Dawn of New Riders will likely please its young target audience, and to its credit, it just about manages to capture the fantastical vibe of its source material. It’s a shame then, that outside of its well designed puzzles and its distinct locations, there’s little else to praise. Whilst its technical issues hinder the experience, it’s the game’s lack of depth, its weak gameplay variation, and its poor overall quality, that greatly holds it back.

Whilst the depth and diversity of its content will be bolstered through post-launch community contribution, Animal Super Squad, at its core, feels far too bare for its own good. There’s nothing particularly wrong with its physics-based gameplay, and there’s certainly some fun to be had throughout. However, the big drawback here is that it’s just not exciting enough nor interesting enough to maintain traction in the long run.

This is one local multiplayer bomb-based game that anyone can pick up, play, and enjoy. There’s a nice, steady influx of unlocks to earn through little more than natural play, ensuring that even the youngest and lesser skilled of players will witness everything that the game has to offer. The drawback, however, is that outside of its technical issues, it all becomes fairly repetitive before too long, more so when playing solo.

Despite housing a generous amount of content, the game’s core systems lack depth and variety, and whilst DayD: Through Time makes a few functional improvements when compared to Gnomes Garden, it still falls short due to its tedious loop. That said, if you’re a fan of this simplistic concept, DayD is certainly going to be serviceable. If, on the other hand, you prefer something robust and challenging, look elsewhere.

Genesis Alpha One is a tremendous roguelike that rarely holds back. Its many systems are well balanced, its plethora of unique objectives remain fresh, and its random generation solidifies its already impressive variation. There’s room for minor improvements, and there’s some slight visual blemishes across the entire board, but this takes little away from the constant uncertainty that the game relays at a tense and frequent rate.

Sequels often tread in muddy water, either playing it too safely and failing to innovate, or, stepping too far from the concept of their predecessors at the expense of their identities. Rarely do we see a sequel that truly builds upon what came before it, whilst staying faithful to its roots and its character. Guacamelee! 2 is of the latter, delivering an adventure that’s remarkably fluid, constantly enthralling, and thoroughly entertaining.

Disregard the game’s sickeningly inaccurate description. Throughout its entirety, Heroes Trials plays like a horrendously designed Zelda dungeon, complete with a shoddy story, lackluster visuals, and worse, combat that’s dire, and control feedback that’s ultimately imprecise. It doesn’t help matters that the game suffers from some pretty frustrating bugs and technical issues on top of that. Avoid.

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.

JackQuest’s sizable interconnected world, together with its immediately fluid and precise gameplay, collectively go hand in glove to set an instantly captivating stage. There’s a good blend of combat, puzzles, and platforming throughout, making for a worthwhile adventure that rarely loses traction. The only real downside here is that it lacks diversity across all of those aspects, pulling it just shy of greatness as a result.

Despite its short length, 39 Days to Mars is a game that certainly knows how to boggle the mind through its cleverly structured co-op puzzles. Unfortunately, these intelligently designed moments are frequently broken up by needless, senseless, and boring filler. This ultimately makes for a very hit and miss experience, one that will likely only be appreciated by puzzle enthusiasts.

At Sundown sports a tense and interesting hide and seek-like style of play through the use of its cleverly implemented light and shadow stealth system. However, despite its fairly healthy variation across its weaponry, its modes, and its maps, it all falls victim to repetition a lot sooner than expected. It doesn’t help matters that, even on launch day, its online component seems painfully devoid of popularity.

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.

Whether you’re returning to Raccoon City after a number of years, or, this is your first trip to the ill-fated locale, there’s no better way to experience Resident Evil 2 than this remake. While remaining true to the overall arc of the original game, everything here has been tweaked, updated, and twisted into a truly brilliant survival horror. One that proves that no one does it quite like Capcom. Make no mistake about it, this, is a must-have.

