Backbeat is a Sokoban like puzzle game with a heavy focus on building a funky 90’s band. It looks and sounds great but it is not shy to lay on the mechanics in a hot and heavy manner. It definitely got the best of me but puzzle fans should give it a look.

Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is glorious to look at with an endearingly oddball approach to character design. A combat system that rewards and a story that goes deeper than the ornery main character suggests.

The Legend of Tianding is a solid beat ’em up that offers a unique twist by allowing you to collect stackable buffs, making it a great way for you to customize their experience. The platforming and combat mechanics are superb, and fun. Overall, if you enjoy beat ’em up games, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Deceive Inc. is a title that gamers haven’t seen in a while. Fresh off launch there are improvements that of course can be made but I’m willing to go on a stakeout to wait and see what happens with the title.

WWE 2K23 is worth the pickup for any hardcore or casual fan of the wrestling franchise. Is it something that you’ll play for weeks on end? Maybe for about a month or two sure. Burnout is definitely there if you don’t let your imagination flow. WWE 2K23 is one giant wrestling sandbox waiting for you to jump in. You won’t be disappointed in what you get yourself into.

Blood Bowl III has nothing here to recommend it for newcomers or veterans of the board game when there is a more complete package available in its predecessor.

A short and sweet puzzler that wows with its aesthetic while keeping us entertained with some simple but effective challenges. It’s all over a bit too soon, but don’t let that put you off checking it out.

Zombie Derby: Pixel Survival is a fun in short bursts, though any longer and the simple fact we’re just grinding to progress rather than using much in the way of skill means it likely won’t live long on the SSD.

I am a big fan of the Yakuza series and Like a Dragon Ishin! has all the qualities that you would expect from a game in this series. It looks and feels like a modern game but certain aspects do remind you that you are playing a remake of an older game. For those new to the series this is a great one to jump into as it’s disconnected story-wise from the Yakuza thread. There is so much content to enjoy and the different combat styles keep things fresh even if the story doesn’t feel too fresh.

While it had some decent moments once we’d gotten into the flow of things, overall we found our time with Remorse: The List to be underwhelming to say the least. An over reliance on cheap jump scares and underpowered protagonist, this is only for those who have exhausted better horror options.

Leap is the very definition of a mid-tier game, not bad, not great – a few iterations from finding itself and its audience.

JoJo Siwa: Worldwide Party is an auto-runner platforming game where you will be running, ducking, and bashing your way through obstacles to eventually make it to the big concert. The game doesn’t provide enough variety in my opinion and the limited gameplay they do have can be improved (re: timing). Granted, I doubt I’m the target audience so I asked my young daughters and they were more impressed than I so check out the video and decide for yourself!

Pinball FX brings virtual pinball action back to our consoles with this brand new iteration of the game. While it doesn’t feel great that previously bought tables don’t transfer to this game, it’s a great starting point for new players and there are options for returning. The premium pass is a good idea as a way to experience most of the tables that Pinball FX has to offer if you are okay not owning the tables once the subscription is up. Otherwise I’m happy with what I’ve played. It’s been fun to get a few rounds in each day and tackle the events to experience tables I otherwise might skip over. Worth the price of entry at free, but the microtransactions are a deterrent for some.

Disjointed is the lingering feeling once all is set and done with Atomic Heart. The articulate opening and the immense effort made to craft an absorbing alternate-history World War II Russia is certainly appreciable and admirable. Dishearteningly though, the FPS experience is weighed down by an awful lot of busywork and obnoxiously annoying characters that it’s hard to feel wholly immersed. As an FPS it certainly has some aplomb going for it, but it gets lost in the shades of comparison with greater games. If Atomic Heart was able to carry the brilliance of its opening twenty minutes it would be an excellent game, but sadly we’re stuck with an entertaining enough but bland and by the numbers shooter.

While a few tweaks could have seen it reach the next level, what we get within Scars Above is a fun, challenging adventure that we could quite happily have seen stretch on for a few more hours above our 11 hour playtime. The use of various offensive elements that can be combined is great, while the gadgets generally are good to use as well. Wrapped up in a world that feels vast without actually being too big, this is a solid title for those looking for a little challenge over the course of a few evenings.

