Gravity Heroes can be too tough at times early on, but those that persevere will find and enjoyable twist on 2D, wave-based attack arenas. Some lovely pixel art and music help soften the repeated defeats, and while a little unintuitive, the core gameplay is fun more often than not.

Despite some of the glaring issues, MX vs ATV All Out houses a great deal of content. There’s no denying that it’s lacking in performance and optimization, but the weak execution is almost alleviated by its vast and various offerings. MX vs ATV All Out is one patch away from glory, but until that happens, it’s missing out on a lot of its potential.

The Alto Collection is two games in one and is visually beautiful and simple. Yes, they’re old games that are pretty much built for phones and you only really need one button to play, but it was a joy to try and beat your high score. I played Adventure loads when it first came out on Windows and can’t wait to sink more hours trying to beat my score in Odyssey.

Paw Paw Paw tries its best to be an entertaining game that holds up to the standards set by the classic beat ’em ups and the innovative newer titles, but ultimately it falls a little short mostly due to its difficulty. Beat ’em ups are known for their difficulty, but they almost universally feature lives and continue systems that make them accessible to a wide audience. Even on easy some parts of the game can be very tough. This game is designed so you can grind by replaying levels and then level yourself to get stronger. There’s some variety in a few levels but not enough to make me want to go back and grind through them. If you’re a fan of the genre it’s definitely worth a look, and in comparison to some games by the same publisher it’s relatively good. Hopefully Ratalaika will step out of their achievement filled comfort zone and expand their catalogue even more.

Space Crew takes a while to get into but once you do it is fun to play and definitely brings the same enjoy Bomber Crew did. They have taken what was lacking in Bomber Crew and the frustration you had and changed things around. But let me tell you this, even though they have made it so much better gameplay-wise, I think I still had more fun playing Bomber Crew which is bizarre.

The visuals and design may be on the wayside, but the amount of content that’s been crammed into a game that costs just £7.99 / $9.99 is outstanding.

GRAVEN is a lovely little taste of retro shooters that fall outside what we considered to be the standard of the time. An excellent fusion of melee, magic and puzzle solving.

I have to be honest; I was wrong. I fully expected to find a poor man’s Trials but instead, I found a game that provides a more accessible experience to the well-known platform trialist experience, whilst also holding enough of its own character to feel like a fresh game in its own right.

All in all Red Ronin is a fantastic 8-bit styled, turn-based puzzle game that gave me hours of fun all the while challenging me in ways I didn’t expect from this title. The pixel graphics complimented it well, even though I have a bit of a soft spot for 8-bit and 16-bit games, it did impress me. The game did crash quite often at the time of playing on my Series X but the loading times made this more an inconvenience then an issue. The soundtrack complimented the game well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m not a huge fan of puzzle games (with not being the sharpest tool in the shed) but I sure did have tons of fun.

Despite having a vertical drop for a learning curve and looking and feeling kind of average as far as modern gaming goes, Age of Wonders: Planetfall succeeds in being a richly deep and complex space strategy hybrid that will no doubt appeal to long time turn-based strategy fans, and newcomers alike.

Airoheart is one of the better Zelda-likes I have played and working my way through the game has been a trip down memory lane. It borrows so much from the Link to the Past formula, but also adds in plenty of its own ideas and mechanics. Perhaps the biggest issue I have with the game is its price point, $40 is way too steep for this game. I think if it was $20-25 it would sell many more copies and find a much larger audience. There are a handful of other issues, but most of those could be addressed with a patch. If you’ve been looking for a game to satisfy your classic action-adventure cravings then Airoheart could be your game, at the very least you should put it on your wishlist so you can pick it up if the price changes or it goes on sale.

Despite its seemingly grim premise, Regalia goes on to produce a surprisingly witty, well structured and strategic RPG adventure. There’s no denying that this game is better suited on the keyboard and mouse, but if you can overlook these niggling controller issues, a wonderfully written and endearing journey awaits.

Overall, if you want a story set in the gritty era of World War One and don’t want to have to play through a Call of Duty or Battlefield campaign to do so, then Ad Infinitum isn’t a bad way to spend your time. It isn’t perfect and there are areas that clearly need some improvement but for a story that delivers and enemies that offer the chills, this is an experience that’s at least worth the once-over.

Overall, if you like your party games, are looking for a giggle and you want some wacky fun to keep you and some friends entertained for a few hours, Rubber Bandits is not a bad shout. Going further than that might be difficult due to the lack of game modes making longevity a stretch, but there is enough here to warrant a look, especially given the game is available right now on Xbox Game Pass for console and PC.

