Shift Happens isn’t exactly a bad co-op game, but it does suffer from some rather noticeable irritations and when joining a genre of successfully established titles, there really needs to be more on offer than that included.

Late Shift does well to ensure any choices you make impact on the story, either immediately or later on. It really lives or dies by the success of the live-action part though and in truth, my enjoyment varies dependent on the decision making and the subsequent acting out of the following scenes, with only the lead delivering an almost faultless performance.

In translating Virtual Families Cook Off: Chapter 1 Let’s Go Flippin’ to Xbox, only half the job has been done. The baking and cooking feels great with a controller in the hands, and the microtransactions have wisely been excised from this £8.39 release. But the grind and levels that feed it are all still here.

Kill the Brickman’s attempt to add a roguelike to a brick-breaker is an inventive idea, but not the best execution of it.

Quick Whiskers doesn’t do a lot wrong. It has a fine eye for tense platforming sequences where there isn’t much room for mistakes. But it’s also nothing special, as it fails to generate any charm or ideas beyond a cool cat character and a dash mechanic.

We didn’t have a bad time playing Ballotron Coolbox. While it’s more of the same, it’s an unfussy ‘more of the same’, with levels that can be beaten by giving the cue ball a huge amount of welly and watching the ricochets.

Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef should have been the one I shouted about, telling all to come and play, but instead we have a game that has a ton of potential that it just doesn't fulfil.

Claim the Forest: Shape of Wolves doesn’t have any technical issues and everything functions as intended. But realistically, older gamers will be picking this up for the easy Gamerscore and not because they plan on being blown away by the gameplay.

Come to Roads of Time 2: Odyssey having played none of the other games from 8floor, and you might be in for a small surprise. It’s a much of a muchness, as levels play out almost identically, and we’d challenge anyone to remain interested by level 50.

By choosing to be a battle royale, we can’t help but think that Headbangers Rhythm Royale attached some blinkers. It could have been a Jackbox rival with an audio flavour. Waggling our pigeon was undoubtedly fun (and juvenile), but like the rest of the game, the laughs were short-lived.

You should enjoy the chance to get behind the bar of Bartender Hustle, especially if drink mixing is your bag. What keeps it interesting is the variety of cocktails, the different locations, and the variety of modes on offer from the beginning.

The tutorial-focused hands of Summer in Mara on Xbox are where things stumble, offering a game that is unwilling to let you go outside of the strict parameters set before you.

If you’re motivated by highscore tables and have three friends who reminisce about Motorstorm, then WildTrax Racing is just about worth it.

If you’re after a new local multiplayer game for the family to enjoy then Agents vs Villain on Xbox One certainly isn’t a bad choice. It won’t leave you stuffed with new content, but should you just wish to get on with the fun that’s available then there is no reason not to return to this one from time to time.

While the fighting section of Shuyan Saga is without doubt the weaker of the two halves, it still does enough to keep you coming back for short bursts every now and then.

There’s fun to be had here, especially in couch co-op, but the niggles sit in the mix like a bunch of wasps at a picnic; you can try to ignore them, but sooner or later they are going to sting you.

Cyber Protocol on Xbox One is a kind of PAC-MAN/TRON hybrid; one that takes the shiny neon visuals of the 1980s, mixes in a collect-the-dots, maze-based mechanic and runs with it. The story is completely redundant - it makes literally no difference to the game that you are playing - and while the challenge is good, the input lag and repetition aren't.

Deiland: Pocket Planet is a very family-friendly game, one that is complete with cartoony vibes and inoffensive gameplay which is full of imagination. The concept itself is an unusual one, mixing farming sim ideas with planet progression. Yet whilst the visuals and soundtrack are nice, making progression does sometimes seem to take an age.

Would I recommend Super Destronaut Landed X Loaded? Well, there’s no doubt that it is a good arcade shooter, full of quick gameplay and enough action to keep you going for half an hour. But after that? It’s all for debate as to whether you’ll continue to play.

The World’s Fair Pack on Xbox may be lacking rides, particularly in comparison to some of the other DLCs on offer for Planet Coaster: Console Edition, but it packs in plenty more facilities and scenery.

