Ratyrinth is an enjoyable game, with only some weird input lag spoiling the party. Get used to that and there is a lot of content to go at. It may not be the best looking game out there, but there’s no doubt that there is still some fun to be had.

It is because of the greatness of many parts – the animal morphing, the stunning visuals, brilliant audio and availability of many hidden collectables and secrets – that Lost Ember on Xbox One is able to provide a pretty unique experience that many gamers will love.

Death Becomes You is a great visual novel that improves and becomes extra twisted with every playthrough. And that’s crucial for a game offering so many possible endings for you to reach.

After an explosive start, Resident Evil 3 on Xbox One quickly falls into a familiar rhythm. Having a Tyrant hunt you down is now the new norm for Resident Evil, but the most feared of all will always be Nemesis. He quickly disappears into the cutscenes however, without as much of an impact as you would perhaps hope. Thankfully though, there are enough environment and enemy variations crammed into this short experience that you never get a chance to settle down and acquaint yourself with any one enemy type, and as a survival horror game that is exactly how you want to feel.

If you’ve 100%’d a Dark Souls game, or you’ve written snarky comments on Reddit threads about why games hand-hold too much nowadays, then pick up In Celebration of Violence. It’s double-concentrate masochism, and you will love it.

Arcadia Fallen is a visual novel that captures the camaraderie and derring-do of a D&D campaign with friends. You feel like you are part of a fellowship, and you have just as much choice and input in what happens. And like the best D&D campaigns, you hope the band stays together for one or two adventures more.

A great family-friendly game to play with the young ones, I like the simple mechanics on offer in Once Upon a Jester. It has good writing, delivered with charm and humour. It also has a good heart to the story, even though it is a bit predictable towards the end.

Iron Meat can be mentioned in the same breath as those classics of the run-and-gun genre that we are all familiar with. The challenge is real, learning boss patterns is vital, and moreover, it is just good, old-fashioned fun. Give it a blast; you won't be disappointed.

Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire is a game with a lot of charm, challenge, and heart. There are issues, particularly with the graphics, but if you can overlook those (and they are mainly noticeable in wide-open spaces), there’s a lot to enjoy. The story and challenging gameplay will keep you engaged so if you’re looking for a unique RPG experience, you could do a lot worse than giving Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire a try.

Yakuza 4 Remastered on Xbox isn’t the best game in The Yakuza Remastered Collection but it is a marked improvement on the pacing of Yakuza 3 Remastered.

Rival Megagun manages to bring something new to the table; a rare thing in this day and age. Adding PvP to a shmup is a bold move, but it’s one that works very well and beating a real person gives a buzz that is quite addictive.

RIDE 5 is perhaps the most welcoming motorbike racing game to date, while retaining the exciting and challenging gameplay the series is famed for.

Cotton 100% is a classic cute shooter that still holds up, comparing well with the best of its peers. Sure, it’s not massively innovative or long, and there are enough slowdown issues to make it feel like we should mark it down to Cotton 50%. But what’s here is pure, retro shooty goodness, and we latch onto these kinds of experiences whenever we can.

Jitsu Squad is an absolute riot to play, alone or with friends. There is more action than you can shake a katana at, there are more special attacks and pyrotechnics outside of a Dragon Ball anime, and the only thing wrong with it is the difficulty in making out what is going on when playing multiplayer.

The Riftbreaker does enough in a new and interesting way to be worth your time. With four biomes to go at, and a survival mode to try out (although you’ll probably want to stay away from the ultra hard difficulty!), there’s a lot of content to go at. The campaign is a decent length too. All in all, if you want something a bit different to the norm, The Riftbreaker might just be it.

The House of the Dead: Remake stays faithful to its roots and is an incredible upgrade visually compared to the original version.

If you loved Arcadia Fallen, then I can say with no caveats whatsoever that you will love Arcadia Fallen II as well. It still plays the same trick – staying in the confines of a single building but ensuring the world is out to get you – but that building is bigger, and the stakes are magnitudes more thrilling. Sure, the choices occasionally feel like railroad tracks, but the quality of the tale is great enough that all is soon forgiven.

Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition is a really unique and interesting experience, and there are not many other titles that can pull of this kind of genre mix. It works out in a great way too - it’s deep, intricate, complex, and deeply engaging. Further to that, the story is investing and written gorgeously.