The game’s hands-off approach allows for a more relaxed and carefree affair, which is massively refreshing when we consider the current farming trend that tends to favor realism and constriction above all else. Putting its slightly convoluted mechanics aside, Farm Together offers a relatively light-hearted and fun experience that, although repetitive in the long run, manages to stand tall and firm.

Skies Unknown, quite simply put, is aerial combat at its absolute finest. The jaw-dropping graphical power that supports the experience is second to none, consistently upholding the game’s tight and responsive action-packed gameplay. Whether you’re here for its explosive campaign or its deep and intense multiplayer, Ace Combat 7 will not disappoint. It doesn’t get any better than this for flight game enthusiasts.

The Grand Tour Game sports a unique content delivery system, but it’s one that goes in and against the game’s favor. That being said, this all means very little in the face of its undefined framework. Whilst the game does a good job of representing the show’s stylish character and imitating its format in fun ways, it predictably falls short where it really matters. This is, at very best, a mixed bag of pros and cons.

Onimusha: Warlords still holds up exceptionally well nearly twenty years since its original release. Capcom’s ability to merge historical events with such a fantastical and engaging plot, together with a gameplay foundation that’s well paced, deep, and constantly exciting, is precisely why this classic is so highly regarded. Whilst Warlords is indeed unforgivably short, this is one Capcom comeback that you simply must have.

Technical issues aside, Absolver’s deep and innovative combat system, together with its seamlessly integrated social elements, easily stand as the game’s greatest achievements. Unfortunately, the game’s gorgeously ruined world is merely superficial beauty, being that outside of necessary acquisition, there’s little else to enjoy. This lack of overall depth is surely going to have a negative impact on its player count before too long.

Aftercharge’s fun and unique cat and mouse-like concept is both neatly structured, and finely balanced. However, whilst the game offers a decent amount of depth through its well designed and diverse cast of interesting characters, it’s greatly held back due to its lack of gameplay variation. The bottom line here is that distinction alone will only go so far, Aftercharge needs to cover more ground, and soon.

Void Vikings would have been more interesting if its needless debt structure was stripped away to allow the game’s core functionality to shine. However, even if that was so, there wouldn’t be much justification to warrant a recommendation. The game lacks refinement across the entire board, making for an experience that, despite its decent variation, is more convoluted than it needs to be, and a lot less fun than its peers.

Despite the occasional flaw, the game does a remarkable job of keeping things simple and easy to understand, at the same time as embedding depth through its fluid, interconnected gameplay elements. Whether you’re here for the satisfying combat, the deep and engaging story, or the vast and diverse quests within, Tales of Vesperia will certainly deliver. That, together with its additional extras, makes this edition a must have.

Planet Rix-13 consists of little more than constant fetch questing, with the majority of its necessities nonsensically strewn in plain view throughout its hour-long run. The problem that this generates, amidst its poorly structured story and its feeble puzzle work, is that it all feels far too guided. Despite its cheap cost, and unless you’re only looking to bulk up your Gamerscore, this game isn’t worth your time nor your attention.

If you’re looking for accessible arcade fun, Legendary Eleven isn’t really a bad choice. The game’s field of play and its fairly robust features remain well set for the most part, allowing even newcomers to sink right in and score some outlandish, memorable feats. Unfortunately, however, the game’s bugs, its technical issues, and its constant screen tearing, massively holds it back from greatness in the long run. Wait for fixes.

The core loop that made Road Rash such a classic is just about present here. However, it doesn’t come without problems. Whilst it’s fun to have a vehicular duel as you tear along the road, such weightless impact, its floaty physics, and the heavy reliance on randomly generated tracks and objectives, massively pulls the game short in the long run. The foundation is on the right track, but it definitely needed more time in the oven.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales slots into the world in which it’s set magnificently well. The game’s writing and its pacing is top notch, collectively pushing forward a story that’s deep, unique, and thoroughly engaging. Minor and infrequent framerate issues to the side, Thronebreaker offers an exceptional adventure, a compelling RPG, and above all else, a rich and entertaining card battling experience.

