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.