It’s a solid and light-hearted game that offers a sprawling open-world playground for you to explore and destroy in as many creative and humorous ways as you can imagine. There are bugs that need to be addressed, it lacks the depth of other games in its genre, and it can be repetitive over long periods of play, but in short bursts of a couple of hours or so there’s no hiding from the fact that being given the freedom to blow things up to your heart's content provides some of the most chaotic fun you’ll find on the Xbox One right now.

Wargroove pays homage to Advance Wars in both style and substance, with an obvious nostalgic appeal to Game Boy Advance veterans. It's a well-rounded game that makes turn-based strategy accessible to anyone new to the genre. However, it can still challenge seasoned players via custom difficulty settings and custom content. The inclusion of straightforward content creation tools increases its scope and longevity and gives it the potential to develop a community centred on amateur game development. It may resemble a relic from the Game Boy era, but Wargroove is far more than just another retro game.

You can easily spend over 20 hours here if you explore all of the areas, complete all of the quests, and finish all of the levels of the Maelstrom arena (normal and/or veteran). The quests with which you are presented are interesting and allow you the chance to complete them in different ways, depending on how you want to play the game.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed brings a welcoming and whimsical approach to the asymmetrical multiplayer genre while ensuring that it remains faithful to the franchise's incredible history. Taking on the Busters as a Ghost offers you plenty of opportunities to be cheeky at every turn, just as you would expect from the creatures in Aykroyd's universe. While a couple of issues have stopped me from scoring this a little higher, I have no doubt that fans and newcomers alike will have a great time with this well-crafted gem. If you've grown a little tired of the dark and foreboding theme found in similar games, I highly recommend you pick up the phone and call the Ghostbusters now to apply as a new recruit. It's time to get busting!

Chernobylite is a lovingly crafted example of what a post-apocalyptic game can and should be, offering players a rollercoaster of a story with plenty of choices that naturally lend to an overarching sense of freedom. Aside from a few technical issues, Chernobylite does everything right and wraps it all in a tense, and oftentimes uncomfortable, package that has you wanting to see what’s lurking around the next corner. If there has ever been a game that makes you want to pack your bags and take a trip to a dangerous part of the world, this is it.

The challenging gameplay is balanced out by the nice variety of puzzles to solve, none of which are very difficult. The graphics are beautifully done and the wordless story is intriguing. Add in the relative ease of the achievement list, and you have a game that many will enjoy despite the frustration levels for those of us less than adept with a dual-stick system. Some may find the $19.99 price tag a bit steep for a title that can be finished quickly, in which case waiting for a sale might be in order.

The second and penultimate episode of Life Is Strange: Before The Storm heats things up in more ways than one. Not only is the Bay on fire, but Chloe's life also seemingly goes up in flames at both home and school, and her relationship with Rachel is definitely increasing in temperature. All of this happens at such a pace that unfortunately some things aren't given the air time that they deserve and there's a chance that five episodes may have been a better idea than three. Despite this, we're getting to see the characters develop in a believable manner, and when player decisions start to take effect, it truly feels like it's becoming your story as much as it is Chloe's. With the addition of the relevation on which the episode ends, you would be forgiven for wanting to rush headlong into the next episode to see the conclusion to this tale.

Game of Thrones, while a solid Telltale experience, has limited appeal. The Venn diagram of interest is flatly composed of people who love Game of Thrones with people who like/tolerate Telltale's experiences. If you love Game of Thrones and enjoy Telltale's previous offerings, you shouldn't hesitate to pick up the game.

By far the biggest positive in RotTR is the platforming. This is an Action-Adventure title that leverages the Adventure over the Action. Crystal Dynamics has done a marvelous job constructing a veritable gymnasium of platforming pleasures for Lara to climb, swing, and jump through.

We've known courtroom dramas are exciting and engaging for a long time. Who hasn't been swept up in an episode or two of Law & Order: SVU while flipping through channels? There's something thrilling about watching a case unfold before your eyes and to see justice ultimately brought to light. The Ace Attorney Trilogy nails that feeling perfectly. It'll take you through captivating mysteries that have plenty of twists while still leaving you satisfied that you solved the crime rather than being drug through to the end. It'll let you pretend to be an attorney and find the gaps in testimony that reveal the true story. Most of all, it'll be an experience you won't find anywhere else.

Battleborn does well in offering you both multiplayer modes and missions without pressuring you into concentrating on a certain mode. They're interesting and exciting, but do begin to get tedious when you have to play them continuously due to the small selection of modes and maps.

Despite its age, TT Games continues to breathe new life into the LEGO franchise each year and brings both new and old fans in for some block-tastic action.

Sea of Thieves is all journey with no real destination, but if that doesn't immediately turn you away, it'll be a pirates life for you.

