While both Astro Bot and The Plucky Squire are about creativity and joy, the latter manages to get in its own way in comparison. The result is jarring.

All up, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster felt like going home for this veteran player. And with a retail price of only $70 AUD, it's all the better.

The amount of dedication and passion that’s gone into Astro Bot is obvious in every pixel of every texture; there’s not a single bug, glitch, or texture issue to be seen. Its controls are easy to understand and incredibly tight, with Astro moving exactly how you need him to. In the 15 hours I’ve spent so far in finishing its campaign and going back to replay levels to pick up missing Bots, I’ve not encountered a single moment of frustration. It’s beautifully designed both in its self-contained levels and those dedicated to much-loved, Sony-exclusive franchises.

The Venn diagram of Dead by Daylight player and Supermassive player is ultimately one that’ll decide if you should splash the cash to play. If you enjoy Dead by Daylight and the likes of Until Dawn, then this one’s a no brainer, but if you’re only in the camp of the former, it becomes a harder sell.

I had a great time with Kay Vess and crew. The story has all the heel-turns, reveals and double-crosses you could hope for from a heist story, and even a few surprise twists you won’t see coming. Seeing the Star Wars world from a more boots-on-the-ground perspective also casts it in a very different light – an AT-ST is a much more intimidating thing to see when you don’t have access to midichlorians....It’s exciting to see how much is possible in this universe without leaning on the Jedi or Skywalkers. That said, fans are sure to enjoy some of the nods and name-drops scattered throughout that link this game to the greater canon.

The bottom line is this: adjust your expectations about Black Myth Wukong as a proper Soulslike, and jump on in if its setting and mythos interests you.

Herein lies the appeal of The Crush House: it can function as a Big Brother camera operator simulator for those looking for that (especially on lower difficulties), but it also offers up a compelling dark side for those with a bit of patience. That, paired with an incredibly low price tag of $24.99 AUD, makes this title one that I’d happily recommend to those in either camp.

Ultimately, I’d imagine most players will likely get about an hour’s worth of satisfaction from Nintendo World Championships NES Edition before finding themselves exhausted, though parties with a bunch of players will help sustain that feeling. Players who are utterly focused on besting their own scores — or those of others online — will likely spend far more time with things. It’s ultimately up to you if that offering is worth its $50 AUD asking price.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is the perfect encore to one of the greatest games of all time. It knows it’s already delivered an astonishing performance, and after leaving us hanging, returns asking if we want more. That’s exactly what we wanted, and it’s more of the same in all the right ways. There are no big surprises, and that’s only a good thing, as everything in the Shadow Realm would feel at home in the base game. It promised more Elden Ring, and as someone who rarely finds the time to revisit an old game for new DLC, I’m utterly addicted to this expansion.

Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance is all about building a more streamlined and player-friendly experience. While the game’s difficulty hasn’t gone anywhere, it feels like Vengeance is doing its best to make you enjoy that experience and remove as many roadblocks as possible. The new Canon of Vengeance story is big, exciting and entirely unapologetic about taking a different path to the original story – giving returning SMTV players just as much to enjoy as new players. Playing on PS5 rather than the original Switch also let me enjoy the game’s world in much greater fidelity, and Vengeance takes full advantage of that to show just how gorgeous its huge maps are. While its combat is not for the faint of heart, the game’s rich, branching story offers plenty to enjoy over multiple playthroughs.

The Thousand-Year Door remake is a triumphant return for Paper Mario. It turns back to an earlier chapter in the series that knows exactly what it’s trying to achieve and does it masterfully.

Senua’s Saga Hellblade 2 is a video game only on its surface. Scratch that away and you’ll see that it’s a deep, thought-provoking, interactive experience; it proves games as a form of art, demanding skill and talent. Ninja Theory should be very proud.

Beyond being a fun game to play, Sand Land is a great and timely example of the work of Akira Toriyama, and a reminder just how much more he was than just the Dragonball Z guy. Sand Land is its own thing – it was actually exciting to have a demon called a slime appear, and have it NOT be the dollop-shaped slime of the Dragon Quest series. While the vehicle combat system isn’t breaking any new ground, it still goes about things in its own, slightly odd way. It’s a breath of fresh, desert air – and I think there’s a few miles left in the tank yet.

