You’ll certainly enjoy your time with the crew of The Red Marley in Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. The challenge is real, make no mistake, but using the different crew members and finding the sweet spot in terms of powers does keep you retrying.

The humour, both in character design and the dialogue, is the stand-out winner here with The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos - Chicken Edition, and the rest of it is swept along nicely by the energy these factors bring. The story is good in its own right, but it is brought to life by the silly squabbles amongst the party. All in all, you can’t go wrong with The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos - Chicken Edition on Xbox.

Simple enough to grasp within seconds, complex enough to have you playing for hours on end. Freshly Frosted is a delicious delight.

There is so much to love about Forza Motorsport, that it is an easy sell. The game looks, races and - most importantly - feels absolutely bang on, and while I don’t love the new upgrade system, it’s something to get used to.

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is utterly unique but it’s one of those games you just have to take a chance on. If I had one criticism it is that there are maybe too many fighting sections and not enough in terms of exploration. But overall this is a brilliant experience and something that any player will remember for a long time to come.

Chicken Police - Paint it Red on Xbox One is a real surprise - a glorious homage to Detective Noir fiction. It’s stylish, sassy and fun - Sin City with a wattle. But while it isn’t overloaded with gameplay, it’s a page-turner from start to finish, and we would happily spend more time with its characters in cases to come. In all honesty, we were expecting something of a bantam class, but Chicken Police turned out to be a heavyweight.

Quake is a certifiable classic that hasn't aged a day and this remastering of all its original content is masterfully done. The console may not be the preferred place to play it, but it’s well done nonetheless and is still an incredibly worthwhile experience.

From gameplay to visuals, and sounds to controls, everything is smooth and fluid. Allowing for plenty of variation and depth to each character, as well as an entirely new race of enemies alongside the already freakish Skaven, and Vermintide 2 has all the boxes ticked when it comes to a sequel done right.

If you enjoyed the first Blasphemous, then getting hold of Blasphemous 2 is a given. Everything that was great about the first game has been built on in the second, with nearly all issues addressed.

The team over at Tribute Games have created an absolute masterpiece of an arcade title in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge; one that floats somewhere between tribute (pun intended) and modern sequel to the classic TMNT arcade titles.

Darkwood is a rare kind of game – an experience that is so cohesive and masterful in almost every way. Every time I played, it felt as though I was stepping through the screen to another world, one that is as twisted and dark as the wilderness that surrounds it. Honestly, the less you know the better, so just go play it and experience its brilliance.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is an excellent game. It's a massive and immersive experience, with a compelling story, stunning visuals, and satisfying combat. While a few graphical glitches are present, they don't detract significantly from the overall experience.

Simply put, Typoman is a superb indie title that I had a brilliant time with. The main campaign may be over in around four hours, but there are a couple of mini games that test your creating skills to the max. The world, the story and gameplay it creates are stunning, with real deep moments of sadness quickly switching to those of hope.

The story of American Arcadia is fantastic, sharply written and with some nice twists. The puzzles aren't too hard, and the gameplay is fun, never afraid to throw different mechanics into the pot.

When you take into account the standout moments and combine them with brilliant visuals, some audio that is out of this world, a smattering of puzzles, a top drawer narrative and super intense gameplay, and yet again we find that Remedy have delivered the goods with their latest adventure.

The story of Nobody Wants to Die is an absolute highlight, full of great characters and an amazing world with superb practices and ideas. Further to that, the detective gameplay is fun and interesting, giving you a real feel that you are actually solving a complex crime and motive.

Two Point Campus: School Spirits offers more of the high quality content we’ve come to expect from Two Point Campus. This time around it feels like the formula has been tweaked a little more than previously, rather than simply slapping a new skin on the action.

Wildermyth: Console Edition is a testament to the power of storytelling and imagination. This game managed to draw me in with its unique blend of strategic depth and narrative engagement. The gameplay is accessible yet challenging, and the character progression and world-building create a truly immersive experience.

Throughout my roughly three hours with Mosaic, I found myself constantly awe-stricken. The world is beautiful in its design and, though sparingly used, colors are bold and breathtaking. The sound design between BlipBlop’s constant dings of success and the haunting music that’s played as you simply go to work is superb. Krillbite Studio has done an amazing job at crafting an experience.

Perhaps it doesn’t have the legs to carry itself for weeks and then months down the line, but for the price and the amount of randomly created content on offer, it’s a bit of a no brainer really, delivering one of the most addictive rogue-like experiences I’ve ever played.

There is an established formula for a Poppy Playtime game, and Chapter 4 is no different – some puzzles, some scares and some collectibles to help flesh out the story. But it feels like Chapter 4 is the beginning of the end, putting in motion moments that feel like a climax.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot on Xbox One is a thoroughly enjoyable game, but those familiar with the series will get more out of it. Despite some relatively minor flaws, regardless of who you are there’s lots of fun to be had here.

Little Nightmares is a well created, superbly executed affair. I’d prefer it to be longer and I have to admit to not only being disappointed, but also shocked, at its short length. In fact, unless you’re going back through things for a second, third or fourth time, just in order to pick up all the collectibles, then chances are you’ll be done with the five chapters and then everything Bandai Namco and the development team at Tarsier Studios have given you in no more than a few quick hours. I guess the price reflects that though and when something is so good, perhaps it’s best to keep it at an enjoyable length. If you’re after a tense game that will have you questioning every little moment from start to finish, then Little Nightmares is most definitely for you.

Cities: Skylines - Remastered is extremely immersive and complex, but easy to pick up and play, minus a few learning curve issues. The package it offers has everything, from the grand scale to the microdetails. Sometimes it’s just fun watching people go about their daily lives, and there are options for that too.

We’re confident that Earthion takes the crown for best SHMUP of 2025, which isn’t bad for a 16-bit title.

There’s a constant onslaught of Metroidvanias that seem to populate the store like rampant rabbits, so much so that it gets hard to decipher the quality from the scrap heap when searching through. Iconoclasts on Xbox One stands out from the rubble and manages to build itself into not only a great Metroidvania, but an amazing game with an identity of its own.

It’s often described as a ‘pop album video game’, but Sayonara Wild Hearts is more than that. It’s a love letter to both gaming and music, perfectly marrying the two mediums together in one expressive package. It’s an art form and one of the best indie titles to hit the Xbox One generation.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 on Xbox One is an excellent addition to Xbox Game Pass, and another solid entry to the series. It is a culmination of the series so far that has arrived on Xbox in 2020, until Like a Dragon releases later in the year. Hopefully, the remaining titles of 3-6 can release on Xbox, because Kiryu and Haruka’s journey is only just beginning. But if this is the last ‘Kiryu’ Yakuza game, then it’s been a wild ride.