If the idea of racing pint-sized cars around on gigantic-looking tabletop tracks sounds like a good time, you'll probably get more than your money's worth from Table Top Racing. With a launch price of $14.99, it packs plenty of bang for the buck.

Bloodline represents Ubisoft going back to its roots on the Watch Dogs franchise, and your mileage will vary. Either way, it doesn't feel like a Legion DLC.

Age of Wonders 4 is the first entry in the mainline series I've ever played, and I had little to no idea what to expect. Age of Wonders 4's stunning high-fantasy tapestry immediately captured my imagination, and it wasn't long before I was creating my own personal undead army and marching across the land, leaving chaos and decay in my wake. Despite the game's complexity and depth, the biggest hurdle for me was its performance on Xbox Series X. However, it's by no means unplayable, and I suspect I'll find myself playing it for many dozens more hours before I get tired. This is a stunning 4X game that Civilization fans will most likely adore.

ACA NeoGeo World Heroes 2 is a solid home version of the classic arcade game. World Heroes 2 doesn't stand the test of time as well as the later revisions of Street Fighter 2, but it's still worth a quick look from fighting game fans. You get 14 characters, many of whom are unique or funny, lots of great backgrounds, and a cool deathmatch mode. Plus, the Achievements are easy and quick.

While Road Rage is too uneven to be a true Road Rash successor, it captures enough of the fun of motorcycle combat that made those games great. If you can ignore the dumb story, drab visuals, and lame soundtrack and just enjoy the smooth racing and brutal combat, you're bound to have a good time.

While the game's creativity shines in its beat-by-beat gameplay and level design, It Takes Two's selling point — its narrative — feels half-baked.

The campaign brings enjoyable new mechanics to the formula but multiplayer and Zombies both fall short of expectations and needed performance, with weaker gunplay and an unstable framerate respectively.

The WWE 2K series needs a comprehensive tutorial more than anything. Hopefully that's on the agenda for next year's game. WWE 2K17 has all the authenticity a wrestling fan could want – I just wish it would ease new players into the gameplay better.

Mulaka is a good game which stands out more for its setting than gameplay. Had the combat and movement been more precise, it would've been a truly exceptional title.

Late Shift uses an awesomely innovative idea in a game that revolves around a young man being pulled into a deadly heist. The lack of normal gameplay elements makes it a very different kind of game, but it's a fun and compelling sprint for anyone who likes a good story. The differences your choices make also affect the story in new and unexpected ways, making it fun to replay the game trying for each of the 17 different endings.

If you're looking for a horror experience that perfectly weaves tension, presentation, and narrative together like the original Layers of Fear did, then Layers of Fear 2 will disappoint you. However, if you're simply looking for a freaky experience to play after dark, you'll enjoy Layers of Fear 2 quite a bit.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre presents a distinctive virtual house of nightmares unlike any of its asymmetrical contemporaries. Every match feels like a bite-sized, three-act horror flick packed with gripping tension, genuine scares, and gratuitous murder. Technical problems and limited content variety put a damper on the overall package, but there’s ample twisted fun to have with friends and foes in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

If Deadlight: Directors Cut is the first time you've played, go for it. This atmospheric action platformer is still a great game despite its couple of flaws, and the new modes make for a longer and more difficult game if you choose it.

The Little Acre is a delightful throwback to classic adventure games. The puzzle solutions never get too tough, unlike, say, Machinarium, so players shouldn't need a guide to reach the end. Adult players will love the narrative's core mystery, while children should enjoy the antics of Lily and her friends. The whole thing is both sweet and bittersweet, which you can't say for many games nowadays.

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose provides yet another compelling excuse to return to the gorgeous locations from the base game. With a tangible sense of heart and meaningful character development, this campaign expansion establishes Rose as a standout figure in the world of Resident Evil. This delicate story of growth and self-identification is viciously contrasted by psychological horror visuals that will unquestionably haunt players for quite some time.

Atomic Heart nails the art design and core gameplay loops but loses focus due to its vast array of game mechanics and untailored open-world segments. Inconsistent writing quality and inaccessible game design will likely frustrate many players, but Atomic Heart can still manage to be an incredibly fun adventure.