While it won’t go down in history alongside some of the classics, Voyage of the Dead is a fun arcade light gun shooter that shows of what the MARS can do. It’s a shame that technically the title holds the hardware back, with slowdown and hitches that make aiming much harder than it needs to be. Beyond that though, Voyage shows the promise that the hardware holds, and I can only hope we get further, more optimised titles going forward.

Overall, The Jackbox Party Pack 5 is a great addition to any future party plans, especially for the upcoming festive season. Like all party games, you really need to have a group of people that are up for almost anything, but it does do a wonderful job of encouraging even the shyest of participants to come up with laugh out loud moments. Just be sure to steer clear of Zeeple Dome.

Gamers looking for a puzzle-heavy platformer like Braid won’t find what they’re looking for here; alternatively, players searching for a platforming adventure like Limbo will also be let down. However, if you’re looking for a relaxing, story-driven adventure with light platforming and a few simple puzzles all wrapped in a sublimely vivid art style then this just might be for you. The story touches on topics that many games avoid, and most players will find some way to relate to the protagonist Mo, but the islands and their depictions are the real stars of Minute of Islands – it’s what kept me hooked. I remained intrigued throughout the experience, always wondering how the next area would be presented. The gameplay feels a bit monotonous, but that gives you more time to marvel at the artistic detail of the world.

A fun single player twin stick shooter worth checking out for the appropriate price. Between the self-deprecating humor and the pop culture references to Ripley, this game has earned my recommendation. It may not keep the player drawn in for dozens of hours, but some will fall in love with this retro twin stick shooter.

Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition is a wonderful game to unwind with and is relatively short, so most will finish it in just a couple sittings. The game isn’t as polished as a re-release should be, but is still a fun adventure to embark on. I would recommend this title on a sale seeing as you won’t be playing it long unless you’re into Nordic folklore, foxes, or a moderate journey.

Shing! is a great title. I would love if this had an online co-op option but playing through with the missus was fun. It’s long enough that it doesn’t get boring too quickly and each stage feels the right length. It’s meant to be played with friends but I still had fun playing solo switching in and out of characters.

Rebel cops may be simple in graphics and gameplay mechanics, but it makes up for it by its clever push for tactics and strategy. You will feel connected to your team and not want anyone to die, but this game is tricky enough that the choice may not be in your control. If you like a challenge and as well as playing with stealth, then this game will strongly interest you.

Hired Gun is a game that punches above its weight in that it tries to take on too many things at once and struggles under the sheer weight of the number of ideas it introduces. In many ways it is better than its AAA peers because of its audacity, in other ways it is an example of a game that needed a few features cut.

Darkestville Castle is everything you want from a point and click puzzler. A simple but interesting story line, decent voice acting, and tricky but fun puzzles. The game can be completed in under 10 hours give or take – about standard for a point and click adventure game as you only really play them once, so you don’t want them so long that you lose interest. For those who enjoy point and click adventures, this is definitely a fun one to pick up.

Thankfully, there’s something about the core feel to the gun-play and movement that mostly makes up for things. Everything is snappy, even with the screen chock full of enemies, gunfire and gigantic bosses. Getting a particularly powerful upgrade early on feels like winning the lottery, while teaming up with 3 players online makes the grind far more appetising. It’d have been nice to be able to keep something from each run, and have online loot shared amongst the team, but as it is, Risk of Rain 2 is a great example of the genre.

As I say, When the Past was Around isn’t the longest game, but it also doesn’t need to be. I enjoyed almost every moment of my time with it, and found the story to be genuinely touching, yet bizarre in its presentation. The visuals and music are excellent, and other than a few slight challenges in terms of drawn out puzzles, it’s just a breeze to play. There’s little replay value outside of achievement hunting, but plop yourself down for an evening and play this through and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by it.

Cinders is a stunning game with colorful characters and deep storyline to immerse yourself into a newly constructed version of a beloved fairy-tale. With many paths to take and choices to be made, will you wear the slipper, or throw it all away? The choice is yours.

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.

For such an unlikely pairing, Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead manages to combine the zombie apocalypse and structural engineering well. An in-game hint system wouldn’t have gone amiss, and it can be a bit fiddly to place things at times, but overall if you’re after a challenging puzzle game – and enjoy the TV show – then this is a great pick up.