Sorry We’re Closed struck me deep. Every confession of love, every bullet through the heart, every day that Michelle woke up just to prove love is worth living for. Any kind of love, as long as you try. That’s the kind of game this is. Past the combat and puzzles, after the decisions and conversations. No matter what, it wants you to wake up each day and choose love.

The game’s excellent acting, memorable characters, and compelling visual style make the game very worth your time, and if you’re used to the groan-inducing logic of point-and-click games of yore, Loco Motive won’t be any more frustrating than anything you’ve already played.

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is a triumph - an absolute must-play for anyone who appreciates timeless design, stunning visuals, and the type of game that rewards both patience and strategy. It is joy distilled for those of us who grew up in a certain era and a wonderful glimpse into the past for those lucky youngsters who did not. It delivers on its promise to take stewardship of the classics and makes me thrilled that this is the pedigree we can expect from Square Enix going forward.

Lego Horizon Adventures is a good game, but it’s about as shallow as a video game can be, and sometimes even less. It’s a shame for both fans of Lego and Horizon, as this is one I thought could be a big step for new Lego games based on more iconic IPs. It would feel much more worthwhile at a lower price tag, and though there are still plenty of reasons to enjoy the experience, it could have been so much more. As is the case with Horizon’s history, Lego Horizon Adventures is just… whelming, at best.

Mechwarrior 5: Clans gets most of the important stuff right. If you like the idea of manning mechs, I’d say it is well worth climbing into the cockpit.

With a grim mystery, vividly violent world, interesting side quests and minigames, impressively real animal characters, and multiple endings to experience, you’ll struggle to put Into the Hive down once you pick it up. The story of Into the Hive is fresh enough to stand on its own, but with endless ties back to the first game between characters and references, the experience of playing both weaves together a horrifically beautiful story of inequality, crime, and style that sticks with you long past the ending.

Metro Awakening is an admirable attempt at translating the post-apocalyptic shooter series into virtual reality, and at its best is a poignantly atmospheric marvel with great controls and an unrivalled sense of place. Yet it is also held back by poor checkpoints and combat, which quickly falls into a repetitive game of cat and mouse between very stupid enemies. It learns all the right lessons from masterpieces like Half-Life: Alyx without introducing enough new innovations of its own, and because of that, it suffers.

These issues aren’t small, and I find it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend a game that only ‘gets good after X hours’. At the same time, with over 20 hours and counting, Metal Slug Tactics makes me want to get back to it, play a quick run, and try to unlock everything that’s here to unlock. This is far from the revival I was expecting for the series — and I’d still love a classic 2D entry — but if it catches the attention of new generations, I’m here for it.

Outside of several standout missions, however, I wasn’t impressed with the campaign, but I’ve begrudgingly come to accept that campaigns just don’t matter to the wider community at this point. The real value is in the multiplayer and Zombies; in that regard, Black Ops 6 is a strong return to form.

Planet Coaster 2 will take you on a new adventure that combines the charm and joy of the original with its own brand-new highs. While there are a couple of dips along the way, they are short-lived and simply part of the experience that doesn’t diminish the joy.

This is the first Mario & Luigi on Switch and it very much feels like the series’ first big-budget home console entry. It's so much bigger than any of the older games, not just in terms of play time, but in terms of ideas too. The only bad thing about Brothership is that it sets the bar so high there’s no going back to the originals now.

Slitterhead is an incredibly inventive game with a brilliant, novel idea at its core. It’s the exact kind of release we should be uplifting, a new IP that pushes graphics and trends aside to try something fresh.

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.

As modest as it is, it still accomplishes what it set out to do. It's a good, fun Life is Strange game, and there isn't much else like that. It maintains the delicate balance between campy and comforting throughout, but you just can't help but notice that the tightrope is only a few feet off the ground.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a Dragon Age game like no other, and that alone will put some people off. But it brings with it the traditions of excellent character writing, strong world building through narrative quests, and offers the most exciting combat the series has ever seen. There is a stronger version of The Veilguard in here, one with more Solas and companion quests that find a more natural ending, but the one we’ve got is still a worthy successor to Dragon Age: Inquisition, and is a much needed return to form for BioWare.