F1 23 falls short in the same areas as its predecessors have over many years. There's a great single player experience let down by a completely neglected multiplayer, which brings the games longevity into question. Those who love the F1 games regardless will find this iteration to at least be better in some ways.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is brimming with fantastic characters, fun combat, and legitimate potential. However, limited content and a laundry list of bugs keep it from thriving as a platform fighter right now.

Spacebase Startopia is a great time if you like city sim resource management-based games, but unfortunately doesn't excel in any one area. Caution to those highly susceptible to motion sickness.

EA Sports UFC 4 is a fun return to form for EA Sports. With a simplified approach to fighting and the inclusion of a more in-depth career mode, the UFC franchise is on the right track to building better things.

New World is one of the most beginner-friendly MMOs available, but its lacking quests and PvE makes me worried about the future. The PvP, however, is a blast.

The gameplay is so good, with intuitive controls that never get in the way. The fanciful courses are a joy to experience, and there's an endless supply of them to boot. Despite the room for improvement, the core game is good enough to make this an easy recommendation for fans of arcade-style golf.

Shredders is a fun, straightforward dive into the world of snowboarding, with mostly great controls and movements, and plenty of real-world influences. Some rough edges and often poor performance are all that hold this title back.

While WWE 2K26 brings one of the biggest rosters in WWE gaming history, with more being added with the Ringside Passes, quantity over quality is not always the answer. The game offers many modes, yes, but it is impossible for them not to feel half-baked and rushed. However, if you are playing for the core wrestling match types, you will have a great time thanks to the new gameplay additions and arenas like the Scrapyard Brawl.

If you're able to look past the lack of a strong central story, though, you'll be left with a gorgeous game built on some excellent (albeit underutilized) narrative foundations.

While Valfaris is in many ways an excellent game, it's held back by some significant design flaws and technical problems.

Madden NFL 24 is a step up from Madden NFL 23 in some ways, but not enough to make it feel like a huge improvement. Animations and AI have never been better, but the stale vibes past Madden games have suffered remain the same in the latest entry in this long-running franchise.

As both a solid local multiplayer twin-stick shooter and a Roguelike game, NeuroVoider is a good buy at $13.99.

Immortals of Aveum provides a great deal of first-person spell-slinging fun, but writing and balance issues keep this new adventure down from what it could have been.

A good game which should appeal to newcomers more than seasoned veterans of the genre.

While the campaign is rather short, the addictive nature of pulling off stylish moves to sever body parts keeps you coming back for more.

Sam and Max Save the World Remastered is just as chuckle friendly as it was when it originally launched. Though some of the writing feels dated, and it's not as difficult as older adventure titles or as engaging as modern ones.

This is by far the least optimized, most buggy entry in the series. The sheer volume of glitches, animation problems, frame rate issues, and weird hitching lag plagues the entire experience, and it's a damn shame.

A modest and enjoyable game, with a selection of great characters, and a storyline often giving pause for thought. Dex is a solid project, clearly put together with love. While its combat mechanic and hacking are lacking, the majority of the experience is deep and interesting.

Saints Row (2022) succeeds at returning to the roots of its predecessors by paring back the outlandish absurdity without losing an ounce of chaos, but sometimes feels as if it's holding on too tightly to a past best left forgotten. Plus, it has a distinct lack of polish.

The Xbox One version suffers from lengthy loading times and occasional frame rate hitches, though the strength of the story and atmosphere mostly offset these issues. If you're intrigued by The Town of Light's exploration of mental health and abuse and can stand a slower-paced, less-than-challenging game, this one might just cure what ails you.

Scarlet Nexus looks and performs really well, especially on next-gen hardware, but its gameplay is noticeably last gen. While it doesn't do anything new, it also doesn't screw up the basics either and should please Xbox fans looking for an anime fix.

NBA 2K24 is a great game that features some of the best features the franchise has had in years. A streamlined MyCareer mode, additions to MyNBA Eras, and more should make this a classic. However, microtransactions litter nearly every meaningful mode, ruining what would be a stellar entry.

For being Valhalla's first big expansion, Wrath of the Druids plays it a little too safe but still delivers an exciting adventure in the end.

Niggles aside, Renegade's lengthy Career Mode and local and online multiplayer support all make for a robust package. Factor in the low price of ten bucks and full Xbox Play Anywhere support, and you have a must-buy for arcade racing fans.