Seven Doors is short but entertaining puzzle title. The fact each puzzle tests us in different ways is a nice touch, although this will impact the difficulty differently for different players. We’d like to see the movement smoothed out a bit, but as it is this is worth a look for those looking for some quick hit puzzling action.

A throwback to the early days of arcade gaming wrapped up in more modern presentation, Akka Arrh is a fun, albeit head-spinning, title.

The pop culture references combined with the solid and unique gameplay are just the ticket for those looking for a fun first-person shooter experience. Some people might not like the pixelated art style, but it works extremely well here. All too often, the retro-inspired shooters that I play feel outdated, just like the games they are emulating, but Fashion Police Squad provides a fresh take on the genre by combining plenty of humor, fun mechanics, and level design variety.

Brimming with ideas and invention Risen embarrasses most modern RPGs, although it shows its age in its infuriating combat. Nevertheless, it is worth playing for those that can look past that.

Overall, if you found yourself a fan of Deliver Us The Moon and wanted more, Deliver Us Mars will no doubt have you feeling thrilled. If you’ve yet to play that however then this is still a perfectly enjoyable title in its own right too, and whilst the opening hour can feel like it’s dragging a little, the story soon picks up and feels compelling enough to get you through to find out just what’s been going on. There are noticeable improvements here too and whilst there is still some stiffness and clunkiness to work around, Deliver Us Mars is a game well worth a look if you want something memorable.

For me, director Paul Raschid’s The Complex is still the ultimate example of the live-action gaming genre, and while Ten Dates didn’t quite grab me as much as that title, it’s still a very decent interactive adventure. More inclusive and with a fuller, more robust cast than Five Dates, fans of Wales’ other titles would do well to check this out.

Less time spent on the needlessly long cutscenes and in-between mission sections, and more on the feel of the combat and we could have had a little gem on our hands. As it is, this only gets a recommendation for those willing to suffer for their entertainment.

Tails: The Backbone Preludes is another stunning title from Eggnut and Raw Fury. Excellent writing and character work, stunning presentation, and multiple paths to explore make this an easy recommendation.

Dead Space is back with a fantastic reimagining of the 2008 original. The game plays just as well as it did before, but now comes with a host of visual, audio, and general gameplay improvements that make it one of the best survival horrors out there. Here’s hoping should we get further iterations they use this as the baseline and steer clear of the issues that plagued the series later on.

This is the most in-depth look into the wizarding world of Harry Potter we’ve ever seen and being able to explore with hours of content to discover, quest, and fight through. Hogwarts Legacy is worth the price point and is a well polished addition to the wizarding world.

Clunky Hero is a beautiful mix of platforming and Metroidvania-like action. The mechanics and controls feel fun to play, and the visual style really suits the style the developers are going for. Add in Monty Python-esque jokes and we’ve got a bit of a winner here.

All in all, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a middling effort that is helped along by the titular protagonist’s whimsical humour, the sparklingly colourful Wishworlds and the jolly soundtrack. Unfortunately, The Cosmic Shake spirals down from its promising state as an original SpongeBob adventure because it feels like any old-school platformer from twenty years ago. Sure, the kiddies will find The Cosmic Shake to be a simple and satisfying slice of SpongeBob silliness to savour, but without an impactful zest to it, there’s not enough to make it stand out from previous outings. There’s a woeful dearth of depth here that ensures The Cosmic Shake flounders adrift in the high seas of averageness, instead of soaring into the skies of sensation. It’s an adventure that will do in a pinch, but SpongeBob fans know this could have been so much more.

We Were Here Forever has taken everything about the series we’ve loved so far, and has upped the ante at every turn. Bigger, more intricate puzzles that are incredibly satisfying to solve, and now with cross platform play, there’s even more chance to find a buddy to play with.

Overall, Backfirewall_ is a unique and entertaining game that offers a fresh and original experience. The game’s clever puzzles, diverse app-characters, and numerous collectibles make it an engaging and rewarding game to play. Its humour adds an element of fun and playfulness to the game. If you’re looking for a narrative, adventure, puzzle game that is a bit different from the norm, then Backfirewall_ is a game you won’t want to miss.