The ambition of Criminal Expert is high and I love a lot of what it tries to do in terms of mixing FMV with actual detective-styled gameplay. The narrative is intriguing and the dialogue effective. But the restrictions it puts on the tasks in hand, along with the ‘three strikes and you're out’ pressure are not good.

1971 Project Helios on Xbox One has a lot of good ideas, but the execution of those ideas is not quite as good as it could have been. The story is very immersive indeed, and the tension between group members is a high point. Sadly, the lack of basic things like a map to check where you've been, the chance to enjoy any tactical possibilities save all out attack, and generally poor controls and visibility make it more frustrating than it needs to be.

While the two genres in Boyfriend Dungeon dovetail nicely, they don’t stand up to scrutiny themselves. The hack-and-slashing is a callow shade of games like Hades, and the dating sim stuff is fine, but lacking in any emotional reaction: we failed to laugh, love or loathe. It may not be the sleazy sim that many have imagined, but it also fails to trigger a reaction other than a shrug emoji.

Edge of Reality is a short game and your first playthrough will be done and dusted in just over an hour or two, depending on how fast you read.

There are many idle games to click on the Xbox, almost all of them free (with microtransactions). That’s a challenge for DPS IDLE 2 to overcome: how to entice players to play, and do so for a lengthy period of time. DPS IDLE 2 opts for better presentation and usability - turning one of the ugliest idle games into one of the prettiest - but that’s all it really has to offer. It’s ‘number goes up’ but with a surprising lack of player-choice.

Frogun is deep, charming and podgy with collectibles. Just be aware that this frog is not fit to lick Mario 64’s boots.

Even though the story holds a ton of content for those interested in the narrative adventure, the lack of fan favourite modes, the unnecessary crafting system, the constant repetitive nature and the boredom of a map that is unpopulated across large areas means Dynasty Warriors 9 is more of a step back than a progressive improvement.

When twin-stick roguelikes are common as muck on Xbox, Bestial Reception needed to do something spectacular to stand out. But instead it’s headed the other way: it’s doing everything you might expect, nothing more.

Mists of Noyah is an interesting proposition, hamstrung by the lack of any kind of handholding.

Book of Demons is a strange beast. It has some audio and gameplay issues that make it downright frustrating at points, but its concept is so novel that it’s still worth looking into regardless.

Down a double espresso as you will need to be on high alert with Pixel Cafe. The gameplay is a lot of fun if you can find the rhythm-like gameplay within, but it does get repetitive over time regardless. The visual novel element is also welcome to help drive you on, so long as you are invested in Pixel herself.

Skeletal Avenger is by no means a bad dungeon crawler. It’s just a painfully generic one. It does however teach a valuable gaming lesson: no matter how strong your loot, perk or upgrade systems are, if they are layered on top of a bedrock of ‘meh’, the whole dungeon can still come toppling down.

It’s not the most effusive of praise, but Roads of Times makes some snips to the same template that has been used by Gnomes Garden, Lost Artifacts and others, to make a tiny, almost imperceptible improvement. If you’re committed to completing the series (what has possessed you?) then Roads of Time at least has the glimmer of something new.

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales may not top many game of the year lists, but it is a unique experience that is fun to play throughout its short runtime.

Whether you simply jump into a new Franchise, or play a quick tournament with all the modern features you would expect, Legend Bowl may not be a Madden killer, but it can stand toe-to-toe with the licensed franchise.

The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 5 doesn't change the fact that, as a whole, it’s a mediocre episodic adventure. If you’re massively into The Expanse universe, then maybe consider it in the sale at push. But otherwise I wouldn’t bother.

Gord’s slow pace and pretty punishing difficulty (even on normal) coupled with problematic controls prevent you from being able to get fully absorbed in a world which really intrigues.

A sim-game that comes with arcade elements, you should have some fun with Emergency Call: The Attack Squad

Ultimately, Potata: fairy flower has plenty to enjoy; a solid platformer that is both challenging and fun in the same breath.

If you love the series, there is still worth with Rock of Ages 3, offering up more levels of the same great gameplay. But in all other senses, the rock has been dropped here.

