With great power comes diminished replayability, but that’s fine. Diceomancer is here for a good time, not a long time, and that’s part of what makes it worth yours. [RPS Bestest Bests]

It's been over a month since I finished Proverbs and I'm better now. Would I recommend anyone play it? I don't know! It is £7.49 for 35 hours of smooth-brained entertainment and/or makework, depending on your perspective. It's an anti-social jigsaw, a craft project that is not an act of creation but of erasure, a time skip to Monday morning. I don't know if I should recommend Proverbs to you or warn you to steer clear and to avoid flowing away forever.

Upgrading your car is surprisingly varied. [RPS Bestest Bests]

This is an ambitious, confident debut by a small team that is swinging for the fences. When a game like this arrives, bubbling up improbably from an industry that all too often rewards one million-dollar-sequel after another, it stands to be celebrated. I’d go out into the glittering ruins of Dynevron and rumble into a boss fight and then, somehow, lose the boss, and get sidetracked by some flowers I needed to find, and then go and unlock a teleport gate, and then organically find the boss again stomping obstinately past a fallen cupola, and I’d think "this is a blast, I’m having a blast, this is great." And sure, I don’t tremendously care about any of these people, and it’s never been less physically satisfying to swing a sword at these dogs, but right about then I notice that there’s this beautiful cliff about ten feet away and I can pick things up with my mind and in a matter of seconds all my problems have been forgotten.

The difference is that when Mantel's story begins, Cromwell has already levelled up all the associated skilltrees and entered the postgame. Far from being a charming show of tenacity and pluck - the kind of thing that gets you called a "good man" by your betters - his supreme competence makes him both awe-inspiring and sinister, while setting the scene for his undoing. There is, in fact, a closer parallel to Cromwell in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, an older man with a gift for the gab who you'll fleetingly control while pursuing the main quest. Perhaps that's who Henry needs to become in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3.

It often loses itself in the long spool of its main quest, in the runaway passages that could have been shorter, and in the stories of characters who sometimes feel like they're hijacking your tale, turning it into a choose-their-own-adventure. But Citizen Sleeper 2 still manages to deliver some heartfelt moments in a sci-fi world that feels more colourful than the likes of Starfield (again), despite being the work of a much smaller team over far less time. It's finely made sci-fi, even if I still prefer the noodles on Erlin's Eye.

Early access makes blank spaces obvious to long-serving fans, who will rightly look back at the first Space Engineers and observe that it still does ten times as much for roughly half the price. There's good reason to be hopeful that this sequel will become the definitive way to weld together planet-hopping death traps for your pals. But I wouldn't blame any astronauts out there for staying planetside until there's a little more to see. [Early Access Review]

The reality is that I've had a great time over the past week, learning routes and outpacing strangers. I also know that I've barely scratched the surface of the kinds of times more adept players will achieve, and hardly touched the mid-air trick system at all. I will continue to hit the slopes for the fun of attaining that snowy flow state, even if only for brief moments before the tree of frustration clobbers me in the face again.

My Summer Car is as merciless as it is crammed with simulatory detail. It does not like you as a person, and it likes you even less as a player. If you're looking for your next masochistic gaming challenge, look not to the Soulslikes of the world, but to this Finnish life sim - a car mechanic's hell/paradise that will drink hours of your life and piss it back out, stinking and pointless onto the carpet, tracing the yellow outline of an obnoxious smiley face.

Final Fantasy Rebirth is imperfect, incautious, uneven, and gloriously, fearlessly unfocused. Final Fantasy Rebirth is unmissable.

