If you care even slightly about Kain, Raziel and the world that they inhabit, then you owe it to yourself to play Legacy of Kain: Ascendance. It really fills in gaps in the back story that I, for one, hadn’t noticed before.

If PvP is your bag, then you’ll be right at home with what Marathon brings to the table, but for the rest of us, the bar for entry is set too high.

Mortanis Prisoners delivers a short adventure through a World War Two purgatory death camp. It successfully channels old-school survival horror, focusing more on the journey, exploration, and puzzle-solving than on first-person action.

NubiaPhobia certainly moves in a different direction to other Tonguç Bodur games, but the storytelling is fun, and the mechanics work fine, which perfectly reflects its budget-friendly price.

Incantation does a good job of drawing inspiration from its cinematic source material, and you certainly don’t need to have seen the film to enjoy the game.

In an age where games are getting more and more ambitious, games like Minishoot’ Adventures are fantastic reminders that less can be more. It is a joy to explore, and the satisfying pop of defeating an enemy is a sound that never gets boring.

Be prepared to be nicked on some sharp edges as you destroy houses in Messy Up. If you can manage that, then you might have just found your next favourite party game.

I am self-aware enough to know that mindless cozy game players are a niche within a niche. Very few players will enjoy Trash Goblin in the same manner as I did. Because it is too repetitious for its own good. It doesn’t reward the player for their time with glittery new mechanics. But if you have lost hours to Stardew Valley in the past then maybe, just maybe, you will get something from Trash Goblin.

Tiny Bookshop is inordinately clever. Even the smallest systems have knotty, interesting bits to them, from the stat-boosting furniture to the newspaper classifieds. It’s not a cozy game that coasts on you being relaxed and low-maintenance. It is generous, full of things to do, badges to earn and books to sell.

The classic Meat Boy mechanics are still present in Super Meat Boy 3D and it feels great to sprint through a level while narrowly dodging whatever the game throws at you. It can be frustrating at times, but to a certain extent, that’s kind of the point. For the most part, this is a great challenge that hits the mark much more than it misses.

Towerborne is an easy sell. The combat is fast, the multiplayer is a lot of fun, and even solo there is something about the game that keeps you coming back for one more go. With the constant quest for better gear to challenge the later levels, you’ll be fighting, grinding, upgrading and doing it all again willingly.

Sands of Aura feels like a game of unfulfilled potential. Some of the ideas scattered throughout are interesting and travelling across the desert creates eye-catching imagery, but a game's first and most important job is to be fun. In that regard, Sands of Aura is unsuccessful.

Devil Jam is a worthy entry into the survivor genre. It isn’t god tier (and frankly, only one game is), but it is a very playable effort, with a real hook that will drag you back for just one more run.

All in all though, for as weird and strange No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is, this is a decently fun game, complete with a lot of content to go at. It does get frustrating at times, as I’m not entirely sure what those behind the creation of some of the puzzles were on, but largely it is enjoyable enough.

Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown is a thoughtful and ambitious take on the franchise. Its strengths lie in its narrative, its management systems and its willingness to let players shape their own story. However, uneven combat, technical issues and a reliance on RNG prevent it from fully realising its potential.

Overthrown is easy to recommend with some caveats. If you’re looking for a traditional city builder, this probably isn’t it. But if you want something more playful, more chaotic and more hands-on, it’s well worth your time.

Much of Around the World in 80 Days: Hidden Objects is so bad, it’s plain bad. The colour-graded scenes make it hard to spot, well, anything, and reasonably frequent bugs mean that certain levels became guessing games. Even with a perverse affection for all of its oddnesses, I have to acknowledge that Around the World in 80 Days: Hidden Objects isn’t particularly polished, nor is it rewarding.

Crimson Desert will require a massive time investment - we are talking hundreds of hours. Even now, many hours in, I am still discovering new things, and new ways to play keep being introduced. And be in no doubt that this is a mad old game, and yes, there are plenty of things wrong with it. Thankfully, the good absolutely outweighs the bad in Crimson Desert.

Aerial_Knight’s DropShot is built around a strong concept which is fun to play for a time, but it doesn't quite get its hooks deep enough to qualify as addictive.

If you love the genre but are feeling signs of fatigue from the same rules, over and over, then Zoo Orbs is crafted just for you. Its merge physics might be a little off, and the mission structure does undermine the merging on occasion, but Zoo Orbs is unusual and new.

Darwin’s Paradox! is a delightful little caper that feels wonderfully original, and fans of old-school platformers will have an absolute blast with it.

For simulation fans, there is a lot to love about The Bus. The recreation of Berlin and its routes is a massive technical achievement, and the Economy mode is a highlight that gives you a compelling reason to keep playing. The controls and UI are lacking at times though

Beyond Words is the Scrabble-like Balatro-inspired word-puzzler you should be playing. It’s a near-infinitely replayable playground of letters and logic that comes together in a way that ensures it is right up there as one of the very best of the genre.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more satisfying low-budget merge game than Bun Buns. It’s definitely not big and it’s certainly not clever, but it’s cheap and delivers a lot of flavour in one mouthful. If it was a bakery item it would be a macaron: exquisitely presented, finished in a single gulp, but flavoursome.

The result is a derivative, barely functional copycat that doesn’t deign to tutorialise itself. When every tenth game is inspired by Balatro, JokerJack needed to be so, so much more than whatever this is.

I’m tempted to say that you should vote with your wallet: Fennec Fox is Hungry shouldn’t be encouraged, with its litany of bugs and control issues. But if you’re determined and you have a Fennec Fox fan in the family, then we won’t hold it against you. The problems may be many but they’re all minor, and it’s easy enough to scamper over them.

Deckline may be a competent take on Durak, but it had potential and squandered it. It’s not a mortal wound for anyone hoping to play Deckline, but it’s quite the flesh wound.

Backrooms Level X is reasonably priced for its length, I enjoyed its simple mechanics, and it is capable of delivering some very good surprises.