a stunning world full of folklore and supernatural fun to explore. There's a satisfying main campaign to dig into here, plenty of combat against weird and wonderful enemies and a fantastic recreation of Shibuya that's a joy to wander around. However, some niggly performance issues in both the default quality and performance modes, alongside some finnicky controls here and there, hold this one back from reaching its full potential as things stand. If you can make peace with these issues there's still a very strong game to dig into here and one that's absolutely worth taking a chance on via Xbox Game Pass.

The team at Digixart has successfully added even more worthwhile storytelling to the world of Road 96, and we loved revisiting this series and learning more about Zoe's story. While Mile 0 is smaller in scope and lacking in the same levels of gameplay and narrative variety as Road 96, it's absolutely worth a playthrough - especially if you were into last year's game. This series has made us smile, laugh, and tear up all in equal measure and that isn't easy to pull off. Whichever way around you access both Road 96 and this prequel, make sure the series finds its way onto your 'games to play' list.

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure is not only a love letter to the actual motorsport but also the video games that have paved the way and inspired series like Horizon. It might not be what everyone was necessarily wanting from the second and likely final expansion for FH5, but the driving experience here is fun from start to finish and remains the core focus - with dirt roads and tracks that will keep you on the edge of your seat with all sorts of bumps and surprises along the way. It’s well worth your time if you’re looking for more adventures in the land of Horizon.

MLB The Show 23 plays it safe with regards to its Road to the Show and Franchise modes, with both of these aspects in need of a good old-fashioned revamp at this stage in the game. However, Diamond Dynasty is a total blast that very wisely chooses to be generous with its rewards, whilst the all-new Storylines mode introduces a thoroughly entertaining and educational journey through The Negro Leagues that's been our absolute highlight of the package so far this year. With the series' top-notch core gameplay and wealth of control and accessibility options helping to smooth over the rough of a few lacklustre modes, this is another super solid entry in the franchise.

Sifu is possibly the best beat ‘em up we’ve played in a long time. It’s a refreshing take on the genre, and in the words of Cobra Kai’s Johnny Lawrence, it will make you feel like a “badass” when the fight is going your way. At the same time, it can be quite ruthless. Either way, you’ll probably be thinking about your next run when you aren't even playing it, which is a sign of just how great it is.

WWE 2K23 builds on last year's already impressive effort to deliver arguably the best wrestling game Xbox fans have ever seen. The gameplay feels smoother and more entertaining than ever, nearly all of the game modes have received welcome improvements, WarGames is a fantastic addition to the array of match types, and this is ultimately the most enjoyment we've had with the series in well over a decade. It's still a little rough around the edges in some places, but you'll most likely be having too much fun to care.

Resident Evil 4 Remake is a resounding success, taking the 2005 survival horror classic and revamping, reworking and retooling it into a most modern and thrilling action extravaganza. You can feel the care and attention to detail in every aspect of how Capcom has handled this remake. Combat has been improved and expanded without destroying the all-important feel of how Leon does battle, iconic boss fights and locations look and feel better than ever and carefully considered additions to areas allow for more exploration between confrontations without ruining the tight and taut flow of the adventure. It all looks and sounds incredible, performs perfectly and makes for a glorious return to the top for an all-time action great. Welcome back, stranger.

Tales of Symphonia is a wonderful experience if you’re a fan of classic Japanese-made RPGs and has aged surprisingly well for a game that's now two decades old. Its real-time 3D combat is still just as enjoyable and the way the story and characters evolve throughout the journey remains just as compelling. Returning players are likely to feel the most let down here, as this really doesn’t feel like the proper remastered experience it could have been. In saying this, the fun battles & RPG elements shine through, which might be enough for some players to overlook the shortcomings of this remaster.

Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a reasonably decent time if you can come to terms with its plodding traversal, clunky gameplay mechanics and repetitive exploration. There's an enjoyable mystery to uncover at the heart of this one, it's got some genuine scares along the way, snapping ghouls is as fun as ever and the whole thing has a deeply unsettling vibe that still feels unique to the franchise. However, as far as remasters go, beyond a bit of a visual revamp, it feels like additional work could have been done to make this remastered version of the game feel like a more modern and polished survival horror experience.

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.

So, yeah, where do we even start with summing this one up? To be honest, a recommendation depends on your own interest with the world of Atomic Heart, we must admit. The game's premise remains intriguing throughout, and its main missions provide some great combat scenarios to get stuck into, especially when it comes to using powers and the skill tree system to create different characters builds. Yet, the game's overworld is largely skippable which is a huge bummer, and its main storyline does little to enhance the incredibly interesting world Mundfish has created. Atomic Heart is well worth a play for the immersive FPS fanatics out there, but it's wise to temper your expectations when names like BioShock and DOOM are being thrown around in comparison. Atomic Heart is a solid alternate-history shooter, but it takes a bit more than building an intriguing world to become a true great in the genre.

