The dystopian world created by the Naughty Dog team is one that I enjoy exploring and surviving in. For everything that The Last of Us: Part II gets right, though, I can’t help but feel like I just played through an extension of the same game from 2013. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and like Ellie with Joel, I'm trying to accept the game as it is. Considering the impact that The Last of Us had on gaming, I guess I just expected to be blown away all over again.

There is a fun time to be had here, but ultimately Pokemon Pokopia doesn't explore the Pokemon side of its world and offers building quests that are mostly rigid and repetitive. As ever with Pokemon, there is enough charm to see it through, and the mechanics aren't shallow, even if they're used in aid of the same few tasks over and over again.

Pikmin 4 isn’t quite the best game in the series, but it’s certainly the most confident. With this new entry, Nintendo has decided to wipe away much of the past tedium in favour of ensuring moment-to-moment gameplay is more enjoyable than ever. But eradicating its past frustrations also removes much of the challenge and depth from the game’s battles and puzzles. Commanding its multicoloured armies and pilfering this planet of its treasures while gathering a motley crew of comrades kept me enraptured for hours, just don’t come into this expecting the harsh journey back home to be little more than a leisurely stroll.

If you focus solely on the main story I think you’ll get a lot out of the experience. It’s a fun story with some decent gameplay variety that’s authentically Indy. You won’t miss much by strictly sticking to the main quest, and in fact, your experience will be better for it. It’s a shame the rest of it falls so flat.

Iceborne is absolutely a worthy addition to Monster Hunter World, but the PC version still needs some touching up. This is definitely a "your mileage will vary" situation, so proceed with caution if you just can't wait for patches.

Maybe this new release could have been a chance for Atlus to tweak other aspects of the game, but Persona 4 Golden remains a thoroughly enjoyable romp through teenage life. If you have any interest in the setting or genre mash-up games, don't hesitate to grab this.

Much like James Sunderland, we have returned to Silent Hill, but what was once our special place has changed. Thankfully, enough of what made it special remains and will likely warm the cockles of nostalgic fan hearts and newcomers alike, even if you’ll have to look past some of the garish new additions in the process.

At its core, Returnal is one of the most satisfying third-person shooters I’ve played - it’s Hades via Vanquish. It forces you to meet it at its tempo and doesn’t relent. It makes Doom Eternal seem like Baby’s First Shooter. It’s gorgeous, frenetic, and endlessly replayable. I just wish success wasn’t so tied to fortune and misfortune, which only exacerbates any frustrations you have when repeatedly trekking through areas you’ve already beaten. Even after the credits rolled, I felt satisfied, but that satisfaction was also mixed with relief - the ordeal was finally over and the chiropractor's elbow has been removed from the small of my back.

If you are looking for an interactive story-based cozy game, this is a rad choice. However, don’t expect much more from Wax Heads than a well-executed moral stand against an increasingly AI-loving, money-grabbing and overly-polished world of entertainment.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is absolutely a high mark for the studio. It is such a refreshingly unique interactive title that I'd urge everyone to give it a shot. Maybe it won't get its hooks in you, but a game so brazenly different like this doesn't come around that often. You'd be crazy to pass it up if anything here sounds remotely interesting to you.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered doesn’t need to exist, yet here we are, and considering the $10 upgrade fee, its presence could have been significantly more barbaric. Passionate fans looking for an excuse to replay Aloy’s debut adventure with lovely visuals and a fresh list of trophies will find this remaster a no-brainer, but for a more sceptical soul like myself, it’s hard to look past the lack of quality of life improvements that only serve to highlight how far things have come since Horizon Zero Dawn first arrived, and how hard it’s become to look back.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has everything a Star Wars fan will want - it's an excellent story, and uses classic Star Wars tropes, musical cues, and narrative moments. But if you're not enamoured by a John Williams horn reprise, what you have is a decent adventure game with a vibrant but often annoying open world that you keep being sent back to, that rarely lets you think for yourself and often just doesn't quite work properly. For a story so sharp, it's a shame the game gets in its own way so often.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood shows us what women can be when they are free to be who they are, liberated from arbitrary restrictions on their lives. It is a feminist, progressive, intersectional game, one that celebrates women in every form. It made me feel connected to the world around me, and that’s a huge accomplishment.

If you devoured the Danganronpa and Zero Escape series in the same way that I did, and you’re also cool with playing a decent tactics game as you unfurl the mysteries instead of going to trial or solving escape room puzzles, then you’ll feel fully satisfied by what feels like a natural progression of these two series blending together. It’ll never escape apples-to-oranges comparisons with so much in-your-face Danganronpa, which might be off-putting for some, but that’s a highlight for people like me who loved that series and the games it inspired. Though the tactical elements never quite felt like they were prioritized as heavily as the narrative, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy earns its stripes as the next in the line of spiritual successors, given how close a chord it strikes to both Danganronpa and Zero Escape.