Gameplay isn’t bad, nor buggy, but it is very formulaic.

Playing — and being successful — on hard difficulty doesn’t seem to provide increased rewards to correct that gripe. In fact, that imbalanced risk-reward system is further spotlighted when considering a starting player’s weaker attributes. They seem to really impact play at a disproportional level, especially when compared to previous iterations of TopSpin. That, in turn, plays into new shot systems which provide more winners from perfect shots and more mistakes if you’re powering your shot too much or too little.

While I did enjoy my time with Tales of Kenzera Zau, it does truly feel like the game was a victim of timing. Had Prince of Persia The Lost Crown not released a few months ago (or the games had released in the opposite order) things would definitely be different. There are a few missteps here that by comparison put this title at a disadvantage, and you hate to see it.

In the end, it’s best to look at Broken Roads as the answer to “What if Fallout but Australia?” Fans of any CRPG will immediately recognise a lot of what Broken Roads is going for, and those with more old school tastes will feel right at home nestled deep in the West Australian outback.

While Super Princess Peach on the DS was criticised for reducing a female lead to being very literally controlled by her emotions, Princess Peach Showtime only works to allow her to embody so many different roles because there isn’t really a defined character underneath it all. For all its faults, 2023’s Super Mario Brothers Movie at least gave us a Peach who was driven, confident and capable – if Nintendo needs tips on how to build a Princess who could helm a game on her own, they should just ask Anya Taylor-Joy for tips. For now, I don’t see Showtime making it to Broadway – but I might still check out the matinee if there’s nothing else going on.

While true fans of the franchise might get a kick out of seeing a new take on an old story, Alone in the Dark is a tonal and functional mess that frustrates more than it entertains.

So far it seems the ocean in Skull and Bones is a mile wide and an inch deep, devoid of any real personality. As Arrowhead Studios — developers of the darling of the moment Helldivers 2, have proudly emblazoned on their website — “a game for everyone is a game for no one.” In Skull and Bones’ case, it seems that a game that does everything is a game that does nothing. [Review in Progress]

Mario vs Donkey Kong... is an absolutely fantastic little puzzler.

These little bothers don’t matter in the end, as Banishers‘ rough edges are easily compensated by its charm. I had a ball meeting the inhabitants of New Eden and making judgements accordingly. I reckon you will too.

Currently, I’m roughly 9-10 hours in to Suicide Squad and I feel pretty confident I’ve seen all that it has to offer by way of gameplay. To be honest, I don’t really want to spend any more time with it. That not how this works, of course — I’ve not yet spent enough time to properly score this fairly and accurately because we received our review code three days after the refund window closed on the die-hard DC fans that forked out ridiculous sums for early access, and only 13 hours before its general release. Do what you will with that information. [Review in Progress]

Persona 3 Reload is the best kind of remake: it honours the core of what makes the game great, but isn’t afraid to modernise the experience at the same time. It’s nostalgia done well, because it plays onscreen the way the original felt in my memory (without having to squint at a 4-inch PSP screen). It’s honestly a joy to see a game I loved brought to a whole new audience, while still giving me a deluxe version of something I already know I’ll enjoy. While it may not include every ingredient that every version of Persona 3 has ever had, it’s a confident and complete version all its own – and I can’t wait to keep climbing that tower.

Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth is devoted to trying all-new things while still reserving time for celebrating its long and storied history.

Tekken 8 will surely impress fans but I struggled to connect with it like I have Mortal Kombat 1 and Street Fighter 6. There's no denying it's a feast for the senses and is full of stuff to do... but if you're like me and haven't found Tekken memorable despite playing it across many years and many platforms, that's unlikely to change here.

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown graciously blends the best components of previous iterations -- the original game included -- into what is easily the best Metroidvania game we’ve seen in recent years.

This is textbook average entertainment; it won't disappoint, but it certainly won't excite.