Sunshine Shuffle feels thin, yet overextended at the same time. Had it doubled down on its greatest asset – its characters – it could have been something great. As it is, the story is over far too soon, and all that’s left is a middling card game you could play with less faff pretty much anywhere else. It’s great to see Poker Night At The Inventory live on, but Sunshine Shuffle forgot that the poker was always the least important part of it.

Fans of the IP will have some fun here, but you likely already know whether you’ll like this game or not. Boltgun competently blends the Warhammer universe with a genre that felt made for it, but offers no surprises. It set out to be a Doom clone, and it succeeded. That’s fine in some ways, but a shame in others because this could have been special with the application of a few original ideas.

It’s a nine-year-old formula running on six-year-old hardware, and neither of them can elevate the other. One of them must change, and Giants is probably the one who needs to blink first if it hopes to pull off another portable Farming Simulator in 2025.

The gameplay is nothing special, and it isn't particularly trying to be. It exists as a framework to tell a story, and plenty of games have excelled with that mindset. But all it has to say is that pollution is bad and it's all your fault. It doesn't inspire change, it doesn't shock, it doesn't even highlight the plight of the animals we share this world with, becoming too wrapped up in casual visual metaphor than with showcasing the harsh reality of what we have done to this world. The bees are dying, but so is my patience.

With all that said, the most disappointing part of Resurgence isn’t any technical problem or frustrating minigame, it’s how much you want it to succeed. Seeing it shine just to shy away behind tacked-on action is tragic, even if it isn’t enough to take away from this brilliant classic Trek story.

Planet of Lana is a delightful puzzle platformer that hits that sweet spot in more ways than one. It’s not too challenging nor too simple, and though it could have delivered endless levels of similar ideas, it only takes enough time as it needs to tell the perfect story of friendship and survival.

Monster Menu is a competent game at best. It emulates the Rogue experience decently and does something very interesting with its food-based mechanics, but it doesn’t stretch far. There’s enjoyment to be had in the high-difficulty and grindy aspects- if that’s your thing, but you won’t find much depth or complexity here. More McDonalds than Michelin, you’ll wish that you’d opted for something more flavourful.

I wish Humanity’s marketing had focused more on its puzzles than its story, because it’s fairly clear to me which is stronger and I came away a little disappointed. The game’s mechanics evolve very well with the story’s narrative, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m just not sure its story was worth telling.

It's creative, but it's also a bit of a mess. Lego 2K Drive mixes Forza Horizon and Mario Kart together, but it's not as good as either of them, and doesn't bring much new to the table either. There are building blocks here for Lego to use for future IP-less games, but this doesn't quite put them all together in a way that will interest anyone who isn’t still in primary school.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece that not only equals what came before, it does everything in its power to surpass it. Even as it presents endless possibilities for me to indulge in and push my creative potential, it all comes back to the intimate gravestones or superfluous conversations that bring its world to life. Fading memorials and lone flowers cement the loss this vision of Hyrule has felt, and my unpredictable path is determined to piece it all back together.

Playing Afterimage, then, is a lot like going to a congested airport. It offers you the chance to visit a ton of interesting destinations. But, getting to them can feel like waiting through a long TSA line only to find out you're missing essential paperwork. Yeah, I want to see Naples, but maybe not that bad.

I’m overwhelmingly charmed by Peridot, despite its shortcomings. I still like to check in on my adult dots, even though there’s nothing left to do with them now but breed, and I love taking pictures of them next to my cats to post on my social media. The charm of Peridot’s cute creatures will bring a lot of curious players in the door, and if Niantic can build out the pet sim features some more they may even stick around. The tech is impressive and it feels like a platform that can grow and grow, but the cost of breeding is a deal breaker for me. I’ll be watching Peridot with much interest, but for now, I won’t be playing it.

Honkai: Star Rail feels like the consummation of all the knowledge that Hoyoverse amassed so far after the two juggernauts that preceded it. With a good amount of content to tackle at launch and such a compelling story being told, all that remains to be seen is where the Astral Express will take us next.

Redfall isn’t a total disaster, and there’s fun to be had in slaying vampires, especially with a couple of friends. But to call Redfall a shallow experience would be an understatement. I’m happy to loot and shoot and make my own fun, but there still needs to be something there to pull me through it. Nothing in Redfall, from the loot to the characters to the exploration to the power climb, ever made me want to keep playing, or feel like there was something more to achieve. No amount of bug fixes or updates will be able to improve Redfall’s fundamental gameplay flaws. It’s not just rough around the edges, it’s rutted all the way through.

