I’m hopeful for Feudal Alloy. The style and mechanics are there, it just aches for a rebalancing of the introductory portion of the game. This is absolutely doable. And when it happens, it’ll be an unconditional recommendation. That doesn’t mean you should give it a miss now – just prepare yourself for a rocky start.

Journey to the Savage Planet is one of those rare times that a game is both fun and also funny. It’s a short, fast-paced adventure through alien terrain that will have you chuckling throughout and is full of charm and wonder. It might be a little short for some, and a little easy for others, but the ability to go back through the levels to collect every last item could easily double your time with the game. This is one journey you’re going to want to go on, and the ability to do so with a friend just makes it all the more enticing.

It’s charming and occasionally clever, but as a whole it all just feels kind of familiar.

We. The Revolution confidently handles a wide range of complex gameplay mechanics, setting them against a powerful backdrop. Thematically and gameplay wise, everything works. Some systems are more enjoyable than others but they all have their place, taking you on a bloody, morally bankrupt journey that asks difficult questions and makes you live with your answers.

Observer might be a niche game, mixing walking, adventure, and puzzle elements together in its dingy and desperate 80’s William Gibson-themed world. For those into the aesthetic, this game is a must-play. While we can’t wholeheartedly recommend the Switch port past being a great way to play it on the go, Observer itself is terrific.

At its best, God’s Trigger is mindless fun. It’s fast, gorey, and ridiculous. The action is a suitable stand-in for Hotline Miami, even if the style isn’t nearly as compelling. However, the pulpy tone and ridiculous aesthetic make it easier to look past its technical limitations and limited scope. If you don’t mind a bit of jank and a general lack of compelling personality, there’s a fast and frantic experience that’s generally a lot of fun. Play this with a friend or partner, if you can, and you’ll get a lot more out of its absurdity.

It’s been seven years since we first saw Ys: Memories Of Celceta but this PS4 remaster proves a welcome return for Nihon Falcom’s juggernaut franchise. Bringing us real-time combat, an enjoyable storyline packed with humour and appealing visuals, Ys is a must-have for JRPG fans. Whilst there’s no new content for those who previously beat it, MOC remains a thoroughly enjoyable title and, old fan or new, comes strongly recommended.

There’s plenty of fun in all the chaos, but it is, perhaps, a little too much going on at once. There’s quite a steep learning curve to this mix of genres and it’s more free-form and loose than other tower defense games, lacking the chess-like satisfaction of rigid grid-based maps. The story is minimal, merely a framework for the action, but the game looks great and runs smoothly on the Switch. It’s certainly solid enough to entertain for a good few hours.

The PS4 is far from the most powerful VR machine but this is where Vacation Simulator works well – its visuals are bright and colorful but not technically demanding, allowing for a smooth and crisp experience. While there’s not technically a lot of depth here, there are still a good few hours of exploration, whimsical play and escapism on offer. Get your annual leave booked – Vacation Simulator is a trip worth taking.

Overall, Police Stories is a game I give a hearty recommendation, all the heartier should you have a buddy cop to bring along. It strikes that same high-paced, repetitive problem solving note as Hotline Miami but in it’s own way. It’s more methodical, you have to stay on your toes. That can be stressful, but very rewarding when a level is completed and done smoothly.

It balances dark and absurd comedy with tenderness in a way that constantly surprises and delights. Sure, it’s hard to parse exactly how much every choice, alliance, and number has on the outcome, but I can overlook my bards skimming a little off the top when they tell stories this entertaining.

It’s a really interesting take on a dungeon game, because you’re not actively controlling anything, and it often feels more like you’re just suggesting that your characters go and do something rather than actually getting them to do it. The mechanics are incredibly cool, and managing your power as you explore while trying to defend your home and also push further into the unknown is very satisfying.

I found The Girl Of Glass: A Summer Bird’s Tale’s to be a rare, honest look at how complex people can be inside while appearing to be less than that on the surface, one that doesn’t shy from reminding the player that being a presumptuous person with a loud mouth might make for an amusing exchange in a game, but in reality, it will cause pointless hurt and tends to betray a lack of understanding from the joker. It touches upon societal issues like submission to authority and the place of business in the lives of common people in a way that’s absolutely not being discussed honestly in the predominantly American influenced video game scene and for that alone, if you are drawn to the power of interactive narrative, this game is worth your time and money.