Hellfront: Honeymoon trades depth for gameplay simplicity, and in doing so, will likely turn away those that prefer deeper action strategy games. If you can overlook that, there’s a lot to like about the experience at hand. The game’s constant action sits remarkably well with its quick-fire matches. Though, as with any game that’s relatively bare, repetition sinks in soon enough. Still, this is one PvPvPvP that’s fit for those party nights.

Odium is one hell of a challenging side-scroller, so much so that it walks a very fine line between being fun and being irritating. That said, Odium does a wonderful job at keeping its gameplay fresh through the steady flow of new, tricky additions. Furthermore, the game offers quite a decent chunk of replay value, and, thanks to its gorgeous monochromatic art style, together with its epic techno music, it rarely grows tiresome.

Nippon Marathon is a waste of digital space. The game’s seemingly fun Takeshi’s Castle-like concept is completely undermined by its several technical issues and questionable design choices. Even with that cluster-mess to the side, the game at its core attempts to be both wacky and innovative through the character of its outlandish foundation, but only comes off as poorly developed, boring, and ultimately frustrating.

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 feels more like an extension to Knights of Pen & Paper than that of a true sequel. That’s not necessarily a bad thing when we take into account that the first game is a lot of fun, but, poor design choices from the first game do indeed creep into its follow up. By and large, this is a very safely constructed sequel. That is to say that if you enjoyed the first game, you’ll enjoy this. If not, this is highly unlikely to sway you.

Kingmaker: Rise to the Throne brings with it the usual drawbacks that we’ve come to expect from its developer and its publisher. The game’s poor writing and its shoddy voice work makes it hard to get truly invested in the story at hand, which at best, is only mildly entertaining throughout. That said, the game’s exceptional artwork, together with its fairly creative puzzles, collectively provide the journey with its much needed grip.

The Atari Flashback Classics Volume 3 is certainly a worthy choice if you’re looking for a true nostalgic hit. There’s a wide selection of retro titles on offer here, with online and leaderboard support added for heightened value and extra longevity. With that in mind, this is a bundle of fifty massively dated games that, by current standards, handle pretty poorly for the most part. This will likely only appeal to a specific crowd.

Just Cause 4 is easily the best game in the series, seamlessly combining its freedom of experimentation with its signature, action-packed concept. The addition of extreme weather effects, together with the game’s redefined functionalities, go hand in glove to produce wildly entertaining gameplay opportunities from the get-go. Unfortunately, the game’s weak story and its grindy structure ultimately pulls it just shy of greatness.

Lazy Galaxy: Rebel Story fails to truly build upon any of its interesting ideas. There’s fun to be had, but these moments of excitement are oftentimes short lived due to the game’s play-it-safe formula. I don’t doubt that this will please die-hard fans of the shmups, but if you’re looking for the genre’s next big thing, this isn’t it. Lazy Galaxy is, at best, just another substandard bullet-hell adventure.

Big Crown: Showdown isn’t without issues. There’s some questionable design choices within, as well as a few bugs that hinder its fluidity. That said, these small problems are easy to overlook in the face of the vast amount of fun that the game consistently relays. I credit the game particularly for its accessibility, making for an action-packed, family friendly party brawler that rarely alienates the younger, or lesser skilled players.

Desert Child suffers greatly from its poor interconnected structure, which is a shame, because the game oozes potential throughout. I’ll credit the game for its gorgeous retro aesthetic and its brief moments of excitement, but ultimately, much of the game’s fun is bogged down by its constrained flow. Furthermore, the game constantly builds to a fabled event, one that turns out to be puddle deep and underwhelming.

Hide and Seek doesn’t do enough to stand out alongside its predecessor, nor does it attempt to build upon the franchise outside of its plot movements. Despite the game’s various locations, the absence of depth and the lack of evolving functionality only opens the door to repetition. That said, the game’s performance and its core structure remains well set, offering bite-sized fun that will no doubt please fans of the series, far above all else.