Saborus is a unique, thought-provoking horror adventure that deserves credit for its premise, but struggles to fully deliver on its potential. It is worth experiencing for its bold design and unsettling atmosphere, but be prepared for rough patches along the way.

The Madden NFL 25 on-field action is solid. But once again, it is let down in a lot of other departments, and that is despite some noticeable improvements.

If you're in the market for a consistently difficult Mega Man-esque game, you wouldn't be at much of a loss with Trophy. Despite some of the design choices being not so memorable, the soundtrack and satisfying NES style gameplay is sure to please any fan of the genre.

Snakeybus on Xbox One isn't exactly steeped in sophistication, but by god does it have a great USP. That alone makes it worth checking out. You can be certain of one thing here, and that is grinning like an idiot from start to finish.

It’s not going to wow the masses but it’s worthy of an afternoon sit down and despite the lack of VR on Xbox One seeing it fail to emphasise those big scares, there is just enough in place to make you jump.

Despite borrowing heavily from Overcooked!, Cannibal Cuisine strikes more of a party game tone, with mixed results. The gameplay lacks finesse, and despite providing a few laughs with friends, you’ll find it difficult not to revert back to the inspirational rival.

I very much like the work of Tonguç Bodur, especially the strange puzzle walking sim experiences. There are bits of that found in The Redress of Mira but other gameplay mechanics let it down somewhat. The story and visuals just about make up for these mechanics and the price feels good for a four-hour adventure game, but ultimately it's the weird stuff we want next time please, Tonguç.

Bugs, poor pacing and free-to-play grind. It’s not a great future for anyone who begins to play Cup Heroes. Which is something of a shame, as the opening of the game can be a whirlwind romance for fans of auto-battlers and pachinko.

I enjoy the Darksiders series for being Darksiders; a colourful fantasy world with a satisfying hack and slash combat, a cast of bizarre characters, and a galore of environmental puzzles. Darksiders 3 tries too much to be something else: to be dark and tough. As a result, it loses a lot of its own identity – its own unique charm. It’s by no means a bad game and certainly has its moments, but being disappointed myself, I just can’t wholeheartedly recommend it to existing fans of the franchise.

There’s a cute little platformer here. What it lacks in frills, it makes up for in solid, no-nonsense gameplay. But be aware that it’s the moments between the levels, when the Rift Adventure stops for a moment, that the devil creeps in.

Injection π23 'No Name, No Number' on Xbox One is ambitious but doesn’t quite deliver everything it sets out to. However, despite some questionable graphics and an intense difficulty curve, it provides moments of genuine horror linked together by enjoyable puzzle solving.

In flashes Go! Go! PogoGirl feels like a classic platformer that has found a way to make constantly bouncing around a level fun. But they are just flashes, and it’s equally common for the pogoing to be slow and cumbersome.

One Button Games 5-in-1 vol 3 proves me wrong. More specifically, Revolve A, Twin P and Two Lane have proved me wrong. They show that, with some wild invention and riffs on arcade classics, you can make one-button games that are fun for more than five seconds.

Enclave HD is by no means an essential purchase, but temper your expectations and you may still have fun.

Should you like challenging platformers then GODS Remastered is one you’ll want to give a go. It doesn’t bring any of the modern style platforming mechanics we’ve come to take for granted and the movement is quite honestly horrible, but if you can get past that then what you’ve got is a capable and rewarding experience.

Blitz Breaker is the archetypical pocket-money platformer. It costs less than a fiver, comes with plenty of content, and its gimmick - a character that can’t walk, but can jetpack its way to the far reaches of the level - is different enough to make it interesting. Just be warned that this is deeply difficult, and failures won’t always be down to you.

While I think triggering nostalgia is part of what Saga of the Moon Priestess wants to accomplish, it feels like a net loss when the game it inspires you to think about is the one you end up wanting to play more.

From my time with Bite the Bullet on Xbox One, its charm and uniqueness was made clear, but the more traditional sides of its game design and combat ultimately let me down. The RPG systems are rather shallow and progression feels hollow throughout most of the game. The general level design, whilst pretty decent, does not reward exploration, and some of its systems don’t really matter that much to the overall experience.