Minecraft Dungeons is a superb dungeon crawler with something for players of all ages. Although somewhat basic in terms of weapons, armour and abilities, there is just enough variety to keep some of the more hardcore dungeon-crawling fans satiated. Surprisingly, the game does offer up a pretty intense challenge, just not so much at first. The enemies are varied in their attacks, and the boss fights are a highlight that will have you gripped until you finally land that killing blow. As long as you're not expecting too much in terms of plot, customisation and stat building, Minecraft Dungeons offers a fantastic gameplay experience that can be enjoyed either on your own or with friends.

Candle: The Power of the Flame took a while to come to consoles but it was definitely worth the wait. The game's beautiful art style and storybook narration perfectly balance the calm gameplay offered by the puzzle platformer. The challenging puzzles offer a distinct sense of satisfaction when they're solved, even if some of the clues are a little too well hidden. On the downside, character movement is clunky and the platforming is the worst part of the game, but the puzzles are so plentiful that this doesn't feel like a major detraction. Those who thrive on brainteasers will love Candle.

When looking at Wasteland 2 from the outside, it doesn't look like anything special. However, once you get stuck in and persevere through the initial confusion of combat and little direction you are given, there is a gem to be found here.

Ashen is a soulslike, but to call it a clone would be a betrayal of the awesome job A44 have with their debut project. It manages to stand on its own thanks to rewarding exploration, deep combat systems, and an audiovisual experience that masterfully builds atmosphere. You'll see the game over screen often in the game, but you'll keep coming back and fighting again because Ashen never ceases to reward your victories with a world of stones begging to be overturned.

Evil West feels like a fresh take on the typical 'Old West' settings we see, offering a satisfying combat system and enough gore to sate the appetite of the most bloodthirsty of vampires. Its dark narrative and compelling characters are both engaging, but some questionable level design choices hamper the experience a little in places. There is no doubt, though, that Evil West should be played by anyone with a love for the Western setting and occult references. In good cowboy fashion, this is a tale filled with sadness, pain, action, and perseverance through adversity, and it does a damn good job of it.

The new Painted World looks gorgeous at times and exploration feels rewarding as you discover more shortcuts and pathways. The multiplayer arena seems unusual at first, but it is an interesting take on the game's PvP.

Bucking the curse of the middle episode, Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood offers another solid storyline with plenty of supernatural tendencies, setting the scene nicely for the final part of the trilogy.

Whilst the days can get a little repetitive and boring if you have to catch up on sleep and not much else, the game challenges you, your morals and your survival instincts against the backdrop of the serious subject of war.

Shift Happens is a rewarding and challenging puzzler that is especially enjoyable in co-op. The gradual introduction of new and increasingly complex mechanics is done right and you'll feel on top of the world as you grow more adept at utilizing them.

Explosive, dynamic, and gorgeous… Battlefield is back! Battlefield 6 hits all the right notes with multiplayer, setting the franchise up for a promising future after its previous blunder. While the single-player is a short experience following a similar story we’ve seen many times before, it introduces us to the brutal war bubbling between NATO and Pax Armata. Newcomers and veterans will find a lot to love about this latest shooter.

It's hard to call this an absolutely definitive collection of these classic gaming curios when aspects aren't perhaps quite as authentic as they could be, but when there's so little in it for the most part (and when the aspects that have changed more notably are still great despite feeling different), Banana Mania stands as a feature-packed reminder that 'simple' and 'easy' are not nearly as interchangeable as a lot of people might think.

Creative Assembly has taken the groundwork set out by Ensemble’s Halo Wars and improved on some of the areas that were lacking in the original, all while still keeping the game accessible and easily playable using a controller. It feels as if the campaign has been released in an unfinished state, but it still offers a decent amount of action and a compelling story. The relatively low number of missions, the unsatisfying conclusion and the fact that 343 Industries and Creative Assembly have already announced that campaign DLC will be coming in the near future can't help but leave a bitter taste in the mouth. The new Blitz mode adds a different approach to the RTS combat to which we have become accustomed, and the shorter, more action-oriented, matches give newcomers and veterans alike something into which to sink their teeth.

Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier creates an engaging narrative that makes both the humans’ and apes’ predicaments and actions understandable, even when violence is involved. I truly cared about characters on both sides of the conflict, which made for some tough decisions when the two sides would clash. The occasional choppiness and short ending scenes are more minor issues, and they don't hamper the overall experience in any significant way. The game may lack what many would consider to be real gameplay, but the immersive storytelling and a few first-rate performances more than make up for such criticisms in a game such as this.

Not a Hero is a lot of fun with its cheesy humor and simple game mechanic, but players can expect to die A LOT in their bid to help BunnyLord gain global domination. The game quickly becomes quite difficult, especially for people new to shooters.

NBA 2K19 continues the series' decade-long trajectory of becoming the very best sports sim in the world. That's certainly still true on the court thanks to improved gameplay mechanics that fix trouble spots, a genuinely interesting and well-written story mode, and quality of life additions across the board. Sadly, the series still feels like something less than it should be thanks to predatory and invasive pay-to-win tactics that make their shameful return. Hopefully the day will come when this player base revolts and gets the game at least down to cosmetics-only buying options.