Age of Wonders 4 is a very strong entry in the overwhelming miasma that is the turn-based 4X market. It implements fantasy elements naturally rather than giving traditional mechanics a mystical lick of paint, and the sheer depth of customisation options, even without unlocking anything, is to be applauded. With the Pantheon system for unlocking things, it’s an ever-growing and changing experience with a heavy emphasis on player agency.

“Play this game” if you’ve ever wanted a puzzle platformer, Limbo-esque horror game that drags you through a swamp of grim-dark Nordic fairy tales by your ears. It’s an excellent, labor-of-love game filled with little details that make the world feel very much alive - although no one wants that. I’d never leave my house again.

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.

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.

I have no doubts that the Steam Workshop will do wonders with this game. If modding is supported properly by the developers, which it appears will be the case, we could have some seriously impressive mods down the line. I’ve already played around with the Beyond Stranded mod that adds a bunch of new traits, survivors, and expeditions - it’s a clear indicator of what is possible given enough time and effort. As it stands, though, Stranded: Alien Dawn is already a good game, but with more customization, narrative elements, scenarios, and general expansion on some solid foundations, it can become a great game.

Burning Shores first seemed lackluster in comparison to previous expansions in the series. Frozen Wilds was a refreshing addition to Zero Dawn, and Forbidden West was an even bigger step up, so the slow start in treading familiar territory made me feel like Horizon had potentially lost its flame. I’m so glad to be proven wrong, as it still burns as bright as ever, and with a dauntless new character taking part in one of the most momentous fights we’ve ever seen Aloy face. After this, I’m even more excited to see where the story goes next.

Riot Forge has an incredible track record of matching studios with the right project, and this is the best example yet. It is such a strong execution of an idea that it ultimately suffers for being underscoped. Had The Mageseeker had the full force of Riot behind it I can easily see it being a game of the year contender, but it feels like the publisher isn’t ready to go all-in on these outside projects yet. I don’t think Sylas’ story should end here, and I’m excited to see what Digital Sun does with the world of Runeterra next.

It’s rare for games this introspective to be made with such delicacy, and Hibiscus & Butterfly is a gem that’s shaped with care for detail and a great amount of love. Love is everywhere in this game, from the carefully written dialogue to the drinks referring to the developer’s own Southeast Asian region. The game’s message, really, is about love for yourself and for others, and in a world where everything feels like an opportunity for more division, it feels incredibly healing to play a game so focused on empathy and connection with the people around us.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp marks the return of two classic strategy games, and WayForward has done a stellar job bringing them back to life while never sacrificing the formidable challenge and anime-esque charm of fictional warfare the series has always nailed. While some of the new features are lightweight and the addition of flourishes like voice acting and level creation will prove meaningless to certain folks, this remaster still supplies a solid foundation I pray Nintendo isn’t afraid to build on. Few in the genre can compete with the immediate simplicity and approachability of Advance Wars, but Nintendo needs to take it further.

Despite a history of disappointing delays that nearly doomed Dead Island 2 to obscurity, it’s here, and it’s both confident and capable in almost everything it does. Arduous quest design and the occasional repetitive tedium is a flaw, but you’re often too drowned in zombie guts and cringe-inducing creativity to care. Dead Island 2 isn’t going to change the world of zombie games, nor does it intend to, but the fact it has emerged from the ashes in a state this immaculate is a miracle in itself. Hammer some nails into a metal baseball bat, set it on fire, and start swinging. I guarantee you’ll carve out a good time beyond all the viscera.

I wanted to enjoy this game, but I didn’t. I expected smoother movement, interesting characters, and better expression of the game’s themes, but The Library of Babel fell short. Its premise was interesting enough, and its eclectic influences could have elevated it, but it was undercut harshly by its design flaws – and its unoriginal plot couldn’t save it.

Longevity will no doubt come from DLC, much as with Dungeons, but that ultimately leaves Minecraft Legends feeling like an incomplete experience. There are so few schematics and troop types to work with, keeping things from getting too overwhelming for those new to the genre, but leaving little else for those hoping to enjoy a new strategy game. And if you come to it hoping to find Minecraft’s signature sandbox feel, you’ll also be sorely disappointed, as the well quickly runs dry.

There’s no point to anything in Tron: Identity. It took a magnificent sci-fi world and gave us an hour of closed-off, inconsequential guff to fill the space. Its additions to the Tron mythos are interesting but underused, the characters are flat functions for a deceptively shallow adventure, and you’ll be walking away from the Repository with the vague feeling that you’d just wasted your time.

Thanks to uneven difficulty, grating writing, and a general lack of polish in every other area, its appeal is only skin-deep, and quickly outstayed its welcome.