At this point in time, it takes a lot to stand out in a sea of Metroidvania action platformers. With its gorgeous presentation and memorable boss fights, Islets does just that. It has some of the tightest platforming I’ve ever experienced, but I felt that the unbalanced combat design drags it down. I really enjoyed my time with Islets - it took me around 12 hours to beat the game, and it certainly doesn’t feel like time wasted - and I’d recommend it to any fan of Metroidvanias, but I don’t think it has universal appeal.

For all my issues with Saints Row, I keep telling myself 'at least it's fun, and the reason people play these games is not for the characters, or the story, or the weak social viewpoint the game puts forward, but the fun'. It's become a mantra. Like a little train going up a mountain: At least it's fun. at least it's fun, at least it's fun. The further I got through the game, the less I felt that was true.

Soul Hackers 2, at its core, is enjoyable if you like rattling through dungeons, playing with demons, and building a kick-ass party. It ticks many boxes for fans with its familiar gameplay, while offering a great entry point for newcomers with its more laid back approach. It’s good, but it could have easily been great with the right touches. I adore Ringo and Figue, and I think the cyberpunk aesthetic with these two at the helm is one of the most vital selling points of the game that make it stand out from the Megami Tensei crowd, so it’s a shame it feels quite surface-level at times. I want to see more from the Soul Hackers series in the future, but it needs to build upon the ideas in this title and push the content further.

Even with the balancing issues and a clear rough start to its first season, MultiVersus’ incredibly solid and unique core mechanics, along with its clear love and respect for every character and series that it represents, let it stand close to the top of the genre. It still needs some fine-tuning, but I’m confident that in a year’s time, MultiVersus will be standing strong next to Smash.

In a medium where narrative adventures have grown rather predictable, this one shines.

Although it may be short, its masterful movement and shooting are a shotgun blast to the face - and I mean that in the best way possible.

Plate Up is a unique restaurant management experience, mixing roguelike elements into the genre in a way I’ve never seen before. It requires a keen mind, good planning skills, excellent communication, and tenacity. All of which I don’t have. Luckily the game also lets you practice new recipes by feeding cats. It was the perfect way to work on my skills while wondering if these cats do ever get full.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is a big, beautiful rehash of very familiar Spider-Man stories, which makes it feel like a bit of an imitation in the end. An exceptional imitation to be sure, but it could have been so much more.

I can easily see Cult of the Lamb becoming one of the next indie darlings, and it would be utterly deserving of the epithet. It’s a blend of elements that, by rights, shouldn’t really work, but Massive Monster executed it with aplomb. The game lures you in with a lush and lurid art style and the promise of action-packing combat, and then indoctrinates you with a gameplay loop that keeps you coming back for more. I, for one, would follow the Lamb to the ends of the earth.

Hooked on You is a fun spin-off for Dead by Daylight fans, but if you’re a dating sim fan, you’ll probably find it a little lacklustre. It’s often simplistic and repetitive, but it brings the ‘90s meta edge to horror games in a way that hasn’t really been done before, with characters I fell for and a world I didn’t want to leave. It might be a breezy 70-minute game, but I’ll be going back for all the achievements and digging into every single romance all the same.

Two Point Campus is a school experience unlike any other. From weird and wonderful courses to quirky clubs, and student stereotypes you’ll find everything you want on a campus and so much more. As you flex your management muscles just make sure to keep your eyes open, these students all have their own style and personalities. Look after them well, and you’ll be rewarded with a lot of hidden puns, animations, and laughs along the way. Education has never been so much fun.

Bear and Breakfast is an in-depth management sim that is all too easy to enjoy for hours on end. There’s plenty of quirky humour alongside an unfolding story filled with mysterious undertones, gorgeous 2D graphics, and classic genre goodness.

Monolith Soft has crafted a JRPG that is so colossal yet also intricately focused. It delivers an experience that iterates upon everything its predecessors managed to achieve, resulting in a masterpiece that I am utterly enraptured by. Part of me feels like I’m still stewing in a cauldron of hyperbole, but in terms of characters, themes, and a world that I never want to leave behind - this is the series at its very best, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Live A Live feels like it shouldn’t exist, or was destined to remain hidden away with only a few fortunate fans stumbling upon it in the midst of online forums hosting fan translations of forgotten classics. I’m not sure what inspired Nintendo and Square Enix to bring this game back from the dead for a whole generation, but the fact they went through with it is a miracle. Whether you’re a JRPG fan or simply keen to play something completely different, Live A Live manages to surprise and delight in equal measure while refusing to show its full hand until the last possible moment. I’d argue it was almost worth the decades we spent waiting.