While there isn’t anything definitively wrong with the game, there isn’t anything that On a Roll 3D can particularly brag about either. It’s your run of the mill side-scrolling platformer, one that seemingly trades innovation for simplicity. If you’re a speedrunner, a leaderboard buff, or generally enjoy ease-of-use games of this type, On a Roll 3D is for you. If, on the other hand, you appreciate something deeper and more robust, look elsewhere.

Mutant Year Zero’s robust gameplay elements blend together magnificently well, collectively sitting on a story backdrop that’s intriguingly desperate, yet oddly comedic at just the right times. The game’s openness encourages experimentation and daring, with no shortage of lore and rewards dished out to keep its pace at a steady flow. The end result makes for one of the best tactical adventures of the gen.

Override: Mech City Brawl suffers from some minor framerate issues and the occasional character-specific bug that, once present, quite literally puts a stopper on your game. Despite those problems, Override is pleasantly accessible and goes on to provide structural depth, combat diversity, and heaps of action-packed, fun, and exhilarating moments from the get-go. This is one brawler that’s fit for the whole family.

Gods Remastered is a mixed bag of pros and cons. Whilst the game’s structure and its pace has maintained its quality quite well over the last two and a half decades, the game’s combat and its handling remains far removed from acceptable standards. Still, one has to appreciate the work that’s gone into the remastered aspects here. It’s just a shame that much of the game’s charm is weighed down by its dated functionality.

Monster Boy is classic adventure platforming action, but done with such style and panache that it outshines many recent examples of the genre. There’s a brilliantly paced difficulty curve, with new powers, characters and items dispensed at just the right moments. Combat is standard, but intelligent use of the aforementioned aspects means it never gets tiresome or frustrating. It helps that the game looks and sounds sensational. This, is a must have.

Energy Cycle Edge is every bit as alienating as it is ignorant. The game is completely without accessibility, largely due to its overly steep difficulty spike and the fact that it’s devoid of any tutorials or tips. This wouldn’t usually be an issue, but for a puzzle-only game that comes with a such a distinct process, it’s disconcerting and confusing to say the very least. Even once you eventually grasp its concept, there’s little fun to be found here.

There’s moments of beauty to be found in the parallel stories here, but much of that is lost in the midst of its abundance of heavy-handed sorrow. It doesn’t help that The First Tree is far too basic for its own good. Whilst the game’s several worlds seem diverse and interesting at first glance, the lack of any padding makes for a very empty experience, one that, despite its few highs, ultimately succumbs to its many lows.

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.

There’s no denying that for its cheap cost, you’re getting more than enough content in return, but it’s content that ultimately becomes repetitive before too long. Much like each of its three predecessors, New Home fails to truly evolve its gameplay loop throughout its entirety. That said, I’ll credit the game for its simplicity and accessibility, but this means very little when innovation has been sacrificed as a result.

The only issues with The Gardens Between is its short length and its utter lack of replay value. If you enjoy heart warming bite-sized puzzle games, the journey found here is as stunning, as unique, and as clever as they come. The game’s core time manipulation concept works sensationally well with its few mechanics, serving up puzzles that, although quite simple, remain thoughtful and captivating throughout.

Floor Kids isn’t a bad game per se, it’s actually quite fun during the initial stages of play. The drawback, however, is that the game fails to shake-up its formula throughout. Whilst there may well be some energetic variety as far as its dance mechanic and its character selection is concerned, there’s little else to get excited about. The end result ironically makes for a very monotonous experience, one that gets old, fast.

Combat is hard, often unfairly so, but get into the groove and it’s also very satisfying. Exploring the environments can yield extra challenges, with powerful rewards for success, but a few more tantalizing glimpses of areas beyond your abilities wouldn’t have gone amiss. If you enjoyed the previous entries and have been waiting to see what Fury can do, you’ll find the wait has mostly been worth it. Just be prepared for a challenge.

