The visuals and design may be on the wayside, but the amount of content that’s been crammed into a game that costs just £7.99 / $9.99 is outstanding.

Despite having a vertical drop for a learning curve and looking and feeling kind of average as far as modern gaming goes, Age of Wonders: Planetfall succeeds in being a richly deep and complex space strategy hybrid that will no doubt appeal to long time turn-based strategy fans, and newcomers alike.

Desperados III is a great prequel to the Desperado series. With great visuals, gameplay and a challenging story line you can be sure you will have a blast with this title. Gameplay is solid, and with memorable characters you can place your cards and know you have a winner.

The Touryst was a joy to play. It’s fun, calming, and simple. The puzzles can sometimes be tough to figure out, but it is satisfying when you solve it. It’s not long at about 5-7 hours to complete and it’s currently on Gamepass, so if you’re a subscriber give it a go!

Far: Lone Sails is a game that says a great deal without ever uttering a single word. Much like Dear Esther, it’s a journey that can be interpreted in many ways, and as such, your view of its gorgeously desperate world will constantly vary throughout. It’s a shame, however, that such a compelling canvas is slightly held back by its simplicity and its short length. Still, it’s a fascinating tale that deserves attention, just don’t expect too much from its gameplay.

SOMA isn’t an excellent example of horror, but instead shines its brightest through its story telling. That’s not to say that it isn’t scary, on the contrary it’s very unnerving and full of unsettling sights and choices, it’s just not up to scratch when those aspects try to go hand in hand.

Darkestville Castle is everything you want from a point and click puzzler. A simple but interesting story line, decent voice acting, and tricky but fun puzzles. The game can be completed in under 10 hours give or take – about standard for a point and click adventure game as you only really play them once, so you don’t want them so long that you lose interest. For those who enjoy point and click adventures, this is definitely a fun one to pick up.

The gameplay remains tense and unpredictable throughout the entirety of play, and the dark alluring atmosphere is equally as potent. This wont blow your socks off, but it will definitely keep you entertained for hours on end.

Indika will no doubt be one the most unique games we play this year, if not one of the best. It’s themes are both layered thick and somewhat confusing and the odd pacing means we can never really settle into the flow of things. We still found some fun to be had, mainly in the weird settings and 2D sequences, and those with a bit more of an open mind will no doubt enjoy it, but it certainly won’t be for everyone.

Wargroove certainly packs an impressive portion of diverse content, but its harsh difficulty, together with its complexity, has a tendency of muddying the water. Nevertheless, if you can overlook Wargroove’s taxing challenge and bear with it long enough to understand its varied functionality, there’s a lot to like about it, especially if you’re a fan of strategy games.

As much a victim of greater survival horror games as it is an oasis in a desert of unique survival horror experiences, Cronos: The New Dawn tries its best to evoke the atmosphere and dread that put the genre on the map. However, what lingers is the stench of a lack of effort, as there are various instances where you’ll be reminded of the greatness of the survival horror classics that came before, while you discover the myriad of ways Cronos falters in its attempts to shock and scare you. There are decent boss fights, excellent presentation, and decent weapons, but its workmanlike protagonist and weak conventional enemies keep this promising double A horror on a leash, when it really should’ve broken the chains and unleashed itself impressively upon every genre fan. Cronos is good enough, but it really should’ve been so much more.

If you ask me, if you’re not willing to play MyCareer or even MyTeam, then save your money as NBA 2K23 is not worth it in the long run. You’ll just end up spending more money than you initially thought you would while potentially playing anything but basketball.

If you are fond of classics from 30 years ago getting modern updates, System Shock will be a commendable trip to take. Plenty has been done to make System Shock an appetizing choice for the curious, and those who wonder where Bioshock‘s influences came from. However, the frustrations of exploration, the monochrome environments and the lack of interesting enemies smushes this remake’s momentum. Your enjoyment of this System Shock Remake will likely hinge on whether you can tolerate the rigidity of this classic’s design and how much you enjoy the story and the intrigue that exists within. Lamentably though, this remake sells itself on regression, meaning you’ll need to erase all the strides the genre has made in 30 years in order to fully appreciate it. Try this remake then if you’re curious, you might enjoy it, but although this remake is commendable, it’s still too disappointingly archaic to fully recommend.