One Piece Odyssey is a great game for fans of the series, as it offers a chance to explore the world of One Piece and interact with its characters. The combat system is engaging and the open-world environment allows for a lot of exploration and replayability. However, some players might find the controls a bit clunky, and the pacing of the game can be slow at times.

All in all, we enjoyed our time with Chasing Static. The retro-stylings hooked us in and gave the creepy atmosphere a more unique flavour, while the gameplay and story were good enough to keep us coming back for more. A little more action wouldn’t have gone amiss, but as it is, Chasing Static comes out as something we’d recommend to those looking for something a little different.

While the premise is decent enough, Trenches falls at every hurdle in trying to make a game worth recommending.

Paper Ghost Stories: 7PM is a short tale, though one we enjoyed while it lasted. Here’s hoping we can get some more fleshed out tales in the future.

Swordship is fun in very short bursts but it soon begins to get too repetitive for my tastes.

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.

High On Life certainly isn’t an intellectually profound game or a deep and meaningful one (despite a quasi-emotional end-game), it’s just an FPS that wants you to laugh and indulge in silliness for a little while. As long as you jive with the game’s grooves, you will like what High On Life has to offer, but be warned – when you’re playing a game that’s high on its own supply, sometimes it won’t think straight and it’ll leave you yearning for something more.

Andrade games have created a unique 2D homage to the games of yesteryear while adding a fair amount of new ideas and gameplay. The macabre setting is portrayed perfectly with fantastically detailed pixel art. While there are a few questionable choices made in the game’s overall design, anyone who is a fan of old-school 2D action platformers should definitely give this a try, alternatively, if you want to experience an over-the-top, horror-themed 17th-century Europe depicted in fantastic pixel art then Heidelberg 1693 is the game for you.

Reky offers a uniquely styled puzzler title with a deceptive challenge, although at times the interface makes this harder than it should otherwise be.

If you’re in the mood for classic Resident Evil-style thrills, Signalis is the best example of its kind in modern videogames. Don’t expect Signalis to evolve survival horror formulae or give you a horror experience that’s resoundingly new, but provided that you crave a faithful and sumptuous classic horror game experience, Signalis will be a nice and welcoming surprise that you will be sure to savour.

Ship of Fools is a decent roguelite structure with enough ideas to keep things fresh, but simple enough not to make things too confusing. There is as much to make this a strategy game as it is a roguelite game. I feel the experience is probably too tough for a single player which can make progress very slow and dull at times. But for those that like a challenge it could just be what you are looking for. This game would likely be much easier and more enjoyable played co-op should you get the chance to do so.

McPixel 3 has opened my eyes to the series and has made me want to look at the previous games as it is such a joy to play. With games these days taking hours to get into and days to complete it’s nice to have a pickup-and-play game like this which is great to relax and enjoy an amusing experience. If you like playing quick games and have a childish or crude sense of humour then you will have a lot of fun with this game.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a game that you expect quality, and it delivers. When you aren’t crafting and battling with your deck of hero cards there is a deep story to progress and a world to explore. Not only does the exploration feel rewarding but so does the relationships you will be building with your fellow heroes. The best part is these relationships are optional if you are in it just for the card-based battling system, however I implore everyone to give that half of the game a shot. The missions you will be going on are where the game shines the most though. Gathering your favorite heroes and building their decks to work off of each other to pull awesome combos and KO as many enemies in one turn as you can is just so much fun. Very rewarding feeling when you win. Very little in terms of negatives and Marvel’s Midnight Suns is definitely in my game of the year conversations!

Togges is as a unique game as its name. In this 3D puzzle platformer, you aren’t controlling some bipedal human or creature trying to get to the right side of the screen but rather a vacuum like robot that with the aid of the togges, solves puzzles to traverse this free roaming landscape. The traversal is likely my favorite schtick as you have to manage the amount of togges you have while keeping them next to each other as they are the keys to the puzzles. As with a lot of 3D open-world-esque games to me the camera is very middle of the road and leaves some to be desired. The puzzles are hit or miss as to their understandability but at least it’s a pretty game. This beautiful puzzle platformer would give the fan of the genre plenty of content to stack the deck with.