Horizon Chase Turbo doesn’t come without faults, but even so, it’s easily one of the most entertaining retro arcade racers in recent memory. I take issue with the game’s unbalanced AI and its unsteady difficulty curve, collectively presenting infrequent moments of frustration. This, however, is easy to overlook in the face of its deep serving of content, its diverse track and vehicle selection, and its addictive, energetic gameplay.

Following Crash’s epic comeback, Spyro’s Reignited Trilogy faithfully brings back the purple dragon’s first three games with an outstanding level of care and attention to detail. With some minor issues to the side, this trilogy is a treasure trove for any fan of classic platformers. There’s a vast amount of exciting content on offer here, content that will keep you entertained for hours on end, and then some.

Bendy and the Ink Machine is a pretty good action-horror, and although it can sometimes seem a little bland, you cannot knock it for its originality. There’s a couple of technical and design issues to iron out, but overall, the fresh and distinct look, together with some good scares, will undoubtedly keep your heart racing throughout.

Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics achieves much of what it sets out to accomplish. Whilst the game excels as far as accessibility is concerned, those that relish an in-depth turn-based strategy game may be disheartened by the simplicity on show here. That said, and despite its recycled level design and its grind-like reward system, there’s a fairly compelling experience within that does more things right than it does wrong.

Maxima is an accessible, welcome spin-off from the main series. The story is finely paced, the combat system is engaging, and the dungeon diving remains diverse and fun, but it’s its compelling Pokémon-esque structure that truly maintains its allure. There’s a few issues with its writing, specifically with a character that you cant avoid throughout the entirety of play, but that alone isn’t nearly enough to hold the game back from greatness.

Youtubers Life is quite an endearing management experience that, surprisingly, doesn’t come across too taxing nor too demanding. There’s a decent amount of depth to be found here, but its lack of gameplay variation is what holds it back the most. Nevertheless, if you can overlook that and forgive the game for its repetition, Youtubers Life will keep you gleefully busy for hours on end.

Calling Storm Boy interactive, while technically true, is a massive stretch here, almost as if it needed that definition to be allowed on the store. If you are in the market for a new tale to share with your little ones, you’d be better served picking up a copy of the book. The soundtrack is pleasant, the visuals have a charm to them, and the truncated story is sweet, but it’s all over in the blink of an eye.

Sitting between the concepts of both Tetris and Space Invaders, NeuroBloxs is a surprisingly decent game, if indeed one that proves to be overly frustrating and somewhat repetitive in the long run. There’s some baffling design choices as far as its difficulty variation is concerned, but if you can overlook that, a well rounded puzzle-action shooter awaits.

Eternal offers a pretty decent strategy card game at its core. However, the game’s monetary structure greatly holds it back, being that the game is chock-full of paywalls and microtransactions. This is normally acceptable for a free-to-play experience, but there needs to be a fair middle ground between grinding and expenditure. That sadly isn’t present here. You’re either all in or all out, for the most part.

Hitman 2 is surgical – it’s a focused experience that knows what it wants to achieve and exactly how to do it, much like its protagonist. All six maps are wonderfully replayable, and in reshuffling older content, IO seems to be on the cusp of the “games as a service” wave in a way not attempted by other developers. More locations would have been welcome, and Hitman 2 feels like somewhat of a supplementary package to its episodic brother at times, but there is nothing else out there like it.

Battlefield V’s content depth may indeed be lacking, though even so, the content that is on offer remains explosively robust from the onset. The campaign is relatively engaging and emotional, and the multiplayer is every bit as action-heavy as it ever has been. That said, if you’re looking for a varied shooter, you may want to hold off until DICE adds in its additional story, its battle royale mode, and its extra maps.

Fallout 76 is akin to Ark: Survival Evolved, being that much of its potential is lost in the midst of its many technical faults. To be clear, at its core, this isn’t a bad game, in fact, there’s a lot of fun to be had in its padded world if you enjoy this type of gameplay loop. It’s a shame that in its current form, most of that fun is frequently interrupted by horrendous framerate, countless bugs, delayed rendering, and shoddy design choices.