Avowed gets better the more you commit to it, but when there are many RPGs that fly out of the gate with memorable opening gambits, it’s comparatively a bad indictment for Avowed to drone along in an uninteresting way until you plough a handful of hours into it. Don’t allow these negatives to diminish the positives though, Avowed is a strong RPG that will please anybody looking for a good and tasty role-playing steak to tuck into, it just deserved to shine as bright as its beautiful setting, instead of wallowing in middle-tier purgatory.

All in all Forgone has been super fun for me. Sure, I could nit-pick at some very minor changes but what Big Blue Bubble has made is something awesome and that all platforming fans should give it a look. I think it provides the right amount of challenge for all gamers approaching it.

For people that love Stardew Valley and wanted to see it collide with a kaleidoscope of other genres with a Sci-Fi coat of paint are in for a ride. For those that shudder at the sound of the words ‘Stardew Valley’ avoid.

Children of Morta has a very compelling story and the way they use death in the game to help progress the story is refreshing. However, there is so much that you need to unlock in the game to try and balance the difficulty in your favour to even complete the first dungeon. This, in turn, ruins the experience by having to play the same dungeon over and over. It is a shame that the same level of effort that was put into the story line was not put into the gameplay, things becomes repetitive quite quickly.

I was very surprised by Endling – Extinction is Forever. I enjoyed it for the most part, with a lovely visual style and story, although the gameplay felt a bit repetitive at times which held it back slightly.

As overGame put in their email to me, Gaijin Charenji 1 : Kiss or Kill is more of an experience than a traditional video game. If you are up for an hour spent questioning what you see before you, before having your mind melted by the mad antics on display, then absolutely pick it up. I fear many people won’t be willing to give it a chance however, and that’s a shame, as it is a unique experience that will stay with you for some time.

The chill nature of the gameplay, the exploration of the oceans, finding new fish and completing quests for the townsfolk meshed together to make a really rather enjoyable time. Moonglow Bay is the perfect palette cleanser in between other grittier titles, and another solid addition to the Game Pass service.

The Council is ambitious, unique, and serves up some truly in-depth functionality. However, the otherwise intriguing story is let down by poor voice acting and daft character animation. The game also puts an awful lot of pressure on the player to learn so much in a short space of time. The Council is off to a good start, but it should have been refined more.

Grow: Song of the Evertree feels like a mobile phone time-killing game that has been plucked out spruced up with some gorgeous graphics, added some great orchestral background music, pumped the game full of things to do and gives you free license with how you want to play create your worlds. As with these types of games, some things can get quite repetitive but if you want a stress free pretty looking game then you could easily lose some hours with this game.

Nova Lands is exactly what you need if you need a less stressful session of gaming. That is not to say it is not frustrating as at times you will feel like an underappreciated supervisor when the bots are not doing what you are expecting them to do. But you are the master of these bots and they are as only as good as your strategy. It is a neat little game but something you will only play through once.

I found my time playing Lunar Lander Beyond to be good fun in short bursts, usually in between something a bit meatier. At around 5 hours to complete it doesn’t outstay its welcome, though there are harder difficulties (and permadeath) to consider should you really want to test yourself. If you’ve not gelled with the previous releases then this make good strides to win you over, though the same tricky controls and movement are present as ever.

Wax Heads was a unique experience that definitely lived up to the cozy promise. It may not be difficult, and it may not be my style, but I enjoyed the actual gameplay elements. I believe this one is a see it and you’ll know type of game.

Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 is a decent 2D platforming shooter when it wants to be. The game’s main issues sit with its short length, its dull boss encounters and its somewhat lack of evolution when comparing it to its predecessor. Still, its gorgeously detailed and diverse level variation, together with the sheer amount of carnage that players can unleash, collectively delivers a fairly fun experience nonetheless.

Thankfully, there’s something about the core feel to the gun-play and movement that mostly makes up for things. Everything is snappy, even with the screen chock full of enemies, gunfire and gigantic bosses. Getting a particularly powerful upgrade early on feels like winning the lottery, while teaming up with 3 players online makes the grind far more appetising. It’d have been nice to be able to keep something from each run, and have online loot shared amongst the team, but as it is, Risk of Rain 2 is a great example of the genre.

Iron Harvest is a smart port to consoles with some minor control issues, this is an excellent RTS for anyone that wants to use a controller.

Although quirky, Visage is a thrill to play as the random events can change your experience with the game each playthrough, but playing it more than once will remove most of the thrill by knowing the jump scares and harder puzzles. I hope SadSquare studio continues to add to this title, as it can benefit from it, and it deserves to be played by the horror genre fans. I managed to solve all puzzles and earn all 27 achievements for 1,000 gamerscore in Visage in roughly 12-15 hours.

Bleed 2 is an average bullet hell game that will be better appreciated by streamers and speedrunners. Those looking for a padded, in-depth, side-scrolling shooter, will be left in the cold. Despite some interesting gameplay design throughout the varying levels, Bleed 2 just doesn’t stand out. It’s worth the price of admission for its content alone, I’ll give it that, but it’s far from revolutionary and lacks originality.

Exit The Gungeon is a a game that I can’t say would keep me coming back for more. I absolutely love how creative the guns and bosses in the game can be, but I can’t see myself coming back to play it over and over again. It’s not a dungeon crawler anymore, your just fighting enemies in an elevator shaft. While the fun is immediate in the beginning, after a couple of runs it is sure to die down.

Immortal Redneck is a good, lengthy game. With its outdated graphics to the side, the game holds its own and deserves a place up there with Serious Sam. Its fast-paced gameplay offers fun, hilarity, and comes with some truly crazy gimmicks. The biggest downside is that it becomes overly repetitive before long.

Tropico 6 is a fun sandbox strategy game, with some new additions that provide some reason to upgrade from the previous entry. I enjoyed my time with the campaign, even if some of the objectives and demands sometimes got a little too overwhelming. At least sandbox mode is there, allowing you to de-stress with no pressures and just enjoy the act of creating your own little empire.

Samurai Shodown marks the return of a beloved classic, and although not quite as refined nor as deep as its modern contemporaries, the game proves that there’s still plenty of life in the franchise yet. Through staying faithful to the series’ roots, Samurai Shodown offers up a different kind of fighter, one that retains the strategic action and high levels of tension that put this saga on the radar to begin with. Whilst not great, it’s certainly bold and unique.

The game’s greatest drawback is that of its structural imbalance. Whilst its Groundhog Day-esque choice-driven narrative remains deep and engaging, its lack of content variety and depth ultimately paves the way for repetition. The combat, on the other hand, remains satisfying throughout, which is further upheld by the game’s entertaining RPG elements. Overall, it’s a fairly decent adventure that’s only fun until the novelty wears off.

Despite its seemingly grim premise, Regalia goes on to produce a surprisingly witty, well structured and strategic RPG adventure. There’s no denying that this game is better suited on the keyboard and mouse, but if you can overlook these niggling controller issues, a wonderfully written and endearing journey awaits.

There’s no easy way to express it, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a big puddly mess of good and bad. The setting, the shorted Assassin’s Creed experience, the emphasis on stealth, and the heightened sense of danger gives Mirage worthy ingredients for a small and sumptuous Assassin’s Creed stew, but the seasoning has been left out this time, leaving the latest AC looking disjointed, feeling ineffectual and plagued with a handful of technical blemishes. This isn’t the kind of quality Assassin’s Creed Ubisoft are truly capable of, despite it being a rather welcome one thanks to its reduced length. All told this latest outing has its bright spots but could’ve done with some serious sprucing up.

