Freebird games have always been funny in a gentle way that doesn’t clash with the games’ tender yet challenging emotional core. In Impostor Factory, the team has taken a big swing by including full-on horror, as well as a complex meta-story involving the nature of science and time itself. And the humor is both slapstick and risky, letting players release tension as they explore the gore and mind-bending moral conundrums posed by the game’s story. The boxing cat and the sentient rice cooker are a welcome bonus.

Wintermoor Tactics Club is a lovely bit of escapism. Those looking for challenging strategy should look elsewhere, and its presentation lets it down in places, but this school-life D&D adventure has its heart in the right place.

The only unfortunate thing about the game is its occasionally stilted dialogue and what some may consider higher difficulty when dealing with certain parts in Classic and Stories Modes. Otherwise, This War of Mine: Complete Edition is nothing short of fantastic, and a truly wonderful addition to the Nintendo Switch’s library – despite the fact that it’s extremely depressing and a harrowing look at war.

By the time the final credits roll on The Artful Escape, it’s a challenge to succinctly summarise what you’ve just experienced. It’s a game without a genre, one composed of familiar elements blended in an unfamiliar way, creating something that is uniquely its own. It’s been a long time coming since The Artful Escape was given its initial glimpse of what was in store, but when it’s all said and done, it leaves the audience satisfied but still wanting just a little more. Like any good concert.

Bury Me is a remarkable game overall. It’s tender and well-written, being amusing and endearing whilst packing some hefty emotional punches, exploring thought-provoking issues with nuance and without didacticism, all under a sleek-looking facade and with the help of tight, immersive game design. Whilst it may still be better suited to its original mobile format, it’s well worth picking up on any platform.

It’s a really interesting idea, and it’s very well executed. The flow of the game is never too fast either, even the more intense battles have a little more space than in most roguelikes, and it leads to a more relaxed game overall. I really like Dreamscaper and I hope that a lot more people will play it.

As you progress through the levels, however, the game throws more and more obstacles your way – particularly barriers, which are difficult to telegraph and avoid, adding an unnecessary difficulty. Rather than keep the rhythm going, it frequently halts it, hindering the experience. Combined with Switch controls that make it hard to line up your ship properly, Aaero fails to impress.

If the game’s adventures were longer and more purposefully designed, they could be far more appealing. As it stands, Dicey Dungeons exists for players interested in its idiosyncrasies and punishing challenges.

There are a few quirks in Invector’s design, most notably that it forces you to play through the game on normal difficulty before it’ll let you attempt songs on hard – annoying if you’re a rhythm game veteran. I also struggled to set up the latency properly, with the in-built calibration tool setting it way off and requiring that I tweak it through trial and error. But this is otherwise an enjoyable rhythm game that gave me a new appreciation for Avicii’s music.

Valfaris will likely drive gamers to distraction and frustration with its series of brutal and difficult bosses and villains, crazy chase sequences, and general sadist design. Yet, the game’s pristine devotion to emulating a classic 16-bit side-scrolling shooter has a distinct charm. The weapons and enemies are diverse and fun, the world is twisted, and the sheer over-the-top action and storyline prove entertaining enough to work through the pain and still end up having fun. Mostly. When the game isn’t making you want to twist your controller in half.

Not to be too grandiose about the game – it won’t be for everyone, and it has very little replay value – but I do think there is room for When The Past Was Here alongside some of the story-based indie greats. It does what it does with utmost care and sensitivity, feeling like the sort of dream you have when you’ve just changed your sheets. We could all do with some more comfort after the year we’ve had, and When The Past Was Here – which comes out on console on December 16th – is the video game equivalent of a warm cup of tea by a rain-streaked window.

It’s far from the typical hero’s journey. In this game you’re just a kid who listens to cassette tapes, and now has an old camera to document that adventure with. It reminded me of my summer trips to the Isle of Wight, making my own fun in ways only children can.

The number of quests and hidden places to unveil shows up the amount of dedication and attention to detail instilled in the project, with every sidequest expanding and adding information to the lore of the game without feeling tedious at all no matter how long you take to traverse these vast lands. Whether you rescue your loved ones, talk to consumed gods or just kill Leshys, whatever path you travel will have hours of fun ahead, while you try to find the Ocean’s Heart.

All in all, Hell Let Loose is another typical World War II first-person shooter in the sea of the genre. Although there is nothing special about the title to make it stand out, it offers hectic 100-man battles on historically accurate locations with tremendous attention to visual and audio detail. Does it deliver all this without flaw? No, not exactly.