The real meat of a roguelike is, to be fair, not the climactic challenge but the preparation for it: the massing of gear and experience, and the primeval pleasure of Numbers Going Up. As much as Hyper Light Breaker is unfinished and more than slightly broken, its biggest issue is how that meaty part just isn’t all that enjoyable. The combat is awkward, the progression is doddering, and the world isn’t interesting enough to motivate indefinitely repeating visits to it. That makes for an awfully long to-do list, early access or no. [Early Access Review]

So let's not overcomplicate it. Minishoot' Adventures is an outwardly straightforward game, but its straightforwardness is deceptive. As I was playing, a stupid question formed: given its conceptual obviousness and simple pleasures, why aren't there more games as good as this? It's a stupid question because it has an obvious answer: because it's incredibly difficult to make a good game and because what seems straightforward in retrospect almost never is in creation. Maybe Minishoot' Adventures isn't a "great" game, but it sure is a great time, and that's plenty.

A largely uninteresting original story and an otherwise bloated word count aside, Dynasty Warriors Origins is a joyous balancing act of tension and spectacle that's completely reignited my interest in the series.

Right now, you have to put down around £25 to play the early access, but come the full release, the whole thing will be free. Between then and now, they plan to add three further acts and six further characters, as well as presumably start contorting the endgame into the various experimental shapes of its predecessor. As it stands, the additional monetisation is simple and unobtrusive: a shop to purchase various cosmetics and stash tabs to help you better organise your amassed items. [Early Access Review]

Caves Of Qud is as deep as any Bethesda open world RPG (technically 2 billion floors deep) and funnelled through a rich prism of randomness possible thanks to the limited scope of its visuals. It is complex and compelling enough that many glowing Steam reviews are left only after hundreds of hours of playtime. By contrast, I have barely made a dent. Yes, you will have to embrace and decipher the lore-riddled lingo. And you will have to stoically acknowledge infinite death as a means of learning the arcane rules of survival. But persevere and you will discover a realm hundreds of times more vibrant than the dark inky green of its screens. [RPS Bestest Bests]

Thing is, Marvel Rivals can still be an incredibly accessible hero shooter, one that does allow people who don't care as much as me about Competitive Stuff to just hammer buttons and play as muscular people who frequent the screens of the Odeon as much as Kojima spends his time 3D scanning beautiful people. There isn't anything wrong in that! In fact, I think this is great. People can just hop in and have fun in a free game that doesn't even seem particularly predatory in its microtransactions...The extra thing is, Marvel Rivals is also a PVP hero shooter that lacks the restraint of Overwatch and turns matches into slightly formless blenders as a result. The fact I can't remember any of the map names is a testament to this, where normally I'd have those sightlines and chokepoints memorised. It won't be a surprise to you that I won't be sticking with the game. and if you're someone after The Next Competitive Timesink, I don't think you will either.

More so than other games, my experience with Mystery Dungeon does feel like a case of the reviewer’s curse; the dreaded roguelike embargo. Played one run at a time as a cosy evening ritual, and the luster is going to stay on a lot longer. Still, that sense of fickleness - of having little agency how your runs turn out in the face of random drops - does feel like it’s baked in. Perhaps that’s the sticking point for me, having to deal with untameable chaos lurking underneath such inviting presentation. Perhaps I should let go and allow the winds of fate to carry me. It’s just not easy when they keep knocking me right back to the bottom of a mountain, and making me trust them again if I want to get back up.

But these issues are just uncommon enough that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 manages to weather them over and over again, and it’s never too long before the simulation begs your forgiveness with a relentless series of the most astonishing postcard views you’ve ever pointed your eyes at. Whether you’re breaking cloud cover over Mount Rainier, flying low over the gin-clear seas of Saint Lucia, or making your final descent into the greasy miasma of Gatwick, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is an endless parade of giddy spectacle.

Naiad is, yes, sometimes pleasant. It's an easy listening, acoustic cover of a song, and some will praise it for having the notes in the right order. Maybe they find that kind of muzak relaxing; for me, it just makes me feel like I'm on hold.

