I can't say I've ever been fascinated by or even remotely interested in the day-to-day operation of a subway station. Yet, there I was, pouring hours into this game deciding on the best place to put my escalators and pointing elderly passengers towards ticket machines. The premise of STATIONflow definitely doesn't scream fun, but if you're big into simulation and/or management games, then you'll find a lot to love about making the trains run on time.

Ronaldo aside, the roster is fantastic, the game has a graphical style that pops, and the ability to edit color pallets allows for an excellent level of customization. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves puts its best paw forward and proves that SNK still has what it takes to compete with the big dogs in the fighting game arena.

While Cocoon didn’t connect with me on the same level as other indie puzzlers, I had a great time venturing through orbs to solve mind-bending puzzles and explore alien worlds. The game also succeeds when it comes to giving you a great WTF ending, which is a requirement for this genre. It’s nice to see that even after leaving Playdead these developers are still able to deliver another fun albeit utterly baffling experience. All that's keeping it from being a true masterpiece is a little more child danger and an appearance from the Quaker Oats man himself.

Gaiden left me wanting more. I want to see those new characters make a return. I hope we see the Boutique again. But most importantly, I hope this isn’t the final time we see action combat in the series. Even with Infinite Wealth on the Horizon, I hope there is still room for smaller, more experimental games like this in the series’ future.

Far Cry 6 is a game that understands the importance of fighting back against fascism and taking a stand as part of your own personal revolution, yet it’s often held back by gameplay that wants to distance itself from that idea as you fawn over cute puppies and fire off outlandish grenade launchers. Yet it’s still a start, and a bold step forward for a company that has long sat on the fence of political discussion. If you’re after more Far Cry, this delivers and pushes the formula forward into exciting new territory.

Despite my minor grievances, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters is exceptionally fun. It’s a treat for the eyes, ears, and the bonce. It’s violent, gore-filled, crunchy, and full of charm. Underneath all of that is a wealth of depth and customization that begs to be explored. If you’re a fan of the setting then this is an easy sell. If you aren’t, then this is still a fantastic introduction to a wacky universe that’s well worth delving into.

When all is said and done, though, being inspired this heavily by what is widely considered one of the greatest games ever made is hardly a bad thing. When Lies of P shines, it even outdoes FromSoftware itself in its nuanced execution. When it falls back on what came before, it does so with a confidence and understanding of the genre that makes it stand out.

Phantom Liberty is good, but 2.0 is the rising tide that lifts all boats. It makes Cyberpunk 2077, unambiguously, worth the trip.

There are certainly areas where All In Games could improve for a sequel, but Ghostrunner is a blast. It's one of the best games of the year and something I'd easily recommend to fans of Mirror's Edge or first-person games in general.

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.

Moonshades really is an impressive game. The sprawling, mysterious dungeon beckons me to dive further in to see what adventures (and loot) I can find. And it's the product of a single developer who works on it between shifts at their day job. I'd love better controls and more free inventory space, but I'll still happily recommend this to anyone who needs more D&D than they currently get. And let's be honest, that's all of us.

Starfield is all about the stories it tells, and it tells them well. The central narrative and the characters inhabiting it are some of the best that Bethesda has ever produced, but they’re unfortunately let down by the banality that so often surrounds them. I came into Starfield wanting to explore the stars, and I got a brilliant sci-fi story instead. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed.

While Mortal Shell does nothing to reinvent the Soulslike wheel, it still manages to bring many of its own ideas to the table while invoking the feeling, mood, and brutality of previous Dark Souls games.

I think I’ve sunk about 250 hours into Ace Combat 7. Most of that was spent just endlessly replaying the campaign with as many different aircraft as were available. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to play Project Wingman for quite as long, but given how I’ve lost sleep all week just so I could play one more mission, I suspect I might come close.

If you love movies like The Thing and have enjoyed the games of Devolver Digital before then you should definitely give this a go. Carrion may not have the good looks of a Nathan Drake or a Lara Croft, but it has the kind of gooey, tentacle-y charm that you just can't find anywhere else.

Kunai isn't revolutionary and initially reminded me of a high-end flash game with its focus on Spiderman-esque swinging and rapid-fire sword action. But playing it further revealed a game that got deeper and more fun as it went along. The premise is tired, but the game's dialogue and general demeanor made it clear that the story wasn't a priority when it came to making this game. After all, who can criticize a game that has a main character named Tabby McTabletface?