Heirs of the Kings is pretty indistinguishable from any of KEMCO’s recent output. It could be any one of a number of games, and it is this cookie cutter approach that sees the shine wearing off.

As a first outing in this mix of genres for SkyGoblin, Hellfront: Honeymoon is a unique experience. Unfortunately though, your fun can be marred by some ridiculous difficulty spikes when going through the single player campaign.

For insatiable veterans of hidden object games, it’s relatively easy to make a case for playing Portal of Evil: Stolen Runes on Xbox. It attempts some innovations, new puzzles, a harder difficulty, a sprawling map and a grab-bag of environments to create an experience that’s different enough, while keeping enough of the Artifex Mundi template to feel comfy. For newcomers, though, Portal of Evil is so ropey that it looks like a game of Atmosfear on VHS, and it has rough edges that only the most forgiving could ignore.

Super Space Serpent SE is a homage to a magical and yet crazy era in video games, but even so it lacks the mechanical subtleties and polish of similar games that are three decades older. The music is certainly an enjoyable aspect, but the visuals are certainly not going to be for everyone.

I finished Escape From Tethys on Xbox One in three hours. While it definitely has issues that have a negative impact on the overall experience, I can’t help but look back on my time with the game positively, and if you are interested it definitely won’t let you down – if you can push through the tedium.

Alchemic Cutie on Xbox is an interesting but tough sell. It no doubt has its charms and strengths, and yet its distinguishing ideas lack real substance in execution; the experience as a whole can feel pointless for a genre that is known to champion a pointless slice of life loop in the first place.

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues on Xbox One gets about as many aspects right as it manages to mess up. There’s a surprising amount of depth to the movesets, the enemy variety is smashing, and the RPG-like skill trees are an added bonus. When the hit detection and technical accuracies are lacking though, it’s very annoying and off-putting. Throw in the phoned-in voice acting, budget graphics and bang-average story, and you find that most of the good work comes undone.

If you are looking for a challenge, there are certainly worse games out there, but Firework fails to shine bright and should only really be considered by the masochists.

How to Survive 2 is definitely a much improved sequel, the added player count is a neat addition giving you the option to enjoy the cool parts of the game with more people, including the interesting community building mechanics that you could literally get lost in, or the upgrade and survival-able systems. Nevertheless a culmination of small, but meaningful issues, leaves me with a sweet but bitter taste in my mouth.

If you like challenge and can push through the constant game over screens, then UltraGoodness may not quite deserve that ‘Ultra’ prefix, but it’s still fine. UltraGoodEnough?

If you're a fan of survival horror then it may be worth adding Remothered: Broken Porcelain on Xbox One to your list. It delivers a decent, although frustratingly confusing, narrative that is complemented by some good stealth mechanics and the deliverance of an air of creepiness and horror throughout. However, the bugs are hugely annoying and for some it is these which will determine whether this game lives or dies. Personally, I think this would be a shame, because under the rough exterior lies a bit of a diamond.

If you want a good mystery and don’t mind a few hiccups along the way, then come and solve The Last Case of John Morley.

A proper storyline from the perspectives of both the DEA and Narcos could’ve elevated the base game into something far more sumptuously involving too, but what’s here is serviceable and will readily satisfy anyone who wants to sink their teeth into a quick-fix strategy game.

There are issues, such as the terrible dungeon-crawling, but the solid puzzling and rewarding base-building elements more than make up for it. Tackling three genres is no easy feat, but Caves and Castles: Underworld proves that it can be done.

If you haven’t yet played a Tour game, and are a massive cycling fan who is slowly being gripped by the hype, then this may just appeal. But even then, it’s still a hard sell.

SlabWell presents a rather simple concept that’s been transformed, on the whole, into a good tile-based puzzler thanks to a variety of ideas regarding the tile mechanics. Unfortunately though, the inclusion of the fast-paced Kaktun element is stupendously detrimental and turns a fairly decent game sour with its unfairness.

At thirty minutes long, Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game is closer in duration to a Looney Tunes short than it is a movie. But adjust your expectations down, find a couple of mates, play it for free, and you’ll find a belt-action game that can be fun, and has faint echoes of classic beat-em ups like Turtles in Time, The Simpsons and X-Men.