If you don't have a PS4 and have never played a Persona game before, you're in for a treat. If you do have one, you should just pick up Persona 5 Royal and get the best the series has to offer.

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath adds a handful of popular fighters, but the story falls short in comparison to the base game.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water suffers from some dated design decisions and redundancies in level design, but the unique combat and evocative environments make this a worthwhile adventure for horror fans.

If you've ever desired to roleplay as a variety of avian creatures with a tendency to pull off sick tricks on four-wheeled boards, then SkateBIRD is basically your only option. This cute indie game successfully delivers a goofy skateboarding experience most of the time, but annoying and plain inconsistent movement as well as some boring level design prevent SkateBIRD from being great.

Spellspire isn't quite as good as Letter Quest Remastered. The latter offers more variety, better art, and an easier, more entertaining battle system. Still, this one is a quality word game, with 100 floors of word battles on the way up and an extra challenging 100 subterranean floors to contend with after that. The upgrade system adds some depth and helps maintain interest along the way. While Letter Quest looks a little nicer, Spellspire's music is actually a lot better and more appropriate for this style of game. Given the scarcity of word games in general, players who enjoy spelling and finding words in general are bound to get their money's worth from Spellspire.

Jeopardy! is a decent adaptation of the popular game show. It doesn't have the production values and eye for detail to fully capture the TV experience, but it's still fun as a multiplayer trivia game. Other than online matchmaking issues, the only major problem is value. Jeopardy! sells for $20, but for $5 more you could get any of the Jackbox Party Pack games – and they're all miles better than this one in production value and volume of content.

Hunt: Showdown is a great shooter that needs stronger single-player support.

Battleborn is an incredibly ambitious title, and beneath the issues, there beats the heart of a robust and strategic MOBA shooter – and it occasionally reveals itself in exciting moments throughout both PvP and PvE. Methodical, strategic players will potentially get a lot out of the game – particularly if you're playing with co-ordinated friends – but the clunky engine could dissuade traditional first-person shooter fans. It'll be interesting to see how Battleborn develops further over the coming months.

The Call of Duty franchise needed a buffer between its past and its future, but Infinity Ward may have bitten off more than they could chew. Ultimately, Modern Warfare 2 has extremely promising multiplayer and co-op gameplay that feels good to play on the surface but woefully underbaked due to a lack of features and overall content in general. The campaign shines the brightest for those with a bit of nostalgia for the characters.

Arcade Game Series: Galaga is the best home version of the original Galaga arcade game yet. Whether or not the new features warrant an upgrade from the Xbox 360 version depends entirely on your devotion to Galaga and how much you care about Achievements. If you do like both Galaga and Achievements, this version is a must-buy.

Nine Parchments is a good game that needs more open environments and a stronger story. Nowadays, the plot is what distinguishes one experience over the other because there aren't many truly original gameplay ideas out there. Unfortunately, Nine Parchments fails here because it takes place in the Trine universe but does not provide a compelling narrative like Trine and Trine 2.

Immortal Redneck does a great job of blending dungeon crawling with a first-person shooter, but the game's lack of enemy variation and presentation issues make enjoying it difficult after awhile.

The port of Halo 2: Anniversary is good in many ways, but suffers from big issues in others. Overall, it's fine — but "fine" isn't good enough for Halo.

NBA 2K23 is a step up for the NBA 2K series as far as gameplay and in-game elements go, and the new additions to modes like MyNBA and MyTeam help the game modes feel less stale as a whole. However, the game's incredibly heavy reliance on microtransactions continues to hold back what is otherwise an incredible sports game.

Criterion has managed to create a vibrant, beautiful, high octane Need for Speed entry that dares to breathe new life into a franchise that desperately needed it.

Aven Colony is a capable sci-fi city-builder with great visuals and satisfying gameplay systems. The different alien landscapes do provide some welcome variety, but you'll exhaust Aven Colony's gameplay mechanics fairly quickly, but considering the game costs only $30, I think it's a fair price for the overall package.

While the gameplay and story of The Long Reach are lacking in a lot of ways, its look, sounds, and feel encapsulate the best of the horror genre. Therefore, I think it's a good game you shouldn't miss, despite the problems it has.