Any excuse to return to Remnant II is a good excuse. And even though The Awakened King does commit a few of the same issues as the first game, it is a solid addition to an already excellent experience.

World War Z: Aftermath improves on the base game in a number of ways. Despite the new content only adding a few short hours of gameplay, there are more reasons than ever for players to keep coming back for more.

Come to Open Roads as a ‘Sunday game’, with a big cup of tea and a ginger biscuit on hand, and you’ll leave extremely impressed.

Nova Lands avoids nearly all the pitfalls of the ever popular sim genre, providing a charming and accessible experience which is hard not to like.

PowerWash Simulator is fun for both short and long gaming sessions, delivering instant virtual gratification from pressure washing goodness.

All in all, Grim Legends 3: The Dark City stands out from the Artifex Mundi pack thanks to its exciting story of creatures and secret orders, whilst the voice acting has come a long way from the games that precede it.

It’s the goofing that makes Pile Up! Box by Box such a winner: when you’ve got a couple of friends or family around who fancy a platforming adventure, crafted out of cardboard, where you can stack each other on your heads, then this is the business.

Farming Simulator as a franchise just gets better with every new release and that’s the case with Farming Simulator 22. The purists and experts might argue that this hasn’t gone far enough, adding in just a few new features, but with cross-play multiplayer, the brilliant seasonal farming, and supply chains coming to console, there is certainly enough to keep those winter evenings flying by.

Macrotis: A Mother’s Journey on Xbox One is a charming little platformer that will have you scratching your head at times. You’ll most likely clear it in a few short hours, but it’s fun whilst it lasts.

Despite lacking some depth, Rubber Bandits offers a thoroughly enjoyable multiplayer experience both on and offline. It’s the perfect party game to dip in and out of if you’re after something a little different.

Liberated: Enhanced Edition is an amazingly stylish and beautiful production, well created with Sin City vibes.

REPLACED is an ambitious action adventure platformer which opts for hand-crafted pixel art, but that takes nothing away from how utterly absorbing it is. However, I can’t let that blind me from its shortcomings that, whilst far from being serious, do limit the potential of an otherwise impressive game, one that can sometimes be accused of style over substance.

Whilst the new DLC may only be one mission in length, it goes without saying it is a welcome addition and brings more quality content to an already fantastic game. With a new location providing a fresh experience from what we have become comfortable with, and impressive level design and enemy placement providing plenty of different routes in which to put together a plan, this is one content add-on you certainly won’t regret forking out for, even if you do think the price is a little on the high side.

With a beautiful world, interesting gameplay mechanics and a hearty amount of content, Aragami: Shadow Edition is the best way to experience Lince Works’ lovingly crafted offering of a master-ninja power trip. The future of Aragami is promising indeed.

It tests the mind in ways others cannot, and with the delights of the online community continuing to push it along, will ensure that even once the reasonably lengthy and highly entertaining campaign is done and dusted, there will nearly always be a reason to head back in to the negative space of Shift Quantum.

Metal Eden may have clear inspiration, but emerges as an enjoyable adventure in its own right which unfolds at a breakneck pace. The eerily beautiful, mechanical world riddled with danger and intrigue compliments the fluid gameplay, elevating it above a simple shooter.

Bassmaster Fishing 2022 is a very good simulation of the sport, but even keen anglers will want to have some interest in the bass side of life for it to really come to life. Yes it plays well, for the most part it looks good and Bassmaster Royale brings something new to the table, but there are still some better fishing titles out there.

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a wonderfully characterful tale that gets so much right, adding up to a memorable if not brief experience.

Path of Giants is a relaxing puzzler that sticks to its ethos by providing a good selection of slightly challenging levels, creating an environment that’s easy on the eyes, and having a chilled vibe courtesy of the soundtrack.

Kansei: The Second Case HD is a hugely enjoyable way to spend some time. It’s nice to take your foot off the gas every now and then to play something that makes no demands on you. The story is intriguing, and trying to figure out not only whodunnit, but whydunnit as well, will keep you revisiting the narratives and trying out the various conversational gambits that are on offer.

With some fantastic vehicles, great new challenges and plenty of beautiful scenery to get lost in, it will ensure you of more hours of off-roading madness yet.

