From the first moment I saw The Plucky Squire, I knew it was something special. Every trailer, every preview – right up to actually playing the game, it has delivered on every frolicsome promise that All Possible Futures showcased to us. The technology on display in bringing the book to life is so appreciable that you can’t help but gush about it to anyone within arms reach – it’s just slathered in that special something that elevates a game from being ‘just another notch’ on your interactive media bedpost, and instead reserves a spot in the hallowed halls of games you will love talking about and referencing for years to come.

Is this new version of Dead Rising worth the investment? As a long-time fan, it’s an easy yes from me. The original experience still holds up to this day, despite some obvious problems that remain, and as much as I’d have loved if Capcom had tweaked other key areas or perhaps added some new modes or characters to the existing package, the visual overhaul and UI improvements make for the most polished version of Frank West’s escapades to date. I’m glad that the franchise wasn’t completely swept under the rug after all these years, and the hope now is that the respectful work put into this rerelease will lead to a full revitalisation in the future.

Funko Fusion’s biggest success is how well it matches the vibe of Funko’s uber-popular line of vinyl figures as a whole – joyless, soulless representations of beloved franchises that capture almost none of the charm of the source material. The most culturally-relevant thing here might be the collectible KFC buckets.

Taking everything learnt from Void Bastards, Wild Bastards is an inventive spiritual sequel, blending strategy and shooter perfectly within its space cowboy antics. It’s a must play, no doubt.

Evotinction draws inspiration from a host of classic sci-fi influences, but flip flops between tropes and struggles to find an identity of its own. Its flat tone and atmosphere betray the beauty of its presentation, and what is really a basic story fails in many ways to hold itself together under the weight of its loftier ambitions. The action stealth certainly flirts with some interesting ideas, but a lack of balance and wonky execution unfortunately make it another imperfect cog in a machine that already has several. ChatGPT may rise up one day and decide that humans are a nuisance to be eradicated, but Evotinction fails to capture the potential horror of that.

Despite my issues with The Casting of Frank Stone, I had a decent enough time during my six hours. The story may not have had the payoff I was promised at the start, but I was intrigued enough until the end, even if the gameplay did its best to take the sting out of the experience. Maybe my lack of Dead by Daylight knowledge hindered my enjoyment, but fans of Supermassive’s games will likely have a good enough time. Just don’t expect its best work.

As the often overlooked and underappreciated cousin of the Ace Attorney series, Investigations holds a certain mystique that may have been missed by most casual fans. The change in formula and lack of a sequel translation meant that it was hard to invest in, and so it missed the opportunity to be praised alongside the more mainline entries. But this remaster has done all the right things to right such wrongs, easily communicating that Edgeworth is every bit as enjoyable as his spikier haired adversary – with a fun tale that steps comfortably out of the courtroom and onto the global stage.

Taking the best parts of a card battler and classic ‘match three’ board busters, Demon's Mirror manages to create something familiar but still fiercely unique and unquantifiably vast.

Astro Bot is a wonderfully entertaining and diverse platformer that throws new ideas at you at an incredible rate, topped with stunning visuals and an injection of PlayStation nostalgia.

To completely divorce myself from my long love of Warhammer, I would still estimate Space Marine 2 as an exceptional gaming experience. The narrative can only get as deep as the genre allows but even within those limits it plays with interesting ideas, the very nature of the beast being one of disconnection, with forty generous millennia distorting our concept of sensibility and preservation. This is a universe of conflict, pain, and endless peril, and Saber has made it incredibly fun to inhabit, with plenty of reasons to revisit and – most importantly – convince your mates to join in.

Sumerian Six is clearly going to excite that contingent of weird and wonderful people who love to solve puzzles in a murder-y way. The aesthetic on offer, combined with the fun and fanciful tale of the Engima Squad meeting up and working together to take down a magical Nazi warlord, is plenty to grab you and hold tight. Just keep a pocketful of patience for any silly shit that happens while you’re save scumming your way to victory.

Most notably, Emio establishes a surprising amount of heart and sincerity in its brief runtime. Strangely, though, it achieves very little in the way of thrills or chills. More a small-town crime procedural than a dark murder mystery, players will find their best experiences driven by a genuine care for these characters and how they process the impact of tragedy in their insular community rather than sensationalising their trauma for our entertainment. The serial killer thriller lurks on the furthest edges of this story, only ever coaxing the player along with the threat of its darkly exciting carrot. This long-awaited entry in the Famicom Detective Club series is clean, well animated and voiced, and has some seriously good visual novel writing. Despite this, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to recommend this to fans of either detective games or visual novels unless their backlogs are running low.

Outlaws will feel familiar because it is familiar. The gunplay is good, the mission structure is good, the stealth mechanics are good, the traversal is good. Individually, the components that make up Star Wars Outlaws are varying degrees of alright, but it come together to be more than the sum of its parts. This rendition of the often-explored sci-fi-fantasy universe is authentic and immersive, our protagonist is likeable and energetic, the narrative is colourful, and the syndicate shenanigans are entertaining. There are plenty of flaws to point out, and I have, but when it comes down to it, I keep on coming back to one word to describe Outlaws: fun.

A calm and thoughtful experience, The Garden Path doesn’t worry itself over mission objectives or the need to build a fortune over time. Coupled with some impressive visuals and an audio score that relaxes the soul, it’s an experience many will relish compared to some of its older brethren within the farming sim space. There’s plenty of creativity on show, even if some of it feels a little overdone in places, but you can feel the love and respect for your time within every wonderfully hand-drawn pixel.

From its pixel perfect art to sharply deployed writing and unique, engaging combat systems, Arco is a masterclass in refined simplicity and self-confidence. Cinematic and thrilling, it is one of 2024's best surprises.

