The Teal Mask could have been a chance to give us some much-needed performance updates for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Instead, any shine it could have offered is marred by the same performance issues present at the launch of the main game, and it's just not acceptable at this point. Unless you're a die-hard Pokemon fan, the additions here simply aren't enough.

If you’ve enjoyed the Trine series up to this point then you are in for a treat, Trine 5 is by far the best entry yet, offering puzzles that are phenomenally inventive and an utter delight to solve. If you haven’t taken the plunge yet with Trine, then now is the perfect chance. If only we could ditch the combat and have twice the puzzles, then truly would Trine reach co-op puzzling perfection.

Regardless of what this review says, NBA 2K24 will sell millions of copies, and generate millions of dollars through VC. That is because basketball fans who want to play a basketball game have nowhere else to go. The on court action is really good, but without competition to keep them honest, 2K's monetisation has got out of hand and made modes like MyCareer near unplayable without extra investment from players.

Forget your 2Ks and your Fight Forevers, if you want to experience fun and surprisingly authentic pro-wrestling action in 2023 then WrestleQuest is by far your best bet. Wax your back, coat yourself in baby oil, and prepare your promo, because WrestleQuest is the pro-wrestling RPG love-fest you never knew you always needed.

Mortal Kombat 1 serves as a love letter to fans of this thirty-one-year-old franchise and as a pseudo-reboot it also has potential appeal to newcomers alike. There's still room to grow and I'm sure it will just keep getting better, but Mortal Kombat 1 is already definitely worth your time.

Smooth combat, seamless exploration and a set of well-executed mechanics makes Lies of P an excellent Soulslike. When you add in the gorgeous visuals, desolate world design, stark sound design and engrossing story, it raises the experience above a lot of its contemporaries. All in all, although Lies of P is essentially Bloodborne featuring Timothée Chalamet, it does more than enough to mark itself out as a unique title worth your time – and I’m not lying.

Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs is full of interesting nuggets of narrative revelations for fans of the long-running Utawarerumono visual novel series, but its pacing problems and lacking quality make it much less suitable for newcomers than it should be.

Skyrim and Fallout 4 had a space baby and named it Starfield. As with every child, there’s the hope that it will better its parents as it grows into adulthood, and from the time spent with Starfield, I’d say it’s right up there with Bethesda’s best. I’ve certainly enjoyed what I’ve seen so far and the new setting, but there’s just no getting away from the fact that it has its mother’s eyes and its dad’s nose. [Review in Progress]

Baldurs Gate 3 is an exquisite example of a role-playing game, and an incredible recreation of the Dungeons & Dragons experience. It is, in a word, unmissable.

A mixed bag but worth buying just for Metal Black, New Zealand Story and Liquids Kids. It's a shame the rest of the compilation has been padded out with obscure titles such as Dinorex and Ben Bero Beh when TAITO have so many classic titles such as Operation Wold, Chase HQ and Mr Do! Perhaps we'll see them in Taito Milestones 3.

Sea of Stars has clearly been made by people with a deep and abiding love of JRPGs. That level of passion is hard to mimic, and the result is a heavily playable game with morish visuals, a cracking story and deeply considered level design. However, while it is very good, it isn’t quite perfect. Combat needed to be deeper (or at least escapable) and while the dynamism was a great touch, it wasn’t enough to carry it all the way through to the end.

The long-awaited return of FromSoftware's mech-filled series, Armored Core 6 delivers on a lot of what fans will have been hoping and dreaming of. Building and customising mechs is engaging, missions are action-packed and it looks gorgeous, but it's undercut by swings in difficulty for boss fights and an all-too-familiar story.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a challenging tactical game with a fun story and characterful crew. The varied missions do a good job of giving you plenty of options for how to tackle them, leaning into different crew abilities. There's a few rough edges, but Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew’s treasure hunt is well worth partaking in.

Immortals of Aveum is the epitome of a good game. The characters are well-acted and the world design is fantastic. The story though feels too safe and there’s no real wow moment. While the combat is fun too, you'll have seen the majority of enemy types quite early on, and combat does become repetitive.