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD really does revitalise this maligned Nintendo classic. Motion controls proved divisive at launch, but with two robust control schemes included here, and the extra fluidity of 1080p60 visuals, this should finally please everybody. The linear structure of the game and relatively empty space of the sky will still frustrate some, but the core sword fighting gameplay and linear Zelda structure is better here than it is in many other games. If you want a traditional 3D Zelda experience, then Skyward Sword HD is an easy choice.

This is a lot for a visual novel to tackle, and sometimes Kabaret’s writing falters. There were moments when I cringed at how heavy-handed the game was in making the character reconsider their previous statements, and moments in which the dialogue didn’t do its narrative justice. Most of the game still held up, with some very evocative writing and plenty of statements that made me confront my own ideals. The major characters were impressively layered, considering they’re based on mythical beings. I have no regrets about giving eight hours to this visual novel, and I came away changed. It is definitely worth your time.

The gameplay is solid within the genre, the free-to-play rewards seem reasonable to start building a collection, and the addition of Planeswalkers with the division of cards by color type all combine to make Magic: ManaStrike a great mobile game to check out.

You can spend countless hours cataloging the various plant life throughout the Western Frontier, seeking out every Tsraya flower to unlock new upgrades, and dismantling RDA bases far and wide - and I probably will. I am constantly in awe of the places I discover in Frontiers, from grand vistas to hidden caves to lookout points on floating mountains that give you the most incredible view. It’s a world I’m excited to continue exploring and learning about, and overall it has deepened my love for Avatar. Ubisoft’s strengths are also sometimes the things that keep it running in place, unable to iterate and evolve, and Frontiers is the perfect example of that. It’s everything you love and hate about Ubisoft games, Avatar-style.

To a T is a delightful adventure, and the most accomplished we’ve ever seen Keita Takahashi as a fully-fledged storyteller. He is far more than absurd scenarios and strange mechanics, proving here that he can combine both of these with excellent storytelling that is simple yet effective in its characters, themes, and how it makes us sympathise with different ways of looking at the mundanity of life we might have never considered before. Few games this year have so much heart.

Hatsune Miku Project Diva Megamix+ is the perfect introduction to the series for PC. It’s easily accessible to newcomers and more experienced players alike and offers an extensive catalog of songs and customisation items that will keep you busy for hours. The joy of arcade games like this is that they’re easy to pick up and play whenever the feeling takes you.

Tales of Arise presents a refreshing sense of nostalgia in a shiny new package. At times it can misfire between its lovable but inconsistent cast of characters and political narrative, but there’s still a band of loveable heroes brandishing the classic Tales archetypes I’ve always adored. Perhaps it wields subtlety like a cudgel—placing Shionne, the woman who causes pain, and Alphen, the man who can’t feel pain, together—yet it’s that same ungraceful melodrama I remember being so fond of a decade ago. Arise elevates Tales back into the RPG spotlight, but it doesn’t leave the pieces of the past you loved behind.

With survival mode, my enthusiasm for the game has been renewed and I'm so excited to keep playing it long term, even if it's just jumping in for a run or two a few times a week. It definitely has some tuning issues, and the new bosses need to be brought down by a significant margin (especially on normal difficulty), but even the regular bad beats haven't turned me off from the allure of "just one more run before bed." I'm loving Remnant again, and Swamps of Corsus was just what it needed.

Who Pressed Mute On Uncle Marcus? is an enjoyable and sometimes funny yarn, with a strong script, solid performances, and an intriguing central mystery. It doesn't push the FMV genre forward in any meaningful ways like Sam Barlow's Her Story and Telling Lies did, and it could use a better log to keep track of which lines of questioning you've already pursued. But, it's an enjoyable genre exercise that takes a dull experience we're all familiar with after two years of a pandemic, and somehow makes it fun again.

Even if some of the boss battles and tougher platforming sections made me want to cry and the relatively short run-time had me done with Pepper’s adventure quicker than I’d like, Pepper Grinder is one of the most entertaining 2D platformers in recent memory and one that pushes its unique selling point to the limit. Pepper Grinder is drill-y good.

Life Eater humanises your victims with deft skill and crafts simple, emotional stories without once giving your sacrificial lambs a voice. I often found myself imagining my own life cut up into violent video editing software, and reassessed my own priorities as I stalked through an innocent person’s mundane existence, preparing to rip it away.

There’s no denying the irresistible charm of Tunic. Even if its mistake is its fixation with the very rose-tinted days of classic Zelda, Tunic still is an evocative experience: you’re still embarking on an epic hero’s journey marked by stretches of tranquillity, tantalising mysteries, and hard-won victories, powered by a nearly infinite fountain of nostalgia. In the end, I can’t help but feel increasingly enamoured by the sights and encounters.