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.