Thinking back on the game as a whole, though there’s obviously that Dead Space DNA running through it – from the over the shoulder camera, the stomping on corpses for items, the diegetic UI and more – this feels like the successor we probably should have received instead of Dead Space 3. The action is here but it still managed to keep the survival horror flavour and tone intact. It’s not perfect, but it’s a solid outing for Striking Distance and one we hope they can build on in the future.

The Chant offers a thrilling foray into the survival horror genre. The acting and crafting elements make Jess’ plight feel incredibly dire, while the story remains gripping throughout. Despite some technical limitations, this grim island teeming with tension is still an eerie paradise worth exploring – especially when confronted by the mysterious Gloom!

Mechanically engaging, and morally bankrupt. Police Simulator is a very accurate portrayal of cops.

While the yearly Call of Duty is experience still remains fun, retreading old ground yet again is beginning to give off the feeling that there’s nowhere else to go for the franchise right now. I had fun playing Modern Warfare II, and those looking for solid shooting action will enjoy it, but I’d liked to see something new from the series going forward. Warzone 2.0 feels far fresher and more enjoyable to me, and is where I’ll be spending my time with COD until then.

OlliOlli World has released it’s last and final DLC aptly titled Finding the Flowzone. This expansion gives us 17 more levels of this game as you’d expect to see with fun twists. The levels have a new addition of wind that will carry you to newer and greater heights. Veterans will speed through the content but there is still fun to be had.

Evil West was recommended to me months back as a potential blockbuster. A game set in the Wild West where you are a monster hunter that you can play with a friend sounds pretty awesome. It delivers all of that with an interesting storyline that feels quite Van Helsing at times and stunning graphics. The linear layout coincidental traversal of maps is a very retro way of playing a game now but I quite enjoy it as that simplicity is quite refreshing at times but could be repetitive for others.

Spy Racers is competently made but such an uninspired slog through a dire spin off. Soulless and saddening.

Despite its announcement on April Fools Day, Return to Monkey Island is no joke, even though the game is full of them. Crafted with respect for veterans and newcomers alike, Return to Monkey Island shows that the puzzles in puzzle games can be just as memorable as the story and characters. Yes, the ending is a squib, and clicking on items in tight-knit spaces is annoying, but otherwise this is a true belter of a puzzler. An exceptional love letter to 90s point and click adventuring, and a faithful-but-remodelled experience from top-to-bottom, Return to Monkey Island is definitely worth this return visit and then some….no disguises necessary!

The mixture of exploration and puzzle solving is solid but the unsettling weirdness of its location and story is what makes Broken Pieces a must play for all point and clickers out there.

The Devil In Me is a solid round-off to Season One of The Dark Pictures Anthology. It has some of the best character and story work so far, with gruesome, inventive horror that kept us on our toes. Once the online woes are sorted we’ll be jumping back in for another go, and can recommend fans alike do the same.

When things are flowing smoothly and we’re swinging and jumping all over the place, it’s as fun as we could hope it to be. That classic collect-a-thon itch is well and truly scratched, the pixel art visuals are lovely to look at, and there’s a charm to the whole thing that just makes it a joy to play at the end of a hard day.

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is a different type of game not seen in a long time as it’s partly educational and partly feels like you are watching a documentary. There are a lot of classics in this package and also a lot of meh games which you will gloss over. This will interest the older games who experienced some of this history and the keen gamers who will enjoy the experience that Atari have put on here.

Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising Could have been a massive step up from the first game which was in all fairness a cash grab. But rather than producing a quality product they just released a buggy mess and I can only assume this was because it couldn’t wait any longer. The Series is now on season 5 and this game was to tie in a much earlier season. Fans of the series might consider picking this up but I don’t think I could recommend it.

Tanuki Sunset started off as a free-to-play game, and like any good games “journalist” I tried it out before writing this review; while there are some major improvements in the expanded, for-purchase version, I can’t help but think that it should have just stayed as a free to play game. Transforming an endless runner-style game into one with semi-procedurally generated levels does not work in this case. The aesthetic might be off the charts and just your style, but the gameplay is a real bummer, not even a cute and furry main character could stop me from wanting to bail at the first chance I got.