If you’re a sucker for this genre like I am though, you’ll appreciate the ways Not Another Weekend fools you into thinking ‘80s adventure games were in any way approachable and enjoyable to play. After all, this game has successfully implemented several quality of life updates to a genre that desperately needed the refresh.

On the whole, Arboria is a fun spin on the largely established roguelike formula, using its overgrown dark and dank setting to create a series of inventive mechanics, which means that no two runs are ever the same.

Though the process of playing it can occasionally drift into tedium, it’s worth working through the repetition to see the game to its eventual conclusion. In Grotto your choices matter. But they matter in the same way your choices matter in the real world: in ways you can’t see in the moment and may never see at all.

Overall, Project Wingman, or dare I say Ace Combat 8: Oh no not more rockets should absolutely fill the boots of those who have been looking for an arcade aerial combat game. Specifically of the Ace Combat genre.

As a horror game, The Medium doesn’t have enough resistance or solid scares overall, and as a tone piece, it often misses the mark with a lack of maturity and care in scripting. The core conceit of the game rears its head unexpectedly as it fails to reconcile its deep themes with its desire for shock, and its desire to create a horror experience without any strong mechanical grounding. The game doesn’t really provide anything to bridge its evocative artwork to its less than accomplished themes...For those that want to explore a fascinating looking interpretation of a spiritual world, however, The Medium is a rambling holiday in a wonderful macabre charnel house, but if you want something a little more bracing, you might want to look elsewhere.

Featuring a charming aesthetic and imaginative puzzle designs, it is unfortunate that the core element of PHOGS! feels rather frustrating at points. Though the co-op angle of playing a conjoined character is quite unique, that lack of free movement can prove quite limiting. It works fine as a solo game, but co-op is where it truly shines and that requires good communication with your Player Two. If you’re willing to give it that time and patience, this is still a wholesome experience that comes recommended.

Afterparty doesn’t vary much mechanically from its predecessor, but the unique worldbuilding, characters, setting and heart gave me some of my biggest chuckles of the year. What could have been a cringe-worthy meme-fest of drinking gags and vomit jokes (ok, so there is some vomit) ended up being one hell of a party.

In the end, Chernobylite felt a lot like scavenging for supplies in the Zone. There are certainly interesting things to unearth, but the laborious process of revealing them was barely worth the hassle. If Chernobylite is a loop, it is one that brings increasingly diminished returns with each completed cycle.

It’s a bit disappointing to see that In Sound Mind doesn’t quite transcend outdated horror tropes, even though it has the potential to. But that doesn’t take away from the accomplishments that make it more intriguing than many contemporary titles: its thought-provoking puzzles, and its attempts to tell an engaging story without unnecessarily scaring you to death first.

Are words magical? In a way, certainly. They can capture moments in time, or give birth to entire fantastical worlds. Lost Words: Beyond the Page is able to capture this sensation through skillful writing, lovely artwork, and a powerful sense of creativity. It is an affecting exploration of a child trying to create while in the midst of trauma.

It feels personal and emotional, even if the ending is decidedly oblique. After a rush of pure action games, this is a welcome palate cleanser; a game that really just wants to tell a spooky, evocative, and engaging story. At maybe 5-7 hours (if that) Observation isn’t a huge time sink either, but will likely be a game that sticks in your mind long after you put the controller down.

Black Future ’88 may borrow ideas from all over, but it puts those ideas to good use and gives them a unique spin. As you’d expect it’s pretty challenging, but it’s worth mentioning that there’s an Assist Mode that makes it less deadly and more accessible. While you may want to hang fire on the Switch version until it’s less prone to crashing, this is otherwise an easy recommendation for roguelike-likers.