Table Top Racing World Tour is already a hell of an addictive little racer, but its long term charm completely relies on the online community – something that past history proves is a tricky proposition. It’s currently got just enough variety and draw to keep you going back for more, but it won’t be long before you find yourself exhausting everything the single player brings and that is when you’ll start looking for something extra. Should the online side really take off though, then, well, this could be a table top racer to challenge the very best.

The story, the characters, and the relationships that grow between those you meet will make you want to continue playing Miden Tower on Xbox One. If you don't like retro styled JRPGs it’s unlikely to sway you, but for everyone else, this is a game that needs to be played. In fact, it’s the best KEMCO game of recent months and you really should give it a try.

Evertried is a strategic isometric RPG with an addictive roguelite gameplay loop. There isn’t much to it in its opening moments, but this is a deceptively simple game which rewards strategic planning and foresight. Genre fans will certainly enjoy the challenge, while newcomers will get plenty of enjoyment from the turn-based action as they master tile movement and placement.

Whilst many of the components of Like a Dragon: Ishin! will immediately feel familiar, that is no bad thing. An adage that franchise fans will repeat is that there is no bad Like a Dragon game, and Ishin continues that trend.

Scourgebringer on Xbox One is a challenging game that is easy to get sucked into. The mechanics are solid, the artstyle clean, and there is a ton of replayability because, frankly, you’ll need to play it a ton if you want to get to the last boss. If you’re a fan of games like Enter the Gungeon and you’re open to a shift in perspective, then make sure Scourgebringer is the next game you play.

Morsels is a fun game with a unique atmosphere and a lot of heart; more than other games in the genre.

It’s not without issues, but the brilliance of the parkour and deepness of the combat easily outweigh the various bugs and glitches which pop up. Perhaps it’s not able to revolutionise the genre like the first game did, but Dying Light 2 Stay Human is still more than worthy of your time, patience and hope of staying human.

The exploration elements and the story are of a very high standard and the visuals manage to delicately capture the whole concept of the game in a fantastic way.

Crypt of the NecroDancer Pinball is a Pinball FX table that’s going to be loved by fans of the game and enjoyed greatly by everyone else.

If you're a fan of old-fashioned point-and-clickers then you must give Sumatra: Fate of Yandi on Xbox a go. It looks, sounds, and plays like one of those adventures from back in the day, and even though it may well play better on PC than with a controller, it works well enough.

It’s not quite a remake, yet Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition proves to be the definitive port of the original with a few enhancements.

There’s a fairly big chunk of gameplay on offer in The Quarry and it totally deserves a replay in order for you to witness different endings and try to see if you can keep everyone alive - or kill them all.

Little Goody Two Shoes is a wonderfully creative, and genuinely unsettling fairytale, in the truest sense. Despite a few bumps in the road, Elise’s journey is a foray into a fantasy world that doesn’t often have a happy ending, but is an enjoyable ride while it lasts.

No More Heroes 3 is a slick, stylish, and aesthetically cool game, one that will go down a treat with hack and slash or beat ‘em up fans.

The Council Episode 2: Hide and Seek is, once again, a very good addition to an experience that delivers a complicated, interesting and thoughtful story, constantly hinting at a much larger overriding narrative arc.

Riddled Corpses EX is a great, action packed, twin stick shooter, and the graphical style and chiptune music are the icing on a rotten cake full of zombies.

The journey may be short – lasting only a couple of hours – but LEGO Builder’s Journey proves that LEGO games don’t need to descend into silliness and collectathons to be enjoyable. Here is one of the most emotionally impactful stories in gaming in 2021, and it is done through the medium of LEGO in a very special way. LEGO Builder’s Journey is a huge tangent from what has been before, but it is also one of the best ever LEGO games.

Dosa Divas may well pull you in more than you will expect. It isn’t going to win awards for story writing, as every twist can be seen coming a mile off, but it is charming and that counts for a lot.

Forma.8 is good. In fact, it could quite easily be classed as great by some standards, but it definitely isn’t a game that I would recommend wholeheartedly to those without patience. It is a slow title that can grate against your patience in some cases, especially in regards to its respawn points, but thankfully still has many redeeming features that plenty of individuals will enjoy.