Gungrave G.O.R.E is a clever-dumb game that finds ways to turn mindless shooting into an alternative character action model. Sadly, it is brought down by trying to be too smart and muddying its objectives. When it sticks to what makes it enjoyable, it excels.

Constantly surprising, packed with clever puzzle design, and with an interesting story to boot, The Entropy Centre has just cemented itself as one of my favourite puzzle titles ever. Too many combat sections let it down a little, but they are worth persevering with to see just how Stubbington can show off his puzzle acumen next.

Though it may not be quite as thought-provoking as the games that inspired it, Somerville is a promising effort from a new studio, capably evoking its themes and happenings through its visual storytelling, in a way that makes you ponder and feel for the characters and their situations. Unfortunately, Somerville can’t remove itself from the shadow of Playdead’s works, so it is inevitably stuck in the position of inferiority, because it doesn’t do much we haven’t seen before. Having said that, it is a worthwhile adventure that may start slow, but picks up momentum the more you play and is backed up by decent puzzles and some pulse-quickening and heart-thumping drama. All told Somerville is a pleasant slice of thought-provoking adventuring.

Those looking for tough, but fun, arcade shoot-em-up action should absolutely check out SophStar. It plays well, offers a great challenge, and has a decent amount of extra modes to check out when we’ve been beaten down for the fifth time in a row in the main game.

Apparently, Josh Journey: Totems of Darkness started out as a short cartoon, and the creators were encouraged to turn it into a video game. Whoever handed out this advice did their friends a disservice; I think they should have focused on creating a full-scale movie or show because art is obviously their strong point. The gameplay in Josh Journey is severely lacking, and with no difficulty options, it will only appeal to more advanced players. Perhaps this game is a blast when playing with four players, but without any online options, most players won’t have enough people or controllers to try that out.

We’ve been wanting to see more co-op puzzle titles and The Past Within is a fantastic entry to the genre. Smart pacing and an interesting premise and set-up make for an evening well spent with a friend.

Whether you are playing single-player, co-op online/split screen, Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef is fun. Light-hearted and a significant change of pace for the Warhammer universe. I really enjoyed playing this with my son. Controls were straightforward and easy to get used to, though I was a bit taken back when I found out A wasn’t jump however this didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I would recommend Warhammer 40,000 if you want a local co-op shooter with drop-in and drop-out functions.

Arkanoid Eternal Battle is fun for a while but can get frustrating very quickly. With no option to save your progress, this hampers my score. I wish there was an option for an offline/easy mode, a bit like Tetris 99 has, but otherwise it’s a solid title if you loved the original. I would, however, recommend waiting for a sale.

Them’s Fightin’ Herds is a fighter at it’s core that didn’t wow me. The controls felt like they were made for a fight stick and the controller just got mapped after the fact. The game has an interesting story mode however that at least makes it stand out and is different enough than your standard fighting game fare. Online lobbies are existent but the population is almost not. Hopefully more players will fill them in the future.

Bones of Halloween is a game of timing from the Ratalaika factory to cash in on Halloween. It doesn’t look so terrible but it is overly simple with very little variation. The gun inventory layout is a little broken and the look sensitivity is overly slow. With a little more care and a little more variation, this game could have been a fun Halloween pick-me-up. But instead, it will grow old very quickly and just be a game for achievement hunters.

It seems like there is a new Souls-like game coming out every other week but they always fall short of the real thing. The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is the best Souls-like I have played, it doesn’t stray too far from the source, and it doesn’t try to do too much in terms of its core mechanics. However I think it has a wider appeal than just Souls fans; long time gamers will love all the references, which range from the classics like Mario and Zelda to more modern games like Halo, Dead Rising, and Bioshock. Some people might be turned off by the difficulty, which ramps up somewhat in the second half, but if you’re hesitant then keep in mind that you can play the entire game in co-op. The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is a must-play title for any action-RPG fan and is definitely near the top of the list of my favorite games I’ve played this year.

Overall should you play Overwatch 2? The answer is a resounding yes considering that the game is free. While it isn’t something that I would necessarily play for long hours into the night, it’s definitely a game that’s up my alley and it gives me something else to play with friends, which is always my number one favorite aspect in any game that I play. At the end of the day if you don’t like it, you can always uninstall it and move on to something else with no regrets whatsoever.