Golf Club: Wasteland is slightly more hit than miss. The overall package contains an enjoyable experience. The music matches wonderfully and exploring the decayed wasteland landscape is a fun experience, but the method by which you do the exploring, i.e. the golfing, leaves a lot to be desired and can be more than frustrating using a controller. The game is priced fairly, $10 USD, for what’s there, so if you want to take a swing I’d say go for it.

The Wanderer is an interesting look at the Frankenstein story and the visuals are appealing. However, what is here is a little predictable and the binary choices don’t inspire the imagination.

I wanted to like Gori: Cuddly Carnage more than I did, perhaps my hopes were too high. In the end I found the levels too repetitive for my liking and some technical issues soured my mood. There were some fun parts in the platforming and chase sequences but that’s not enough to be able to highly recommend this game to my friends.

It’s a shame to see that issues with the framerate and the daft character animations are still yet to be resolved, however, with that in mind, Ripples presents the best and most balanced episode in the series so far. I’ll credit the voice acting too, which sees a notable improvement throughout. The mansion is as stunning as always and the story that’s set within remains intriguing, exciting and fairly well paced.

OFDP2 is straight to the point in what it is trying to achieve; a simple but challenging test of your reflexes and focus. While some will no doubt relish the challenge and try to test their ability, others may lose interest in the repetitive simplicity. There is no smoke and mirrors here though, so for those who want a no-nonsense pick-up and play fast action reflex game then OFDP2 is for you.

While Mosaic is on the short side, what’s there is done really rather well. It get’s the message across well, not overstaying it’s welcome or labouring on a point. If you’re in the mood for a one and done experience of an evening, Mosaic will fit the bill nicely.

Kombinera is a hell of a challenge, though at the same time its also quite fun to put ourselves to the test to try and best it. For such a simple premise, Graphite Labs have packed this charming puzzler with enough challenge to last us a long time indeed.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is described as a game that sets itself apart from other walking simulators due to the addition of puzzles and engagement. It’s a shame however that these very additions are easily the weakest points in the game. The story may well be interesting and it’s certainly a stunning experience, but it takes a lot more than that to truly stand out.

Unfortunately, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre loses its appeal gradually when you find yourself performing the same actions over and over again, where every match plays out in the same way, refusing to change things up to keep the drama ticking along. The lack of time limits can make matches drag on laboriously too, so it’s easy for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to wear out its welcome. Ultimately it’s a cool PVP game, but it doesn’t have the fresh ideas to contend with its contemporaries.

Grim Legends 3: The Dark City is a fitting end to the trilogy. The gorgeous artwork and varying puzzles remain engaging throughout, upheld by a decent story that helps to maintain player immersion. Sadly, issues with poor voice acting and its lack of a steady difficulty curve pulls this down from greatness. Though, even with that in mind, this adventure is well worth a visit.

Being an FMV means that much of the game’s weight is resting on both its writing and its acting. Unfortunately, the quality here tends to fluctuate. There’s also some odd design choices that hurt the game’s otherwise decent pacing and structure. That being said and overall, The Shapeshifting Detective is just about entertaining enough and interesting enough to recommend.

Hide and Seek is a small step-up from The Mad Ones, though we do need to see more locations and opportunities to utilize its mechanics in subsequent episodes, in comparison to this. The minor issues with its frame-rate and character animations don’t persist as much as before, but they do hinder the experience to some degree. Regardless, The Council remains unique and interesting enough throughout.

Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered is one of my childhood games brought back to the modern day but just not in the way I imagined. With such a cool story and concept, a remake combining the two with modern controls and a bit more direction would have made this awesome. But just a graphical touch up isn’t enough to bring these games to the modern era. It needed more love and for me that’s a shame.

de Blob 2 suffers from repetitive gameplay and wonky camera issues. However, if you can overlook these niggling problems, there’s a surprisingly lengthy and endearing platforming experience within. It’s not a groundbreaking game, but it is accessible, and will surely be appreciated by fans of the genre and newcomers alike.