Having played on both Xbox One and Vita, I find that the big-screen experience really shows off Sword City's amazing artwork and provides a more immersive first-person experience.

Ubisoft hasn't built a title like this before, and the inexperience clearly shows – The Division seems to be a victim of its ambitions. The good news is that now, games can be updated, and the flaws in the system aren't so thick that they're beyond repair. With proper attention, Ubisoft could easily pivot the game towards the vision it represents. We can only hope that The Division's long-term story is just beginning.

A charming, alcoholic romp through Hell that suffers from technical issues.

Party Hard offers a frustrating yet fun and addictive experience. Not being one to let a game beat me, I've thrown people into fires, stabbed a bus full of people (beginning to feel like a real serial killer here...), killed harmless animals, and burnt down rooms with people in them, all in the name of peace and quiet.

With its striking art direction, haunting soundtrack and focus on exploration, Sable is a great journey about understanding yourself. Frequent stuttering and some bugs bring the experience down though.

You can't help but smile as you play. Its adorable nature, strange characters, and quirky dialogues make you fall in love with the game even though the camera controls are a bit off. If you're looking for a title which is guaranteed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, then be sure to give this one a go.

And it really doesn't need microtransactions. No, it's not pay to win, you don't have to even think about touching them. But that EA even included them turns me off a little. There are very real things to fix with this franchise, and asking people for more money inside the game isn't how you do it.

Iron Harvest offers a strong, story-driven campaign split into three interwoven parts. However, its core RTS mechanics leave something to be desired, and some common RTS features are lacking or missing.

Title aside, dodgeball and local multiplayer fans should have a great time with Stikbold. The $10 price tag is perfect for the game's level of content, too. Here's hoping the game sells well enough for us to get a sequel with online play and more arenas.

Weird West's astounding world-building and intriguing singleplayer campaign are worth the cost of entry on their own, but the game's lackluster technical performance and polish are huge negatives that prevent it from achieving greatness.

The gameplay itself is engaging and invigorating, perfectly capturing the tone of previous entries in the series. The current package is significantly lacking, but regarding gameplay, Hitman is shaping up to be one of the best games to date. Sadly numerous performance issues hinder the game's potential, but never affect gameplay in a significant way.

A decent conclusion to We Happy Few that brings interesting changes to the game's formula.

If you're in the mood for a challenging and dark adventure, you could do worse than 2Dark. The pulpy subject matter and tone are different from the average horror game. The unique perspective and art style actually serve the material quite well, too. Despite the rough edges, horror fans should give 2Dark a chance.

Space Hulk: Tactics falls over a little when it comes to its campaign and progression system, but over all it earns a recommendation from us for fans of the genre. For more detail, read on.

Ubisoft should be rewarded for its ambition, but ultimately ambition has translated into an overly busy experience that's got a little too much going on.

Bridge Constructor Portal will not blow you away, but it's a fun puzzle title that makes good use of portals and puts a new twist on a classic formula. For Portal fans, it's an excellent opportunity to revisit the classic world of Portal with a slightly different approach.

Deadbeat Heroes is a good first effort from the small team at Deadbeat Productions. The combat is fast, fluid, and easy to learn – even if it lacks the depth of a good combo system. Enemies are well-varied, as are the environments. The game's aesthetic won't impress anybody, though, and the music is atrocious and repetitive.

Far Cry 6 is like Far Cry 5, 4, and 3. Despite an incredible performance from Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad fame, there's very little new or fresh about this latest sandbox shooter.

Gravel is a lot of fun, offering an enjoyable arcade-racing experience with oodles of sideways flare. It's well presented and has plenty of appeal for fans of single-player games that just want something they can pick up and play without much of a learning curve...The lack of HDR is disappointing, but at least the Xbox One X has been considered, though personally I'd trade 4K support for 60 FPS every day.

Planetbase proved an addictive little time waster for around five to 10 hours before I realized that there wasn't really much more to it than what I'd experienced in the first few hours...The game could have done with more dynamism and perhaps more customization, there are only three vanity buildings available, and the "upgrades" you get amount to color swaps and larger models, which gives it an unfortunate sense of grind.