I am the Hero takes elements from both the classic beat ’em up and the traditional 2D fighter. The end result makes for a slightly unusual brawler that seems especially out of place as far as its combo system is concerned. Bear with it though, because underneath its somewhat confusing design, rests an accessible, action-packed journey that’s as varied as it is stunningly detailed.

World of One is far more frustrating than it is fun. Don’t be fooled by its decent Limbo-esque design, because for the most part, you’re either subject to cheap deaths, sluggish combat, or bugs that are seemingly game-breaking. There’s a few exciting moments and some interesting ideas thrown into the mix later in, but nothing that can be considered particularly redeeming.

GRIP isn’t a bad racer by any means, but it could have been a lot more than what it is had the developer spent more time refining track consistency. Furthermore, the campaign itself feels nonsensical by design, and there’s certainly some population needed for its online component. Nevertheless, and despite those faults, GRIP is one of the most fun, intense and unique combat racers in recent memory.

What makes this game particularly entertaining is how it manages to withdraw a wide range of emotions from the player, via delivering an overarching story through the lens of two individual characters with distinct motivations and outlooks. The end result make for a stunning, fascinating tale that never quite loses grip throughout. 11-11 Memories Retold isn’t just a game that you play, it’s a game that you feel.

Noir Chronicles: City of Crime isn’t the best that we’ve seen from Artifex Mundi, but it will indeed scratch that puzzle-solving itch, if nothing else. I take issue with the game’s shoddy voice acting, its lackluster plot, and its poor animation, but with that to the side, there’s little more to scoff at. If you’re coming here purely for the puzzles, you’re likely to enjoy what’s on offer. If you’re seeking more than that, look elsewhere.

MechaNika, although short, is one of the funniest puzzlers in recent memory. There’s next to no difficulty as far as its gameplay loop is concerned, but this game is much less about complexity and much more about the journey at hand. On that score alone, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any game of the like that remotely relays as much character and wit as MechaNika does.

Agents vs Villain is a decent game that offers a lot of competitive fun. Its cartoonish design, together with its simplistic controls and its core accessibility, makes it a fitting title for players of all ages. There’s no denying that it’s a relatively bare experience as far as its content depth is concerned, but that said, it does very well with the little that it has.

Shadow of Loot Box is a poor joke. Furthermore, it’s a poor joke that costs money. I see nothing funny about a game that’s poking fun at controversial subjects, when in itself, it encompasses everything that makes a bad game, bad. On top of that and with its subject matter to the side, the game is extremely basic, lacks polish, and becomes overly repetitive far too quickly.

If you’re in the market for a first person horror game, you can go much worse than Call of Cthulhu, but be prepared for a lack of any real scares. The game leans heavily on the story and exploration of environments, so much so that when it does attempt the creepy stuff, it mostly comes off underdeveloped and a bit out of place. Go along with it though, and there’s something strangely compelling within.

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.

Chasm is a shining example of the concept that it adopts, and although it doesn’t really do anything out of the ordinary as far as its core design is concerned, it does indeed offer an exciting adventure that’s neatly paced and brilliantly structured. There’s a few technical issues to be mindful of, such as a some visual blemishes and its slightly floaty controls, but for the most part, Chasm represents its genre remarkably well.

Doodle God: Crime City just isn’t challenging enough nor interesting enough to recommend. There’s no doubt whatsoever that Doodleheads will find enjoyment here, but if you’re on the lookout for a compelling puzzle experience that innovates and excites, you’re not going to find those qualities in this game.

The LEGO Harry Potter Collection takes players back to LEGO game basics; before voice overs, before depth, before polish, and before just about everything else that makes the current formula so widely appealing. That said, this collection is well worth a trip if you enjoy the source material. There’s magic, there’s humor, and there’s a lot of fun fan service to soak up here, if little else.

