Gang Beasts is a competitive brawler in a Human: Fall Flat skin. Nothing more, nothing less. The physics-based play doesn’t always suit the multiplayer concept, and as such, the whole ordeal comes across quite tedious and frustrating. Whilst I’ve no doubt that it will find an initial following, I do doubt its ability to maintain a fan base due to its lack of variation. You’ll certainly have some laughs here, but you’ll mostly be laughing at it, not with it.

I really enjoyed Blair Witch, it caught the essence of the franchise and definitely gave me nostalgia from the movies – which now I have to watch again. Visuals look great and it plays well, although being a bit short in length I’d recommend this to any horror or franchise fan. Bloober did a pretty good job and I can’t wait to see what they have in store next.

City of Brass remains visually pleasing throughout and houses some interesting ideas, such as the perk system and the shops. However, tools to make the experience even easier just showcases how fairly dull the actual gameplay is. The lack of a polished structure only leads to unnecessary cheap deaths, which when grouped with the enemy’s substandard AI, emphasizes how frustrating and boring this adventure can be.

Airheart isn’t a bad game, but it could have been much more than what it is if the developer had spent more time refining the gameplay’s systems to better feed into one another. The end result makes for an experience that sounds more compelling in description than it actually is in practice. Still, with its difficulty spikes, its squandered potential and its lack of story to the side, there’s some fun to be had here.

V-Rally 4 is a deep and challenging experience. There’s an undeniable issue with the game’s somewhat overly loose controls, but with that to the side, this is every bit as engaging as V-Rally has always been. Everything from the game’s stunning visual and audio presentation to its dynamic systems and its content diversity, has been developed meticulously to produce one hell of a tense second-by-second racer.

There’s moments of beauty to be found in the parallel stories here, but much of that is lost in the midst of its abundance of heavy-handed sorrow. It doesn’t help that The First Tree is far too basic for its own good. Whilst the game’s several worlds seem diverse and interesting at first glance, the lack of any padding makes for a very empty experience, one that, despite its few highs, ultimately succumbs to its many lows.

For those who persist with it, Headliner: NoviNews will likely draw you in and surprise you by how the characters react to every choice you make and the multiple ways their fates can be altered come the endgame. The brevity may put some off and the day-to-day repetition will get old fast, but the control you possess is very engrossing and will be the main reason for you to play through the game multiple times. You may not be plugging at it for long, but Headliner is worth a shot because it makes players feel like their actions matter. What with many mainstream games going through the motions of diminishing returns and marginalising your status, a modest indie title like Headliner will likely remind you that players should be placed at the epicentre of control – so thus, we doth our caps to Headliner as it aptly headlines the crucial component of empowerment in video games, even it comes with a side of a few irksome kinks.

Obey Me is a fun and fresh take on the Beat-Em-Up genre. It is quite easy for games in this genre to become repetitive and dull, but with the variety of weapons, moves, enemies and dodging of traps things are kept interesting. The story may seem vague at the start, but it builds things nicely and with some humorous dialogue it does keep you gripped. This is a fun game to pick up and play and is much better enjoyed with a friend.

This may well not be a perfect game, but it’s certainly a great one, it’s energetic, thrilling and engaging.

The Sims 4 once again proves that a good PC game that’s primarily designed for keyboard and mouse, simply doesn’t suit the controller. It’s but one of the many reasons that Microsoft needs to pull their fingers out and enable keyboard and mouse support for the Xbox One, not only will it help the transition of games like this and Divinity Original Sin, but it will add more appeal too.

Shikhondo – Soul Eater’s drawback sits not with its steep cost nor its lack of content diversity, but with its lack of gameplay variation. The game’s main mode takes little over ninety minutes to complete, whereas its additional modes are served merely as segments taken from that offering. This game may look great, sound good and perform well, but its lack of basic evolution massively hinders enjoyment.

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.

A game that isn’t afraid to let players muddle through it on their own is an idea to be lauded, and here there is a core mystery that will provide a compelling enough reason to continue if you can get into the rhythm of the puzzling.

Through solid world design and intelligently structured detective mechanics, The Sinking City provides a commendable basis for its intriguing adventure. The game is every bit as seemingly interesting as it is unique, and makes for a strong story that knows how to toy with perception. It’s a damn shame that it sits in the midst of so many technical drawbacks, so many bugs, and so many poor design choices. This, is squandered potential at its finest.