The most important thing for a game like Redacted is that it makes you want to immediately start a new run upon dying. And it does. One quick run before bed becomes two, becomes three. And that's pretty much all it needs. I know where and why my guard died and immediately want to rectify it. And, despite coming back to the same build, I do want to unlock the remaining weapons and buffs.

Jackbox Survey Scramble is a solid showing which offers a nice selection of short simple games to slip into your rotation as filler. The codes for the room remain on screen throughout, meaning people can drop in and out of the games for maximum flexibility. The survey results could use some tweaking, to avoid you having to guess six different words for boogers when the question is sticky things, but since the intention is to adjust the survey results using player data anyway I have hopes this will improve over time. I’m excited to return in a few weeks and see how things have panned out.

Shadows Of The Damned: Hella Remastered is a nice throwback to an era that feels more distant every day, and it still holds up as an adventure that you want to go over from beginning to end in a single sitting. Unfortunately, the remaster ends up being undercooked, with some lacking features and issues that prevent it from being a better package.

Despite its combat and platforming only being serviceable and the overall package needing a bit more polish, Mutants Unleashed still managed to be a turtle surprise because of how much love and understanding it has for the source material. It may not reach the same gameplay heights of Shredder’s Revenge or Splintered Fate, but it has one of the best tales to tell of any TMNT game.

Yakuza Kiwami remains one of the best stories that RGG has ever told, and showing its age a smidge doesn’t diminish that. Showcasing Kiwami on another platform to welcome new fans into the fold can only be a good thing, and it’s impressive just how well it runs on Switch. Most importantly, now Majima Everywhere can really be everywhere as he just became portable.

Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven is likely to be your weirdest friend’s favorite RPG. It is a playfully obtuse, mechanically deep outing paired with a story that is almost charming in its simplicity. It feels dated, but it also features a singular vision that sets it apart from other games in the genre. I suspect, at the end of the day, it will carry on the legacy of the Saga franchise and be a divisive title, which is probably a good thing. We need more divisive games.

Just like the first game, Shiro and the Coal Town highlights the joy in ordinary tasks like collecting bugs and getting to know your neighbours, but with its stronger cast of characters, array of side quests to complete, and well-developed trolley racing minigame, it has a lot more to offer and is a significant improvement on Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation.

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.

As a whole product, it’s hard to fault a package that gives us a faithful remaster of one of the most beloved Sonic games, and a great Shadow game to boot. I only hope now that Sega trusts itself to look to the future some more, and keeps moving ahead with the new formula that Sonic Frontiers - and now Shadow Generations - promises us.

This is the kind of indie game that I would love to see succeed, and the next steps post-launch, both in terms of ongoing development and community support, will be crucial in determining whether it’s remembered as a Justinian or an Honorius.

Even when my time leaping into enemies was interrupted by these technical issues, Unknown 9: Awakening’s excellent cast of characters and inventive soul-hopping combat mechanics kept me invested all the way through its gloriously last-gen adventure. With how depressing this generation has been at times, that is absolutely meant as a compliment.

Super Mario Party Jamboree is a return to form for a series that stumbled as it arrived on the Switch and barely steadied itself with Mario Party Superstars' greatest hits runout. Jamboree brings creative boards and a range of enjoyable minigames to the table, but overcooks the single-player stuff.

While I’m sure that’s not going to be enough for those who have already played hours of Worms Armageddon or who already own it on PC (which remains the best way to play), for everyone else it’s a nice way to experience the series at its best. Hopefully, above all else, it’s a reminder to Team17 what makes Worms works so well - and it isn't when it's trying to be a battle royale.