What I really love about Stray is the way the world treats you. None of the robots know what a cat is—they’ve never seen one before. You trip them up in the street, ruin their board games, and rub up against their legs, but for the most part, they forget you’re even there at all. Yours is a largely thankless task. But what do you care? You’re a cat. As the characters embrace and cheer, or break down and cry, and when the game comes to its ultimate conclusion, you are just a cat, who saunters off into the night, indifferent to it all.

It feels weird to call Endling - Extinction is Forever’s brutal tale enjoyable, but it was. The unique survival gameplay from the perspective of a family of foxes combined with the dark themes and storyline is a captivating mix. Though the gameplay can sometimes get repetitive, and it would have been nice to have a broader range of random events to experience, it’s still one of the more interesting games I’ve played recently. Keep a box of tissues nearby, though, as it’ll punch you right in the heart.

My Time on Frog Island is a charming little puzzle game with hidden depths. Though you end up shipwrecked there, time on the island feels like a vacation as you settle into the peaceful daily routine of the local frogs. It ticks all the boxes for me — quirky characters, a unique, adorable art style, and a fresh take on the usual puzzle genre with little touches of life-sim elements. You can easily while away your time exploring the island, solving puzzles, and discovering little secrets.

Power Wash Simulator is a darling escape into a profession I never knew I had any passion for. I’m not saying I’m about to quit writing and start going to town on my nan’s filthy patio, but there’s something about living a distant occupation through the medium of video games that pulls you in and refuses to let go.

If you’re expecting completely remade games, this isn’t the remaster collection for you. But if you want to relive your childhood memories and frustrations with Klonoa, the Phantasy Reverie Series is the way to do it. Getting two cult-classics in one is a fantastic deal, and if you can look past the quirks and situate yourself firmly in 2001, you’ll find these games just as perfect as you remember them. And if you missed out on the Klonoa hype as a kid but enjoy early 2000s platformers and want to see what all the fuss is about, there’s no better time to dive into the dream than now.

What it has made here could be considered impressive, in a way, considering its lack of expertise in this genre, because it’s not entirely incompetent. The tennis does play fairly realistically and there is a rhythm to it that did remind me of Virtua Tennis 2 at times. But I'm not sure that you'll want to spend your hours with this game, because it’ll seem like time will slow down to a crawl.

The game engine is just getting a bit long in the tooth. In any case, with what’s shaping up to be one of the best Formula 1 seasons in years, there’s never been a better time to get into motorsports and the best place to start might just be F1 22.

Very few changes were made from their now non-existent previous releases, so it’s high time Sega dusts off some more titles from its ‘90s library. The gorgeous cartoons in Origins give me hope, as Sega seems to be establishing some kind of Classic Sonic universe completely isolated from his modern counterpart. It’s just a shame that it’s a universe consisting of four games once again.

As you try to discover the true artifice of this situation, solving the mystery looming over Elgado is just part of what Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak entails for your adventure. Whether a newcomer or a veteran, you’ll find the classic feeling that hunting brings every time, and every monster represents a thrilling challenge in what it is Monster Hunter at its finest.

Deliver Us The Moon is a wonderful puzzle game on Earth and in space, but the Moon itself fails to live up to its wondrous promise. While interesting puzzles are still sprinkled throughout, a sense of repetition creeps in and gets in the way of an otherwise enjoyable story. It’s not that it fails to hit its target, it just turns out the target isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Neon White, behind the sexy suitors and anime villains, underneath the storyline and relationship building, is a game about speedrunning. It’s about learning and replaying, and it’s about beating your friends. It’s a modern iteration of a classic, simple premise, but without perfect execution, a simple premise can easily flop. Thankfully, Neon White delivers nearly flawlessly. Just make sure to take your time with this whirlwind ride, you’ll thank me for it.

Whether you’re a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or just someone who appreciates incredible music and satisfying side-scrolling gameplay, Shredder’s Revenge has something for pretty much everyone. The Turtles may have taken a bit of a break from gaming, but this is one shell of a comeback.

The Quarry is an excellent survival horror experience with a strong cast of characters and a startling horror narrative that delights with campy scares and unexpected twists. Fans of Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures need to pick this up, or even those after a spooky outing either alone or with friends. It isn’t the alien abduction story I’ve been waiting for, but it still proves that Supermassive Games is the undisputed king of the genre when it matters.

Ultimately, Mario Strikers: Battle League feels like Liverpool’s trophy cabinet this year. An FA Cup and a League Cup are nothing to sniff at, but it feels below par. With no cup final goals and two victories on penalties, they didn’t even underachieve with style. Battle League is very similar. It’s Mario Strikers again, and the football itself is pretty good, but the stuff of legends? Not even close.