Deliver Us The Moon nails the feeling of being in space, and the tale being told is interesting enough to keep up gong through to the end. It’s slow and repetitive at times, and the linear nature means we often pass by seemingly perfect opportunities to explore, but I still enjoyed my time with it.

A cursory glance at Peaky Blinders: Mastermind might fool you into thinking that it’s a cheap, defective product that rides on the popularity and success of the TV show on which its based. The positive reality though is that once you get your head around its gameplay quirks, you will find a decent but brief foray into a post-World War I plunge into the sneaking thievery of the Peaky Blinders. Yes there are a lot of basic and unfulfilling design choices, and more could’ve been done to immerse you into the Peaky Blinders universe, but what’s here is executed sufficiently well enough to provide several hours of entertainment. You won’t be blown away and you would wish and crave for more substance and intrigue, but Mastermind – whilst not a master – is certainly a handy companion.

OkunoKA Madness is not for the casual platforming gamer. A certain level of skill is needed to remotely get close to beating this game. Once through the levels, the game relies on ranks and time trials for replay-ability so I hope you enjoy what is given. OkunoKA Madness is guaranteed to drive you mad at least a few times as you will die a lot. Overall the game is a relatively short experience, skill depending, and could have tighter controls for the genre that it is.

Rival Megagun’s competitive spin on the shmup formula is a bold move indeed, and although it pays off for the most part, the game is not entirely without fault. I take issue with the game’s lack of depth, its desolate online component, and its inconsistent damage detection. That said, its aggressively fun concept, its thrilling local multiplayer, and its decent character selection, collectively makes this a fairly worthwhile shoot ’em up.

Truberbrook effortlessly stands out on the merits of its uniquely gorgeous presentation, its stellar voice work, and its overall decent writing. Unfortunately, the whole ordeal religiously falters as far as its core functionality and its puzzle design is concerned. The end result makes for an adventure that seemingly looks like nothing else, but largely plays like a poor imitation of any given point-and-click game worth its salt.

Dead or Alive, for better and for worse, attempts to do things a bit differently with its sixth mainline entry. The game’s fluid and weighty combat is its high point, together with its depth of content and its diverse selection of modes and unlocks. Unfortunately, the game is held back quite a bit by its convoluted campaign, its unnecessary costume grind, and its lack of stage refinement. Bottom line? DOA6 is a competent fighter, nothing more, nothing less.

While Sonic Superstars demonstrates creativity and innovation in the Classic Sonic formula, it falls short of reaching the heights set by its predecessors. Some levels are just frustrating and not enjoyable. What we really need is simply Sonic Mania 2.

Octahedron isn’t your average platformer. The solid design, wonderful soundtrack, and clever functionalities, go hand in hand to produce something fun and exciting. Though, with that being said, the floaty controls and repetitive gameplay often hinder this otherwise decent loop. Different it may well be, but it’s hardly groundbreaking.

Like a popcorn popping Hollywood blockbuster, My Friend Pedro offers a bullet-bonanza ballet that’s hard to ignore thanks to its slick moves, combining a great sense of fast food action gameplay that escalates in challenge as you grow accustomed to the many flourishes it adds throughout. Regrettably the characterisation and story falls short, but in all likelihood these fundamentals won’t matter if you’re looking for an action-packed thrill ride, and boy does My Friend Pedro offer that in spades. If you demand something more in-depth or intricate you won’t find it here, but everyone else will find that My Friend Pedro scratches an impulsive itch that’s able to impress with its penchant for grace and unabashed style.

DC’s Justice League Cosmic Chaos was surprisingly a game I enjoyed and wanted to play repeatedly. I was going through a very big gaming funk, not knowing what to play, and jumping between games, which could hold my attention span for long. Then I started playing DCJLCC and was slowly sucked into a fun world, with many things to do. If I was bored playing the main storyline, I could farm some shells and coins to upgrade my superhero, find a dungeon, find some gadgets, even explore Happy Harbour, and find comic books hidden around the land to unlock my favourite superhero costume.