Ultimately, the lack of replayability doesn’t take too much away from the main experience. Donuts'n'Justice is still a great game. It’s wacky, it’s simplistic, and it’s good fun. It also pulls off the 1980s setting brilliantly. It’s certainly a very short game, but I don’t think that hinders it too much. If anything, it ensures that Donuts'n'Justice remains enjoyable from start to finish and doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Grief like a stray dog is a visually amazing and unique creation, delivering a powerful and impactful story that resonates deeply with the tragic conflicts of our own time.

Once you get used to the feel of the controls though, Aeon Drive is a fast-paced platformer that is sure to offer you a decent challenge. Especially if you take the time to grab all of the collectibles.

Super Arcade Football was the Sensible Soccer successor that we’d been waiting patiently for; now, Super Arcade Racing meets precisely the same need, but for Micro Machines. We’re eager to see what comes next with that Super Arcade prefix, as - from what we’ve seen - it means pin-sharp controls, joyful simplicity, and a boot crammed with things to do. Super Arcade Racing is a blissful nostalgia-overdose.

Combat is not a focus in SILENT HILL 2... but that’s okay. For each beat of action, or flying zombie head lacking, there lies purposeful level design, an array of chilling foes to scream your lungs at, and an atmosphere so truly terrifying, you might just have to sleep with lights on and eyes open.

I have no hesitation in giving The Walking Vegetables: Radical Edition on Xbox One a thumbs up. An old skool challenge, a cool neon vibe and the chance to shoot fruit and veg in the face, is always appreciated.

Into the Restless Ruins manages to make building dungeon layouts addictively strategic and a whole lot of fun.

Should you drop in on the tower of Spellspire, then you’ll no doubt enjoy what 10tons have created. It’s good fun, it’s hugely addictive and it comes with enough content to have you still playing some months down the line.

Colt Canyon on Xbox One is a great little randomly generated roguelike. Taking inspiration from the likes of Enter The Gungeon and Hotline Miami, the gameplay is smooth, fun and brutal. As well as this, the addition of a co-op mode adds a great deal to the overall experience.

While it may not have cost millions of dollars to develop Apple Slash, it’s a game that I had a fantastic time with. It’s stylish, unique, and just plain fun. Even if you aren’t dying for something to play while you hold your breath until the big end of the year releases, this is one little indie that’s sure to satisfy.

If you like story driven first person adventure games, then you can’t go wrong with this. It’s inventive, brilliantly told and designed, with great voice over work.

Neko Bento will give you more than your fill of food organising levels for a very respectable price. The concept is so simple to understand that anyone can give it a go, however, you should bear in mind how tough it becomes in a short space of time.

KARMA: The Dark World is the kind of game that will stick with you long after you complete it. Far from perfect, with a disappointing third act and some major performance issues, thankfully the pros outweigh the cons.

Dwarf Journey is small, short and completely lacking in innovation, but it concentrates your time with it into a thunderingly enjoyable burst.

Reverie Knights Tactics is a distillation - and slight simplification - of everything that makes turn-based strategy games great. It doesn’t push the boundaries of the genre like your average X-COM, but sometimes a comfy bit of armchair warfare is exactly the cup of tea you need. As a bonus, you get a likeable fantasy romp as a side-biscuit.

The hive are a bit spikier and the buildings are covered in Fallen graffiti, and it has to be said that the Moon is more decrepit and crumbling and new areas have been added, but when it comes down to it things are not so much new as buffed up and rolled in a bit of glitter.

If you like survival and base-building games, there should be enough on show in Kentum to whet your appetite.

Yars Rising takes the fundamentals of Yars’ Revenge and applies a lengthy metroidvania experience on top of it, creating a surprisingly fun game. The gameplay is varied enough to cover around ten hours without too much repetition. And there is plenty more fun in the menus after that, if you want to keep replaying the Yars minigame levels. Just maybe skip through the voice acting where possible.

A Hat in Time is a top piece of work from a developer who embraces all that is great about an old style 3D platformer and then makes it their own with innovative and insightful fresh ideas.

Fan of games like Portal and The Talos Principle? You’ll become at one with Causal Loop. Its story is a good one, featuring likeable characters and a narrative that reveals its mysteries in small segments.