If you want a new Contra game, that’s exactly what Blazing Chrome promises and delivers. Joymasher has done this better than any indie developer I can think of, bringing Contra back with absolutely everything that entails.

I had wondered, at the beginning, if this was all just an elaborate joke to waste my time. Turns out it isn’t, and The Longing is one of the most inventive experimental games I’ve played. It captures the depths of crushing loneliness and isolation, but also a surprisingly soothing companion to equally lonely souls. I’ve spent three hours on it already.

The neatest trick that Midnight Protocol pulled is that even if it probably does not depict hacking in the most realistic or accurate manner, it still encapsulates the fascination that most of us have around hacking.

Inertial Drift follows in the footsteps of Joy-con drift, meaning it has its issues. The game has great visuals, music and the drifting mechanic is a game-changer but it’s barebones gameplay apart from that makes this a game you’ll get bored of just as quickly as you learn to love. With some more refining, the ability to play against more racers and better and more varied game modes, this game could really be improved. I really wanted to like this game but for now, I’ll be keeping my eye out for an Inertial Drift 2.

For a game which has spent the past three years in early access, it’s clear Awesome Games Studio has spent their time fine-tuning and creating a replayable experience. While not a perfect game with controls feeling a little loose when the heat gets turned up, and a storyline which isn’t finished or particularly interesting, Fury Unleashed was absolutely a pleasant surprise.

Even with some messy execution on its political themes, Road 96 succeeds at capturing a fractious journey on the road and the turmoil of modern American politics. A deeper exploration of Petria’s history may give more context to the game’s narrative of taking change of your own destiny. But without this background, it ends up oversimplifying its premise by positing that the only barrier to equity and justice is a strongman in a suit. In reality, injustice runs far deeper.

In the end, however, Golf Club Wasteland didn’t need to sell me on its main character for it to work. It tells more than a story about one person or one moment. Instead, its strength is in the world it creates, the microstories of each level, and the layers of social critique in each part of its radio broadcasts. The rich will watch the world burn and complain about the glare―best make sure that golf course is shady.

Paper Beast is a memorable VR experience like no other, letting you play god in a world that feels godless. If only its puzzles – sometimes creative, but other times frustrating – didn’t get in its way, it would be an unconditional recommendation for lovers of bizarre escapism.

Arise: A Simple Story is one of the stronger ‘Journey-like’ experiences I’ve played. Its awe-inspiring levels that morph with the flow of time are only hampered slightly by a few design problems. What’s more, the titular ‘simple story’ is heartfelt and elegantly told. Minor frustrations aside, this is a lovely little tale that’s easy to recommend.

The Last Autumn is doing itself a disservice by calling itself DLC. It has an entirely new world to master, with a strong human element to make it truly unique. Be prepared for some devastatingly difficult challenges, but reap the reward if you make it to the finish – enjoying every step of the journey along the way.

The gameplay is similar to other hidden object games, but the stylized look and groovy vibe give it a definite leg up. You’ll do a lot of tapping on things, object manipulation puzzles, and searching each room for hidden codes, safes and other secret things across a variety of locations and missions. Puzzles range from incredibly obvious to frustratingly obscure, but in general, Agent A is a solid little puzzler.

If you played Contra back in the day and want an enhanced, distilled run through some bosses in that gameplay style, Mechstermination Force is an expertly-designed nostalgia exercise. Anyone else might find the game initially warm and approachable, but eventually turn it off out of sheer frustration.

Ultimately, Druidstone is a challenging and rewarding tactical-RPG with plenty of charm to keep it engaging in-between brutally tough encounters. It can border on unfair at times, but the steady stream of progression and versatile combat ensures it remains satisfying. Ctrl Alt Ninja clearly demonstrates their development expertise with this finely tuned and tightly crafted adventure that’ll have you brainstorming turns for hours.

Othercide’s story is by no means bad, but when compared to everything else the game excels in, story delivery is where the game stumbles a bit. With solid gameplay, mechanics, and visuals, Othercide is a standout title this year in the turn-based strategy tactics and roguelike genre.