Gem Smashers fails to build on its otherwise decent core mechanic, ultimately making for a game that feels well out of its depth alongside its more sophisticated and robust peers. It doesn’t help that it’s just far too easy for its own good, which isn’t an ideal characteristic for any puzzle game to bear. Fun at first, indeed, but its lack of both innovation and depth massively holds it back from its potential.

Gnomes Garden 2 plays like a cheap, run-of-the-mill Facebook game. There’s minimal depth on show here, and far too much hand holding for it to be considered even remotely challenging. I’ll credit the game for being both accessible and, for its cost, plentiful, but if you’re looking for a deep resource management experience, you wont find that here. Gnomes Garden 2 is just about passable, nothing more.

Super Pixel Racers offers a fairly diverse and accessible top-down racing experience. There’s a harsh difficulty spike later on in the game that makes it somewhat harder to recommend to the casuals. However, overlooking both that and the already dead online multiplayer, it’s hard not to appreciate the game for its depth, its fast pace, and its simple yet alluring concept.

Just Dance 2019, for better and for worse, doesn’t do much to step the series outside of its comfort zone. Though even so, it still manages to maintain the allure that’s held the franchise together for quite a number of years now. Despite the odd issue with its tracking technology, the game offers countless hours of fun for players of all ages, complete with a decent online component to further its longevity.

To its credit, The One We Found offers a fairly interesting horror story to get to grips with. However, much like Outbreak: The New Nightmare, the game is massively held back by a wide range of design issues and incessant technical problems. The majority of its faults are too obvious to go unnoticed, so much so, there’s absolutely no justifying the game being released in the state that it’s in.

Super Volley Blast hardly goes above and beyond, but it does indeed offer a fun, colorful, and accessible arcade experience nevertheless. I take issue with its lack of depth and its somewhat incompetent AI when playing solo. However, with that in mind, the game just about manages to meet expectations through both its local multiplayer component and its quirky, play-it-safe concept.

My Hero One’s Justice uses its source material well. There’s minor and infrequent issues with the game’s combat, being that some commands go unnoticed in the heat of the chaos, but in the face of everything that the game gets right, this is easy to overlook. There’s plenty of exciting content to work through here. Content that, for the most part, remains stunning, empowering and diverse from the get-go.

Midnight Deluxe’s reliance on its singular mechanic only makes for a repetitive experience overall. The game is too laid back for its own good, so much so that what little creativity it offers is often lost in the midst of its simplicity. That said, there’s certainly some fleeting fun to be had here and I do credit the game for its decent visual and audio design. All in all, Midnight Deluxe is passable, at best.

I cannot possibly imagine who at Nickelodeon looked at this and thought ‘Yes, that’s the kind of quality we want representing our brand’. While some track layouts are okay and character models passable, everything else here feels half-baked, lazy or downright awful. Terrible handling, poor audio, and the range of characters and their lack of characterization, collectively make a mockery of the franchises.

Rockstar knows quality like no other. Developers across the world will be learning from Red Dead Redemption 2 for a great many years to come. The care and attention to detail within is second to none, and the depth throughout the entirety of the game’s stunning open world, as well as every component that it encompasses, is unrivaled. Simply put, Red Dead Redemption 2 is not just ambitious and revolutionary, it’s a masterpiece.

Skyhill does a good job with its simplistic foundation, offering a core experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The constant uncertainty that looms overhead together with its randomly generated content, makes for some very tense moments. There’s a few issues with the game’s unbalanced systems, but with that in mind, Skyhill still manages to remain both challenging and fun throughout.

LEGO DC Super-Villains has a lot of fun with its source material, and although it does indeed prove that it’s good to be bad, taking some steps away from its play-it-safe formula would have been much, much better. That said, there’s a plethora of exciting content, depth and replay value on offer here, making this a must have for fans of the series. Just don’t expect this to be LEGO’s defining moment.

On paper, Heavy Fire: Red Shadow seems appealing, but the reality is a somewhat dull, underwhelming experience that very quickly makes its own gameplay boring by making you too powerful and by not providing any new challenge. There’s a strong feel of early access, which would be fine if the game was released in that pool, as a full release however, there’s just not enough here to recommend.