Sigi – A Fart for Melusina’s core formula clearly targets both the speedrunner and the achievement hunter audience. Its very generous price-tag justifies its very short length, and despite some uninspired boss encounters, this game, largely due to its accessibility, its solid design and its tight controls, remains a joy to play from beginning to end. Short-lived indeed, but fun and enjoyable nonetheless.

DCL is a great experience and a lot of fun; with many sponsors, professional players and fans it easy to see how this has become a popular sport, so why not make a game to go along with it.? Many challenging tasks await and if you have the patience, you too can drone like a pro.

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

Jumanji: Wild Adventures takes us back into the world of Jumanji as the follow up game from Outright Games. When it came to actually playing it, I found myself uninterested after just a short while unfortunately. The levels seemed to drag on and any kind of upgrades were boring for the most part. I wanted to like it more than I did but sadly that wasn’t the case. Fans of the first game have all of the same reasons to enjoy this iteration but otherwise I’d say it’s a pass.

Elex 2 has come a long way from the first game back in 2017. Graphically it looks much better and the storyline feels much more robust. The story mode difficulty has made the game much more accessible for those just wanting to play and enjoy the story. The combat hasn’t pushed on too much but it’s not terrible, but it does feel a bit dated. But if you are a big RPG fan then there is plenty of content to sink your teeth into.

Overall this game really does bring back very fond memories of old school platformers, but after completing episode one of the campaign I started episode two and – even though the comic book style story telling gets you into the mission – I found myself doing the same things over again. The daily Damsel Dash missions are where I found most of my fun, trying to score higher than the person above me on the leader board. The art style and audio in this game is what made it for me, and for their debut big screen game I think Screwtape have really done a good job.

Overall, I’ve had a decent time with Alone in the Dark. The Resident Evil reboots are a clear and massive inspiration, and while it might not be quite on their level, Alone in the Dark still manages to entertain with a weird and wonderful experience. The combat sections are definitely a weak spot, but the exploration and puzzle parts are able to balance this out nicely.

Releasing a PC game on console can work great, but some concessions have to be made for the differing audiences and control schemes. The core gameplay loop is more than capable of holding interest and has been put to great effect in recent games, but here, every opportunity is wasted. If you enjoy obscure interfaces, slow fiddly combat, and dated visuals, then please, fill your boots.

Through the Woods isn’t nearly as scary as it is suggested to be, however, it does provide a tense and uneasy atmosphere nevertheless. This game serves a short story of recognition and understanding responsibility, though its simplified gameplay and lack of depth will certainly leave players wanting for more. That being said, it’s both interesting and detailed enough to warrant a recommendation.

Crayola Scoot suffers from a small range of design issues, but even so, it manages to offer up a fun, accessible, well rounded trick scooter experience nevertheless. There’s a steep difficulty curve later in, which may not sit too well with the game’s target audience, though with that said and despite its few flaws, the game achieves much of what it sets out to accomplish.

If you’re in the market for a first person horror game, you can go much worse than Call of Cthulhu, but be prepared for a lack of any real scares. The game leans heavily on the story and exploration of environments, so much so that when it does attempt the creepy stuff, it mostly comes off underdeveloped and a bit out of place. Go along with it though, and there’s something strangely compelling within.

Hot on the heels of Operencia: The Stolen Sun, Vaporum feels quite out of place, and frankly, behind the times. Whilst the game sports an intriguing framework and houses some commendable RPG elements, the whole ordeal is greatly let down by its poor handling, its ridiculous difficulty curve, and its weakly paced story. It’s not a terrible game by any means, but alongside its vastly superior contemporaries, it’s a hard one to comfortably recommend.

I am not a fan of serious racing sims, luckily this is far from that. But it’s not solely a Micro Machines/Mario Kart clone either. It’s found its niche somewhere in the middle and it’s quite enjoyable to play. With a variety of power-ups and cars, there is plenty of fun to be had. I feel this game would have benefited if it opened up online play other players other than just friends.

First person puzzlers aren’t rare, but Summertime Madness is a great effort from DP Games to add to the growing entries in the genre. Outside of one incredibly sharp difficulty spike I enjoyed my time with it a lot. If you’re in for an evening or two of abstract puzzling then this gets a recommendation for sure, just have a walkthrough ready for that last section so as to not completely undermine the good experience up until that point.