Passtech Games have established solid groundwork within Curse of the Dead Gods, but right now, it’s a game best viewed as an investment whilst in early access. It’s highly rewarding and features great combat mechanics but there just isn’t enough content within the current development build, though what is available presents a high degree of polish. With two further temples on the way and a March update promising new weapons, room variations, relics, curses and more, it’s certainly one to keep an eye out for. [Early Access Score = 80]

Lost Ember is comfort solidified and crammed into your PC, waiting for you to return home like a faithful animal. It’s better than a warm cup of tea; it’s full of life, colour, and sound. It relaxes the mind but consistently stimulates, with new paths around every corner and the full glory of nature to explore. If you need a game in which to lose yourself this winter, then pick up a copy and settle in for the night.

Indivisible is a fresh RPG hybrid with a lot of heart and new ideas. Its original combat is bolstered by a frankly brilliant variety of characters, and the high-quality animation welcomes you into its world. It’s not without its lulls and frustrating moments, but Lab Zero have a crowdfunded success on their hands here.

The level progression works particularly well, getting you used to the current mechanics and obstacles, and then just throwing brand news ones at you. Respawn points are generally conveniently placed, so constantly dying just figuring out what to do isn’t a particularly frustrating affair. The game is quirky, challenging, and clever enough to warrant a look.

Performance issues aside, Insurgency: Sandstorm nails the fundamentals of a great shooter. Weapon handling is tight and empowering. Strategy and perception are rewarded. It electrifies the senses like a hit of amphetamines, and is just as moorish. While it may not become as big of a hit as its mainstream contemporaries, Sandstorm is a potent alternative worth checking out.

In other waters, the fear of the ocean is a fear of systems. Systems of the natural and artificial are spun around, submerged beneath the surface, and retrieved from the sample bay to make purpose of life and meaning from death. The last time I visited the beach was at sunrise. I dropped a friend off at an international airport, drove on a highway out of the city, took a right before the Space Center, and ended up in Cocoa as the red light of the sun breached the horizon. You’re never far from the ocean in Florida. And every day of my life here I have done more to harm the biome through natural and artificial systems than a jellyfish every could to my lone body. It’s not clear, but we don’t need an AI to tell us what we’ve done. In the reflection of other waters, I see a fear of us.

The Procession to Calvary is proof you can take the old and make something entirely new. Its remixing of Renaissance art is absurd, surreal and ultimately hilarious. It stays true to its challenging point-and-click roots, but if you’re not afraid of some head-scratching, this is a glorious tale of murder and mayhem.

An engaging and challenging offering that’s well worth the time you put into it. If you enjoy adventures like Wasteland or XCOM, you’ll find plenty to love here as well, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. With roots in the tabletop RPG kingdom, Mutant Year Zero was bound to be addictive, after all.

Thankfully the slow, narrative focus of Adios means these issues shouldn’t get in the way of what matters; the thoughtful story and the melancholy atmosphere. If you want a refreshing perspective on the kinds of stories games can tell and how they tell them, Adios is well worth your time.

It’s hard to complain too much about My Friend Pedro’s shortcomings, though. What’s here is incredibly fun and the inclusion of worldwide leaderboards for every level is perfect for competitive types. If there’s a sequel (and we really hope there will be), it will need to greatly expand on the bullet-time gimmick. For now, though, Pedro will definitely be your friend too.

Remnant: From the Ashes is fun, but it doesn’t really do anything new. A lot of what you do feels familiar, like a constant sense of deja vu is following you along. There are some cool ideas here, and the story is entertaining enough, but if it wasn’t for the boss fights, the game would feel flat. Even then, they follow a similar formula each time. Of course, not every game has to reinvent the wheel, but it would have been nice to see Remnant try a bit harder to at least change the rims or something.

Kunai balances a gorgeous style in everything it does. Gameplay, graphics, and sound design mesh excellently into a wonderful Metroidvania that’ll have you hooked from start to finish. It’s not perfect, the combat could be a bit harder, but it’s fun at every turn, and that’s always worth applauding. If you’re looking for something to jump into ahead of the chaos of the upcoming months and you love a good bit of exploration and platforming, then you’d be missing out if you didn’t check out Kunai.

Overall, Void Bastards isn’t just a beautiful-looking game, but one that is incredibly entertaining to play. It mixes humour, style, and a good mix of stealth and action gameplay to make for something unique and well worth your time. It doesn’t last as long as some roguelikes out there, but its campaign is still well worth playing through at least once.

The Sojourn’s stakes aren’t so dire, but it still has something to say if you’re ready to listen. Put on some headphones, turn off your phone, and let The Sojourn wash over you. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

An immensely satisfying game, and one that holds so much promise as to its development, Forager is a great buy as it stands, and a worthwhile investment in the long run.