Neva is one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played, from the watercolour art style to the clever direction. But it surprised me in its mechanical complexity and combat execution; you always need to keep your fingers fast and mind faster. Add a lifelong vulpine companion to the mix, and you’ve got an all-timer on your hands.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a new peak for Atlus. It takes so much of what was great about Persona, refines it, and throws that powder into an exciting fantasy setting with incredible lore, well-developed characters, and a fresh new battle system.

Even after playing Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero with a massive grin on my face for more than 60 hours, I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of everything that it has to offer. Its smart evolution of Budokai Tenkaichi’s combat, stacked and detailed roster, and near endless amount of modes and features make it one of the best Dragon Ball games of all time.

Phoenix Springs deals with the abstract, from its twist on genre mechanics to its narrative, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I’ve tried to find examples to compare it to and come up short. The point-and-click genre may never be the same, and neither will I.

Narratively, Vessel of Hatred hits all the right notes. It’s a bit of a strange middle chapter in the story; it's incredibly consequential and does a lot to move things forward, but it doesn’t offer any big conclusions or satisfying payoffs. The original Diablo 4 campaign ended with a promise that the worst was yet to come, and Vessel of Hatred ends the same way. It gives us a better idea of what that eventuality will look like, and raises the stakes in some pretty compelling ways, but some are going to walk away wishing they’d just waited for the full story to come out before diving back in. I’m glad I didn’t wait though, because I think this might be the moment Diablo 4 finally hooks me.

The Patrick Star Game is fun, and to see the original cast return for it is a wonderful thing, but this deep-sea sandbox remains in relatively shallow waters despite a rich history of references and callbacks. It’s probably a safe bet to keep your kids entertained for a good while, but for us adults who still have a soft spot for SpongeBob SquarePants, this is still a solid recommendation - just when the game is on sale and you’re looking for something simple to mindlessly work away at.

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.

There's just too much to fix to make Funko Fusion worth your time. Even if all the broken issues were fixed, the onslaught of enemies, the confusing puzzles, and zero incentive to help the player will remain. Even after several patches to balance some of these issues, the overall product remains the same, and so will the fundamental issues affecting it.

Mortal Kombat 1 hasn’t missed once with its post-launch DLC characters (and really, with its roster as a whole) so I’m sure that the rest of the expansion’s soon-to-be-released fighters will be great, but as it stands I can only talk about these three. While they are some of MK1’s strongest characters (in terms of how they play at least), they can’t make me overlook what is otherwise a weak expansion greatly overshadowed by NetherRealm’s last offering.

I wouldn’t recommend playing if your idea of cinematic games is a highly polished triple-A experience. But if you don’t mind a bit of jank, if you don’t care about bowls clipping through each other in the sink as you wash the dishes, then Apartment Story will spin you a fraught tale in which there’s as much tension in getting a shower as there is with your home invader.

There’s a real promise in what stands to be a modern successor to one of the all-time greats of the genre, NCSoft’s Lineage 2. [Review in Progress]

If you can get past Edward’s cumbersome quips, the story of Murder on Space Station 52 is worth checking out. Puzzle fans who enjoy a chance to scratch their chin before the solution dawns on them will find plenty of things to love, but be prepared to rake that same hand through your hair when you get frustrated at some of the more convoluted answers. The game’s air of mystery and sense of style are fully on point throughout, but man was I happy to step out of Edward’s shoes for some peace and quiet when I rolled credits.

Roads To Power is more than just the next in a long line of DLC. It’s a true expansion, one that promises all-nighters to die-hard fans, and could be the missing something that brings hesitant newcomers to finally try on the crown.

Despite how much joy I mined conquering its temples and delving into its many rifts, at times it doesn’t push its ambition far enough. That never stops Echoes from being a warm hug of a video game that enraptured me from start to finish, but it does leave me infinitely more curious about what the future holds. Now Zelda has helmed her first epic outing, it’s only a matter of time until she goes onto bigger and better things.