Asterigos is a solid debut with a huge world. It just stumbles when it comes to its core combat.

Despite the clear inspiration it has taken from Mario Kart and other kart-racing games, Nickelodeon: Slime Speedway is an energetic burst of kart-racing action you will find suitably engrossing. It’s not pushing any boundaries, nor does it always feel compelling to drive – but it will likely steal your evenings with the little ones, and there’s a cast of characters here that will delight those little ones who grew up in the 90s. All told this is a solid effort that will go down well like Garfield’s lasagne – just don’t expect it to get Squidward’s approval.

Pathfinder: Wraith of the Righteous is a worthy sequel as it’s packed full of lore and interesting storylines. The customisation involved in the game is off the scale and allows users to tailor the experience to their own tastes. I think they could have done more to create a really simple approach for those not familiar with these games as some of the choices can become overwhelming and complex. But there are hours of exploration, story, loot, and fighting where this game delivers well.

In today’s world where everything needs to have a simulation videogame, Gas Station Simulator fits right in. Despite some visual glitchiness here and a bug there, Gas Station Simulator remains fun for a period of time before the mundane tasks or overwhelming amount of management takes its toll on you. However, when it has its claws or should I say pumps in you, it’s a decent time. A solid 7.5 gas station coffees out of 10.

Overall Gotham Knights is a fantastic single-player game and an even better coop experience. Fans of the Arkham series will be right at home and inexperienced players will pick the gameplay up with very little difficulty. Beautiful skyscapes, brutal combos, and unreal levels of customizability put Gotham Knights right up there with some of the best Comic Book Video Games.

Visually compelling, and smartly written Mothmen deserves to be talked about in the same breath as the other great narrative games released in 2022.

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.

Weedcraft Inc gives a little something for both the stoners and the blue collar businessmen of the world. While this tycoon like game is in-depth, navigating with a controller was a bit of a pain. Eventually it sticks and the game gets it’s grips in you however with it’s addicting, one-more thing gameplay loop. If business management or cannabis is your jam, I’d recommend Weedcraft Inc for a try.

Overall Dakar Desert Rally is a diamond in the rough. With the upcoming features adding another layer to the game and a little bit of rounding off and Saber Porto/Saber Interactive have come up with a winner. Newcomers and casual racer fans will love how the game looks and have plenty of fun in sport mode while hardcore fans or players who love a challenge will have a great time mastering.

A Plague Tale: Requiem has improved on the already great Innocence in basically every way, giving a game that feels, plays, looks, sounds, and flows absolutely brilliantly. A worthy sequel, and one that is not to be missed.

Serial Cleaners expands on the original game nicely, with a good variety of missions and characters to play. It has its niggles, but for the most part this is a fun way to spend a few hours.

Those looking to Session to fill a Skate­-shaped hole in their gaming life are likely to be sorely disappointed. It is not an easy game to learn, but more importantly, it’s also not a fun one either. Some better tutorials or alternate control options might have saved the game a little, but as it is I just can’t find any reason to recommend this to anyone outside of truly dedicated skaters willing to put the grind in.

No More Heroes 3 is a solid return of the cult classic series, and one that fans will not want to miss out on. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but give this geeky assassin a chance and you might just be won over.

For its asking price, you should definitely give Akane a try. Just because the game is lacking on the content side it doesn’t mean that there isn’t any enjoyment to be had. If you play the game in a short burst or for maybe an hour or two at a time, you’ll come to love the hack and slash brawler to its full potential.

Time on Frog Island has some charm due to its appealing art style and frog NPCs, but Frog Island is not a locale that you want to book a trip to, let alone get shipwrecked at. Most of my time was spent wondering what the characters wanted me to do, and wandering around fetching items for them. There are some interesting mechanics in the game, but none of them are used anywhere close to their fullest extent in the game’s design. Unfortunately, I can’t get any of the time back that I spent on the game, but at least I can warn you to steer clear of this lackluster experience.

Soulstice has great old school vibes but it may fall short of what it was trying to achieve. It can be frustrating at times and after a while I found it more frustrating than fun. For those who love DMC/Bayonetta, I’d definitely say give it a go, but beware that you will be sinking hours into the game.