In the end, Black Book is one game that feels like a great representation of its genre for the uninitiated. It’s a game that exudes charm, despite the depressing landscape it’s set in. Its premise is a perfect match for novice deck-builders, as it creates a solid foundation of understanding for those looking to break into similar experiences.

Neo Cab is poignant, well-timed, and special. A perfect fit for on-the-go platforms like Switch and Apple Arcade, Neo Cab would still be great anywhere regardless of platform because it delivers on all fronts for adventure gaming fans. With a memorable story that’s full of realistic choices and nuanced writing, Neo Cab is one of the best indies of 2019.

The action is absurdly fast, hilariously deadly, and perfect for a quick pick-up-and-play session that will make you nostalgic for the golden age of arcades.

The escalating panic of the automated guide over the tannoy system adds some narrative cohesion to the puzzles and environments that keep getting stranger. But, in all honesty, if Superliminal had no narrative, I’d still love it.

While the puzzles make up a big part of the game, it is the terrifying side of Song of Horror that makes it stand out. Playing just before bed wasn’t my greatest idea, and everyday things like putting the bins out at night aren’t as straightforward as they were last week. Still, I always came back for more, and I’ll continue to do so.

Ring of Pain understands what enamours roguelike fans to a new arrangement of rules and challenges. The focus on lateral movement and strategic interaction forced me to think ahead as I fought my way through a world full of beautiful and haunting creature designs. But an over-reliance on chance and an underdeveloped world cut the legs out from underneath all that polish and initial charm. Those hungry for something different will love the first taste, but I’m just not sure it will convince you to come back for a second helping.

However flawed your party members may be – and they are flawed – they carry on to Camlann because they share a belief in Arthur. They believe in each other, and believe in something better for Britain. It’s hope that moves the game forward, and mechanically speaking, it’s morale that keeps your pieces on the board, and resolve that lets them rely on each other and enact their unique abilities. Pendragon is built on balancing tensions that would break a lesser game to pieces, but instead creates something new and worthwhile in that space.

There is a semblance of a tale behind the goings-on of Never Yield, but it’s one that’s nebulous and difficult to grasp if you’re not paying close attention. Yet in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter; this ambiguity hardly ever holds back or reins in its dynamism. Instead, Never Yield’s strength is in replicating the rhythmic flow of funk. It’s one that pulsates intently throughout the experience, and is a beautifully composed choreography of movement and music. In perfect harmony are its liberating act of endless running and athletics and the reverberating funk soundtrack—which makes Never Yield an unmistakable display of Black empowerment.

While Phoenix Point has flaws, technical hiccups, needs a bit of polish and some of its systems feel dated, there are some genuinely exciting mechanics and world-building to this experience. The monster evolution system isn’t as revolutionary as you might want/be expecting but it’s executed to a point where it does force you to change your playstyle and gives a nice sense of thematic presence. Overall, if you like Julian Gollop-designed experiences, experimental strategy games and gun-infused crabs, Phoenix Point is a must.

Overall, Dawn of Man is a well-developed survival city-builder with the necessary tools to keep you invested and coming back for more. I rarely encountered any bugs or game-breaking issues throughout my playtime, which is always a good sign. If you want to spend time building and developing your own civilization through the ages, don’t hesitate to give Dawn of Man a try.

Wattam’s main problem is that it’s simple to a fault. It’s essentially a sandbox that doesn’t give you enough worthwhile stuff to do within it. Ultimately, playing Wattam is like watching a baby’s TV show as an adult: its colourful visuals and fun music may initially captivate and its heart is in the right place, but there just isn’t enough substance to hold your attention for long.

Neon Abyss is a really solid roguelike that has a great visual style, some incredibly cool features, and a really fun build variety. The concept is fun, the bosses are generally quite funny to fight against, and the feeling you get when you’ve got an obscene weapon and a bunch of followers is excellent. It’s definitely got the makings of a really great game, and I’m excited to continue putting time into it.

Along with having to perform some well-timed maneuvers, this also makes for several terribly clever puzzles, which also makes me feel very clever at times.