I had a good time with Mr. Run and Jump, with the feel of the movement and inputs coming across really well. It’s challenging, but rarely unfair. The retro neon visuals also really drew me in. The levels can feel a bit overlong, though thankfully when you die you don’t get set too far back. One for those looking for something to dip in and out of.

If you’re able to power through the annoyances, there’s a lot to like about 7th Sector. It looks and sounds great, the atmosphere is built wonderfully and it feels like there’s always something new to see as you progress. But some obscure puzzles and a lack of an easily parse-able story may well end up putting more people off than not.

Rollercoaster management games are few and far between these days but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great games out there for the category. Luckily Park Beyond is coming out swinging as this is a really fun entry in the management genre. It offers some crazy impossibilities to the theme park rides that make the experience so much fun. Unfortunately the launch hasn’t been the best for me with crashes and technical issues with the AI, however I have the upmost confidence they will be fixed in the near future. You know if this type of game is for you and if it is, Park Beyond isn’t a bad one to take a try on.

Ghostrunner is certainly worth a look and will definitely click with those endeared by its speed and momentum, but potentially alienates those who just want a kick-ass action game to delve into. In this sense, Ghostrunner is as much a success as it is a failure.

If you were already a fan of the base World War Z then I would have no problem recommending Aftermath to you. Although some aspects of the game could have used a bit more attention, blasting through zeds in the first person was still an enjoyable experience, especially with the addition of friends.

As a remaster, it’s well done if basic; some upspuffed visuals, a few QoL improvements, and an easier way to revisit the game. But unfortunately the game itself is showing its age, with obtuse objectives and maps and combat that rarely feels fun or exciting to engage in. One for old fans, and cautious new players looking to see what the series is all about before the new Onimusha: Way of the Sword next year.

Carrion is one of the best pixel made horrors I’ve ever seen and deserves praise from horror and gaming fans alike. With impressive controls and visuals for a game of this nature, this title is a must for any horror or gaming fan with a thirst for blood and anyone who loved the movie “The Thing”.

RAD is actually quite a fun game to play, the different mutations keep the game interesting and, as the game doesn’t give you much about the story, a lot of things are a mystery, and enjoyable to discover. The long loading screens when you start or when you die do ruin the games flow a little bit, but there is enough content, and it is challenging enough, to keep you interested for a while.

Newcomers and vets of the series will probably find the Serious Sam Collection to be of good value and a reasonable HD port. The added frame rate and graphic options are a nice touch for this classic series.

A visually busy game, ArcRunner is a good multiplayer Roguelite/3rd person shooter. However in singleplayer the grind can be too much to bear, with unlocks and progress a chore to get to.

Phasmophobia has hit the Xbox and brings all its scrappy charm along with it. I think there are people who are going to love this multiplayer horror game, but once the scares wear off, there isn’t a lot to keep coming back.

The Jackbox games have always been a great accompaniment to a party with friends. It is an icebreaker and way for all your friends to get involved and have a laugh. However, some of the games really do only work with people of a specific personality, and its rare everyone is that similar at the party. While I’m not overly keen on Talking Points and The Devils and The Details, I think Quiplash, Champ’d up and Blathers are going to be the main winners here to encourage fans to buy the new pack, making the price of entry worth it – especially if you’ve got a gathering (virtual or otherwise) coming up soon.

Mercenary Kings will no doubt appeal to those that are fond of the Metal Slug series. However, the gameplay doesn’t prove to be quite as frantic or energetic. This is a game that’s better when playing with others, and the added crafting and looting system certainly helps it to stand out. That being said, players will be enduring some poor design choices and irritating combat mechanics throughout the entirety of play.

