While I did warm to new Like A Dragon protagonist Ichiban quickly, you can’t forget the OG. It’s great to see Kiryu take a victory lap in this tightly designed, smaller-scale story before the next big chapter kicks off in January 2024 with Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth!

If you’re looking for more mini-games on your Nintendo Switch, or have fond memories of Smooth Moves over on the Wii, this one’s for you. Just make sure to stretch afterward, especially if you’re saddled with a bunch of squat poses.

Alan Wake 2 is nothing short of a masterpiece, and a game that you absolutely need to play. Kudos, Remedy.

You absolutely need to play Spider-Man 2. Insomniac is the pinnacle Sony studio, showing off not only what it can do, but what the PS5 itself can do. I hope you like Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart‘s portals, ’cause they’re about to take your mind for a spin.

Here, the question isn’t whether or not Kojima’s works are good, it’s if Konami should have repackaged them. Again. I’d argue not. Or at least, I’d argue not in this fashion.

Super Mario Bros Wonder is a resounding success. It reboots a 2.5D reboot, with far more personality and the best balance and pacing in the modernised side-scrolling Super Mario Bros series.

If you’re a strategy fan, you’ll enjoy this, and if you’re a Star Trek fan you’ll absolutely gobble this up. As well you should.

Cricket 24 is a curious case of being one of the best in the series, but with such minor changes over Cricket 22 that it feels like we’re watching a replay during a rain delay. That makes it hard to recommend if you’re already invested in past games. For new players, it remains as accessible as a sport as complicated as cricket can be. With a bevvy of returning control options and difficulties, there’s a way to play for all skill levels. Cricket 24 is still at its best when bat meets ball, and there are more licensed modes than ever before headlined by reliving the 2023 Ashes and forging a lengthy career – but the same experience can be had, without Gilly, at a fraction of the cost with Cricket 22.

All up, NHL 24 introduces some new elements that may seem to steer the game into an arcade-like direction, those in single-player can choose to adopt or ignore them as they’d like. Fast-paced action is hampered by strange new presentation elements. Predatory pricing schemes undermine any legitimate improvements that have been made. While this is certainly one to recommend to those looking for a new experience, be warned in that you may not like what you find.

Investigations are multi-staged, and some of the reveals are interesting if not particularly surprising. The inclusion of newer-generation Pokémon since the original title makes Ryme City feel even more alive and part of the Pokémon world, and the city is full of small details to really drive home the idea of people and Pokémon living together.

If you’re old enough to know who Desmond Miles is, and have a desire to return to the series’ origins, Assassin’s Creed Mirage hits the spot. It reins in the endless expansion and has very clear direction.

I’m not a car person. Or, if I need to be, the car person in me still prefers Forza Horizon to Motorsport for the stuff around car racing that isn’t just hardcore car racing. I’m certainly no expert, but I think car fans will love this. That said: is it for everyone? No.

It’s an easy recommend for series fans, just don’t expect it to be the lumbering behemoth that was Payday 2… yet.

If this is the finale of Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption arc, it’s a damn impressive one. I’m excited to see what a sequel built from the ground up with these lessons learned will be like, but until then I’ll keep poking around Night City to see what’s new.

For the sheer size of it, the beauty of the hundreds of different landscapes you can explore and the always engaging missions, Starfield is a massive technical achievement.

Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon is a step forward for the franchise. It’s more accessible than old games and does away with some systems that only served to frustrate. It’s a game with an interesting story, told awkwardly. Environments are often stunningly pretty, when not just barren tundra or sand swept desert. And holy hell, is it tough at times. The AC series is one that rewards your ability to adapt and persevere in equal measure. To overcome it’s challenges you have to learn its systems and soldier on in the face of inevitable defeat. Series veterans will dine well, and if you’re signing up as a newcomer then do yourself a favour – don’t expect Armored Core 6 to be something it’s not. Try enjoying it for what it is instead.

It’s fun, challenging and wrapped up in a world that’s worth delving into. While its marketing did little to interest me, picking it up had me hooked right from the start. I’d highly recommend you give this one a try for yourself… or at the very least, check out its first twenty-five minutes above.

This is a title available as part of Xbox and PC Game Pass subscriptions, so stop reading what I’m saying about it and jump on in if you’re a horror movie or asymettrical horror game fan. The best part is, Achievements stack on both platforms — obtain a heap playing on the Xbox version, and they’ll basically auto-pop when you jump into a match on PC. Cross-play is certainly available, though I’m not sure if cross-progression is limited to Game Pass or not. That said, there’s a strong core here and I hope the issues currently experienced are sorted soon.

Atlas Fallen‘s core is solid — though combat still needs some work — but it seems a bit sparse. Much like the original Assassin’s Creed far before it, I hope Deck13 builds upon what they’ve started to create a far more enjoyable experience in a sequel. While we wait, though, there’s more than enough here to warrant a try.

Stray Gods is truly a mixed bag, full of strong actors, average singers, clever storytelling and weak songs. There are points of brilliance mixed with cringe-worthy presentations, making this one hard to recommend because of its inconsistencies. If you’re itching to play regardless, I’d strongly suggest those players pick it up on either PC or Switch because of the one-two punch of visual and interface issues. I can certainly vouch for the issues plaguing the Xbox version, and I’d wager the PlayStation version would be similar.

Just when you think you’ve done everything, Pikmin 4 is waiting to hand over another fun task for you to spend the next few hours enjoying, on the universe’s most crashed-on planet.

AEW Fight Forever isn’t exactly a stupid idea from bad creative, it’s just a product scoped so small that asking a AAA new release price tag for it feels criminal. Matches are fun and entertaining, for a while at least, but absolutely every facet of the thing feels hugely undercooked. WWE 2K has been sorely in need of some real competition for years just as WWE itself has, but unfortunately AEW just haven’t pulled it off here as well as they did on television.

Overall Diablo 4 has far exceeded expectations. I was worried that the game design would fall too far in the direction of the exceedingly overrated Diablo 2 (yeah I said it, nostalgia is a helluva drug) but the team have blended it well with the much maligned Diablo 3. While a disgusting monetisation model could put a damper on things, at this stage the game gets my wholehearted recommendation. Diablo 4 is the triumph an embattled Blizzard needs to steady its ship, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

For fans of the series, Street Fighter 6 is an insta-buy. It’s an easy recommendation for fighting game fans at large too.

Dramatic Labs has created something special with Resurgence, populating the Star Trek universe in very much the same way that Picard Season 3 has just done; there are also a few other parallels in there that I’ll leave for the player to discover. The resulting work has left me envigorated and enthusiastic that the developer can revisit the crew of the Resolute sooner rather than later, continuing to explore the final frontier.

The gameplay is great and all, but the writers and voice actors should all get flowers for how excellently they did their jobs. Both my wife and I laughed all the way through the game. There were the obligatory ‘number 2’ and Big Butte (pronounced Big Beaut) jokes, but also some pretty funny henchmen banter, the commentators having slow breakdowns, and the frat bro vampire. The best LEGO games are always the ones where LEGO has full creative control over the characters and are able to make them say or do anything, like that LEGO City Undercover game from a few years back. You could tell how much fun the writers had thinking of the most ridiculous things they could get these characters to say.

Tears of the Kingdom is one of the most creative, satisfying and rewarding games we've ever played, all within a familiar Hyrule.

Redfall is a truly exciting experience. It's great solo, has the potential to be great with friends -- especially if someone has a save so I can access that last 17 Gamerscore I need, thanks. It’ll be perfect for anyone who's loved an Arkane game -- sci-fi, fantasy or otherwise -- in the past.