Despite some teething problems with the perfect vision of how the game is meant to be played meshing with the actual execution amongst players, Mannequin is an inventively strategic game that offers positive momentum for shooters in the VR space. I expect patches to further address the balance and maybe give the game a bit of depth, but fresh out of early access, it's a solid addition to the Meta Quest library.

It was always hard to imagine how Prince of Persia could fit into the new world carved out by Assassin’s Creed all those years ago, a sentiment Ubisoft clearly shared when it shelved the series for over a decade. But The Lost Crown finally found its place, standing tall as one of, if not the best Prince of Persia game — a GOTY contender and a Metroidvania all-timer. The expansion takes those elements and brings them up to the next level, making one of Ubisoft’s strongest outings even stronger.

None of these features are particularly groundbreaking or game-defining. As always with a new FC game I think that there has to be a better and fairer way for this to work for the consumer. My ideal is always a seasonal model, one that follows the real-world football season. Update the existing game, set everyone back to zero - with legacy cards for those who still want to play with their old teams and look back on cards they’ve collected - and provide live-service content updates as EA does for so many of their other titles. That way you get the same buzz of a new game without having to pay £100 for basically the same game engine, graphics, and features every year.

I’m not sure that anything can ever capture the lightning in a bottle that was Epic Mickey’s original concept, but Rebrushed is the closest thing we’ll ever get to that dark magic, even if one of its core pillars is something that still drags it down. If you’re a diehard fan, you’ll love all of the small changes Rebrushed makes to cut down on the grind and monotony the original suffered from, and if you’re a newcomer you’ll experience Disney’s weirdest venture at its absolute best.

Even if Street Rumble doesn’t do much to stand out from the crowd, it’s a decent brawler in its own right and worth checking out for fans of The Karate Kid. It’s not going to win at the All-Valley Tournament, but at least it put up more of a fight than Cobra Kai: Dojo’s Rising.

I'm not sure what happened with Reynatis. Yoko Shimomura and Kazushige Nojima are legends. It feels like FuRyu had everything they needed to deliver a great JRPG. However, game development is difficult, and some projects are bound to miss the mark. That happened here in a big way. Reynatis is one of the most miserable experiences I have had with a game in decades. It is an ugly, repetitive mess that houses some of the worst writing the medium has to offer. Outside of the OST, there is almost nothing of value here. If this is, in fact, anything like what Final Fantasy Versus 13 was supposed to be, then I can comfortably say that Final Fantasy fans dodged a bullet.

Reforged has raised the bar to breathe new life into the game, reworking the original assets to maintain authenticity, addressing small plot holes, and most importantly, it sets a new standard for how to make point-and-clicks more accessible in this modern day when players are less forgiving with their time and patience. Not to mention, all these years later, making George show everyone his dirty greasepaint tissue is still just as funny as ever. With that, I only have one thing left to say. Does this tissue mean anything to you?

Frostpunk 2 has shaped up to be a hefty sequel that built intelligently on the bones of its already excellent predecessor, capturing all the most compelling parts of the first game while exploring human nature and morality with deftness. I’ve already played it multiple times, but I expect I’ll be playing it many more in the months to come.

While it could serve to offer more of a challenge and some quests feel a little rote, the times when The Plucky Squire twists genre convention and blends 2D and 3D puzzles are a sparkle of imagination in the genre. Every level feels fresh, the puzzles are satisfying, and it’s all wrapped up in that gorgeous art style that put the game on so many people’s radars.

More than anything, it’s a joy to see a game that means so much to me have the time and love it deserves poured into it by developers who clearly care about it just as much as I do. There was a chance that Dead Rising was going to be stuck in a grave forever, but Deluxe Remaster proves that the dead can, and should, rise again.

Mexico 1921. A Deep Slumber is a picture-perfect snapshot of Mexican political turmoil in the early 20th century. With mechanics as satisfying as the world is beautiful, it's a joy to watch this political thriller through Juan's viewfinder. If you have any interest in history, Mexican culture, photography, or good video games, this isn't one to be missed.

