Regions of Ruin is an enjoyable and compelling mix of role-playing, exploration, city-building, and crafting (and more) done right. It’s easy to pick up and play and varied enough in it’s execution to keep it interesting. It’s fun and easy to recommend.

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

Arcade Paradise takes you back in time to experience the thrilling life of owning a laundromat AND an arcade! In this simulation/management game, you’ll pass the time by doing some laundry here and there as well as playing your cabinets to promote the games. While the management side is light the variety of retro games you can actually play makes up for it. Gamers with an eye for old school videogames should give Arcade Paradise a try.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood may not be quite what I expected in a new entry to the series, but damn, if it isn’t good. The ‘live service’ additions detract slightly from the experience, but that glorious combat more than makes up for it. Add in some wonderfully crafted play spaces to explore (if only there was a couple more) and you’ve got yourself a great way to spend a weekend. The main campaign will be over quick, but while it lasts, it’s great, wholesome, Nazi killing fun.

Styx: Blades of Greed is unrepentantly a stealth game, and this instalment adds a lot of new features and mechanics but makes sure to never move to far away from what has made this series appealing – skulking in the shadows.

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD is a blast from the past that is now available on current-gen Xbox and I couldn’t be happier. Fans that have nostalgia for the game will definitely enjoy the quality of life and visual updates the game has to offer. New gamers will find unique gameplay in this first-person/third-person action adventure game with an … odd … western vide.

The game’s enhancements and quality of life improvements are wonderful, not only making it look much better and more refined, but giving it a management fluidity that the original version lacked. You’ll need to forgive some delayed rendering and the odd drop in framerate, but for the most part, the entire package holds up remarkably. Putting it simply, Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition is the best way to play Borderlands on console.

Are you interested in a game within a game but at the same time having to determine what is real and what isn’t? Then CorpoNation: The Sorting Process might just be for you. Overall, this game was great and the gameplay loop of waking, working, relaxing was honestly enjoyable. Coupled with the accessibility options meaning I didn’t have to pull my hair out and the fact I could use a mouse or play natively on PC made for a better time. If you are into quirky games and don’t think everything great is tied to high fidelity visuals than I would give CorpoNation: The Sorting Process a shot.

Redeemer: Enhanced Edition, although not quite as robust as its contemporaries, is one hell of a bloody good game. Everything from its progression, its pacing, and its core functionality, right through to its combat diversity and its play depth, remains constantly gratifying and energetic throughout. Despite some issues with its performance and its insipid level design, fans of the brawler concept will absolutely love what’s on offer here.

Apart from a few niggling bugs my overall experience of Battlefield 2042 was great. I had a blast sharpening my skills and learning the new mechanics of the game, like the addition of changing the capture points to sectors sometimes battling for 3 objectives in point A, bringing more tactics into your play. With a 10 hour trial thanks to Game Pass/EA Play subscriptions, I would highly recommend at the very least checking the game out this way – I think you’ll enjoy it!

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.

What a zero-stress game Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey & Friends was! Gaming doesn’t always have to have strict limits and fast paced action and this proves that. Is it going to move the needle for the platforming genre? Probably not, but it was fun and didn’t overstay its welcome. Throw in co-op, accessibility for all skill levels, and it’s a metroidvania and as far as I’m concerned that’s always a winning combo. If this sounds like something that would fit your gaming lifestyle at this point in your life, I say check it out.

Aggelos is a love letter to fans of classic side-scrolling platformers. Despite a few glaring issues, the game achieves greatness through staying true to its formula, through not holding back on its difficulty, and through maintaining a pace that effortlessly keeps things interesting and unique. Whilst this may not be the best adventure of its kind, it’s certainly high up there, and in the midst of so many retro-inspired releases, that’s a feat in itself.

The game can feel like a chore if tackling the beginning alone, but it does become more bearable with new abilities. The visuals are lacking in general detail, but were updated and are noticeably different. Ignoring minor bugs with visuals, lag, no singleplayer choice, there is a quality game here that adds to the ever-changing library of Game Pass. Give it a go!

Sorry, We’re Closed is going to hit a set of people in their early 2000s nostalgia. For the rest there is a weird and compelling game that feels like a throwback that is also fresh.

