Warm, inviting and pleasant, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus And Butterfly is a wonderfully accessible and gentle graphic novel game with a beautifully well-meaning heart. Changes from its predecessor are minimal, but Hibiscus And Butterfly encourages you to discover an array of comforting drinks, while the cast of fantastical and not-so fantastical characters tell you about their life predicaments, their perils and their successes. Much like a good pick-me-up, Coffee Talk Episode 2 is as easy as you’d like but has space for you to master the fine art of being a top-tier barista in a busy bustling café. The addition of Hibiscus And Butterfly Pea brings a classiness and a radiance that will lighten your day, and there are reasons to replay the story several times through to see everything it has to show for itself. There’s still plenty of room for Coffee Talk to grow and flourish, but this sequel is well-worth diving into if you just want to take a pew, grab an eye-opener and relish in a bevvy of stories.

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.

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.

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.

As Dusk Falls is a stellar example of the narrative adventure genre. A fantastic cast of characters are used brilliantly throughout, with twists and turns galore. The sheer breadth of choice and consequence mean there is scope for several playthroughs, and even when we’re bouncing between characters there’s cohesiveness to the story rarely found in gaming. Top it off with a stunning art style and soundtrack and we have not only one of the best examples of the genre, but one of the best titles of the year so far.

Lords of the Fallen successfully builds upon its predecessor, delivering a dark fantasy epic that captivates for much of its playtime. With its refined mechanics, exquisite art style, and an atmospheric world full of intricately designed levels, it stands as a worthy entry in the action RPG genre and is more than deserving of its “Soulslike” label. Despite a few minor challenges for newcomers, the game’s immersive experience and depth make it a must-play for fans of the genre.

The epitome of FPS bullet-hell. Despite minor issues with the game’s framerate, this is a shining example of how several gameplay elements can be seamlessly slapped together to produce a near outstanding outcome. The game’s action-packed structure rarely buckles, which when grouped with its fantastic design and uncertainty, makes for one of the best shooters in recent memory.

Power Ranger fans have had their share of hits and misses when it comes to the videogame space but with Rita’s Rewind, I feel the best is here. I had a smile on my face the entire time while playing this one. Upon initial completion my only negative was how short it was because I craved more. Are there areas of improvement, sure and do I wish I could more easily play with my online friends, yes but that has barely taken away the enjoyment I can get with this game as is. Don’t miss out Power Rangers fan, this one is worth the play. Gamers in general, this is one to look into as well!

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.

Disjunction boils down core elements of stealth games past in a brilliantly effective way. There are a few niggles, sure, but overall the gameplay is satisfying, easy to read and overall just a lot of fun.

PUSS! looks and sounds utterly bizarre with its various trippy A/V themes, but underneath there is a fun, yet very hard, gameplay core. I’m not a big fan of having to restart completely each time I boot it up, but those looking for something eye catching to have fun with (or stream) will likely get quite hooked on this title.

Bold and chaotic, Paint the Town Red is an excellent first-person brawler with a ton of content for both beginners and pros.

SCHiM is a delight of a game. Taking a concept that some of us may have played out in our heads as kids, imaging something jumping across the shadows or us jumping ourselves, and have turned that into a beautiful game. Without words, without facial expressions, and limiting color palettes, SCHiM manages to make something really unique.

I am Your Beast is lean, well paced, and full of style and humour. An essential purchase for anyone that loves to chase a perfect murder run.

Teslagrad 2 is a step up in every respect to its previous installment, a fantastic platformer with a wonderful set of auxiliary gameplay elements anyone that loves 2D platformers should play this.

The We Were Here series is in a class of its own, and Forever is the best entry yet. Grab a buddy and get ready to test both your brains over about 15 hours of gameplay that constantly impresses and brings new things to the table.

I am already a fan of the Koei Bandai Namco Warrior games and this style paired with the One Piece anime works great. The wildly random characters and story line are very interesting and gripping and if you enjoy smashing slews of enemies with quirky comedic moves then you will enjoy yourselves here. The format can become quite repetitive after a while, but I feel there is enough variety in characters, moves and enemies along with the fun story line to make this a good game.

I am more than a little surprised at just how much I enjoyed Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Having skipped the series for a few years due to being a bit burnt out on it all, Cold War manages to feel fresh and exciting while familiar at the same time. The solo campaign is over too soon, but what’s there is excellent and offers more than a simple rollercoaster of action. Multiplayer is as solid as ever, with a great variety of modes to dip in to. The combat feel is still among the best out there, making even the worst defeats still enjoyable. Zombies has great potential if you’ve a crew to play with, and brings some welcome levity to proceedings. An excellent all round package then, and well worth a look.

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.

Candle: The Power of the Flame delivers a gorgeously detailed and thoroughly well executed puzzle adventure. From start to finish, the game does an excellent job at keeping the player engaged through its clever functionalities and environmental mechanics. There’s some issues with slow, sluggish movement, but in the face of everything that Candle gets right, this one problem is easy to overlook.

Saints Row The Third Remastered has done a good job of touching up the original. All of the DLC content that has been added to the title should encourage those interested to pick this up. Fans of the series that missed this one would definitely enjoy this instalment. Those interested in GTA style games should give this game – or at least this series – a try as there is a lot of fun to be had here.

While the addition of the extra dimension brings a few niggles to the precision platforming that simply weren’t there in the original, overall Super Meat Boy 3D retains a lot of what made the original game great – with snappy restarts, generally tight controls, tricky challenges and a lot of reason to go back and beat personal records or find hidden secrets.

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.

Fairly small nit-pick aside, Bonkies comes highly recommended, especially if you’ve a house full of gamers that fancy something in the vein of Moving Out! or Overcooked. The action provides plenty of laughs to counter and annoyances, and some of the stage designs will really test even the most ardent of builders.

As a fan of old-school beat ‘em ups like Streets of Rage, I have to say that anyone who enjoyed those games in any capacity will enjoy this game. I was initially turned off by the steep learning curve when I was dying far to easy, but the more I gave it a shot and the more I played, the more I wanted to unlock different characters and endings and give it a go.