The story begins as simple as a tale of revenge can be. After their house is burned, the mom leaves the kid in the care of some priests in a monastery nearby and goes alone to the bandits’ lair, finding a lot of dynamite and blowing it up. But it’s after the kid sets on his journey to reunite with the mom when the plot thickens. A really dark story full of sinister folks, shootouts, and child slavery unfolds as the kid’s story does, and it’s within that violent conspiracy where El Hijo operates, harmlessly trying to save the person that he loves the most.

The Ascent is mostly a mindless, violent jaunt through a meticulously rendered cyberpunk city; what little portrayal of the themes of depravity and inequality are merely set-dressing for the game. Yet for all its facelessness, what was most indelible was still its city, the disparity between the powerful and powerless depicted in its spaces: from the cramped, unsanitary alleys home to the ceaseless chatter of its most downtrodden, to the shine of the marble floor in the wealthier districts, soon to be sullied by the dead bodies you leave behind.

Bullets Per Minute has an interesting foundation without bringing anything too complex, and then gives you just enough tools to mess around with it. Even if you’re not a big rhythm game player, it’ll keep you at your own pace, and you’ll get better and better as you go. This subgenre is barely starting, and whilst it is early to tell how it will evolve from here, others would do well in taking cues from this experience, where simplicity behind the premise and a set of rules is enough to hit the right notes.

I’ve reached an age where the games I would have enjoyed 20 years ago and more are a distant recollection of quick wits, skill and muscle memory, of the ‘how-on-earth-did-I-play-that?’ variety. Yet here we are, four years on from Studio Kobe’s Kickstarter launch and while it feels like a lifetime has passed in the interim, not just in videogames, I find myself playing a game in a genre that I had all but given up hope of finding any kind of pleasure in again. In Narita Boy, beating seemingly insurmountable odds can still be fun.

It’s all genuinely a lot of fun. I do think there’s probably a little too much challenge for some people, and the short campaign won’t keep everyone’s attention, but for those who like to look cool and seek high scores, Severed Steel is going to be as hard to resist as an arm cannon through a flimsy window.

There are tonnes of tower defense games out there but this, while not overly original, is well balanced and fun. It’s visually detailed, intuitive to pick up, and has plenty of levels and achievements to keep you occupied.

If anything, Spitlings is very relaxing to play. I can see it being great for people who are bored and need something light to occupy their time. While it may seem like it’d be a fun couch co-op game as well, there are plenty of other titles that come to mind that accomplish what Spitlings sets out to do much better. Despite this, the music is very fun to listen to as you button mash and watch all of the orbs of spit rain down and eliminate the evil goo on the screen, and the game is very aesthetically pleasing to look at. However, it leaves a bit to be desired in terms of engagement as the game goes on, and the novelty wears off pretty quickly.

The challenge presented by Skybolt Zack is entertaining to a point. But there are performative barriers and embedded frustrations that can sap the motivation of players. It’s at this point where the upbeat background music ceases its arcade nostalgic tone and grinds down further upon the player. Beyond engaging with Skybolt Zack on a performative level, it was of more interest to interrogate the gaps where the meaning of the game falls through – where a lot of players might find themselves residing.

Bum-Bo is repetitive, childish, revolting, and gratuitous – and most importantly, it’s a stroke of genius. The team behind Bum-Bo have thrown caution to the wind with this one, revelling in the stuff we all loved about The Binding of Isaac but didn’t want to admit. We’ve no need for a story when we have the basement-dwelling combo of tabletop gaming, semi-edgy humour centering on the grotesque, and fiendishly difficult completion tasks. The game is fun, irritatingly so. It makes no sense whatsoever, but you’ll be glued to it from the first trial run.

Overall, Nowhere Prophet manages to feel like a completely new experience, despite the fact that you can see a lot of the game’s influences in the way it plays. The mesh of different ideas and genres makes for a game that will hook you and keep you coming back for more. Even losses aren’t as infuriating as they could be thanks to the regular unlocks you get as you go through each run. It’s just really good, and if you like card games, then you should add this to your shuffle pile.

Lightmatter is a generally well-crafted experience which gently eases you into more difficult challenges and switches up the puzzles just when you’re getting irritable. Tunnel Vision Games have created a finessed puzzler with superb pacing.

