The Stairwell is one of my favourite games in the looping genre. There is something about the vertical, Escher-esque design that really got its hooks into me.

Ultimately, Sovereign Syndicate is a very good narrative experience, filled with three great characters navigating an interesting and varied steampunk London. It is a slight shame their stories don’t overlap a bit earlier, but it is a pleasure spending time with them regardless.

There are certainly things to love about GreedFall: The Dying World, but after many hours in its world, I left feeling a little deflated.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection feels just like a turn-based Monster Hunter game. For the first time in the Stories series, they’ve nailed the feeling of every fight feeling like a boss battle.

The devs have truly cared about Slide Viking, and there’s almost no chance that you will dislike your time with it.

Plant of Lana II is the success we suspected it would be. A brilliantly told tale combines with stunning visuals, cracking gameplay mechanics, intriguing puzzles and a soundtrack to die for. But it lacks wow moments and any sense of difficulty.

Pogui isn’t interesting. It’s easy to sneer at it, wondering what it’s bringing to the 2D platform conversation. But those people would be ignoring how fun it is.

One Button Games 5-in-1 vol. 4 continues the upward trajectory of the One Button collections. I don’t think it swings-and-hits as much as One Button Games 5-in-1 vol. 3, but it’s superior to the first two, slightly shonkier collections.

There is no doubt that this newly rebooted Speedball is a respectful take that manages to capture the feel of the original, without ever trying to reinvent it. The league structure adds longevity, arena variety keeps things fresh, and the management elements provide just enough depth. If only the online multiplayer was well populated…

Is Dice a Million here to usurp Balatro? Not a chance - rolling dice lacks strategy, and the various unlocks are too chaotic to truly master. But there’s still a lovely alchemy in Dice a Million which means that the chaos brings fun. When a collection of dice works, it really, really works, and the ludicrous combos and resulting multipliers give you a satisfying pat on the back.

Despite camera and control woes, Crosak is still worthy of your attention. There aren’t many spiritual successors to ‘90s 3D platformers, and Crosak knows what made them great.

If you were to press me and ask ‘what’s the most unusual thing about Little Cat the Lost Key?’ I would look around in a panic, trying to find an exit. I honestly couldn’t tell you a single remarkable thing about it. Even the title of the game feels like it’s a shrugging, coughed up, half-intelligible phrase.

Aside from the online multiplayer issues, MY HERO ACADEMIA: All’s Justice is an extremely solid game to play; suitable for fans of the source material, but also well up to the job of dragging in any newbie.

BlazBlue Entropy Effect X is a very good game, with a massive amount of content to go at. Each run is different, the number of avatars to unlock and master adds to the longevity a lot, and for the most part, there is a fast, fluid and furious game to be found here.

SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION provides a well packaged love letter to the history of the franchise for longtime fans. It also creates a welcoming entry point for beginners. Despite lacking some conveniences and accessibility, it delivers plenty of well-aged gameplay to savour.

Alpacapaca Double Dash is not what the average person would call good. It’s a little shy of bad, in all honesty, as I’d have stronger words. It’s a clumsy, buggy, garish mess of a platformer, and I wanted to put it down after the first level.

It isn't a perfect game, but it is an enjoyable one. I loved the world and the story, even when it lost me slightly. The combat is fun, and the puzzles are excellent. If you have an itch for a single-player action-adventure, Crisol: Theater of Idols will definitely scratch it.

I’m thankful to In the Dark for getting me to play the whole Lil Gator saga. I’m not sure I was feeling down, exactly, but I was certainly bathed in a Gatory glow after playing the Gator of the Year Edition. In the Dark continued the good work, adding a fitting and heartfelt coda to an already brilliant game. And there’s no finer compliment than that.

Escape from Ever After is a very accomplished game that does a lot of things right. The platforming can be tricky until you are used to it, but you’ll mostly have a really good time playing through.

If you’re looking to complete your Dark Quest set, Dark Quest: Remastered is worth a purchase. It’s a dusty curio that you can explore for a few hours. For anyone else, we gesture encouragingly towards the many, better Dark Quest sequels.

Cinemoji Collection is one player, not multiplayer. It’s controller-only, which makes text input a ball-ache. It’s hardcore in its questions, and has barely any of the basic features that you would expect from a quiz game. BUT the puzzles can be clever, and cine-enthusiasts will get a kick from answering them.

If you want anything resembling ambition or innovation then you should probably find somewhere else to unwind. Capy Spa is more of the same, just furrier.

I’m torn with Cute Astro. It does its job with radical, early-’90s style, but it’s also a bit hollow. There is nothing wrong with the sokoban puzzling, but there’s also nothing remarkable about it either.

If you’re in the market for a first sokoban, or don’t feel like you’ve hit a point of fatigue with sokoban games, then Hummingbird Garden is a fantastic choice. For anyone else, I’m less confident.

The humor, references, and gameplay of High on Life 2 match, and then exceed, that of the first game.

If you want a clear example of ambition outstripping the execution, then Clue: Murder By Death is your case.

I’m absolutely a fan of Little Legs’ ambition. It tries to reinvent the Snake.io wheel, and that’s a sizable aim for a budget title. But it turns out that some things are core to this kind of experience: other players, a reason to keep playing, and a sense of threat. Without them, Little Legs begins to eat its own tail.

Resident Evil Requiem is a pitch perfect love letter to fans of the series. Capcom has absolutely nailed the dual protagonist mechanic which sits at the core of a truly incredible piece of storytelling. The result is a must-play title for those both familiar and new to the series. Put simply, it’s an absolute tour de force.