You may want to switch Injection π23 ‘Ars regia’ off, the lack of direction is a tad annoying and the nostalgic world on offer may feel a bit of a turn-off. But carry on playing through and you’ll realise that the hooks grab you, taking you into a game that is engaging and intriguing throughout.

Ultimately, IIN is a Jeckyl and Hyde platformer. When it’s more on the puzzle end of things, it’s a Jeckyl, delivering fantastic problems to solve with eureka moments. But when it’s more on the platforming side, it goes full Hyde. The puzzle layouts demand that you wrestle with the game’s love of physics, and you have to balance blocks without teetering over into oblivion.

Project SNAQE might be priced low enough to allow you to overlook the drawbacks, but those wishing to rekindle the old Snake flame should be aware that things soon begin to burn out.

I’ve both loved (you wouldn’t necessarily believe that) and hated Adventure Pop in my time playing it. The lovely vibrant colours, the cheerful soundtrack and the bubble popping in general are immensely enjoyable. The sheer number of levels will no doubt tide you over for many hours and the gameplay is kept fresh with new features thrown in periodically. What I don’t like though is the shady hit detection at times, the slowness of shooting during what should be intense and frantic affairs, and the crazily difficult levels which are there to shove you in the direction of micro-transactions.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons on Xbox One is a game that gives you some good content for an alright price. If you have young ones in the house and you want a good family game that will manage to keep them quiet for a good 10 hours or so, this could be it. If you’re a bit longer in the tooth though, or just want to play through something without issue or constant loading screens, then you may well have to seriously consider things before putting in a purchase.

Be prepared for Puzzle By Nikoli W Slitherlink: you will need to be firing on all mental cylinders to get the most out of its Boxes-based puzzling.

The Wreck was such a labour for us to wade through. It’s too structured and symmetrical, making it feel less like a story and more like a syllabus of homework tasks.

If you’re a fan of previous Tonguç Bodur games - the likes of The Redress of Mira and Finding the Soul Orb - then Cions of Vega should be on your list. It's one of his best, with a nicely compact story, some lovely visuals, and a great atmosphere.

With Cube Farmer you reap what you sow in the sense that you can get a cheap and decent puzzler for a cheap and decent price.

Panda Punch is fine, we suppose. If you have a fiver in your pocket, and a love of (red) pandas in your heart, then it will tickle you for the hour it takes to gain its Gamerscore, or the three hours it takes to fully complete. But it’s one of Ratalaika’s more mediocre offerings, as it eats, shoots and leaves you feeling unsatisfied.

To like Metro Simulator 2, you’re going to have to be a massive train sim fan. It has some authentic-looking trains, as well as the locations you would expect from Moscow's massive metro.

The Tower of Beatrice manages to present itself as a cheap and mildly enjoyable point-and-click offering that’ll last a couple of hours.

When considered with other expansions that have added vampires, mystery towns, island getaways and jungles, The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs expansion on Xbox One does feel a bit empty by comparison.

If you are willing to work for some glorious moments, then The Forest Cathedral is a walking sim that delivers. But oof: it demands some extreme patience when the walking starts straying into platforming.

REDEX asks a lot of a player, outside of the cheap entry point. It tutorialises itself poorly and asks you to die, over and over, before you become even barely functional. Later on, it asks you to grind through levels that don’t repay the favour of being enjoyable to replay. There’s an enjoyable hour or two in the middle, but they’re bookended by pain.

RunBean Galactic feels like a toy rather than a game, something you might pick up and dabble with for a couple of minutes before putting it back down. It’s elegant but depthless. When you consider how many ways that RunBean Galactic could have filled out the experience, you wonder why it didn’t shoot for the stars, rather than making do and staying bean-sized.

Rememoried is an artistic experiment that tries to be a game. There isn’t a story to speak of, but rather a collection of thoughts and comments on the philosophy of the soul and/or journey in the universe. It has problems as a game, especially in the platforming sections and it has some very uneven voice work. Visually is where its strengths lie and it does this very well indeed.

Sports games have set such a high bar for themselves over the years and we have come to expect so much of them. This means that when a game comes along and doesn’t reach our expectations we are disappointed. This is exactly the case for AO Tennis 2.

For the Final Fantasy die-hards who missed out on this first time around it may appeal more seeing more of the minor characters from the main game. But to anyone not familiar with the franchise, don’t let this freebie be considered an example of the rest of it.

You’ll have a great time with REKT!... for about an hour or so. After that, it quickly becomes obvious that you would have seen everything the game has to offer. It’s clear that this is a brilliant casual experience, with its strong fundamentals, easy-to-pick-up gameplay and truckload of customisation. It’s simply that with nothing added on top of it, REKT! ends up rather stale.

You’ll be looking at some four or five hours in order to complete Remorse: The List and throughout that time will find a world that is interesting to explore. The combat could be more fun though, and it would have been great to have taken in a few more surprises in its setup. At least the puzzle elements are rewarding though.

Ultimately, Wandersong on Xbox One is worth trying at least. The way it constantly switches up its gameplay and tone can be exciting and refreshing, and I wholly appreciate that Wandersong isn't trying to replicate the ideas or style of any other game.

As a gaming experience it is frustrating, has no variation in pace and I’m not sure how successful its outcome is. There are amazing cut scenes and some good sound work, but I left wanting to find out more about this horrific case and its consequences.

In my review of the previous episode my main gripe was that things didn’t move quick enough and it was obviously a bit of a ‘filler’ episode before things got moving. Well, my hopes were quashed as I starting playing this episode – it got even slower.

That title was always going to be a challenge to shake. With so many good Metroidvanias out there, spilling out of Game Pass on a weekly basis, Clunky Hero can’t help but feel slow and cumbersome in comparison. It’s large, dense, and at its best when you’re exploring but, in every other way, Clunky Hero succumbs to its name.

Despite a few issues, I have had a good time with Newt One. There is no story to be mesmerized with, nor any extremely addictive gameplay, but the inner-collector in you that craves 100%-ing levels and areas will enjoy this short but musical adventure… especially if you’re into old-school 3D platformers.

If you can absorb the physics-related issues, and you can get to grips with what each block means and does, then this is an extremely clever game. It’s not as easy as that cute rat protagonist might lead you to believe. Rattyvity Lab is an utter scumbag, but you have to admire its occasional genius.

One Button Games 5-in-1 vol. 5 is a fascinating exploration of what you can achieve with one button. The result sounds gimmicky, and in a few cases it is. But when it comes off, the result truly scratches the score-attack and achievement hunting itch.