Cloudpunk even does more than expected in its decision-making gameplay; though you’re presented with binary decisions, it’s rarely a good vs evil dilemma, with plenty of variables at play to make either option valid. It really needs to be experienced by anyone interested in cyberpunk narratives, story-driven gameplay or leisurely driving games. Even for those not interested in its themes, provided you’re open to the relaxed gameplay style, Cloudpunk will surprise you with how full of life its world is.

Though the game posits itself as adorable and relaxing, a depressing vision of humanity arises through its narrative (or lack thereof), one in which the aspects of humanity represented are colonisation, environmental destruction, war, and work. The game tells us one thing but shows us another. A story woven into the chapters or levels of the game that develops these ideas might help address this contradiction. Until then, this game is merely a settler simulation with solid mechanics―a well-oiled machine that’s lacking in heart.

Its world, art-style, exploration, and hack-n-slash combat are super fun, but these feel hampered by Tribes of Midgard’s key conceit as a tough tower defence game. Increasingly long nights mean you get little and less time to explore, and this is exacerbated by growing demands on resources. Instead, Tribes of Midgard would have made a better open-world game—its procedurally-generated Norse realm is so explorable. I would gladly play Tribes of Midgard more if I wasn’t bound to the settlement as much, and I hope that’s a mode that could be explored in the future.

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.

The problem with AER is length. At maybe a couple of hours or so to beat, with a story that doesn’t feel entirely resolved, I wanted more. The gameplay and world are so enjoyable that AER deserves the epic treatment of a full-on adventure.

The simplistic gameplay comes to life thanks to vivid, heavily retro geometric graphics (think Atari 2600-stylings and you’re close). HoPiKo is oddly fun and even though it can get quite challenging, has a nice zen-like flow to the levels.

A game like this may have taken you a few weeks to grasp and explore in the ‘80s but faced with a modern society that deeply understands video games, it might only last a few hours. But, for those few hours, you’ll be whisked back in time to experience the origins of the modern platformer and better understand why the genre still exists today.

The Almost Gone is a clever little indie. It looks great. The spare soundtrack is effective and evocative. The puzzles are smart, and the narrative is superb. It’s also a game that could easily get lost in the crowd of other releases. It deserves attention though, and is well worth playing.

Iron Danger is a unique and rather wonderful little game set in a mythology we rarely get to see explored in video games. It’s charming, the characters are generally very likeable, and the systems are unlike anything else in gaming. It is, quite simply, good fun, and solving each of the combat encounters is intensely rewarding. It’s certainly worth a look if you want something just a little bit different, or if you just really like time-travel.

Steel Division 2 is a rich and complex strategy with plenty to offer those who can put the time into learning its intricacies. The fact that it’s so detailed makes the lack of a tutorial even more frustrating. Yet, I must admit, once I ‘got it’ I was having quite a lot of fun. I’m still yet to win a multiplayer match, and with the fanbase that developer Eugen has built up, it seems unlikely I ever will. If you’re already a fan of their work, you’ve probably already bought this. If you aren’t, but you are the sort of person who likes to wade into the thick of things, you’ll find that climbing the difficulty curve is far from a tankless task.

My Time At Portia makes up for its lack of polish with nearly everything else it has to offer. It has what seems to be an endless amount of content, so you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. It doesn’t quite reinvent the wheel, but it definitely gives the games it’s inspired by a run for their money.

Whereas a more compelling introduction could have better grabbed the player’s attention, Draugen’s plot and design decisions are mostly done for good reason. Typically not one to rush through a game, I nonetheless eagerly consumed it in a single sitting. By the time the credits rolled, I had no regrets about letting myself be absorbed in this quaint rural locale and its captivating tale for a scant few hours of my time.

Haven is a game about taking time out – it’s about staring into the endless mesh of rust and stars and considering where you are, who you’re with and where the both of you want to be. Some of the mechanics are a little rough around the edges, and the overall experience doesn’t quite feel perfect. But neither are relationships – Haven explores one that’s really special, and I’m beyond grateful to have spent time with it.

