Madden 25 is the latest game in a series that appears to have either run out of ideas or simply has no interest in coming up with new ones. Small new additions do little to inspire excitement and a major overhaul feels desperately needed, and is the least that fans deserve.

Manor Lords is a complex and seductive spin on the city builder that may not defy conventions but has the makings of a genre-heavyweight. [Early Access Score = 80]

Nightingale doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking to the survival genre, and its gameplay is overburdened with bloat and needlessly time-consuming mechanics. [Early Access Score = 40]

Palworld is a game of bare minimums, unscrupulous and soulless, designed by the numbers to hit all the right notes to keep you hooked on its addictive catch-grind-craft loop. [Early Access Provisional Score = 50]

Pioneers of Pagona is a robust, in-depth city-builder that almost passes as a full-fledged, complete game and will only get better during Early Access. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]

Total War Pharaoh is a fun game, but one that lacks ambition. It squanders its potential with meagre gameplay, story, soundtrack, and performance, and fails to add anything of note to the Total War series, or leave an impression of its identity.

The problem with the new Saints Row is not just that the characters are boring, or that the combat is by-the-numbers and benumbed by unempowering perks, but that the brief snatches of fun—the wingsuit deployed from a high rise, the hand-brake turn through a curtain of tyre smoke—are nothing new, and are done better in other games.

What we have here is a developer that is happy to nudge us with knowing jokes, but who doesn’t dare to frighten us. We might call it a Craven effort. As for the ending, there isn’t one—just a montage of postscripts, detailing the fates of the various characters. Only, we already know their fates, having been at least partially responsible for them. As the credits rolled, the sweetness of the humour had grown stale, and I felt distinctly unsated, though hardly hungry for more. I hate to say it, but Supermassive has made a Butterpop.

If only House of Ashes were possessed with something malevolent enough to actually scare us; sadly, it commits a litany of sins, none of them original.

If only Naka, staying true to form, had given the whole thing a dose of high speed; his work only holds together when it hurtles past our eyes, growing vivid with velocity.

Fight Crab shares a lot of similarities with the glorious gladiatorial battles of Ancient Rome, which were what made primary school history lessons actually fun. Though, like the sporting spectacle, it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

A fitness game that actually works, Ring Fit Adventure is colourful, fun, and offers a comprehensive workout.

The fourth episode brings a welcome jolt of movement and energy, with an urgent pace and the introduction of a new, intriguing character. Some of the branching choices still feel shallow.

Man of Medan's story and characters fail to reach the heights of Supermassive's homage to the slasher flick, Until Dawn. The Dark Pictures Anthology isn't off to the greatest of starts.

Credit must go to Bloober Team for setting a different course for its sequel; it's just a shame that it didn't bring the chills and scares that littered the last outing.

After the slump of the second episode, the drama picks up its pace and the central relationship is tested in some interesting ways.

RICO has a cracking central idea, but it's strained by awkward mission design, shaky performance, and a whippy aim that often misses the mark.

Kingdom Hearts III is overflowing with heart, and mostly unconcerned with the head; as such, it’s in dire want of wickedness.

Below’s moody gloom and atmosphere is spoiled by mechanics that really cramp its central quest.

Fallout 76 is an ambitious game that’s burned by it. The online features hamper what could have been a great Fallout game.

Call of Cthulhu's atmosphere, especially early on, is delicious, but it's let down by wayward pacing and plot and some muddy graphics.

A slow start and and a shifting tone give way to a strong central relationship and some tough choices. The road ahead intrigues.

While We Happy Few's story contains some genuinely wonderful twists and turns once it gets going, it's dragged down by frustrating survival systems, shoddy combat, and an empty world.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season is off to a cracking start, thanks to the dynamic relationship between Clem and AJ and some of the strongest dialogue in the series to date.

Detroit: Become Human wants to move you. It wants to elicit an emotional response through its story. The thing is, it really doesn't. The flowchart is a nice inclusion and adds some variance, but when the narrative is as cringey and ham-fisted as it is you won't want to play through it multiple times.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance has some nice ideas and pretty countryside, but is ultimately still buggy, broken and, perhaps worst of all, boring.

Whether or not you like fighting games or Dragon Ball, extremely dramatic villains and hench dudes with giant hair hurling fireballs at each other (all set to unceasing guitar solos) is kind of inherently enjoyable.

So far, ELEX is an extremely mixed bag, both in the sense of its content and its quality.