Machine Games have reproduced the experience of the Lucasfilm movies in a 99% accurate form. And they have done so in a manner only a megafunded Bethesda studio with a lot of Nazi-killing experience could. Yes, the video gamey seams stand out as you scarf down croissants for health and hear another bigot coughing behind a wall. But just as I'm not interested in Baker's performance reaching some unobtainable ledge of authenticity, I also don't want my adventure to abandon the language of games where it doesn't make sense to do so. I'm happy for this to be exactly the kind of expensive, cinematic, blockbuster explorathon it seemed predestined to be. Sneeze away, little Nazi. I know where you are.

The Thing stays interesting in its foibles even when it’s nowhere close to entertaining. And, on balance, I don’t regret my time with it. It’s a worthwhile bit of in-amber preservation, even if I don’t necessarily want to touch the insect inside if I can help it.

Twice this year I’ve felt such a strong need to support a game that I’ve bought a copy for a friend as soon as I’d finished my review copy. Alongside Tactical Breach Wizards, Mechabellum is the best fifteen quid I’ve spent all year. At this rate, it’ll still be best fifteen quid I’ve spent next year too. It's sometimes hard to tell if my love for Mechabellum comes from its place as an entry point to a genre I always would have loved, but I strongly suspect it's simply because this is such an thoughtfully constructed and impeccably designed bit of strategy. I'd call it loving, almost, if it wasn't so incredibly cuthroat that I almost feel guilty each time I do what mechs do best: stomp another opponent into dust with little more than a single, well-considered click. [RPS Bestest Bests]

I’ve been battered and sometimes frustrated by S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, but ultimately there is something admirable about its commitment to challenging you – especially when it simultaneously provides just enough tools to avoid becoming unfair. Between that, its punchy shooting, and some properly superb atmosphere-building, it’s done enough to earn the mantle of Good Game...Is it a good enough game, though, that you should headbutt your way through such a dense wall of bugs? I personally think yes, having not played or really thought about any other games for all the previous five days that I’ve been lost in the Zone. At the very least, that question should probably be more a matter of whether it’s worth playing now, or in six months' time, when updates and the promised mod support might have more thoroughly patched it up. And even in the latter case, that’s probably not an alien concept to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans.

I especially like how the arcade game's soul has been transplanted not just in the art style but also the sound design. The character select screen yells each character's name with the tinny echo of arcade enthusiasm. "Marco!" - "Fio!" - "Echo!" It is so married to its arcade roots that even the currency you use to unlock post-campaign upgrades is called "credits". I've accrued a fistful of these digi-quarters. But you know what? I'm content with what I've played. Like a good Metal Slug game, I can happily walk away from it without seeing every last battlefield. I'm fully satisfied with the time and quarters I've already spent.

As the horrors unfold and you learn more about the post, Threshold's commentary becomes clearer. It's about wilful ignorance and excess and preservation at all costs. And about how one's work can feel vitally important, even if you know something's up and your place within it disposable. Of all the horror games I've played, I think this one will stick in my memory as short, to the point, and wickedly immersive. So yeah, if you're happy to take over my shift, I'd urge you to. I'll actually be off now. Call me if you need anything, and keep the pace!

Grit your teeth, accept the combat for what it is, and you've got a wonderful story here.

I've been playing management games for a long time, and it feels odd that Planet Coaster 2 should make me feel so stupid. The method of building something as simple as a set of restrooms is elaborate and sticky, and requires so much returning to a side menu to resize grids or twiddle the angles that my brain just starts to reject it. Like I say, more patient Planetfans might feel the pain of this troublesome interface less keenly. If that's you and you're willing to risk a face full of chlorinated slider bars, then dive right in. But for new players like me, it's a painful belly flop.

You could start playing this today, an hour at a time before bed, and you’d still be playing when the snow melted in Spring. Some portions of that adventure are better than others. Some are downright ugly. With those caveats, in its latest (and possibly definitive) incarnation, Dragon Quest III is a colourful, adventurous romp of wild goose chases, indistinct but compelling rumours, and tactical positioning: a miniature fantasy made grand.