Overall, the mix of these five new mini-games makes The Jackbox Party Pack 11 an incredibly strong Jackbox experience. There’s a wonderfully cohesive style in this particular pack, and each mini-game feels well-designed for fun, party-based antics. It also hits all the activities that make a Jackbox game fun – there’s a drawing game, a trivia game, a funny writing game and more. It’s all in service of a multiplayer party experience that absolutely brims with a bright joy.

While it doesn’t feel entirely essential – really, it’s for those who enjoy the supernatural side of the game, or just want a pretty new town to roam in – Innisgreen and everything that comes with it gives Enchanted by Nature such a lovely sense of charm. If you’ve ever dreamed of fairies and meadows, it’s a simple, wonderful delight.

Plaza is a game of tight little systems all working together, to create a joyous mini-game collection that brims with good vibes. For those who played the Corner Shop games, it’s a nostalgic return to a simpler time. For anyone who hasn’t, it’s an ultra-cosy experience with enough cuteness and novelty to be entirely endearing.

While this game isn’t as much of an upgrade as its predecessor was, it still offers plenty for players looking to live out their wrestling dreams.

Even in our own little fishbowls – whether physical, as in Covid lockdowns, or metaphorical – we must all make the same effort to climb past grief and hopelessness, and work through our own feelings and memories. It’s the only way to be there for our friends and family, and to keep proving our worth – if only to ourselves and nobody else. Raw and realistic, this game is a beautiful tale of overcoming and becoming.

We could all do with the injection of charm that Dogpile offers, delivered so well in a beautiful cartoon art style, and with those all-important, synergistic game mechanics. This is pure, encapsulated delight that’ll leave you buzzing with a happy glow.

The Reigns system feels perfect for the adaptation, providing clever choices in the quests presented, a housing narrative and the encouragement to forge on. You will fail over and over in your path to success, but with endlessly rewarding progression and always-surprising encounters, the blows are softened...In this game, Geralt embarks on yet another very worthy adventure, with his signature dry humour contributing to funny, ridiculous and heartfelt encounters along the way. Take caution as you travel and you’ll have a warm, lovely time here.

Despite being in development for several years, Pragmata arrives as a tight, prescient and timely adventure with plenty of thoughts to share about what our tech-infused future might bring.

Simplicity can be beautiful. Hidden around the World understands this intensely, delivering an experience that is quiet, cosy and entirely wonderful. For a break from the real world, or just an opportunity to pet some cutesy critters, this is one small journey that’ll take you far away.

It makes the puzzles in Little Problems a real challenge to solve, but they tickle your mind as you progress. While some solutions are simple, others are head-scratching, and in the mix of clues you’ll eventually find your answers resolving. It’s a wonderful, satisfying process, and one that gives Little Problems a real spark. This game doesn’t do much different from others in the puzzle-mystery genre, but with its warmth, and the depth of its many challenges, it’s a wonderful adaptation that’s well worth playing for puzzle enthusiasts.

For organisers, and anyone looking to bask in the glow of Unpacking, Whisper of the House is a wonderful, cosy organisation sim that shines, especially when it’s cute, strange, and unsettling.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is not complicated. It’s an old 90s arcade game but designed with a one-time payment in mind rather than needing a constant stream of coins. It’s relatively easy to finish but the moment-to-moment experience of playing it is hugely satisfying. More than anything, it makes me want to pick up a huge anthology of fun old Marvel comics and enjoy some convoluted plotting.

Borderlands 4 is a wildly enjoyable romp, with a raft of systems that work smoothly together. It's not without friction, in terms of its high challenge level, but it all serves a greater purpose, feeding into a cohesive and mature narrative about escaping tyranny.

It’s not entirely revolutionary, but with a sleekness in its racing, and plenty of ways to shake up the status quo, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds arrives as a bright, creative new kart racing game, with plenty of charm to make an impact.

LEGO Voyagers is a great, small, relatively straightforward co-op experience. It’s something you could play with someone who has never finished a game before or your gamer buddy who finished Elden Ring five times, and both of them would likely enjoy the experience equally.

Longevity is a touchy subject in this day and age, as many live-service titles have struggled to keep up with the gaming landscape. Marathon, for a while, looked to be one of those one-and-done that would be lost to time...Fortunately, Bungie has crafted something that proves that wrong, but looks to get better with each update. While not a single-player haven or easy-to-enter title, what you get is a great multiplayer extraction shooter that many should get in on as soon as possible.

It’s in the steps of this journey that In the Dark shines, as it delivers a warm, cosy parable about making space for others, even – and perhaps especially – when they find it difficult to accept love.

In its best moments, Skate Story is just an unbelievably cool game – and that totally makes up for the slightly more tedious sections.

Don’t think too deeply about Kirby Air Riders, and you’ll be swept away, quirks and all.

It remains compelling, despite its flaws, thanks to a steady, beating heart, and a joyful design that makes you want to forge onwards, towards a brighter future for all your tiny robot friends.

The world needs more simple, fun games. In Survival Kids, young players can learn problem solving, whether solo or with friends, and learn to puzzle their way through a variety of ever-more-complex terrains. While older players will find the lack of challenge grating, there’s ample fun in letting go, and indulging in light-hearted exploration.

While the game’s story is applied relatively loosely here, and you may occasionally feel bogged down by reams of dialogue, it’s a wonderful game to explore in bites. By design, it’s very bizarre, but with a wholesome approach and a wicked sense of humour, it’s also a very endearing experience.

Accept its oddness, and Don’t Stop, Girlypop! will find an easy place in your heart.

From mini shoot-outs to cute little outfits and architecture, it presents a bright, semi-historical world to live in, complete with a tiny saloon and a jail cell for those who break the law. While Cattle Country isn’t quite unique in the world of farm and life simulators, it does just enough differently to make it a warm and wonderful experience.

It’s the sort of game you’ll be thinking about long after the credits roll, as new revelations dawn. While it’s only short, its message is resonant – and in era where, globally, work and the need to hustle has become more pervasive in our lives, it delivers a message of resistance that everyone should hear. Play is powerful, and entirely transformative. We only need to remember how to weave it back into our lives.

Dear Me, I Was… has launched at a very low price point ($11), which feels appropriate for what is, essentially, a lightly interactive short film. It’s a gorgeous piece of work, and, right now, maybe the most visually gorgeous Switch 2 exclusive, even if it’s not pushing the hardware particularly hard.

In MakeRoom, you can simply create and vibe. That’s all this game is, and all it needs to be. Once you accept that, you’ll find yourself in a cosier world, where anything feels possible.

There’s something soothing about BALL x PIT. Losses rarely feel too dispiriting and that part of your brain that enjoys seeing the numbers going up is well-served. Some of the elements dictating how you progress through the game are a little frustrating but it’s all worth it for those moments where you bounce your balls just right and a swath of approaching enemy forces are wiped out in seconds.