Every group of friends will have their favorite games in the Jackbox Naughty Pack, like all the other Jackbox packs. We probably won’t go back to Let Me Finish, but Fakin’ It and Dirty Drawful both got lots of belly laughs. Some of the people in our group were meeting for the first time, and nothing bonds new friends together quite like having to justify why you picked a trumpet emoji when Fakin’ It asks about your sex life. The game will go over well with some folks, and I did enjoy my time with it, but if you’re friends with people who already find ways to make every Jackbox pack into a ‘naughty’ pack, then being forced to do so may sometimes feel a little constricting.

Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a complete package that delivers a wonderful collection of games while adding modern niceties such as a feature-rich training mode, and high-quality online play. It’s great to see Capcom learn from its mistakes to dial things in with its most recent collections. While it is a fairly priced product, the value is considerably worse if you only buy it to play Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. So, I do encourage everyone who picks up this collection to at least try the other games included. Odds are you’ll have a marvelous time.

You tend to start writing lines in your head when compiling a review, and one that stuck with me early was to call Astro Bot 'the best platformer since Super Mario Odyssey'. Then I played a little more and started to think 'maybe it's better'.

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.

With the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, we’ve reached a landmark point. Every Ace Attorney game is now A) available to play in English and B) playable on modern hardware. This is an exciting time to be a fan of silly yet complex, dramatic but comedic visual novels filled with anachronisms, legal ridiculousness, and cravats. That we reach this point thanks to Miles Edgeworth and the two fantastic games that bear his name is only fitting, as he’s always been a fan favourite. This duology makes a wonderful case for the life, longevity, and continuation of the series, and it’s not to be missed.

The Casting of Frank Stone is among Supermassive’s best work yet, with one of its strongest casts, a story that emboldens Dead by Daylight’s world while standing on its own two feet, and so much thought and care behind every single interaction. Not only is Frank Stone its best since Until Dawn, it even surpasses that seminal modern classic.

It’s also the most welcoming a WoW expansion has ever been before. This is the start of a new story - one steeped in the long history of WoW to be sure, but one that makes a huge effort to catch new players up. Its brisk story supports new players too by asking for a small investment upfront and giving them ample opportunity to constantly re-invest. If you’re just starting out or returning without the safety net of your old clan, it’s easier than ever to be a solo player and not feel left behind. There’s so much consideration towards renewing WoW, rather than becoming further entrenched in the wants and whims of the most hardcore players. I imagine these weren’t easy choices to make, but I can see the long game that begins here in The War Within, and I’m more excited than ever for the journey ahead.

Age of Mythology: Retold is a far better update to the classic than Extended Edition ever was, and this is self-evident through even a few hours with it. The effort put into making this the best Age of Mythology that has ever been oozes throughout, and it’s a resounding success. This remake easily becomes the platonic ideal for Age of Mythology and makes it the true successor to the original.

While much of Visions of Mana’s bloated side content misses the mark, its gripping storyline, likable cast, ample mechanical tweaking, and engaging combat combine to forge a very good game, if not quite a great one.I wasn’t at all confident that we would ever get another big swing at the series, so for all my caveats, I’m damn glad this game exists.

It doesn’t have a tidal wave of fans supporting it, and it isn’t free to try out or available with any subscription service, so it has a lot of work to do in order to make the effort of playing it worthwhile. Whether that be through trial periods, new modes not before seen in the genre, or even a boost from Secret Level when it airs months from now, but as a middle-of-the-road hero shooter, it can’t rely on any one of these things alone. Concord is good, but it’s not in a good place, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to not only keep it afloat, but to get the motor running.

Star Wars Outlaws is a frustrating experience to critique because its high points are numerous, from spending an entire hour infiltrating a deceptively vast imperial outpost to upgrading Kay’s skills by engaging with the open world in ways that feel natural and rewarding. There are times when I didn’t want to put this game down, which only made its glaring omissions all the more noticeable. A lacklustre story, a bizarre lack of polish for a production of this scale, and a main character that isn’t the step forward she should have been all hold the game back from excellence.

