If you love your survival horror and enjoy a good fright in the dark, then Unsealed: The Mare might just be your favourite new nightmare.

I have a theory. Anyone with eyes and opposable thumbs would have told EpiXR Games that Wolf Pack – Howling Spirits wasn’t ready for release. It’s a miracle that it even passed certification.

Playing PULMO is like stumbling across a strange interactive art show in a gallery; you pay a small entry fee on a whim and are treated to a lovely surprise.

With a little less grind, a little more control over the random whims of the deck, and a little more respect for my time, I think Death Howl would have been a masterpiece.

It’s the more-ishness where Grind Survivors stumbles. While it gives you plenty of ways to build your avatar, it doesn’t give you enough to do in terms of levels, objectives or enemies. And the meagre unlocks are spread too thinly over what little is there. That ‘Grind’ in the title begins to feel less a selling point, and more a warning.

Hidden Cats in Spooky Village is as good as all the other Hidden Cats in… games, which is to say that it’s very good indeed. Finding cats is as seamless, characterful and cozy as it has always been. Just with added Cthulhu.

Soulslinger: Envoy of Death works very well, with some fast paced, pretty great shooting action on offer. The story helps with immersion, but the main element is that of the roguelite structure, and how that adds to the longevity.

Should you be one of those who truly loves a survival game, then you are going to get a lot out of ICARUS: Console Edition. It can be extremely challenging early on, offering little context and not much of a tutorial, but battle through and it comes together nicely.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is a very good game, as long as you go into it knowing what to expect. It isn’t a modern gaming experience, despite the new look, and there is no doubt that gaming has moved on a lot in the last couple of decades. Luckily, there is a charm to things that keeps dragging you forward, desperate to see what is going to happen to two characters next, and this is the big draw.

In Laysara: Summit Kingdom there are modes, difficulties, and enough options to cover all bases, ensuring this is a game that will appeal to any player that enjoys the concept of creating, maintaining, and improving supply lines, all as they expand a beautiful mountaintop settlement.

The concept alone sells Don’t Mess With Bober, with it being strong enough to ensure the idea is worthy of praise. However, the other elements of the game, the core survival horror mechanics, don’t quite live up to that brilliant main premise.

I look at the breadth of stuff in Defending Camelot – Tower Defense Action and kind of marvel. There’s an unholy amount of content here. But I also wonder what it would be like if the emphasis was less on ‘more’ and instead shifted toward ‘polish’.

First Time in Rome Collector’s Edition averages out as promising but faulty. It’s got too many rough edges to recommend to newbies, but there’s plenty to satisfy a fan of the genre. Treat it as ‘Further Reading’, rather than an essential to pack for holiday.

You will be pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable moving containers around a port can be. A big part of that enjoyment stems from the story of Docked, closely followed by the precision of the gameplay.

Pinball FX - Bethesda Pinball is the latest set in a long line of enjoyable tables added to the expanding library. Some may feel it is a little pricey, but if you’ve enjoyed Pinball FX previously, or looking for a place to start, this is as good a place as any to get stuck in.

In Order 13, you’ll fall in love with the cat and the actual job mechanics, but there isn’t much of a story, and during your time with the game, you’ll understand little about what is going on.

I just can’t get past the dead-eyed, negative-personality of Motorhome: Traveling America Collector’s Edition. It’s a black mark on an otherwise very well-made hidden object game.

Unless Monster Ramp Racing drops its strange determination to only use two buttons - an accelerate and brake - it’s going to remain virtually unplayable.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a bout of Frogger but wished it would do something new, or wanted to dial its difficulty down a notch, then Risky Roads will be your (traffic) jam. It’s ugly and its fire burns out after an hour but, for a short period of time, Risky Roads will astrally project you in front of an arcade cabinet circa 1981.

I can imagine people looking at the price and number of wordsearches and hovering over the ‘Buy’ button. But Word Quest Pirates isn’t worth it. It’s a Groundhog Day of the same puzzles, the same words, and the same layouts. If you manage to reach the end of all 210 puzzles then you’re a better pirate than I.

Vampire Therapist is not a visual novel to unwind to. You don’t just play as a therapist, you feel accountable for the characters. Every intervention, every cognitive distortion is carefully chosen. I felt tenser playing Vampire Therapist than when I played some recent soulslikes.

Even cozy games need variety, pay-offs or moments of interest. Legends Aligned: Land of Order has none of those things. As a cozy game, it’s too one-note to instill feelings of comfort.

Panda Keeper is a hard sell. It’s the latest in a long line of polished but virtually identical sokoban games, which makes pointing at any of them and saying ‘play this one!’ virtually impossible. Except this one has rolling pandas, so perhaps I’ve just killed my own argument.

I absolutely love the thoughtful pacing of Sumerian Six. Weighing up every movement and action, knowing that one wrong step could mean the end of your life and the level, is thrilling.

3Cat are absolutely a studio to watch. They clearly have abundant talent in their artists, audio developers and level designers. But Manairons is unwieldy, and it doesn’t end up being the showcase that the developers deserve. It’s merely a decent platformer, when so much of Manairons feels drafted from an excellent one.

EpiXR Games deserve smaller, but still notable laurels. Aery - The King’s Messenger soars past the craters where other Aery games have crashed. It’s about as flawless as an Aery can be.

I just couldn’t bring myself to play A Clareira for long stretches. It swings, pendulum-like, between too-easy and impossible.

There are pacing issues at times, and the inherent lack of traditional gameplay might be a problem for some. However, if you plan on going down to the woods today, Heart of the Forest is an adventure well worth taking.