It perfectly marries gameplay and story in a way that isn't seen often. By the end, I had come to love Spiritfarer and am happy I stuck with it. Still, I can't readily recommend this to everyone. If you fancy story more than gameplay, then, by all means, go for it. If you're more of the type that likes being constantly engaged with challenging systems, Spiritfarer probably won’t get its hooks in you. Either way, Thunder Lotus has created a beautiful, thoughtful, and emotional journey that won't soon be forgotten.

To the Moon is well-worth experiencing, so long as the player knows what to expect going in.

Doom: The Dark Ages is the weakest entry in a fantastic trilogy of games, and despite how I feel about its additions to combat and exploration, I’d rather an experience that took risks and sought to reinvent what it means to play a Doom game rather than build upon the familiar.

Cozy Game Pals delivered a sweet experience perfect for those who want an effective short Halloween story and have a place in their hearts for how games used to look a couple of decades ago.

Some people will be okay with that and will even enjoy the open-world trappings Ghost of Tsushima offers. For me, I'm not sure if I can tolerate more riding around looking for boring filler while wishing triple-A gaming could finally deliver a truly compelling story.

Sequels are often expected to be bigger and better, but sometimes a good sequel is just more of what made the original geat. I suppose I would have liked to see Schell Games push the mechanics and missions further, but ultimately I’m satisfied to play another round of cleverly designed spy puzzles. It’s not particularly ambitious, but it’s consistently good from beginning to end. If you liked the original, there’s absolutely no way you won’t like I Expect You To Die 2.

I enjoyed my time with Blasphemous 2. I’ve unlocked both endings, scoured and pillaged the entire map, and completed every quest I could find, and, where I found the first game severely wanting in the fun factor, the sequel delivered in spades. Despite this, it’s held back by simplistic quests and bosses so unfair as to taint the whole experience. At certain points, thematic suffering bleeds through the cracks in the fourth wall and becomes part of the gameplay.

I had a great time with Cassette Beasts, but it was undeniably frustrating in places. It iterates on the Pokemon formula in nearly every possible way, and exploring the world via companion quests rather than just doing a big circle on your Gym challenge creates a wonderful sense of adventure. Cassette Beasts tries a lot of new things and most of them are successful. The story is compelling, the characters are engaging, and the battle system is one of the best I’ve ever used. It doesn’t pull everything off, but I’d much rather play a game that takes risks, rather than one that rehashes the same old formula time and time again.

Space Marine 2 doesn’t seek to reinvent the third-person shooter or hack-n-slash genres, but it’s a competent addition to both. That said, it’s a great game for Warhammer fans, and nails the feeling of being a Space Marine better than any other game. The combat is crunchy and satisfying, executions are beautifully brutal, and the thunder hammer is one of the best weapons in gaming. But issues with linear levels, ally AI, and the unknown future of multiplayer mar the experience a little. Warhammer fans will pick this up, everyone else is probably better off waiting for a sale.

This port is an enjoyable way to experience the game, but it is much more limited than the name ‘Neo Dimension’ might imply, especially with Square Enix branding it as an enhanced release. The inventive combat and gorgeous dioramas Fantasian always excelled at are still incredible here, while its inconsistent pacing and poor character development remain untouched. It has had some bells and whistles added, including an easier difficulty mode over the at-times grueling challenge of the original game, but nothing that substantially improves the experience. Fantasian is still a mobile game, you can just play it on a bigger screen now.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is proof that Pokemon can evolve. It's taken 25 years but this feels like the first true evolution of the series; a far bigger change than moving from 2D to 3D. It feels like the awkward middle evolution though, as graphics, voice acting, and boss fights all need serious work. If this is the path that the series is headed down, then I can’t wait for it to evolve again because let’s face it, nobody remembers Quilava.

What it mostly comes down to is whether or not you need this game on-the-go. The Talos Principle is great and absolutely worth it for puzzle fans, but the Switch port doesn't present it in the best light. If you can set aside performance issues, however, this is a wonderful game to play portably.

It's a cute little runner that has the aesthetic and feel of a children's TV show, which could make it ideal for younger audiences or people looking for a game that won't stress them out. Aside from that, Tadpole Treble Encore is a tad too shallow of a title to fully recommend.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is relentless in its depiction of misery. It imparts the troubling message that no matter how hard we try, we can’t change the future, and trying to do so only invites more pain and suffering than willingly submitting to our eventual demise. A series about two children losing their innocence and being corrupted by the evils of the world is one I welcome, but not when it teaches us to give up instead of fighting for a future all our own. The world may seem hopeless right now, but if we give in to the despair we’re choosing doom, and I’d rather go down slinging.