Like A Dragon: Ishin finally arrives in the west via a slick remaster that polishes up the visuals whilst also adding some fresh new combat mechanics to boot. This is another super solid entry in the long-running Yakuza franchise, it's perhaps a little more action-focused than usual, a little more on the serious and grounded side in terms of its story, but it also remembers to pack in plenty of the sort of madcap Yakuza substories and side activities that we all know and love. There's an excellent combat system to get stuck into here alongside an epic main campaign storyline that benefits greatly from the game's fascinating historical setting. This one comes highly recommended.

If you’re hungry for a new hunter-style experience that isn't Capcom's premier franchise, Wild Hearts is probably as good as it’s going to get right now. It's perhaps an easier entry point with fewer things to overwhelm newcomers and has plenty of fun moments for sure. For veteran hunters, it does bring some new ideas to the table – especially with the building mechanics, but it might not necessarily meet your expectations in other areas of gameplay, and can be rough around the edges at times. If Wild Hearts does have a future beyond this (and there's DLC on the way, we should mention) it would be nice to see it form its own proper identity.

Wanted: Dead is an incredibly disappointing action effort that presents some decent ideas but fails to execute any of them properly. The idea of fusing hack and slash combat with shooter mechanics has lots of potential here, and the cyberpunk setting is initially intriguing. However, in practice it's all very clunky and janky and frustrating and beset by performance issues. There's a bunch of odd side activities thrown in to try to lighten the mood between battles, but it's just not enough in the end. With a very weak narrative, poor voice-acting, rubbish action and drab level design, this is one game that's best avoided.

Age of Empires 2 might be showing its age a little, even with the Definitive makeover, but it is still – and always will be – a timeless classic in the history book of video games, and remains as addictive as ever. It’s amazing to see Microsoft giving Xbox users some much-needed RTS love and going the extra mile with full controller support, despite the fact a few extra things are missing. This release does seem to be just the start of Microsoft’s plans – with Age of Empires IV up next for Xbox. Here’s to the return of the king!

It felt like Hogwarts Legacy was always going to struggle to live up to the hype, but somehow Avalanche Software has managed to deliver an absolutely fantastic open world adventure that will surely go down as comfortably the best game based on the Harry Potter franchise so far. If you've been following its progress for a while and were keeping your fingers crossed for good reviews, we're pleased to report that it's definitely been worth the wait.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a lazy, generic platformer. It's five hours of content that feels like it was made by people who watched some footage of a bad 90s platformer and decided that was how they wanted to proceed. This writer's kids love SpongeBob, they were done with this game in about ten minutes.

There's an infectious, easy-going joy to this whole adventure and it's backed up by addictive melee gameplay that strikes a masterful balance between having enough depth to challenge rhythm game aficionados whilst also making sure there's enough flexibility that, even if you're not particularly great at sticking to the beat, you'll still have a great time. It doesn't take itself too seriously, in short, and it's all the better for it.

It's the best version of an already fantastic game, a game that's aged superbly well for the most part, and one that arrives on Xbox Game Pass with high resolution visuals, a quick save function, gallery mode and the ability to select your difficulty from the get-go. If you've yet to sample the deep delights of Persona 4, we really can't recommend it enough - it's perhaps our favourite entry in the franchise, doing so much that Persona 5 does but without that game's sometimes unnecessary bloat. This is a richly crafted and utterly absorbing RPG, and a game that cemented this series as one of the truly great JRPG franchises.

In terms of this new port, well, you've got all the expected upgrades, high resolution graphics locked at 60fps, a quick save system that can be utilised at any point during the action, and the ability to choose your difficulty right from the get-go. All told, it makes for the slickest version of this classic that we've played so far and, if you've yet to play it, we can't recommend it enough really.

Monster Hunter Rise is another amazing mainline release in Capcom’s ever-expanding action-RPG series. It brings enough new ideas and mechanics to keep the hunt feeling fresh, and is even better with friends. The setback here is for original players, with no cross-progression features to carry over existing save files from the likes of Switch and Steam. As mentioned, there's also limited cross-play, meaning you can’t team up with your friends on rival platforms. Still, what’s here is a great game, and if you have ever wondered what all the fuss is about, Rise is a great entry point into the Monster Hunter franchise.