Going Under manages to upcycle the refuse of our everyday routines; its a Big Art Attack of 2-hour commutes, stolen tips and that one pinball machine your boss bought to make a chill room after he laid off three of your coworkers during a global pandemic. It’s one of the most honest investigations of existential digitisation and corporate greed ever made in videogame form. It addresses the farce of employment with creativity and humour, two things no malignant narcissist with a modest cash injection could ever take from us.

For those that want an in-depth city builder, Per Aspera is perhaps not the right game, especially as it constantly battles with the ethicality and morality of its very conceit. For those who want a rich sci-fi experience, the clash between the complexity of the problem and the simplicity of the mechanics may cause players to find themselves stuck in a progress bottleneck. Regardless of these criticisms, it’s impossible to write off Per Aspera because it attempts something novel and is so close to sticking the landing that its namesakes seem incredibly fitting – “through adversity to the stars” -there are plenty of hardships here, but in the end, it reaches an unlikely, dazzling goal via its storytelling.

The pull of “just one more run” is the heart of roguelikes, but lacking even that makes Roguebook little more than just a distraction from better games. Like the junk food you eat between real meals or while bored, it’s enjoyable at times, but will ultimately leave you hungry for something more substantial.

I am so excited by Eastshade. It was almost a privilege to play it. The whole experience is enriching in a way that too many games overlook, it is subtle and witty, and rewards intelligent choices and genuine immersion. Its design is incredible, both in physical terms and in terms of narrative and music. It is a secret space for the calm and quiet in us to reign supreme, and I am thrilled by the prospect of the games in years to come that will no doubt pay tribute to Eastshade.

If you want a roguelike that’s punishing, satisfying and built around fun aerial combat, Everspace is a good choice. The sci-fi story tries to do something different to other run-based games out there, and while there are moments where you’ll swear you’re never going to play it again, you’ll soon be picking it back up and launching off into space once more.

While a lot of people will look at Iratus: Lord of the Dead as a pretender to Darkest Dungeon, it does a lot of very cool things, and – at time of review – is incredibly well balanced as a result of its time in Early Access. There’s a little bit of a learning curve for those new to the genre, but those experienced in this kind of game will feel more than at home.

The game is loads of fun, but I did occasionally have a tough time with the UI. I get the style they’re going for here with the faint green retro feel, but it just ends up looking clunky and makes it hard to navigate. However, it’s a small price to pay for such a fun game. This one screams badass, and if that’s your style, definitely check out Dark Future.

Sarawak is a short game; its story isn’t quite as satisfying as I’d like it to be, but it kept a consistent smile on my face as it unfurled, the crumpled pieces of paper folding out into something really special, despite its creases. As a sign of what this team could achieve in the future, I’m very hopeful. As an experience itself, it’s lovely despite its flaws.

Rain On Your Parade will turn you into a monster. A giggling, sniggering, grinning monster. The havoc and chaos a simple rain cloud can wreak is a simple and oh so addictive pleasure: wails of terror notwithstanding, ruining someone’s day is fantastic, knockabout fun. Channeling the liberating anarchy of Katamari Damacy and the charming humour of Little Big Planet, Rain On Your Parade is refreshingly fun and challenging.

While there are key, timed decisions you’ll make at pivotal points, most of the game’s interactive moments are perfunctory, mostly getting you to mimic Erica’s movements—be it turning the knob of a door or unbuckling a hefty briefcase. What this interactive thriller excels in, however, is its ability to keep you in perpetual suspense. It drives a compelling narrative for sure, but it also begs the question why it needs to be presented as a game to do so.

Like many other life simulators, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town will probably benefit from sunk cost fallacy (if you make it past the first 20 hours, why not another 20?), but if you want a farm sim to wholeheartedly commit to, seek your pleasure elsewhere.

With three color-based weapons, the player must use the right gun for the right situation. Certain gun and enemy combos recharge shields, while others will energize the ship’s special weapon. There are also three somewhat different storylines for the game’s three difficulty levels, which is certainly unique. Either way, for those who love old school-styled destruction with modern tech, Pawarumi is a must-have.