Even though I reached the credits after just a few hours, that didn’t stop me from diving back in to uncover as many secrets as possible. This is the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game that has captured me like the original trilogy did, but it’s also the first to stand on its own two legs beyond the allure of what’s happening outside of the screen. Into the Pit is exactly what the series should be, and I hope future FNAF games are taking notes.

Apart from that, there’s a lot of fun to be had with Black Myth: Wukong, and it’s a must-play for anyone that enjoys a good soulslike. It’s also perfect for anyone with soulslike fatigue and weary of the brutal difficulty that usually comes with them. It’s beautiful, frantic, challenging, and a delight to play.

Leximan is one of the most unique games I’ve played in a long time. It’s a love letter to old-school gaming and retro fans are sure to appreciate the genre medley. While a few points felt a bit clunky or unclear, the humour and unique gameplay shines through and though it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I’m glad I played it.

Cat Quest 3 lured me in on name alone but won me over with its great gameplay loop. A better tale might have worked wonders for it, but start to finish, it’s still a good time.

There are a number of elements present in Cygni: All Guns Blazing that underwhelm. From its unremarkable enemy designs to its banal story, it simply doesn’t feel like it has a strong identity. However, for all its shortcomings, it does deliver seven action-packed stages of controller-gripping, shmup goodness. The ship customization stuff is neat, the energy allocation mechanic is novel, and it features some highly enjoyable boss battles. When all is said and done, I doubt Cygni will make much of an impact with the general gaming populace, but I suspect that bullet hell fans will find something to love here.

I love the world of SteamWorld. Heist 2 is as flavorful as ever, with great characters, funny writing, and a great soundtrack by Steam Powered Giraffe. The overworld exploration is charming too, with its own pirate ship progression system and simple naval combat. I really want to like SteamWorld Heist 2, but I can’t get past the more tedious aspects of the grind, or the long, punishing missions in the late game. It’s an improvement over the original to be sure, but I’ll have to wait patiently for SteamWorld Heist 3 to see if this series can finally reach its full potential.

Despite its flaws, I’ve never played a game quite like Closer the Distance. It somehow successfully manages to turn the difficult process of managing a community’s grief into a playable game, prompting you to ask yourself difficult questions without being hamfisted with its themes. It tells a deeply moving and compelling story about what it means to take care of others, love those we’ve lost, and honour their memories in ways that respect them while making sure we keep in mind the people left behind. And it does all that while maintaining gameplay that never feels tiresome, balancing the repercussions of your actions in a realistic way, and making you really care about its characters. I’ll be thinking about this game for years to come.

Despite my frustrations with math and science, the game is carefully designed to encourage experimentation and exploration. A wealth of resources and notes in the encyclopedia help guide you to finding the cure for your illness all while working alongside the most adorable mushrooms you’ve ever seen.

Even with its short length and simple gameplay, Thank Goodness still stands as one of my favourite indie games in recent memory. Thank Goodness You're Here's consistently giggle-inducing jokes and wonderful visual humour are great, but its surprisingly authentic and heartfelt interpretation of England is what made me reyt chuffed wi’it.

Earth Defense Force 6 is everything I expected it to be, which is both a blessing and a curse. Sandlot has no intention of shaking up its B-movie arcade shoot ‘em-up formula, and I’m not complaining, but when there is obvious room for ambitious expansion that wouldn’t harm the moment-to-moment joy of mowing down giant insects and evil aliens, I struggle to figure out why the developer is so stuck in its ways. I’ll always love this series, but maybe it’s time for a change?

Ete might be simplistic, but it has so much heart and gives you so much room to express yourself that, like a paintbrush and an easel, it can be more than its parts. Technical hitches disrupt its flow and a shallow narrative can hold it back, but it’s worth seeing what you can create for yourself.

