Temtem is a treat for Pokemon fans on PC, innovating on the formula in meaningful ways while staying close to its roots. That's not always good, as Temtem has a lackluster story and an endless churn of wild battles that feel inherently Pokemon, but it's still the best take on the genre in a long time. However, the best part about Pokemon is that I can whip out my Platinum cartridge and return to Sinnoh in a heartbeat with all my old mons lying in wait, and whether Temtem can stand a similar test of time remains to be seen. For now, though, it’s a fabulous creature-catching experience that you need to try. There's a chance that Temtem might even become your favourite Pokemon game yet.

Thing is, dungeons only exist to further EXP and FP. Aside from numbers and forms, there isn't anything else to chase. You clear dungeons to watch grades and bars rise. Crack open chests at the end of a dungeon and you'll get some tokens. What do they do? Up some numbers. I suppose this gives the game a clear focus, but it's one that gradually wears you down. This a game built for churning through, and that's the problem. Nobody isn't so much as saving the world, but clearing it, instead.

There is, perhaps, a slight sense that Marrakesh has been rushed – as well as the logic issues, that sense of revolutionary promise unfulfilled and unfortunate route-blocking I mentioned, I suffered from a ton of blurry textures – but it doesn’t feel seriously compromised. Not quite the equal of its noble forebear, no, but it’s the most visually impressive installment yet and, as a package, Hitman’s three episodes so far are already providing more game for the money than anything else recent I care to mention.

While Pacific Drive has trunk loads of atmosphere, a powerfully engaging premise, and simulates the feel of driving a quirky old machine in admirable detail, it’s all locked into a laborious framework. For all those “Get off the road!” moments, the processes of gathering, crafting and advancing through its story are fraught with irritating potholes and diversions. With all the repetition of mundane tasks, I imagine it’s closer to the reality of being in the army than that old advert ever was.

Wizard of Legend is a good, if lopsided game. The moment-to-moment combat is highly flexible and seldom anything less than satisfying, especially in co-op. It’s just a pity that while your arsenal of spells and artifacts is massive enough to be remixed a thousand ways, the maps, bosses and enemy types only fit together in a handful of configurations.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty may fall victim to the same pitfalls that snared its predecessor Nioh. Looting and levelling can be an overwhelming and confusing venture, to the point where it can be actively offputting for those who want to know, at a glance, that the greaves they're rocking and the spells they're casting are the best for their character. And yet, if you embrace the slight messiness of the game's backend, what you've got is a triumphant Soulslike and a showcase of Team Ninja's ability to make some of the best combat in action-RPGs. It's a streamlined Nioh, one with rhythmic action that may not always reward your efforts, but is rewarding in and of itself. And that's what will keep you coming back.

Deserts of Kharak does manage to be standalone as well as prequel to an old series, and if you’re tired of the twitchy frenzy which grips so many latter-day RTSes, Kharak is a smart and beautiful destination whether or not you still dream of Hiigara. It might be set on land, but by recent RTS standards it’s nonetheless reaching for the stars.

I had a lot of fun with Hue. It was frustrating sometimes, but most puzzle-platformers are, and it would be boring to get every level right first time. Its faults mostly lie with being over-ambitious in terms of tone and narrative, but I think I’d rather see a game overreach than be content with mediocrity.

This political road trip is rendered an exciting and entertaining time by its cast and the deliberately piecemeal nature of its storytelling, rather than the story itself.

If anything, the game's built-in radio station is its greatest weapon against any grinding or gnashing of teeth. It's just so darn soothing, playing a mix of poppy, lo-fi music and calm, softly-spoken listener stories that help fill in some of the game's wider backstory (in multiple languages, too, which is a nice touch). I'd happily listen to it as a real-life radio station if I'm honest, and I liked how constant and uninterrupted it was, too, playing whether you're navigating the menu to restart a level or moving between stages. It really helps to keep you in the overall golf groove, and it was one of my favourite parts of the entire game. Sure, life up on the red planet might not be much better than it is down here, based on the little story snippets you glean from the radio now and again, but man, when the golfing is this good, what an extraordinary bit of escapism. Let's go another round, shall we?

Observation is clever, but it’s also astoundingly dumb. You’re placed in a unique perspective, where onscreen inhumanity accentuates your oh-so-human instincts. Then it subverts that! But then it makes you control a sphere that can’t move directly up or down, furthering the nightmare of navigating already labyrinthine spaces. It asks you to do something, without telling you how...It’s worth persevering with. When you get stuck though, don’t hesitate to use a walkthrough.

I consider this a kind of grimly hilarious manifestation in the vein of an Alan Moorish act of chaotic development magick, minus the part where the art actually has anything of substance to say about literally anything. That’s fine! Substance isn't always necessary. Those doors were substantial, and you saw what happened to them, didn’t you? Sometimes what Anger Foot does offer is worse than nothing, mind. The concept for the final boss (‘unholy corpulence') is effectively “lol, fat.” You’re funnier than that, mates. I know you are because I’ve just played your game. He keeps trying to knock you into a pool of molten cheese, but this is weak sauce.