Void Bastards is a serviceable first-person shooter, at best. Whilst intriguing, initially exciting, and quite deep as far as its crafting goes, the game’s lack of play depth and environmental variation makes for a very repetitive trek overall. On top of that, its unrefined combat and its lackluster AI proves to be a further hindrance throughout. Still, there’s certainly some fun to had in this loot-fueled space romp, it’s just very fleeting.

Airoheart is one of the better Zelda-likes I have played and working my way through the game has been a trip down memory lane. It borrows so much from the Link to the Past formula, but also adds in plenty of its own ideas and mechanics. Perhaps the biggest issue I have with the game is its price point, $40 is way too steep for this game. I think if it was $20-25 it would sell many more copies and find a much larger audience. There are a handful of other issues, but most of those could be addressed with a patch. If you’ve been looking for a game to satisfy your classic action-adventure cravings then Airoheart could be your game, at the very least you should put it on your wishlist so you can pick it up if the price changes or it goes on sale.

Overall, if you want a story set in the gritty era of World War One and don’t want to have to play through a Call of Duty or Battlefield campaign to do so, then Ad Infinitum isn’t a bad way to spend your time. It isn’t perfect and there are areas that clearly need some improvement but for a story that delivers and enemies that offer the chills, this is an experience that’s at least worth the once-over.

Tesla VS Lovecraft is a game that doesn’t make you wait to get into the action, constantly giving you more and more powerful weapons to deal with the hordes before you. As a power fantasy, it is great, just don’t expect there to be much more than that, going in.

Whilst it’s lacking in story content and comes with a questionable mission structure, there’s much to like about New Dawn. The gameplay remains fluid and responsive throughout, with no shortage of memorable moments born through its nonstop action, as well as its broad variation of unique opportunities. That said, once the game’s grind-wall kicks in towards the end, you’ll start feeling less like a liberator, and more like a liberator’s butler.

The Walking Vegetables doesn’t quite manage to rub shoulders with the best of its kind, but, it certainly offers a fun and entertaining twin-stick shooting experience, nevertheless. Special mention goes to its tight handling and its responsive feedback, which merges remarkably well with its non-stop, fast-paced gameplay structure. The only problem here is, by design alone, there’s one hell of an initial grind to overcome.

Curved Space is hectic, visually busy and fun in short bursts, but for me it just got too disorientating too often despite the developers best efforts to limit this.

Air Twister is a fun and interesting modernisation of Space Harrier. The music by Valensia although at first seemed out of place suits the 80’s vibe this game exudes with the bright colours and vibrancy. It maintains the tricky increasing gaming difficulty of the older games and throws in some rogue-lite elements to level the playing field and help add some replay value to the game.

Sometimes relics should be left in the past, and unfortunately the Tomb Raider Remastered Collection is one of those cases. There is some worth in preserving the base experience of these 32-bit classics for a modern generation of consoles, but calling this collection remastered is negligible, as it’s only claim to such namesakes comes from slight visual improvements and slightly modernised controls. This collection is best served as a history lesson and would do well in a videogame museum, but although it’s pleasantly priced, there are games that cost less that are longer and offer so much more substance than this. Feel free to take the history lesson, but whereas the original three games were celebrated and rightly so at the time, in 2024 it’s a case of history dooming itself in the present.

The Alto Collection is two games in one and is visually beautiful and simple. Yes, they’re old games that are pretty much built for phones and you only really need one button to play, but it was a joy to try and beat your high score. I played Adventure loads when it first came out on Windows and can’t wait to sink more hours trying to beat my score in Odyssey.

The joy of Wavetale comes from the exploration and free-flow traversal. The story and combat leave much to be desired and the openness of the water can really slow the flow of the game down. It was a short and slightly above average experience overall, shoutout to the visuals and sick traversal combinations you can sometimes pull off when the environment lets you.

Coffee Talk is far from a bad way to spend a few evenings, with some interesting characters and stories being told. For me though, the same sounding ‘voice’ to each character, lack of real weight behind the issues it tries to raise and the uninteresting coffee making aspects bring the whole package down. I applaud the Toge Productions for trying to create something different, and hope they can refine this into something a little more fleshed out down the line.