No Straight Roads won’t impress punk fans with its devotion to palatability and conventions; it’s not wont to hollering “F*ck off nazi punks“ and pointing a middle finger to the authority and the Man. Instead, it’s content with embodying the irreverent goofiness of pop-punk bands, with the dynamic duo of Zuko and Mayday making loud, emotional proclamations about saving rock music against the tyranny of EDM without a sliver of irony. It’s all the more charming for its lack of pretension, and the polished veneer of its absolutely heady soundtrack, which is perfectly in sync with the intoxicating rhythm of its boss battles, makes this a game worth headbanging to.

Spirit Hunter: NG is an adequately playable visual novel overall, but the standards of its writing and presentation are sub-par for the hefty price of admission.

Dead End Job does manage to simulate that feeling of a ponderous, repetitive crappy job thanks to its grindy nature, questionable furniture placement, and not-quite-permadeath respawn system. The variety of goofy ghosts to bust and beefy amount of levels are the high points and for a cheap thrill, you could do worse—or a lot better.

Overall, Ancient Enemy is an incredibly enjoyable game and one that is unlike anything else I’ve played. It feels like it’s been inspired by many of my favourite oddities, but it puts them together in a way that is completely its own, and I adore that about it. The story and exposition can occasionally overstay their welcome, but that won’t be an issue for a lot of people. It’s certainly a game that’ll have you ready to shuffle the deck and start the next round, and that’s the best thing about card games.

Eastern Exorcist has a solid foundation, and launching in early access is definitely to its benefit. The game has some localization issues, as some key item descriptions were completely left untranslated from Chinese, which I couldn’t read (sorry dad). However, that didn’t impede me from progressing. With a bit of tweaking to its combat and polishing up on its localization, Eastern Exorcist can be an even better experience.

Mundaun is a real triumph of horror, full of stark, well-realised images, incredible sound design, and a score that can stand with the best of horror. I still don’t know if I have found the best conclusion to Curdin’s story as the game branches and changes as you make certain decisions, but the blurry edges of its sketched world will be lingering at the edges of imagination for weeks to come.

These puzzles are the bite-sized, whimsical charm that propel Where Cards Fall, but it could still do with cutting the fat off its mind-boggling puzzles. Each time you’ve completed one of them, you’ll be introduced to an unskippable and largely non-interactive cutscene on some pivotal memory of the teenage protagonist, which feels like an obligatory and unnecessary inclusion after a while. My attention wanes, and I’m quite ready to move on from whatever larger-than-life dramatics, tenderness and awkwardness of the protagonist’s teenage years.

Bugsnax is a fascinating game that delights and perplex you at every given chance. It is, in this frankly astonishingly bad year, a breath of fresh air and whimsy that should help you feel a bit normal. Only in its utter absurdity have I manage to find the escapism and joy I need at the moment, and the mix of entertaining writing, brilliant premise, and wonderful gameplay are enough to keep everyone feasting for a long time to come. Everyone’s talking about Bugsnax, and it’s only right that that’s the case.

The ending left me with lots of questions, and I don’t invoke the names of Beckett and Kafka and Ballard lightly. I guess Lynch can go here too, as well as more modern writers like Atword, Ligotti, Butler, and Vandermeer: Backbone touches on the sort of existential uncertainty that these writers famously imbued their work with. It also made me think about the forces that push back against people’s herculean efforts to better their circumstances: be they inculcated beliefs from society, or perhaps even things that are more primordial than that. That’s perhaps the best praise I can give this game: that it’s going to sit festering in the back of my mind for a good long while.

The VR focus allows for a portrayal of human ennui and general hopelessness on a large scale; here is a whole subculture of people running from an unfavorable reality, hoping to eke out a marginally better virtual existence even if the only way to access it is to buy the equipment and pay for a subscription. It’s a good setting that I would be curious to see more of, even if Gamedec’s initial exploration of it stumbles out of the gate and comes alarmingly close to a total faceplant.