Suspicious Developments have distilled that chaotic kinaesthesia into something much smaller, smarter and spacier, which is absolutely to be praised. Even if I found myself feeling like an aggravated villain as often as I felt like the fleet-footed hero. Even if I’m still sour about the man who killed my mum.

Some games only become fun once you work out what they expect from you, and I spent most of my time with Wildfire wondering if I was playing it wrong. Maybe I was, but if there was a fun way to play it, I never found it.

Brief as it may be, Untitled Goose Game leaves a lasting impression – much like the geese of my youth. Our honk-meister general is a devious and thrilling villain to behold, and the level of detail that’s been poured into each of his hapless victims only serves to make them all the more endearing when you come flying in and take a giant dump on their perfectly ordered lives. It’s also finally given me the answer to my age-old question about what the deal with geese is. They are, in short, horrible, and there’s nothing you can do to stop them.

F1 Manager 2023 does a near miraculous job of simulating the business and strategic side of F1, but that also brings the inherent flaws of the sport to it as well. The teams aren't anywhere close to even, overtaking doesn't happen much (especially at Monaco), and real progress takes years.

I still wish they’d been placed in a more inventive or expressive shell. For all of the wonderful craft on show, Siege doesn’t contain any surprises. It executes its plan to perfection but there’s no room for deviation.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has some old school habits, and they can be difficult to live with at first, but once you settle into those quirks, it's a story you'll struggle to put down. The sense of journey is magnificent, as you march across snowy valleys, lush jungles, and dusty deserts, sweeping up buds along the way. And you regularly partake in moments that'll genuinely surprise, forever keeping your quest from getting stale. Expect one-on-one fights, cinematic song, and races of some description. If you're a fan of Suikoden, it's a no-brainer. And if you're a fan of JRPGs or struggle a bit with old-fashioned things, I'd still urge you to give it a shot. It's a really lovely hang.

So much damage has already been done to the game simply by calling it Overwatch 2. From the second of its announcement, Blizzard were at the mercy of players' expectations for a full-fledged sequel. And when they compare those two side-by-side screenshots and see virtually no difference, that's a major disappointment and perhaps a turn-off for many players. For a content update, Overwatch 2 does an absolutely phenomenal job. For a sequel, it feels pretty underwhelming. I wonder, would it have been better to use chapters like Fortnite did? Something between a content update and a sequel? [Review in Progress]

If you want noise, combat, speed and the occasional hurried decision, developers Rockfish have you covered.

The major design changes in Civ 7 address important criticisms of earlier versions and help to ensure that players are faced with challenges, not tedium, even as the game progresses - albeit at some loss. By the time I wrote this review, I had spent more than 50 hours playing the game - proof enough that despite its flaws, Civilization 7 sustains that “one more turn!” desire to plow through history and see what happens next.

Rise and Fall adds, tweaks and expands, but it doesn’t address some of the underlying issues, particularly those related to the AI. We’re not quite in the new golden age yet.

As someone who loves a bit of space-trucking, it is indescribably refreshing to have some handcrafted characters sprinkled into the mix.

As it is, this is a perfectly reasonable portion of carefully planned fantasy stabbing, which was enough fun (once I started playing properly, at least) to make me reevaluate my whole position on puzzle elements in tactical games. Hell, it might even be time to postpone my next marathon slog with XCOM, and revisit Into the Breach.

Wayward Strand knows not to outstay its welcome, and I came away feeling completely refreshed. Spending a couple of hours navigating the hallways, patient rooms, and airship innards in real-time is a fun mechanism and one that goes hand in hand with the game's wider themes about the passage of time, being young, and growing old. Assembling a story through details found in conversations and overheard snippets of dialogue are great storytelling devices, and although you could play it once and be satisfied, I recommend several playthroughs to really discover everything it has to offer. After my handful of playthroughs, it honestly felt like I had pieced together a larger whole, and I truly felt like I finally understood the beating heart at the centre of this clockwork machine.

It’s DOOM without the claustrophobia. A Serious Sam + Borderlands cocktail with weighty, thumping, exciting, speedy combat. Diablo in first-person, with wide open spaces, packs of enemies, giant bosses and more weapons than you can shake a wang at. Shadow Warrior 2 is anarchic, excessive, ridiculous, occasionally spectacular and almost entirely wonderful.

There is something great glinting just below BattleTech’s dour and crusty surface. So much now depends on whether future updates will dig for it or not – I pray they do. I’ve put an inordinate amount of time into playing Battletech, even starting the campaign over at one point, so convinced was I that I must be missing something or playing it wrong, but now I have reached an inescapable conclusion. If you want a picture of BattleTech, imagine a giant robo-tank silently firing an ineffective laser at another giant robot-tank – forever.

The game's emphasis is on the collectibles, but taking them out would see the game crumble like a Jenga tower collapsing. Rather, the tower's vista would be cleared of obstructions, giving you the a chance to see the galaxy clearly again. The collectibles feel like padding to line the large gaps in the story in a way they weren't in older Lego games. If you're happy to hoard bricks and partake in a simple Star Wars romp, then you'll likely love the stodge. But if you're after a Lego Star Wars saga that takes its time, you might be left disappointed.