Though it often showcases excellent characters that go through well-written development, The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series Collection is held back by some narrative flaws and dull quick-time events. The world is filled with secrets to find and places to explore, and the presentation of it through art, music and great cinematography is a positive. Despite this, the issues with the story and gameplay prevent it from truly achieving its maximum potential.

Tell Me Why respectfully deals with sensitive topics and tells a meaningful story about grief and trauma. The performance and dialogue can be janky at times, but that shouldn't deter you from this experience.

Control's story has a great premise, but its characters leave a lot to be desired.

The ease of being able to pick up and play Heart&Slash should be a huge deciding factor if you're thinking about purchasing it. It is brilliant for filling in time between mainstream title releases, if not a game worth picking up just for the hell of it.

Overall, A Walk in the Park is a good expansion which offers more gameplay hours but that's all it does. You'll gawk at the visuals but its existence doesn't add anything extraordinary to the game unless you care deeply about the character. The audiologs are the best part by far because they give Warren a layer of complexity which was lacking in the original.

Empire of the Ants is a visual masterpiece based on the 1991 sci-fi book by Bernard Werber, but its streamlined RTS gameplay may be too limited for hardcore fans of the genre. The game is approachable for newbies or those who do not want to hassle with elaborate strategic maneuvers, and it offers additional gameplay via the hub, world exploration, and a surprising amount of platforming.

The Ascent is a solid evolution of the twin-stick formula, offering some of the most detailed and impressive visuals the gen has to offer so far. However, The Ascent needs a couple of polish passes as of writing, due to bugs and other glitches. Additionally, the game suffers from a lack of testing, with balance problems and structural issues that weaken the latter half of the game.

If you're someone who doesn't need a huge community to play with — and if you can come to grips with the intricacies of realistic riding — Steep will feed your lust for extreme winter sports just fine.

Code Vein is a great game, but needs more polish.

Despite my list of complaints, I've had a lot of fun with Darktide so far, and I'm looking forward to playing it for dozens (if not hundreds) of hours more as new features are added, issues are patched, and an increased player pool with the arrival of the Xbox Series X|S console versions.

Layers of Fear (2023) makes full use of Unreal Engine 5 to elevate its visuals, lighting, and environments to all-new heights, reimagines the original Layers of Fear, and features brand-new DLC content to tie the entire story together. Layers of Fear 2 still struggles to compare, however, and scares often fail to land.

While Sea of Thieves offers some unmissable fun you won't find elsewhere, the game currently struggles to justify its $59.99 price point at launch.

My Time at Portia could use some polish to improve things like menus, positioning objects, and cursor positioning with a controller, but once you get used to its idiosyncrasies, it's a relaxing and rewarding experience.

While it may not be incredibly in-depth, PGA Tour 2K21 is a great first attempt for 2K as they get into the golf game, and the future looks incredibly bright.

Despite a few downsides, I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Another Crab's Treasure. The game's humor was a standout feature that had me laughing out loud on several occasions. As a fan of soulslike experiences, I can confidently say that it's one of the few AA games that's truly worth playing through. What's more, it's incredibly accessible to play, making it a great entry point for newcomers to the genre.

BattleTech's actual content is superb, but it's impossible to ignore the fact that trying to make it play well on my high-end PC was an absolute chore. If the game was more polished, I would give BattleTech a full point higher in my score. You may want to wait for some patches to come out before picking it up.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a good fighting game that needs more polish.

That familiarity with what's lacking is repeated throughout NASCAR Heat 5 in both good and bad ways. Sure, it's a yearly update and to expect too much would be foolish, but this game really feels like NASCAR Heat 4. In a good way, nothing got worse and long-term fans will be able to jump right in and have an enjoyable time. On the other hand...could this have just been a DLC for NASCAR Heat 4?

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a hack and slash adventure with a few platforming elements. If you like taking on punishingly difficult hordes of enemies and proving your fighting prowess, you'll enjoy this game.

The presentation is mostly excellent, with a good looking game powered by a solid engine underneath that results in exceptional realism. If you're expecting to pick it up and win right away, forget it, there's a real challenge involved. I'm also delighted that it's coming with Xbox One X enhancements.

With excellent gunplay, awesome destructibility, a huge roster of playable characters, and a suite of well-designed stages, this experimental entry in the long-running military shooter franchise checks many of the right boxes.