If you’re already a fan of the series then you’ll probably enjoy this, but you’ll also find yourself uncomfortably comfortable with it all, because with Orcs Must Die! 3, not much has really changed.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, like the first, is a single-player only affair, which might disappoint some. It shouldn’t, though. There are easily tens of hours worth of adventure in just a single playthrough. With the ability to take different paths, replayability is high. Outlaw improves on an already great game in all the right ways and the result is the best open-space adventure in years.

I Am Dead is an incredibly cute little puzzle game where you get to go around an island you once lived on in order to try and prevent a volcano from erupting and destroying your home. Of course, you’re dead, but you’ll get to do all of this alongside the ghost of your dog Sparky. It’s cute, and the puzzles in the game are simple enough to not cause frustrating while still providing a satisfying challenge overall. This is definitely one to pick up if you’re hankering for something a bit different.

If you don’t mind a game that requires you to work for the satisfaction of playing it, Deadfire’s Ultimate Edition is worth the investment for its lovely worldbuilding alone.

Stellaris is a good 4X strategy game, but its port suffers from the basic differences between console and PC gaming. It would be unfair to blame Tantalus Media, as it’s hard to think how these mechanics could have been improved with the tools at hand. For patient and true lovers of the genre, being able to play Stellaris on their PS4 or Xbox One might be enough to please them, but for newcomers to the franchise or the genre, the clunky and cumbersome controls will prove to be a big turn-off.

So, in the end, it’s easy to say if Blasphemous will appeal. Players who love intentionally difficult games will find a lot of value and horror fans who can muscle through will love the game’s visual and thematic design. Unfortunately, the game takes its masochistic themes of martyrdom too seriously, making the player feel like they’ve stepped into the retro gaming equivalent of a back alley S&M club they mistakenly took for an 80s video arcade.

Some of my best gaming moments involve playing couch co-op games like this one with my friends, and I can definitely see Super Cane Magic ZERO being at the centre of some lasting new memories.

For the most part, though, Dodgeball Academia is an unbridled joy with a lovely cast of wholesome characters, even though the narrative isn’t always that fresh. If it was merely fun and silly writing alone, I’d still thoroughly enjoy my time with it because it reminds me fondly of excitedly waking up on a Saturday to watch daft cartoons and play video games—back to simpler times. The fact that the act of playing dodgeball is also fantastic is a warmly welcomed bonus.

On the whole, Solasta is a solid D&D simulator. Though its narrative is nothing to write home about, and the game can be a tad buggy at times, it has actually made me reconsider playing D&D as it showcases the system’s strengths so effectively. Hopefully Tactical Adventures will add more campaigns to Solasta over time, allowing players to use the same characters in various scenarios, mix them together to create party combos, and just generally become invested in them.

I honestly wasn’t expecting much from Super Crush KO, but it turned out to be a delightful surprise. This cutesy and colourful brawler lets you lose yourself in a satisfying flow state of flashy combos as you beat its hordes of alien robots into scrap. And with a fluffy cat at stake (and all of mankind, I guess), it’s all for a good cause.

One of the most interesting and enjoyable tactics games of the last few years. Each battle is a lot of fun to play, and while it can feel bloated in some places due to the sheer amount of stuff there is to do, it’s nearly always charming enough to keep you invested. It’s also easy on both the eyes and ears and I defy anyone who has missed the golden days of tactics games not to play this with a smile on their face.

Still There has far more to offer than it might initially appear, moving past some obvious space-related clichés to create a genuinely touching story. It’s only let-down by its slightly hyper-masculine humour content. Prepare for dick jokes.

Before Your Eyes ultimately suggests that happiness, fulfillment, that warm sense of a life well lived—that doesn’t come from other people’s perceptions. Rather, it comes from self-acceptance. And, incredibly, that’s something we do have control over.

In a year where we’ve had no shortage of hefty experiences demanding an endless endurance to enjoy them, it’s nice to play something that reigns it in a little. Darksiders Genesis isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s the kind of refreshing hack-and-slash game that could reinvent the series and should be a breath of fresh air if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by most games these days.

As with many art-focused games, it’s painful to discuss a work’s aspirations and pretensions without degrading the ambition of its ideas, especially in an industry where art-games are often relegated to the sidelines of mainstream discourse. Genesis Noir is at once a remarkable creative achievement that embodies the best and brightest of the art-game genre. But as the game unfolds in all its zany glory, it also loses its way at the end–the message gets through, but the repetition becomes tedious. Perhaps the best way to reinvent the Big Bang isn’t in one harried review sitting. Play it slow and savor it.

