Evil Wizard was a pleasant surprise to me. Taking the role of a villain, this game’s unique blend of dark humor and fourth wall-breaking antics is an absolute masterpiece. The witty dialogue and clever references had me smiling ear to ear while navigating me through this game ‘after the game’ (which will make more sense if you play it). The game seamlessly blends intense boss battles with moments of comedic relief, creating an unforgettable gaming experience. With its not-overly-complex gameplay mechanics and fun story beats, this game is a must-play for any fan of action adventure games, particularly those with a fondness of Deadpool style humor.

Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts 2 is a very attractive game with exciting gameplay and a lot of interesting mechanisms. Each area is large and fun to explore, and if you enjoy stealthy commando action combined with realistic sniping then this game is a must. Even for FPS fans, there is a lot to enjoy here with plenty of gadgets and challenges to add some replay value.

Thanks to a brisker pace and slightly shorter runtime, I found myself enjoying Tape 2 a bit more than Tape 1. It feels more exciting and engaging, and even the modern day parts pay off finally as we get to the bottom of the mystery that was frustratingly teased throughout the last episode. As a whole, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is one of the better choose your own adventure style games in recent years, and a welcome return for Don’t Nod indeed.

Park builders have come a long way in recent years, and Planet Coaster 2 tops the bunch for us as a game packed with possibilities. The menu system suffers on a gamepad for sure, and we found it quite laggy too, but if you can persevere and get round the shortcomings of this, then the parks of your dreams are just a few thousand button presses away.

If you’ve never tried your hand at Phoenix Wright, the Ace Attorney trilogy is an absolute must. Everything from its memorable cast of characters and its wonderfully charismatic dialogue, right the way through to its vibrant presentation and its utterly stylish gameplay, is quite simply outstanding. Despite some moments within that are fairly linear by design alone, overlooking this compilation would be a sheer injustice.

Despite a couple of sticking points, we greatly enjoyed our time with Horror Tales: The Wine. The tale is interesting enough to keep us going, the visual and audio work is great, and the mix of puzzles and out-and-out chases sequences was paced really well.

FIFA’s vice-grip on the sports genre continues – FIFA 19 offers something for everyone. From the redesigned Kick Off mode to the Journey’s conclusion, there is a lot of game here. Legacy issues in career mode leave it short of being all it could be, however, which is inexcusable given how deep and rewarding games such as the NBA 2K series have made their career modes. That said, this is as good as FIFA has ever been.

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.

Rogue-lites are hardly a rare sight these days, but rarely does one catch the eye like this. With its grindy upgrade system and a few minor issues aside, the game consistently bombards its players with fast and frantic play that’s utterly engaging and constantly rewarding. It helps that the whole ordeal not only looks stunning, but sounds magnificent. Black Paradox, moment to moment, is an absolute blast that should not be overlooked.

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.

There’s something satisfying about playing a modern game but pulls on those nostalgic strings and #BLUD does that with its stylistic choice. Harkening back to the late 90’s I was instantly pulled into the game by its looks. Once I was there the story, combat and characters kept me involved to see it through the end and it ended up being an enjoyable time. I wish I could figure out some of the side quests, whether that’s how to do them later in the game or find ones I missed but doesn’t take away from a good time. If you dig action adventure, dungeon “crawlery” type games, check out #BLUD.

Despite some slow combat and a few confusing plot points, Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark offers a wonderful, intriguing, and wholly immersive turn-based RPG. The game’s depth in regards to its class management and its party building is second to none, but its ability to remain almost grind-free in the face of this vastness is what truly shines through. Here, it’s all about choice and strategy, qualities that many of its peers seem painfully unfamiliar with.

With brilliant voice and face acting, a plethora of interesting characters to amuse and massive amounts of detail, L.A. Noire is a game I enjoyed and will continue to enjoy.

While these issues can take the sheen off things at times, when we’re in the flow of a level, stunning pixel art whizzing by our retinas, cracking music filling our ears, and the thrill of the platforming keeping our palms busy, Freedom Planet 2 is a wonderful time. The levels are well designed, the boss encounters tough but fair, and there’s enough here to have people coming back for more, be it a new character or simply beating their best times.