The Operator’s concept is fresh and compelling, and generally well-executed. Even with my misgivings about the small flaws that made themselves apparent during my gameplay, I thoroughly enjoyed the minute-to-minute experience of playing, and the cliffhanger worked on me – I do want to know what happens next, and how the gameplay will change given the ending’s repercussions. If you’re able to ignore these things, and you love detective games, The Operator packs a lot of fun into a bite-sized package.

Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is both a pleasing and frustrating puzzling journey that leaves you thinking both about the steps you make in-game and the ones that you might or might not make in your real life.

In the end, though, Vampire Therapist is every bit as compelling as the name would lead you to expect. Sam is a wonderful protagonist, the writing is well-balanced between humour and pathos, and it does a great job telling disparate stories that have full arcs. The commitment to depicting CBT faithfully could go further, but it remains an impressive effort. Overall, this is bloody good stuff.

Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus​​​​​​​ tries its hardest​​​​​​​ to break out of the staples of genre contemporaries, such as with its folklore backdrop and a handful of new abilities, but it sometimes results in being more convoluted than necessary. Still, it’s set in a beautiful world that’s a joy to explore, with tough bosses and platforming that provide a rewarding challenge.

It’s still a serviceable enough story to keep you invested until the credits roll though, and while some twists and turns may not be as impactful as you’d like them to be, Flintlock is still definitely worth playing for its combat and focus on exploration. I had a blast, and while it’s not as polished as other soulslikes, it deserves to sit up there with the likes of Nioh and Lies of P as valiant attempts that just fall short of FromSoftware’s masterpieces.

Throughout Schim, you can only watch this man’s life from a few steps behind, and when the time is right, you find him as hope returns and the man finds himself at the same time. There are some beautiful, abstract sequences as the man goes through these stages of depression, development, and betterment, and the lead-up to the final moments are appropriately dramatic and satisfying, completing what is a pure and wholesome experience that casts a bigger shadow than you may expect.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate might not manage to reach the same heights as the game it so clearly takes inspiration from, but ‘being as good as Hades’ is perhaps an unrealistic goal for any game and it's a wonder that it comes even close. It still provides a satisfying roguelite experience with one of the best interpretations of the TMNT universe I’ve seen in some time. It won’t be replacing Shredder’s Revenge as the franchise’s best modern game, but it’s sitting nicely in second place.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a breath of fresh air. Its tireless commitment to its aesthetic, and enticing, varied gameplay make for a memorable experience. One that is as charming as it is enthralling. In an era where Capcom largely produces remakes and sequels, games like Kunitsu-Gami are more important than ever. Every inch of Kunitsu-Gami feels deliberate, and the passion of those who developed it bleeds through. Kunitsu-Gami is carving a path forward for Capcom, and at the end of that path is a more creative gaming landscape.

The FPS is well-paced, smartly designed, and looks like a cartoon you would joyously gulp down with a Capri-Sun after school. It can occasionally frustrate, but it gives you all the tools you need to tailor the experience to your taste. It does many things well, and it accomplishes them elegantly. That a game this focused on feet pulled all that off has got to be the gaming surprise of 2024.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail starts with a slow burn that builds into an emotional, captivating inferno that tackles some deep themes and effectively balances new elements with old beats in more ways than one. Overall, it’s a brilliant first chapter to the new story arc that has left me eager to learn more about what the future holds in new patches and later expansions. I’ve fallen in love with Tural and its characters, and more importantly, Dawntrail has me obsessed on a new level with FF14 in a way the game has never achieved before.

You’ll probably get something out of Spy x Anya if you’re a massive fan of the show, but even if you're fairly enthusiastic about it like myself, you’ll find it lacking. It’s extremely faithful to the show in both humor and aesthetic, but it requires a prohibitively high tolerance for repetitiveness. There’s fun to be had, but it’s locked behind hours of taking photos, lackluster conversations, and repetitive busywork. It’s nowhere near the quality of a must-play title for a Spy x Family fan, and you can probably get as much satisfaction from rewatching the show.