With some great performances and an interesting story premise, The Gallery had me sold from the start. Unfortunately, some over bearing choice work and consequences take us out of the tale being told too often for us to really get invested in it fully.

Nowhere near the classic the true Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo was, this pretender does an unsatisfactory and un-compelling job of providing a worthwhile experience. The story takes its time to truly materialize convincingly, and the payoff isn’t worth the effort. From an appearance standpoint, the game looks atrocious and will not have the looks your mother could love either. The act of controlling and playing Vertigo is passable, but unfortunately it hasn’t been properly optimized for console – which goes for both how the game looks, and the absence of a proper cursor when pointing and clicking the environment. Despite flashes of intrigue in the story and some enjoyment with the past memories Ed relives, Vertigo is a shoddy game that fails to live up to lofty standards – and as it shows you quite vividly, this one has fallen off a bridge and splattered on the ground below.

Steelrising is a Souls-like game based on automatons which tries its best not to be a clone drone. The historical setting, outfits and graphics are very immersive and interesting. The combat is challenging and given enough time quite easy to master. The bosses could have done with being a bit harder and the platforming elements need more work. But it’s still a very sizeable game with plenty to enjoy. I do wish they had some stronger background music to help with the historical immersion.

Don’t be put off from the talky interview-centric tenets of Wayward Strand and you will be nicely pampered by a gentle pleasant game of discovery. Speaking to elderlies and hearing them wax lyrical about their relationships with each other does induce some mild entertainment, and the pace is equally as leisurely. There are a few ailments that hold Wayward Strand back from sound bed rest, such as an unnecessarily strict save system, overly-simplistic visuals and its rote minimalistic nature. Yet, Wayward Strand is still a nice and lightly-paced adventure worth undertaking.

Madden 23 is a rehash of all the previous Madden‘s in the series. Bits and pieces were taken from those games and labelled as new. Even though FieldSENSE was refurbished I still strongly believe that it gave Madden 23 its shine. What good is that shine however when the game is covered with bugs and laziness? I’m not saying this game had to be perfect. Other sports simulation titles have their own share of problems. What separates Madden from them however is EA decides to mix the old problems with the new ones. Instead of fixing it, they go and do the same thing next year.

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.

Isonzo commits to the WW1-era faithfully, with the pro’s and con’s that come with dealing with that time periods battles. I enjoyed the slower pace and more methodical approach to combat and objective capturing, and hope to see it continue to build a community of players willing to invest the time into the long battles.

I’ve found myself really enjoying Midnight Fight Express. While initially limited, the combat opens up as you unlock new moves and combos. Being able to replay missions is great, and the customisation in both moves and appearance really sat well with me. I’d have liked to have voice acting in the game, but other than that this comes recommended.

Kaichu is light and silly but for dating sim enthusiasts it might be missing the depths of the genre. For those looking for short bit of fun it is worth engaging with.

Battle Alliance seems like it will be a love letter to fans of the series with so much content to unlock and so many battles to experience. For those that don’t care for the franchise, the offering is very slim.

Credit where it’s due, 80’s Overdrive tries its Rubik’s Cube-shaped heart out when it comes to immersing you in classic 1980 arcade racing and Outrun-styled action. It’s a fast and challenging slice of speed-demon action that’s all too brief and marred by a tedious economy, a paper-thin level editor, and one-note thrills which will start to tire you out before the game’s ending. The soundtrack and attention to presentational details do give 80’s great aesthetics, if only they were fused together with a better arcade racer than this.

Knights and Guns is exactly what you want from a reimagining of a classic title. I loved Pang when it was at the arcades and this game made me feel the same nostalgic excitement I had when playing. It’s simple chaotic fun without being super difficult and overwhelming bullet hell madness. It’s a shame there is no online co-op but it’s still just as fun to play on your own.

First person puzzlers are my jam, and I’m glad I finally got to check out Q.U.B.E via this 10th Anniversary Edition release. The puzzles are well crafted, with enough new mechanics added at just the right time to prevent things getting stale. Add in a passable tale and some lovely new visuals, and we have a game that comes easily recommended to all but the most puzzle adverse players. And look at that, not a single Portal comparison!