The Crew 2 is much bigger and much better than its predecessor. It’s not perfect by any means, but it does tick many of the boxes that it desperately needed to, nevertheless. Issues with the lack of map engagement and the T-800 AI to the side, The Crew 2 offers a robust and gorgeously detailed racing experience. It’s accessible, fairly deep, well rounded and thoroughly entertaining, for the most part.

Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders is a wonderfully brief point and click adventure that throws the player in the thick of a murder investigation. Di and all the other characters may not have voice actors, but that doesn’t take away form the feeling of true quality on this game, especially with how small the developer staff was while making this Kickstarter project years ago. This is a decent port over to consoles and the developers fixed the broken achievements in the game very quickly after launch. Apart form minor nuisances like inventory usage or lack of facial features for some models, this game is fun to experience. Gorgeous art with enjoyable music appropriate for the Tang Dynasty of ancient years past. For the amount of detail and time invested in making this game, it is accurately priced on the Xbox market. If a sale ever happens for it, I would say it’s a must buy for point and click fans or if you’re looking for a decent adventure title with an enthralling story and cool art.

The visuals are amazing, the game is simple and it has a heart, that I can say about Minecraft Legends. There are things that could’ve been done better and it’s not as complex as the Civilization games – or any strategy game for that matter – but Mojang and Blackbird Interactive get my respect for venturing off into the unknown and finding a treasure like this.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is a game that I enjoy playing for a few hours at a time. While I do enjoy the game for what it offers, it can get tiring at certain points and put a strain on your hands and fingers. I’ve been playing rhythm games for years so for beginners it may be a bit daunting and irritating at first. It sucks that 500+ songs are behind DLC and you shouldn’t get it unless you’re absolutely sure that this is something you want to sink your time in. Given that Xbox doesn’t have that many rhythm game options I would recommend Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival as a perfect jumping-off point for those looking to get the beat moving.

Blue Fire grew on me as I progressed through the game, it really opened up and became a joy to play once my moveset started to expand. Anyone craving a 3D action platformer that borrows from some of the best games ever made should give this a try. I think by not going overboard and sticking with a reasonably sized world that is filled with NPC’s and secrets the developers created something that shines and could burn for some time to come.

Nine months is a bit too long of a wait for this DLC to truly recommend returning to the game for, but newer players who will have it folded into their organic playthrough are in for a tough but enjoyable addition to an already excellent game.

A Fold Apart was a game that hit close to home for me. Given the current circumstances in the world today I take it I won’t be alone. It is definitely a game that will tug at your heart strings. Besides a few glitches and repetitive puzzles at times, A Fold Apart has a meaningful story that many will enjoy.

God of Weapons may not be as refined as Vampire Survivors to knock them off their perch as the best rogue-like survival game. But I think it does plenty to provide a fun alternative. I like the variety of characters, unlockables and objectives as it keeps the game fresh and interesting. It’s very easy to pick and play, and not difficult to master.

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.

To me, Totally Reliable Delivery Service is a cute rag doll game which in my opinion is meant to be played with friends. As I have stated before the single-player experience turns somewhat lacking and you’ll find yourself getting tired and bored easier after a couple of dozen deliveries. Playing online or with friends is what you need to do to gain the full experience and richness of the game. If you do that I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s nice to be surprised by a game. Narrative heavy games aren’t typically my style, but this one is humorous enough and the core gameplay mechanic of accepting and denying people entry to the kingdom kept me coming back for more. The concept was simple but the extra mechanic twists were welcomed. If it just had some shorter load times (I don’t know why they were so long!) I wouldn’t have much of anything negative to say. I think fans of the old school Lucasarts point and clicks would really dig Lil’ Guardsman.

Gigantosaurus The Game is a very friendly and easy going title which will provide hours distraction for young children and fun the whole family. It is not too difficult to play and there is a good balance of puzzles, collectable items, races and cut scene animations to keep everyone amused and entertained. It is likely to lose its appeal once the kids reach a certain level of maturity, but it is definitely recommended for families with younger children that need a good diversion and older family members who can jump in and out to help if anyone gets stuck.

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.