On one hand, there are aspects that are brilliant and can fill you with great satisfaction when every piece of the puzzle falls into place. On the other hand, when the immersion is broken by obnoxious or random ways of finding the next clue, you’ll find your enjoyment of each case diminished.

Strangeland stands as an argument that players should know as little as possible in a horror adventure game to cultivate tension, yet it still manages to circumvent its own potential by trying to do too much.

I would recommend this as a quick jaunt for lovers of Korean horror and all things eldritch. It doesn’t offend or do anything wrong, per se. It’s a nice choice of art style with an intriguing narrative, but it is unlikely to become a classic. I can’t say this game was made with anything less than the full passions of those behind it, and when it hits the right notes it’s definitely a lot of fun, but The Coma 2 has a tendency to feel like a bit of a slog… until it somehow finishes all too quickly.

Star Renegades is an excellent game, one that will keep you entertained for as long as you’ll let it. It’s pretty, the gameplay is exquisite, and ultimately, it’s just a lot of fun. The fact that it’s also got some of the most interesting systems of a roguelike I’ve played helps a lot too. The difficulty can be a bit wonky in places, and the writing doesn’t always hit, but overall, Star Renegades is a deceptively deep and really rewarding game that’ll beat you over the head just as often as it’ll reward your ingenuity.

Visibility issues aside, Darksiders Genesis is a solid port of a solid action-RPG. It’s accessible for both Darksiders fans and those who’ve never played anything from the franchise before. While there’s nothing truly remarkable on offer here, Genesis nails all the fundamentals of satisfying demon-bashing.

Made up of 56 puzzles that make full use of this timeless feature—in which you can fast forward or rewind time to solve its countless riddles—it’s a tough-as-nails, minimalist puzzle game about nudging a cube towards its goal. Cylinders may also be used to help you get to hard-to-reach places, but the crux of the game is about manipulating the very fabric of time so you can get to where you need to be. That said, Induction can be unforgiving in its challenges; if you’re stuck on one level, you won’t be able to move on to the next—which makes for some frustrating moments—but fortunately, a guide to solving the puzzles is readily available online.

By the end of the game, I felt invested in the characters to the point that I couldn’t help but get emotional when a catharsis occurs. Röki features a perfect feel-good story, with lighthearted characters that are easy to identify with and invest in. The world is so well-thought-out, and the way that the game guides the player throughout the story is an extremely welcome escape from the uncertainty of the real-world in our current pandemic times. I fully recommend getting lost in this beautiful world with Tove.

It’s a neat, ambitious game that teases us with the silhouette of a rich, engaging mythology and the role of digital exorcisms in this particular world. Its stellar voice cast carries much of the game’s narrative momentum on their shoulders, especially Alex Grossman and Miguel Doucet, who play Brother Gideon. But even with all its ambition and aesthetics, Lucifer’s gameplay and narrative could have been refined into a leaner, meaner experience befitting its daemonic themes.

Making an interactive facsimile of Moebius’ style is a daunting task. While it isn’t always a slam dunk, Sable provides handsome eye candy, encouraging you to climb mountains for the view alone. The anticipated score from Japanese Breakfast is even more versatile, stringing the wasteland with theremin, accordions, shoegaze and desert psych. It’s a shame that the initial glider sounds like loose change in a dryer, so I encourage players strictly seeking to vibe to trade up for better parts as soon as they can.

What is the current state of Scourgebringer as it enters Early Access? It’s more than playable, and fans of Metroidvania or pixel-perfect platformers (or, heck, both) will definitely enjoy what they find here. Personally, I think the music is great, and I’m definitely going to keep playing it as it journeys through toward its final release. [Early Access Score = 80]

The lack of combats or violent situations of any kind, and the simplicity of the research and development mechanics can sometimes add a sense of lacking in terms of challenges. Still, it’s not there where Airborne Kingdom shines. The game displays a variety of quests that will keep us occupied for hours, and the enthralling, constructive and explorative gameplay is more than enough to entertain us. If you’re looking for a warlike approach to civilization development, you will be disappointed, but instead, you can enjoy a sweet and relaxing respite of mindfulness and creativity in these poisonous times.

She Remembered Caterpillars is a charming puzzle game that feels right at home on the Switch. It starts out simple then gets progressively more challenging, but it always treats the player with respect, and in turn, makes you feel like a genius whenever you succeed.