Ubisoft know they can do much better, they’ve shown that various times in the past, but Frontiers of Pandora is helplessly mediocre, wallowing in better Ubisoft franchises in a vain attempt to conceal the disappointingly stale reality that it’s just not good enough to be anything more.

Jagged Alliance 3 has many ups and downs but I ultimately came away frustrated, especially with the combat and the over complicated controls. There is potential there but I’m not sure I can wait around another 24 years to see that potential flourish.

Echo Generation feels like one of those games that try to capture all the elements which made the older games interesting. No hand-holding, no easy setting, no guidance and very challenging. The art design is quite cool and it is what will lure to the game as it seems very chilled. But it’s a false sense of security the game is far from chilled and is decidedly tricky. Coupled with the creepy unnerving undertones of the story this game is not for the faint-hearted.

It pains me to write such negative things about this game because now I am even more interested in the Legacy of Kain series after all the research that was required for this review. It’s not that this is a bad game, it’s just that this is a 2003 game in a 2026 wrapper and my score is intended for those who are new to the series. While I think that I’ll complete this game (with the help of a walkthrough), I’m afraid that today’s gamers won’t have the patience or nostalgic memories to allow them to power through the early levels and experience the story. I hope that this and the Soul Reaver remasters did well enough with purchases from super-fans to warrant a full remake of one or more of these games for newer players to enjoy.

Minit goes to show what a capable developer can do with such a small canvas. This game isn’t going to be for everyone, but those that enjoy quirky adventures should certainly have this on their radar. The minute mechanic, grouped with the solid world design and interesting progression structure, collectively amounts to a worthwhile trek, if indeed a short one.

A trial by horror if there ever was one, The Outlast Trials does its best to flavour up the Outlast formula with its particular slant on co-operative gameplay. The results are decent alone or with friends, but too many times The Outlast Trials sacrifices its horror potential by implementing its newly-minted multiplayer features, consequently threatening to trip over and compromise the experience. Outlast‘s bespoke brand of horror manages to keep its head above the bloodbath thanks to brimming environments, meticulous presentational elements and its ability to unnerve, but trying to be bigger doesn’t payoff as better with The Outlast Trials, it’s merely good, but could’ve been great if it was smaller and more focused.

TopSpin is challenging in many intentional and unintentional ways – the control system is tough to master but there is a great sense of reward to even getting the ball to land where you want it. The online requirements, and some of the more befuddling systems make it much harder to get to the core of the experience.

Knock on the Coffin Lid is a solid entry in the roguelite deckbuilder category. Anyone sick of the other big contenders will have plenty of things to do. Those looking for a bit more story than usually found will get the most out of it.

The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters is a great horror experience. With hand crafted visuals and a passion for the development this title should give the player a couple hours of gruesome entertainment filled with blood, sweat and tears. It’s great to see a 2D side scrolling title like this. It works well and I hope to see more.

Steamroll manages to get a lot right with the few systems that it consists of. The game’s well structured puzzles are relayed through its clever level design, together with its interesting steam-based concept and its balanced micromanagement. The big drawback is that it’s all tethered to a story that’s about as interesting as watching paint dry, with visual and audio design that’s equal to that.

Metamorphosis is a fun, ambitious, twisted and somewhat peculiar title inspired by the works of Kafka and offers something most games don’t – weirdness. Albeit suffering from some optimization issues, once fixed it will offer players a great game with some unbelievable moments to remember.

I’d love to sit and tell you about a fantastic feature, or a must-play aspect to Skydrift Infinity that would make you want to rush and buy, and I’d love to be able to praise this game as the must-play underdog flight game of the month. Sadly there isn’t all that much to be excited about. Whilst the visuals are pleasing, even they can’t compare to the other option being presented this month, and that can only mean this one is likely to be forgotten quickly.