We’re not getting the last five hours of our lives back. It’s not that Gnomes Garden 7: Christmas Story is terrible: far from it. In fact, if you’re on the hunt for a relaxed take on city-building, then we might even suggest you play it. Our problem is that we’ve reached our saturation point with the Gnomes Garden games, and this release changes so little from previous iterations that it puts FIFA to shame.

With themes of loss, death, hope, sadness, survival and everything else, it isn’t necessarily the first-choice setting for a puzzle game. But all that adds up to make Moonrise Fall a unique title in that respect.

If you are a fan of the main missions in Saints Row, you will likely have fun with what is found in The Heist & The Hazardous. The final heist mission in particular follows the same vein of the more major missions in the base game and is fun.

Verdict Guilty hits the mark as an enjoyable and unusual fighter full of surprises that won’t break the bank.

Undemanding and, at times, tedious gameplay takes some of the shine away from Homestead Arcana, even if there is an otherwise bewitching world with a heartfelt story to tell.

Garden Gnomes 5: Halloween runs a relaxed, simple, city-builder formula, one that we’ve enjoyed in flashes, but it’s also one that has frozen us stiff with boredom on occasion. Much like a garden gnome, we suppose.

Original and intriguing while at the same time being strange and beguiling, No One Lives Under the Lighthouse works some old-school visuals in the best of ways.

Smile For Me manages to deliver a totally weird, but very interesting point-and-click adventure that’s unlike anything else.

It may take a couple of levels, but you’ll get hooked by Tin Hearts. The world, gameplay ideas, and touching story are all good enough to reel you in. I do think the level design found in the latter parts of the game does feel a bit extended, but others will welcome the challenge and relish in the complexities.

There are slight issues with combat in the early stages, but the exploration and puzzles on offer in The Last Case of Benedict Fox are very good indeed; they will keep you playing as you attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery. A challenging and involving game, the aesthetics of the whole world just add to the charm.

Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle Deluxe Edition is a welcome return home for the Blazblue series on Xbox. An accessible, fun and deep fighter, this will delight fans of the represented franchises but also serves as a great calling card for new fans.

Buddy Simulator 1984 is a bolt from the blue, a killer game that comes from nowhere to shoot you between the eyes. We can’t stop thinking about it, yet we’re cursed not to talk about it here, or to anyone else in fact, as it would utterly ruin the experience of playing it. So, take a chance, friend, and download Buddy Simulator 1984. We promise that it doesn’t come with AI malware included. Promise.

Where Sudocats shines is its accessibility. For not much money at all, Sudocats is a perfect Sudoku starting point for mewbies and young players. If you’re in that group, or you love cats so much you could cry, then Sudocats lands on its feet.

As much as Death or Treat wants to fall on the treat side of the equation, we felt tricked. We were completely sold on its charismatic art style, and were prepped for roguelike joys. But the levels are too much of a slog, the enemies artlessly created and - fatally - the combat is limp.

Even when we were in its idle clicker thrall, we couldn’t help but feel the yawning, encroaching void. Dig Deep isn’t good for us - yet the balls keep beckoning us back.

There’s a strong chance that the rustic therapy of Garden Simulator will be enough for you: but in our case, our green fingers were reaching for a little more depth.

Stranded: Alien Dawn is a very good survival game, one that builds in tower defense and sim-like elements too. Fresh and original, there is enough challenge here for the hardy player as well as plenty of accessible gameplay for any newcomer to the genre.

With its actual mission and objective based gameplay, Dragon Pinball may just be the best pinball game yet from Super PowerUP Games. But based on what has come before it, that isn’t really a compliment.

TramSim: Console Edition is another interesting and unique experience in the transport sim world. Driving a tram is a pretty unique and interesting experience, but it does lose its shine after you’ve taken in the routes a few times. Personally I think TramSim needs a few more cities to take in, especially when you consider the price of the game.

The lack of features brought by the Xbox Series X|S upgrade does not detract from the fun available in Star Trek Online, but you’ll need to look past the 2007 graphical style.

It’s possible that we have finally found the edge, the genre fusion too far, and God of Rock is it. The basic premise of the game is misguided, and when the graphics are so incidental to the gameplay, it strikes as a bit of a mess. If you want to fight, play a fighting game - if you want a rhythm action, choose one of them. This is a mash-up too far.

Hyper-5 is a fairly accomplished shoot 'em up with some interesting ideas. The allowance of tailoring your loadout works well, and the visuals are well presented, but the later levels in particular are very hard to navigate safely.

The best approach with The Creepy Syndrome might be to wait for a sale and beeline directly to its Lord of the Road inclusion. Whether you play the rest afterwards is up for debate.

Daydreaming about the ideal Color Pals gets us nowhere. We’re stuck with the reality: a game with a great idea that failed to exploit it. Then it implemented controls that would have been dismissed as clumsy on a ZX Spectrum. Colour us disappointed.

If it wasn’t for a few little niggles in regards the need to reload and work through jump mechanics, Bramble: The Mountain King could well have been verging on top marks. Even then, this is a game that is hugely enjoyable, and the Nordic world feels like a great place to spend some solid hours. Just be aware, this can be a scary place and at times a bit gruesome, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Project Nightmares Case 36: Henrietta Kedward is a horror experience that should be very pleased with itself. The story and setup are unique and intriguing, the scares come thick and fast and there are some nicely designed puzzles and gameplay mechanics.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is a bit of a slow burn, but the more you play the more invested you will become.

If you’re a fan of design, engineering, or sim games, then you should have a lot of fun with Tin Can. The lack of a campaign or story may affect matters, but the methodical workings as you tackle problems feels brilliant; an original piece of addictive gameplay.