If you’ve played Rock of Ages before and enjoyed it, Rock of Ages 3 is worth picking up for these additions, and in particular, for the new eras explored in the story. If you’ve never tried it before, you should, if only because of how different of an experience it is to any other game you’ll find. Where else will you hear the high-pitched squeal of Genghis Khan, helpless in defeat, the Mongol Empire’s fall signed and sealed by the deadliest of weapons, now rolling casually towards him; the swollen mass of an inflated cow?

If you’re looking for a meditative city builder and enjoy resource management and problem-solving, you should absolutely give Before We Leave a go. But if you’re accustomed to some of the bigger 4X alternatives, you might feel as if what’s here is a little lacking by comparison.

Muse Games have done an excellent job with Embr, and it certainly holds promise for when it finishes development. There’s good depth to its mechanics, co-op play is great with friends, and it’s visually quite appealing. It’s a cautious recommendation at this time due to its brevity, though Muse Games are currently promising a wide feature expansion in future updates. All being said, what we’ve seen so far has been great and it’s one to watch out for.

While it’s going to be a little too simplistic for some people, it’s a very good game if you’re looking to introduce somebody else to strategy games, then it might well be the perfect chance to do so.

If you have missed flinging innocent people across shaky bridges for dubious reasons, this addition to the Bridge Constructor series is well worth the entry price with a lot of fun puzzles to be completed. However it doesn’t feel as good as its predecessors, and if you are yet to play those, perhaps try Bridge Constructor Portal first to see how you get on. If you are a Walking Dead enthusiast, this probably isn’t for you, despite the guise it hides under. It really makes you feel like Spider-Man if Spider-Man were a slowly decaying husk of Norman Reedus with a crossbow.

Altogether, this makes Dungeons of Naheulbeuk a real mixed bag. Its slick and well-observed aesthetic is undercut by rote humour and tired cliche, and its combat has great potential smothered by layers of random chance and obfuscation, with the great swell of combatants meaning that you can sit helplessly as a cavalcade of attacks all target and take down a character before you have a chance to act. There’s definitely something here to enjoy if you’re a diehard tactics fan with a keen eye for optimum strategy and luck mitigation, but it feels like a lot of effort for little reward.

They Are Billions is certainly an impressive game that can be on PS4. Whether it should, or at least whether it should yet, is another question. The port feels fairly rushed overall, with little consideration given to the changes in control dynamics and player setup that come into question when running on console.

Following the breakout success of Beat Saber, Harmonix are no longer the trendsetters in rhythm games. Audica clearly takes influence from the popular VR note-slasher while differentiating itself with shooting mechanics. Unfortunately, said mechanics don’t fit quite as well into the rhythm format. But a chunky setlist makes Audica worth checking out when you tire of its mêlée-focused rival.

As a monosyllabic goose who prefers to let your guns–be it machine guns or rocket launchers–do the talking, you’ll be traversing across planets, dodging gunfire and bulldozing legions of robots and bugs with a flurry of bullets sprayed all over the screen. There’s no poetic justice to be meted out, no truly dastardly plot to raze the universe to the ground, and no tearjerker or heroic moments: just the opportunity to enact scenes of pure, exhilarating carnage.

In spite of all its flaws there’s something about Shakedown: Hawaii that’s quite addictive – probably the fact as players we love numbers increasing and Shakedown: Hawaii does it in a moreish way. Whether intentional or not, VBlank Entertainment Inc. has nabbed aspects from GTA and although it misses the mark, it’s still impressive how it’s condensed such an experience to fit within such a tiny world.

In short, Astroneer is a calming, vibrant, genuinely enjoyable experience until you start to set goals for yourself. At this point it becomes a bit of a chore and strays into frustrating grind territory that has no real guarantee of tangible results – and suddenly the buggy menu system, tangled controls, and lack of resources culminate in an inevitable fit of rage. Luckily, if you need a bit of post-anger stress relief, we have just the game for you… have you played Astroneer yet?

Hotshot Racing is everything a fan of arcade racers could want, especially if you have fond memories of those aforementioned classics. It truly captures a style of racing that is so rarely seen these days. It’s fast-paced, easy to pick up and play, friendly feeling and, most importantly, it’s so much fun to play.

