Baldur’s Gate 3 really is a triumph of game design, and a masterclass in how to give control to the player, without making it feel like they are heading down a predetermined path regardless of their choices. It’s one of those rare times where you should really believe the hype, because it's flipping awesome.

You’ll have an absolute blast with Nightmare Reaper - at least for the first couple of hours. The retro style is fun but original and there’s some serious addiction found in the whole 'what weapon will I get to play with this time' feel.

We had a deep love for Solace State. It didn’t dumb itself down. It invited us into the inner circle of an activist group and expected us to sort through its many threads. Would we be violent, political or organise the masses? No choice is easy, no consequence is expected. To enjoy it, all you need to do is understand that this is very much a visual novel, lacking in anything that looks like gameplay.

Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengeance of the Slayer is one of those games in which the creative choices should be applauded; at times, it feels genius. But the gameplay does get a bit tiresome after a while and the lack of direction is frustrating.

From Space comes together well; in fact, it is one of the better twin stick shooters I’ve played. Playing solo is okay, but it really comes alive with a group of players, whether friends or strangers. What have you got to lose - apart from a few hours of your life?

If I had one complaint it would be that a bit of freedom on the camera would have been nice, but mostly there is little to complain about in terms of how Dungeons 4 plays.

Whether it has long term appeal is up for debate, but Barton Lynch Pro Surfing is quite probably the best surfing game money can currently buy.

If you like a good sokoban puzzle game, then Shivering Stone does it all with a nice snowy theme brushed on top. It doesn’t go out of the way to change up the formula, and sometimes it will leave you frustrated if you try to deviate, but it does what it sets out to do. It is cheap, cheerful, basic and pretty.

Gray Dawn will happily immerse you into a good story that mixes many different styles. If you’re a fan of exploration-type games, this will be right up your street. The visuals are lovely, helped along by some stand-out scenes that are original and affecting.

Cluedo has never been a fantastic fit for console, and this version only underlines that fact. Fanatics won’t regret a purchase, but we’d advise anyone else that they Cluedon’t.

Jinshin does enough to be worthy of a recommendation. The setting is good, the story keeps you guessing, and the new features that it brings in are interesting enough. If you like a JRPG, then this is an easy sell, but if you are looking for a way into the KEMCO universe, this is as good a place as any to start.

Steel Assault is a reminder of gaming’s past, and this brings back both good and bad memories. Expect to have a decent little time while you are in there, but Steel Assault is not something you’ll particularly want to take in over and over again. For a retro hit though, it does the job.

Super Trunko Go is a decent stab at a twin stick shooter, with some “interesting” mechanics. There is a real challenge here, and while it isn’t the biggest game in the world, it isn’t a pushover. If you fancy a twin stick shooter with a slight difference, then give Super Trunko Go a try.

Wordsweeper by POWGI is another good entry. Combining two previously uncombinable games - crosswords and minesweeper - together, it creates a unique experience that works very well.

Perhaps it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for gamers looking to take a trip down memory lane, METRO QUESTER is a nice departure from the usual KEMCO style. As a whole, it just works.

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?

Hell Well might be a little too minimalist for some tower defence fans. But buy into its stripped down approach, and this is one of the cleverest and most addictive tower defence games that we’ve played in recent memory. Hell yes.

Everdream Valley is a pleasant enough addition to the ever-increasing roster of farming sims on Xbox and the dream feature is an attempt at setting it apart from other similar titles.

Dune: Spice Wars is a satisfying 4X game, but it is not without its issues. The controls are the only real stumbling block, but the biggest problem I have is in the sheer complexity of the systems

You get fifteen minutes of on-rails shooting where you don’t get to move or even aim - not really. Green Soldiers Heroes does all of this for you, whether you like it or not, leaving you to hold RT and watch as enemy life bars deplete.

Vampire Survivors: Emergency Meeting continues the high quality, low cost business model that poncle have made their own - it is hard to think of any other game that gives so much bang per buck. While a single new stage may not sound like much, it is so big and involved that you will not feel short changed. Throw in the need to learn how to use the new weapons to your advantage and you can be sure that the Vampire Survivors addiction will kick in again with Emergency Meeting.

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

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.

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.

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.

Take part in the nostalgia and unearth a forgotten treasure; but have no illusions - there is a slow, cumbersome reason why Clockwork Aquario never made it into our arcades.

We don’t have the experience of the original Pocky & Rocky, so we’re saying this as first-timers: Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a gorgeous bastard. It was unabashedly mean to us, and required a complete rewiring of our twin-stick shooter sensibilities, but once we managed to ride this bucking bronco, we enjoyed the hell out of it.

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.