Fort Solis aims for big-budget horror but fails to deliver on all fronts. I don’t mind short games in the slightest, in fact, I welcome them, but Fort Solis felt like four hours of my life I will not get back. Unless you have money to throw away, you should probably give this one a miss.

Madden 24 takes some big steps forwards in terms of the underpinning technology, and it continues to play a good game of American football. For all those steps taken technically, it feels as those the rest of the game has stayed firmly in place, and there are far too many bugs to hinder the experience at launch.

Affogato manages to create a rich and flavorful blend of visual novel, tower defense, and social RPG. It may be lacking in side-activities, but what's there is special, and definitely worth digging into if you're looking for something new.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time back with The Penitent One and would heartily recommend it both to fans of the original and newcomers alike. There are enough changes to make it feel like a new title whilst still having continuity in setting and aesthetic.

With a swish of the sword and a bit of improvisation, En Garde! is a fantastically fun action-packed adventure with a distinctive flair. Sure, it's a little bit short, but that doesn't make it any less sweet.

Personally, I found the ‘grim’ nature of Gord just too nasty, the developers often shocking for the sake of it, rather than doing so to support the story or gameplay. Still, there’s a lot to admire about Covenant’s creation, with the game offering a compelling and tense survival RTS experience. Only really worth picking up on PC, mind.

It’s a clichéd line but that doesn’t stop it from being true: if you loved Moving Out then you’ll love Moving Out 2. It’s a whole lot more of the same chaotic multiplayer action you’ve come to expect. Sadly, when you get your mates around to play, you’ll likely just focus on the early levels, as the game once again loses its way and gets far too hard in the latter stages. A focus on straight-up non-stop silly fun would be much appreciated if there’s a Moving Out 3.

Atlas Fallen is at its best when you're fighting huge enemies with your carefully constructed (by trial and error) build, but when you're repeatedly fighting the same enemies, when the story falls flat, and the environments blend into one, it starts to get dull and frustrating quickly.

Legend Bowl is a fantastic retro-infused football game with a host of fan-friendly ideas that truly shows the passion of its one-man development team.

When I first heard of Stray Gods, I was intrigued. A video game musical might not totally work, but at least it would be interesting to play, I thought. How wrong I was. The concept of Stray Gods is the most interesting thing about it, but the execution is boring to the extreme. If you want a fun musical video game experience, you’re better off watching Singing in the Rain whilst repeatedly changing the volume on the remote. That way you’ll have better songs, a more enjoyable story, more interactivity, and a greater sense of player control than Stray Gods provides.

There’s a lot to love with FUGA 2, and the game is incredibly rewarding if you commit to the experience. It’s an improvement in every possible way on the original and provides an impactful and heart wrenching story with engaging gameplay throughout. If you played and loved the original game, this is an absolutely essential purchase, and even if you didn’t, this is turn-based strategy done very right. Just don’t you dare let Boron get loaded into the Soul Cannon, you monster.

Everyone has had their edgelord phase, whether they want to admit it or not. Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer is an explosion and poop-joke filled journey through those memories, and I loved it. Zayn is crude, and weird, and narcissistic, and way too easy to relate to - he's a reflection of a dorky teenage past, brought to the surface via a fast, fierce, and unforgettable shooter experience.

Darkest Dungeon II is to be applauded for not resting on its laurels, instead opting to make significant changes from its predecessor. The style, challenge, and strategic brilliance remain and that is enough to make it stand out still. However, the focus on roguelike randomness and excessive grind does make this a very different experience and one that didn’t gel for me. If you have the patience to explore the rich detail of the mechanics and the stoicism to deal with the inevitable deaths and disappointments then this is a journey worth taking. Just don’t expect it to be a comfortable ride.

Remnant II is a fantastic fantasy shooter, offering a dark and enticing series of worlds to explore, loot and conquer. Whether you’re playing solo or in co-op, this is easily one of the game experiences of the year.