After 8 years the vanilla career mode got its big update, and the new features have the potential to bring lapsed players back. However, despite the positives, a poorly implemented new handling model means that at launch the game is held back from its full potential. We’ll be keeping an eye on it as Codemasters update things, but for now go in with some caution.

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.

Overall if you want a refreshing bike racer that elevates the usual tropes and exceeds in all the key areas, then RiMS Racing is the experience you need. Whilst it might falter slightly with some questionable A.I. aggression, and it may not have quite the number of iconic locations as some racers out there, there is more than enough to get lost in with this two-wheeled dream ride. The petition for RiMS 2 starts here!

Fans of the recently popular isometric roguelike genre will find familiarity in Dandy Ace. They will also find a sense of uniqueness. Though an interesting move-set building mechanic, you will find yourself battling the RNG at times, but at least you are always building towards progression no matter how far a run may take you.

Screamer is quite simply an incredible arcade racer, with stellar presentation and gameplay. It’s a rare racer that can hold my attention for more than a few hours, but I’ll be playing this for a long time to come.

If you’re a lover of story games this is one for you! Unlike many story games Afterparty has many twists – and just as many types of drinks to consume. The gameplay is simple but because the focus is on the story this actually is to the titles benefit. You can play it multiple times with a different experience every time! The characters are brilliant and it’s probably one of the best story driven games I’ve come across this year.

Car Mechanic Simulator may be a little rough around the edges as far as its optimization goes, but speaking specifically of its functionalities and its mechanics, it’s easily one of the most well rounded sims in recent memory. Furthermore, it doesn’t alienate the inexperienced, and instead, does a wonderful job at keeping its in-depth gameplay and its deep systems both accessible and easy to digest. I wholly recommend giving it a chance.

Dread Nautical is a rougelike I can see myself coming back to for some time yet. With a good range of classes to choose from, some helpfully accessible difficulty options and a fun gameplay loop it is well worth checking out.

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

Rematch may not knock Rocket League off its perch for a competitive soccer game, but if you are not a fan of cars and prefer the instant arcade action then this is a game that can get you hooked. I am a massive football fan, and I also like Rocket League and Rush from EAFC, so I am impressed with this offering. I have played many times with friends, and it is so easy to lose hours of fun to this game as it’s a joy to win and not that painful to lose.

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

Even though I’d not seen an episode of the show before playing I was really rather taken with Samurai Jack: Battle Though Time. It looks great, the combat is fun and fluid, there’s lots to do with upgrading Jack’s abilities, and lots of replayability with the different difficulties and scores to beat. A great game all round and one worth checking out.

The gameplay and strategy behind it, the scenery and the music is everything I expected from Neon City Riders when I first saw the trailer. Even though it’s not a 2-D side scroller I picked up major Scott Pilgrim VS The World and River City Girls vibes, which are my two favorite games. When any game reaches that level it’s without a doubt considered a masterpiece in my book. Please, suit up, indulge yourself in the 90’s vibe, and clean up the streets and take back Neon City.

All in all, I came away from Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? cooler than I had hoped. The campy story is fun at first, but the amount of repetition and the calculating nature of trying to gather a new bit of evidence rather than just following a well written and performed story began to grate on me after a while. Fans of the Wales Interactive’s other work should still check it out, and there’s fun to be had trying to gather new evidence, but I’d still point to something like The Complex as a prime example of how great this genre can be.

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.

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.

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

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

Rock of Ages 3: Make and Break manages to provide some good, old school style arcade fun with it’s core game mechanics. Rolling the balls down the nicely designed tracks, smashing buildings and people along the way is great fun. It’s let down by some fiddly, tedious tower defence-style missions, and a creative suite that, while deep in options, only seems to serve as a gateway to online play.

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

Despite some spawning issues and the occasional technical hiccup, Hellmut: The Badass from Hell is a damn fine bullet-storm dungeon crawler. The game’s consistently fast pace, together with its non-stop action and its diverse content variety, collectively ensure that adrenaline is kept high, whilst repetition is kept at bay. Granted, this may not be the deepest game of its kind, functionally speaking, but it’s certainly one of the funnest.

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

Old school FPS fans will be right at home here, brought in by the fast movement, impactful weaponry and the constant back-peddling and side-strafing attack methods emblematic of classic shooters. Even though I’m not generally a fan of Roguelikes by the very nature of the repetitive loop, I found myself getting very caught up in the grind here. Each run felt new and exciting, and when I was dropped a power or weapon that I liked it really got me hyped to get into the next room to use it. I think I finally get why the genre has been so popular, and I can see myself playing this for quite some time yet.

All in all, I enjoyed my time with You Suck at Parking. Its clever mechanics and designs outweigh my niggles with the physics and overworld map, though they aren’t to be discounted entirely. As a game to unwind with after a long day, this is a great pick up, and a good example of the kind of game Game Pass suits to a tee.

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.

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

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.

If you’ve never played a Monster Energy Supercross title, go ahead and get this. It’s every bit as good as previous versions. But if you’ve played either of the previous entries in the Monster Energy Supercross series, you’re probably best off waiting for a sale or skip this as there just isn’t enough to warrant a full price purchase.