The gameplay loop, despite its lack of mission variation and the need to grind later in, offers an empowering, captivating adventure from the outset. The game’s ingenuity is its strong suit, combining its core concept with combat, exploration and customization to great effect. This is further upheld by a collection of worlds that are as diverse as they are stunning. The bottom line, Starlink brings toys-to-life, back to life.

Overall, The Jackbox Party Pack 5 is a great addition to any future party plans, especially for the upcoming festive season. Like all party games, you really need to have a group of people that are up for almost anything, but it does do a wonderful job of encouraging even the shyest of participants to come up with laugh out loud moments. Just be sure to steer clear of Zeeple Dome.

WWE 2K19 is a wrestling fan’s dream. It’s a treasure trove of modes, wrestlers and customization options, and each is equally worth your time. The return of Showcase mode is welcome, while MyCareer is a huge step up for the franchise and brings it closer to 2K’s NBA efforts. Quite simply, this is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there will be – until next year, at least.

Soulcalibur VI offers a surprisingly deep game with some robust systems laying on its impressive foundation. Here, strategy and timing is equal to brute force, making for a fighter that’s tactical, fluid, and engrossing. The game’s two lore-heavy story modes, although convoluted, serve up a great deal of content on top of the game’s PvP sections, with no shortage of additional extras to unlock elsewhere.

Home Sweet Home is a guaranteed heart-stopper and gets a lot right with the tools that it uses. There’s the occasional issue to contend with, but the bottom line here is that this is a top survival horror title for the enthusiast of games such as Amnesia and Outlast, developed meticulously to relay the same style as that of the infamous P.T. It’s stunning, it’s intriguing, and it’s very, very scary.

Black Ops 4 is the complete multiplayer package. Some design choices lack originality, yes, but Blackout has all the tools to be as big a multiplayer shooter as Modern Warfare was eleven years ago, while also offering a solid complement of competitive and cooperative modes.

Warriors Orochi 4 has a lot going for it, but its sheer lack of difficulty is hard to overlook when taking its widely interesting gameplay mechanics into account. Still, with its needless simplicity to the side, the game delivers on its promise to be the most fun and diverse entry in the series so far. Furthermore, in contrast to Dynasty Warriors 9’s launch, Warriors Orochi 4’s technical performance is top-notch.

Crayola Scoot suffers from a small range of design issues, but even so, it manages to offer up a fun, accessible, well rounded trick scooter experience nevertheless. There’s a steep difficulty curve later in, which may not sit too well with the game’s target audience, though with that said and despite its few flaws, the game achieves much of what it sets out to accomplish.

If anything, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey showcases Ubisoft’s commitment to strengthen the franchise and keep it relevant. Not only does Odyssey successfully expand and build on the systems and foundations that made last year’s entry so compelling, but it also relays more character, depth and world engagement throughout. Make no mistake about it, this is the finest entry in the series so far.

If you’re on the market for a simple rogue-lite that doesn’t demand too much focus and perseverance, Devious Dungeon will serve you well. If, on the other hand, you enjoy the intricacies that this type of game is usually known to adopt, you’re likely going to feel somewhat disappointed. Devious Dungeon is a passable game at best, but one that’s admittedly fun nonetheless.

My Memory of Us, despite its stellar narration and its wonderful visual design, is a game that’s far too simplistic for its own good. The game’s puzzles rely on tired concepts that take little more than common sense to overcome, with added stealth elements that remain equal to that. The end result makes for a journey that aims to be both deep and emotional, but ultimately fails to meet its intentions.

I’ll commend the game for its level detail and variation, but Spencer could have been a lot more than what it is had the developer spent more time refining the game’s mechanics. The game’s repetitive enemies, its rinse and repeat functionality, its disregard as to what makes the jump ‘n run concept fun, together with its technical issues, makes for an adventure that’s more often frustrating than it is exciting.