All in all, Out of Line isn’t a terrible experience; I only wished there was a stronger emphasis on establishing its odd setting, along with something more that I could point to as being exceptional.

Mutropolis shows tons of promise and is undeniably funny and charming. Beautiful to look at with an interesting story and likeable characters, point-and-click fans will find lots to enjoy here. It’s a strong debut from Pirita Studios, a definite step in the right direction and hopefully a sign of good things to come.

Where other games insist on non-stop explosions and chase scenes, The Longest Road on Earth calibrates each moment to be poignant and profound, and although the results are quieter and artsier, they also aren’t much less exhausting. And yet, emotional exhaustion seems as viable of a takeaway as any. After all, the small things we use to get through our days, to cope with the perpetual thrum of unexcitement in lives lived conservatively, do eventually fade into routine. We grow tired of the phone game we bought or that playlist we made and we find ourselves ready for the next thing, which tends to be similarly fleeting. By the time the credits roll for The Longest Road on Earth, I was more than ready to move on, but maybe that doesn’t have to be a criticism because it speaks to its own sort of emotional truth.

Overall, while a few design decisions miss their mark, Exception is a thrilling, breakneck platformer with solid level design that begs to be rerun until you dominate the leaderboards.

It’s a fun game with some incredibly deep managements options to consider, and it’s the kind of thing that sim nerds are going to love. You’ll find yourself committing to a loop of “just one more bit” and easily lose hours to Mars Horizon if you’re not careful. It also feels fairly educational thanks to the partnership with the European Space Agency. I don’t think I can be an astronaut yet, but with a few more hours in the game maybe I can manage it.

Overall, Unspottable is a joyful experience to have with friends and relatives on the same screen – as long as you can – and throw one or two (digital) punches at them with no real-life consequences – unless they are sore losers.

Most importantly, the key feature that the game hinges on – being a parasite – is superb. You can always come back from failure by simply body-snatching a new character (when they’re unlocked, at least). It’s a fascinating precedent for a rogue-lite in which you can die twenty times yet still continue your run – but don’t think that means HyperParasite is easy, because it’s not. On the other hand, if you’re struggling, you can grind enough cash to possess sub-bosses which tip the odds more in your favour.

By stripping away most of the unnecessary bits of a bloated RPG—combat, leveling up, and customising your character—Mythic Ocean distills the narrative features of these games into a series of thoughtful conversations with a likeable cast, while revealing something much more profound: the philosophies and idiosyncrasies that dictate our human condition.

Perhaps Hoa is meant to be a vehicle for the art, and if so, there should be an option to nerf the reverse-control section so that we can appreciate said art without wanting to claw our eyes out. It’s also pretty funny how often you get Steam achievements—within the first few minutes of starting the game, you get three achievements including one for literally starting the game and another for moving to the next area (Steam achievements, of course, mean nothing). It’s a nice way to pass the time if you want a relatively stress-free platformer that’s easy on the eyes, but even as Hoa demands little from you as a player, it also offers little as an escape.

While there’s some comfort in the repetitive routine of mining and seeking refuge back in your space liner, as you gradually chip away at your objectives, its endless gags and space jokes do get tedious very quickly.

It’s just pure gameplay, and sometimes, that’s all you need in a game. Unfortunately, it does suffer a little bit from repetition. While it’s nice to see this style of game back again, it’s a shame it wasn’t a full remake, as the technical limitations of the older consoles can be felt in some of the level designs.

If you’ve grown tired of Map Painting Sim #400392 but still want to get a compelling fix, this is a great place to start. The storyline is sensitively written, well animated and filled with agonising choices that will have you questioning yourself pretty harshly.

It’s clear The Sinking City tries to punch its weight with triple-A’s but overstretches itself. The fundamental lack of polish is problematic in light of its blockbuster RRP. But if nothing else, I feel it has the makings of a new cult classic.

It’s not for everyone, and the ending could be a bit smoother, but the experience is still a good one if you’re looking for something a little bit different to dive into and don’t mind not sleeping for a few weeks.