Earth Defence Force is like the conventionally unattractive partner you experimented with in your youth. They were so grateful for your attention, and in turn, really knew how to show their appreciation. A genuine guilty pleasure of the kind that you might be a bit sheepish to introduce to friends because they buck the trend of traditional beauty (and they just sound a bit weird). But goddamn it, you grew from having indulged the relationship with the ugly duckling. It’s great coming back to that partner as I settle into adulthood. They don’t give a shit about how they look, are mostly stable, have a pleasant demeanour, and still aim to please by exploding all over my jorts.

It is agonising to try and share some final thoughts for The Crush House. The concept and execution at its core is top notch, offering a brilliant twist on some existing gimmicks that just aren’t all that common. The disappointment comes from the end of the honeymoon period, where you find yourself hungry for just a little more depth to really reach your TV production potential. I have rarely found a game that offered such a concise gameplay loop, that was wildly fun to engage with and excited you to master it – only to then hit your head on the ceiling of your ambitions in rapid fashion. While my gripes might paint a picture of this game not being a recommendation, I have to insist that the fun parts of The Crush House are absurdly fun. This isn’t a case of the game being broken or unloved, quite the opposite – it is an exceptional level of potential not quite reaching its zenith. Film some butts, see for yourself.

I wanted The Sacred Acorn to be more, to really hone in on what a squirrel hero could be. What’s here is mechanically sound, enjoyable animations and a world worth visiting, but at every corner it just manages to miss the mark. Cuteness aside, a few layers of polish or perhaps a rethink of its systems is all that stands between it and a successful breakaway from the norm. Instead, it punches above its weight and puts in an admirable performance, but unfortunately falls short of successfully navigating its way through the minefield.

Thank Goodness You’re Here! establishes itself as one of those games that will always prompt the question of, “Have you played Thank Goodness You’re Here!”? when encountering people of a positive nature – where you will then delight in their own telling of their experiences or feel the giddy warmth of recommending it. It’s razor sharp, densely packed and firing on all cylinders for the entirety of the afternoon you will spend playing it – all for the price you’d pay for a disappointing fast food dinner. And by the time you encounter the ending and drink in all the madness THAT has to offer, I’d challenge you to not feel well cared for.

Nobody Wants To Die is a bit of a surprise package. I was ready for the crime fiction-infused future noir tropes and the cool post-human sci-fi musings that go with the genre, but I wasn’t ready for the sheer beauty and precision of the visual presentation. With a little polish on the dialogue and narrative tone, plus some deconvolution of the story elements, Nobody Wants To Die could have achieved greatness, but at the very least it’s indicative of a very talented studio with infinite potential, and one that should be watched with a keen eye.

Capes makes a great first impression as an original superhero tactics title that feels fresh, tight, and responsive. The turn-based battle system controls well and is easy to pick up, while also being so confident in its smooth player induction that things quickly start getting spicy. The roster of cape-less heroes all look, sound, and play satisfyingly distinct from one another and make choosing your four heroes for a given mission a daunting task. Players who like their turn-based XCOM-like titles to be lean, mean, and brain-meltingly precise will be sucked in for the first six-to-nine hours. After that, the tactical puzzles give way to what are essentially trial-and-error horde-survival missions that betray this title’s ambitions of doing anything interesting with the systems or story.

Conscript will drag you into the mud, but the exhausting fight out is worth it.

With an incredibly colourful and infectious art style, fun combat, clever puzzles, and a relatable narrative about burnout and escapism, Dungeons of Hinterberg is one 2024's most captivating experiences.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised at the quality of Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus. It does, after all, feature members of the same team that impressed with their Metroid fan game AM2R, before Nintendo politely (I guess) asked them not to. Arguably one of Nintendo’s smartest moves yet given the results we have now, a bright and beautiful adventure that puts signature Metroidvania pathfinding and action to better use as a clever little blossom within an equally clever world. It’s a pure delight from start to finish, one that deserves all the attention amongst a sea of highly regarded titles already defining 2024, that captures the spirit of old-school action titles and stands out with unique visual palette. It is, in a word, breathtaking.

While it might seem like I actively dislike Flintlock, that’s not the case– the truth is far worse. The reality is that I just don’t have particularly strong opinions on the game, purely because it hasn’t left much of an impression on me, negative or otherwise. The setting and mythos that A44 created has potential, and I can see the makings of something worthwhile in a handful of the systems, but this attempt hasn’t landed. There’s nothing here that’s outwardly terrible or broken, it’s just lacking life in many vital facets. Even if I were to excuse the shoehorned Soulslike systems thrown into the mix, there’s still no compelling reason to play The Siege of Dawn.

I spoke in my preview about Anger Foot having that special something that makes games like Hotline Miami so addictive and multiple hours and many, many doors later, I stand by my early claim. The simple, tight gameplay moves at a frankly ridiculous pace, and the constant barrage of new elements keeps you experimenting to move just that little bit faster. The bosses are a bit hit-and-miss, and the insanity could’ve been reigned in a tad here and there, but that hardly gets in the way of this blisteringly good time. And hey, even if it did, it’s nothing that a bit of sole food won’t fix.

Removing all stressful systems and leaving you with nothing but relaxing vibes and your own creativity, I can’t think of a better way to describe Dystopika than being a playable lo-fi playlist. Given a set of simple tools to create and shape my own visually impressive cyberpunk megacity, I melted into a somewhat meditative state, getting lost in the neon lights and enveloping fog. The directionless approach certainly won’t be for everyone, but it absolutely spoke to me. To come back on the regular, I will need more content, but a roadmap from the developer promises more to come, so it looks like my career in futuristic architecture and city planning is just beginning.

The move to virtual reality strengthens what makes MADiSON an effective scare machine, while shining a light on its poor design choices and slightly wonky VR implementation.