A little more polish could have gone a long way, but the Calvard Republic is an enjoyable place to explore, the protagonist is appreciably mature, and the story ends with that same deliciously Trails philosophy: always leave ‘em wondering how the heck they’ll ever wrap this up.

Radiant Tale - Fanfare! handles its romance well, but the game leaves me wanting more engagement. I enjoy visual novels, but I hoped for some sort of mini-game or higher narrative stakes. The lack of real friends for Tifalia rings hollow as well, making it difficult to latch onto anyone. Radiant Tale - Fanfare! is a colorful adventure, but one that falls short of delivering a memorable experience.

Riven remains one of the most captivating and challenging puzzle games I have ever played. You can’t help but leave the game wanting to learn more about the strange and mysterious world it welcomes you into. I encourage anyone to play this remake, however, while it’s a fine VR game, it’s best enjoyed on PC so you can fully commit to note-taking for puzzles and avoid the added frustration of whipping your headset on and off.

But for what it actually is, Banana Rumble is an utterly adorable sequel full of charm, with some decent level design to be had. When it was at its best, it was incredibly satisfying to pull off skips and blast through stages in mere seconds. Now that it’s over, I just can’t see myself picking it up again.

Despite its mechanical flaws, Times & Galaxy is still a deeply resonant and incredibly thoughtful game about the world and the role of journalism in it, chock-full of characters to love and showcasing a galaxy ripe for exploration. I just wish that actually playing it wasn’t so frustrating.

I didn’t know how much I would gel with Megaton Musashi W: Wired as I don’t consider myself much of a mech fan, but I was surprised by how invested in the narrative and gameplay I became. Though the story’s pacing could have been polished better and combat can get a bit repetitive, it’s an enjoyable experience that I fear many will miss out on this year as it has snuck in under the radar. If you love anime, mechs, or even just like beating down aliens (and other players online) in your own customised exoskeleton, give Wired a shot.

I’ve been emotionally preparing myself to hang up my Arbalest and ride off into the sunset after The Final Shape. Destiny 2 is a game that means a lot to me, so much that I’m not prepared to watch it slowly turn into a shadow of what it once was. But this expansion restored my faith in Destiny and made me eager to see what the frontiers the future has in store. There’s been ups and downs over the years, but this proves the trajectory of Destiny 2 is onward and upward. It proves we can expect Bungie will learn from mistakes and that there are bigger and better things in Destiny’s future. I worried this would be the end, but now The Final Shape just feels like the end of the beginning.

Sometimes, you don't need to be the hero of the epic adventure. Sometimes, it can be more fulfilling to enable others to maximise their potential in your stead. Sometimes, the safety and security of your own four walls are the escape from your traumatic past that you needed. Buy another round, and I'll tell you that tale, too.

You’ll find myriad callbacks to past From games I won’t spoil here, but it’s clear that the team looked back at everything that brought them to this point, a Game of the Year winner more successful than any of their past work, eager to celebrate the journey. This is their linking the flame moment, a chance to be reborn and usher in a new age, capped off by what can only be described as their magnum opus.

This is The Chinese Room’s best game yet. It has the bombastic set pieces, unflinching gore, and intense stealth sequences that make it a harrowing experience that deserves to stand alongside other games about guys having really bad days. But it also offers a well-paced, meaty narrative with excellent performances that I’m going to be chewing on for months to come.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance is what happens when you take a very good game, tackle every one of its flaws, and add far more content than anyone could ask for. It is a joy to play, devilishly difficult in all the right ways, and replayable to a fault - it’s proving hard to find the motivation to play anything else.

I’ve never seen a game put so much effort into making an actual statement on ecology and biodiversity, but Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge shows a cute game about photographing frogs can be so much more than that.