It’s perfect for anybody wanting to play a game with a partner who isn’t normally interested, because it’s fairly hands-off. There are enough choices to make it worth a few playthroughs, and it’s an especially unique way to spend a night indoors with a loved one. It’s one of those games that can help bring new people into the fold.

Fans of games like Furi and Devil May Cry may be surprised with how well Eldest Souls can produce the same sort of frantic and expressive action those games are known for. Its “soulslike” credentials don’t stem from replicating the slow and plodding experience that the subgenre is known for very much. Instead, it’s the focused and diverse boss encounters, on top of the snappy combat and clever customisation. Eldest Souls may not change the face of soulslikes just yet, but it at least demonstrates that there are still new ways to interpret them.

It’s basically a very good game, especially if you have patience and a good head for numbers.

For those who long for another Souls-like game, Mortal Shell will scratch an itch for sure. It has core gameplay and concepts that hearken to their inspiration and do well in living up to expectations on that basis. At a surprisingly low release price of £25, those tempted by the visuals and promise of an experience to fill the gap until FROM returns to take another swing at the genre they created would do well to give Mortal Shell their time and money.

Before you saddle up to take on Bloodroots, you need to ask yourself one question. Do you like pain? The pain of being killed constantly while trying to time a perfect combo. The pain of having finally killed all the baddies, only to plummet to your doom because of a misplaced jump. The pain of being hit once and having to start that section of the level over again. Over and over.

All in all, Wolfstride demonstrates how great a game can be when the characters in it are full of personality, and also succeeds in presenting a combat system that’s fun and challenging, without losing simplicity. Its characters are a bunch of lovely, lowly criminals that conduct themselves kind of aimlessly through life, failing upwards more than progressing, and perhaps, under all that rubbish you can find actually nice people with complex minds and even more complicated lives. But of course, Wolfstride is, first and foremost, a game about mechas demolishing each other, and the game never lets you forget it.

The absence so carefully crafted by Flight School Studios invites us to fill in the narrative gaps of Creature in the Well and creates a unique relationship with the antagonist. But maybe I’m a fool and can’t read the signs before my eyes. Too ready to trust and believe in the good of all. But that’s the power of mystery.

For fans of the series, this is a truly exciting development. It’s smoother and richer than its predecessor and has enough unique features to leave you pleasantly surprised with every upgrade and chapter. The campaign is long and varied, and the difficulty curve gives enough scope to appeal to all levels of interest. I’m going to waste a lot of time on this game. And I’m probably going to miss my train.

The Surge 2 nicely scratches the itch for open-world action. Its less punishing flavour of Souls-like is easier to stomach, and it’s worth checking out for the gratifying combat and clever – albeit confusing – level design. Just don’t expect it to set the genre on fire or captivate you with its narrative.

Arctic Zoo isn’t the best value proposition for Planet Zoo fans, but it’s at least a good quality one. And if you’re keen to expand your menagerie, it’s your first and only opportunity.

There’s so much depth that a lot of people may find themselves drowning in it, but for a lot of hardcore tactics fans, they’ll be very much in their element. It’s all set against stunning artwork and a really interesting world, but the story can be a little lacklustre in places, and there are some pacing issues too.

The industry may be drowning in Metroidvanias, but Sundered does enough to stand out from the crowd with flair.

Even if SuperEpic isn’t the most coherent game, the whole package still works well. With so many different challenges, puzzles and secrets to discover, it’s a worthy evolution of the Metroidvania formula. Using your smartphone is a clever addition, provided you want to use it, while the exploration and combat feels fluid and responsive to where you’re itching to see what awaits you in the next room.

Heaven’s Vault’s narrative is so good, though, that you don’t think much about the parts that don’t really work. The devs understood that the nature of the game and its identity is rooted less in its gameplay and more in its story. They decided to put more of its eggs in the story basket, which, in the end, pays off.

Having to account for inertia when precariously hanging by one hand, as you swing to reach another wall to quickly grab with the other hand is both frantic and fun. In multiplayer, players must work together to climb on each other and world obstacles. It’s a hilarious oddity likely to get lost in the shuffle, but a party game definitely worth checking out.

Twelve Minutes was one of the most interactive and enjoyable games I’ve played in a long while. Even though playing through the same loop again, and again, and again won’t be for everyone, I found the process of changing up my actions each time and moving forward, little by little, to be oddly satisfying, and the sense of accomplishment whenever I made a considerable leap forward was unmatched.