Black Desert won’t be to everybody’s tastes, and does little to push the MMO genre forward. With that said, it does streamline the experience into a more familiar shell, its real-time combat and impeccable UI tweaks helping it fit onto a console with the minimal of fuss. Its quest structure is lacking in variation, and it doesn’t have the complex characters of The Witcher 3, but it’s a world that is great to explore with friends, with the promise of more to come.

Valfaris isn’t so much full of surprises as much as full of bad guys. No matter which way you face you will have some enemies coming at you – though you’l also have piles of enemies at your feet before too long! I did however find it really tough, it’s punishing difficulty almost too much at times. If you like a challenge then you’ll be right at home here, but those after a more serene experience will do good to look elsewhere.

The Forgotten City features a compelling story taking place in a mystifying city. The writing is more than clever and has you experiencing both horror and mirth. The deduction aspect of the game might not be breaking any new ground but the experience is enjoyable and worthwhile as a whole. If you’re unsure of this one then maybe wait to make sure the patch is fully implemented. I would also avoid any playthrough videos as they could easily spoil the story, and that is the most satisfying part of the game.

Boy, did I enjoy A Juggler’s Tale. It was a palate cleanser of a game that in my mind only suffers from it’s longevity – or rather lack there of. From the voicework, to the music and the gameplay, it was all well done with care from the developers, and something that you can experience in just a couple of hours. A definite recommendation to new gamers and veterans alike.

Remothered: Broken Porcelain might be the new horror story driven game this Halloween! With high end visuals and continual story to boot we can only hope new and greater things will come of the series. Remothered deserves to sit along some of the genres best, and Broken Porcelain makes for a fine sequel – here’s hoping the wait isn’t too long for the next entry!

Treasures of the Aegean has been a joy to play; initially, I thought It might be hard to get this review done. I figured I might get distracted by a certain AAA racing game that released around the same time as this, but every time I played that I just wanted to get back to the mysterious island that popped out of the Aegean sea and parkour my way across the environment, solve puzzles and search for lost treasures.

Raging Justice comes tethered to a particularly steep difficulty curve, yet ticks many of the boxes that it needed to to stand out as a solid beat ’em up experience. This may not be the next Streets of Rage II, but it’s certainly worth a visit if you’re on the market for a modern day version of that formula. It’s fun, brutal, often unfair, yet ultimately satisfying in the long run.

Anthem is one hell of a decent loot-shooter that boasts some ambitious mechanics. Its massively engaging combat and its flow of movement takes center stage, with its several activities, its deep lore, and its diverse and interesting world following closely behind. That said, Anthem isn’t without fault, and BioWare will need to carefully address the game’s issues alongside its community feedback to ensure they maintain player interest.

Natsuki Chronicles is one of the more enjoyable bullet-hell shooters I’ve played in quite some time. It nails the addictive nature of the classic arcade titles, and wraps it up in some gorgeous visuals and excellent level design. While these games are hard by nature, I did feel that Qute took it a tad too far here, with even the Easy setting proving to be rock solid. But those with time and patience on their hands will get no doubt have a great time here, and even if I suck at it, Natsuki Chronicles will be popping up on my playlist for sometime yet.

All in all, Things Too Ugly is a short, fun detective mystery, with a well written story and brilliantly designed puzzles.

One of the best entry level fighting games, Samurai Shodown is an excellent return to form for the series. This Xbox series upgrade offers some small but much appreciated upgrades on the original title. Anyone looking to dip their toes into fighting games will do well to start here, that said, there is a lot to dig into after that.

I personally loved playing Slipstream, it grew on me with a bit of time enjoying the art and music designs. What was even more impressive is that this Indie title is from a one-man team and this is his third game, but first on console. Sandro Luiz De Paula is the man who made this masterful homage to classic arcade style racers and should be proud. It’s a simple game, but works with no issues I found. The variety of difficulty options allow for the player to establish their playstyle letting them pick the pace. The art style of colorful exotic levels makes it fun to race through over and over switching paths up each tour finding different exits. The game doesn’t offer a lot through variety of cars or customization options; however, it doesn’t need to. The game is relatively cheap for what is being offered with stunning visuals and audio design.

Pricing aside Visions of Four Heroes is great content, and for those interested in this series it is a decent extension of the game with an interesting concept on the storylines.

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.