American Hero is a strange game to review because it's very much like watching a museum piece play out. I do, however, think it's important that this game has been shown the light of day, even if the subject matter and themes don't hold up at all in today's world.

Cattie is a game which bears all the classic Eastasiasoft hallmarks, and there’s nothing here you won’t have seen many times before.

There's a great, highly-original idea in Of Bird and Cage - it is that which I like, much like a concept album in game form. I love the ambition and audacity to even try it.

Cipher Monk is a good puzzler and different in its approach, but it certainly needs some early explanation to get you started. And then, once in the groove, you’ll probably want more content in order to be fully satisfied.

Super Bomberman R is just a bit of a non-starter. The lacklustre campaign is only good to hold your attention for so long and the modes that really matter are criminally held back by a low player count.

Afterglitch is an experimental piece of gaming with strange mechanics, an obscure narrative, and trippy visual design.

It’s a strategy game for people who’d rather they didn’t have to do much strategising, and a resource management game where the ‘management’ comes in inverted commas. If that sounds like your thing, kick back, don your gardening gloves, and partake in some armchair gardening with Garden City.

With no thread tying the puzzles together, no charm or character in the puzzles, and some localisation errors, we don’t feel the inclination to say that Lots of Things: Collector’s Edition is the hidden object game that you should buy.

On the whole, Dr. Atominus is a very cheap metroidvania style platformer, which is probably best suited to those wanting an entry-level type of instalment. It crams a lot of different features into an adventure that will last no more than an hour and deserves praise for that.

Super Star Blast provides a relatively decent experience in the early stages, with the draw of upgraded ship elements and Gamerscore harvesting the only real things to keep you going back for more. But once the former of those starts to become unattainable, and the gameplay continues to provide the same old spin, chase and blast style mechanics, this is a game that begins to get pretty old, pretty fast.

Chronos is simply a good, not great, hardcore action-RPG – one that is a little too light on features.

As a fun distraction on your mobile device on a bus or train journey, League of Evil works well. However, it does not lend itself particularly well to a console port that you will find yourself longing to play for any significant amount of time.

You won’t come away from Square Keeper feeling like a genius, but for the low price of under a fiver, it’s a decent puzzler that can kill an hour and boost your Gamerscore in the process.

Last Labyrinth -Lucidity Lost- loses its edge without VR and merely becomes a mediocre puzzle game.

Planetbase has all the requirements of a top simulation experience, but the overbearing difficulty and need for perfection throughout makes this title feel more like a chore than anything else.

While Crime Secrets: Crimson Lily gets points for its absence of sticking points, and its determination to improve the deduction sequences, it keeps missing out thanks to its creaky storytelling and pervasive blandness that felt like we were being force-fed dry toast.

Skautfold: Into the Fray has potential, yet the poor controls on Xbox hold it back, with the aiming feeling much better suited for a keyboard and mouse setup.

By the end of Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf, we felt like Frodo and Sam at the end of Lord of the Rings: tired, ready for a pint, and never wanting to go through the experience again.

Unknown Fate on Xbox One is a mixed bag. I love the concept, the world, and the experience that really has compelled me to keep playing. On the other hand, the control system and the game-stopping bugs have ruined things multiple times; thankfully the overall experience has a strong enough lure to make you want to go back.

What a time it is to be alive if you’re a farming fan. We truly have received an embarrassment of riches over the past few months, and the future promises many more. But it does mean that Hokko Life arrives precisely when dozens of games are doing what it’s doing. And they’re doing it with greater charisma and a much better understanding of the genre. Hokko Life needed to unlock the compulsive secrets of the farming game loop, but it left its keys at home.

Two people played our copy of Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx. The young reviewer adored it, prancing across rooftops and taking down gangs of enemies with simple button presses. The older reviewer snarled and tutted their way through it, distracted by graphical bugs, poorly conceived bosses and a condensed runtime.

Murder Diaries will feel very familiar if you’ve played the other games that come from this developer, and whether or not you enjoy these experiences will dictate the fate of this game.

Sugar Tanks is a shot of syrup for tank game fans (or newbies to the genre), but you should be aware of the sugar-comedown at the halfway mark.