If you love the idea of spontaneously chatting with fascinating strangers, then Night Call will most certainly give you a long list of memorable characters.

It’s another short one overall at around two hours, but it is clear that lessons have been learnt from the laborious Episode Gladiolus, with far more variation and a character that has a backstory worth telling.

The Rogue Prince of Persia may never be heralded as the greatest in the series yet what once was a twilight of dark sands, has awoken to a golden dawn filled with new beginnings and hope for the franchise. It’s without doubt a worthy title bound to please fans of the series and newcomers alike.

If you have a couple of evenings free you owe it to yourself to take The Path of Motus. Your journey will be remembered for a long time.

When RE:CALL is confident in its central conceit, it’s a bloody brilliant narrative adventure, and the writing here is among the very best. Let’s choose to keep the first levels as core memories. We’ll conveniently forget the rest.

Dying Light: The Beast is an exhilarating, grotesque, and technically impressive game that proves Techland still understands what makes this series special. The parkour is smoother than ever, the melee is unmatched, and the attention to detail in the world is astonishing. It stumbles with stealth, the story remains functional rather than unforgettable, and some design choices feel limited, but these flaws don’t outweigh how consistently enjoyable it is to play.

Call of Duty: WWII is most definitely a more than decent entry to the franchise. The return of boots-on-the-ground gameplay is certainly welcomed and it’s good to see Sledgehammer Games take a little risk and try out some new features.

Big Pharma provides you with this unique simulation, and while it may sound strange to act as a large pharmaceutical company at first, once you get past the lengthy and complicated learning curve that is discovered via playing through the tutorials, there is a great management simulator to play here.

It's not going to be for everyone, and it will require patience, especially early on. But if you are willing to overcome those roadblocks, then Drill Core is a unique roguelike that is worth adding to your game library.

By fusing strategy elements, 2D side-scrolling and tower defence mechanics, Kingdom Two Crowns on Xbox One forges a game unlike any other. It has a widely unique approach to its gameplay loop. While it’s definitely not the first game to have players build during the day and survive the night (Minecraft, anyone?), Kingdom does it in a way that no one else has.

Should you be in the market for a strategy survival game, you could do a whole lot worse than focus some time on Wartales. If you have a group of people to play with, then jolly cooperation can be yours.

As a survival game that is free to download and play, LEGO Fortnite is a great proposition. There is a lot to take in, be it exploring, fighting, collecting resources or generally surviving. Perhaps it won’t convert the haters, and it doesn’t have the same hook as the masterpiece that is Minecraft, but there is still a lot of fun to be had here.

If you enjoy mascot horror, then My Friendly Neighborhood is something a bit different that doesn’t rely on cheap jumpscares and chase sections to add tension.

Despite nothing in particular wowing in The Mobius Machine, that won't stop you from playing until the very end. All the Metroidvania hallmarks are present and correct, and that means this is one that will be hard to put down.

Ratshaker is very brief. Now there is a slight comfort to this because it is one of the creepier games I’ve played in recent memory and the short run-time does ensure any elevated blood pressure doesn’t remain so for too long. But it's going to take less than an hour to beat regardless of who you are.

Atom RPG is a brutal, punishing, yet ultimately rewarding RPG that deserves to be played. It is a huge game, with a surprising amount of depth, and while it may be too hard for the casual player, sticking with it will see you turning into a card carrying beast of the wasteland.

It’s easy to recommend Rebel Galaxy Outlaw on Xbox One. As a space sim, it’s been built for console, and it manoeuvres through a minefield of controls that have junked so many others. The trading and upgrades will keep you hopping into the cockpit, over and over again, but be wary of overheating the experience: the missions aren’t hugely varied, so Outlaw should be best played in short bursts.

MouseCraft is one superb game worthy of your attention. A fun and tricky game to be enjoyed by both young and old gamers alike.

This IS Simon the Sorcerer, claw-machined from the ‘90s and dropped into a polished, modern graphic adventure.

Being a retro revival of Asteroids isn't the flashiest look for an indie game and I fear Back to Belt on Xbox may suffer for that. But if you have any interest at all in arcade-style, pick up and play games, this one is definitely worth a look. It does not get everything right but there’s a lot of challenge and fun to be had here.