One Piece: World Gofer would have been a much more befitting title to put to this dull adventure. I’ll credit the game for its gorgeously detailed world, but this splendor is merely superficial. Most of your time spent here will consist of taking on generic missions, picking up fetch quests, and constantly battling against the game’s few boring enemy variants. The end result makes for a repetitive slog that fails miserably to excite on almost all fronts.

Weakless is really colourful and vibrant and shows good promise if the team decide to do more work like this. There’s lots going on depending on who you play as which I found great. The contrast in gameplay between the deaf and blind Weavlings forces you to constantly analyse a situation and using them both to overcome obstacles is satisfying and rewarding. Overall my experience was enjoyable, it’s just a shame that it all ended so soon.

Cyber Protocol is an alright puzzle game, but doesn’t really extend to be anything beyond that. It carries some levels that will keep you busy for a while, but the constant trial and error will soon wear you out and you’ll get bored of it easily. The retro graphics and 80’s synth music creates a great atmosphere, but content wise it’s empty.

Papa’s Quiz is a decent party game that does stand out for me as a good alternative to the Jackbox games. Granted it is just a quiz and there are no other game modes, but I feel that helps make it stand out as it has that singular focus. The dance boasting isn’t for everyone and the automated voices do get a bit tedious after a while, but as a party game that you play in bursts I think this is pretty fun.

Again, I appreciated the retro visual style, and for all the weirdness of the experience I found myself wanting to see what the next ending would bring. That it is so short to run through is a blessing, but once more I’m not sure I could recommend this to anyone who isn’t really into esoteric, indie experiences.

Whether you are playing single-player, co-op online/split screen, Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef is fun. Light-hearted and a significant change of pace for the Warhammer universe. I really enjoyed playing this with my son. Controls were straightforward and easy to get used to, though I was a bit taken back when I found out A wasn’t jump however this didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I would recommend Warhammer 40,000 if you want a local co-op shooter with drop-in and drop-out functions.

The mixture of exploration and puzzle solving is solid but the unsettling weirdness of its location and story is what makes Broken Pieces a must play for all point and clickers out there.

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is a nice time killer if you want to play something to take the edge off. The replayability is insane as you can up the difficulty in the dungeons if you want more of a challenge. Sure the zombie slaughter may not be something to scream to the hills about, but it is definitely worth mentioning to a friend or two that love the hack n slash genre.

Where Dustborn works – its characters and story – it really works. Leaden combat and side-missions leave it a little lacking.

Night Call for me is a really tough game to play through as I prefer more – or even some – action. It should appeal to those who like gritty novels and like to play as a detective. For those who can read between the lines and use clues to solve mysteries, it may be better suited. The game plays more as just reading the book with the occasional dash of strategy. But it does have some interesting stories and themes and should appeal to the right audience.

Train Sim World is a robust yet accessible game that caters for a wide range of its material’s responsibilities. The game does a good job at feeding you into its intricacies and once there, rarely fails to maintain its allure. It’s also quite free in its approach, enabling players to explore and drive at a leisurely pace. Not perfect nor groundbreaking by any means, but it does achieve what it sets out to accomplish.

Excellent presentation, storytelling, performances, and some great quality of life touches make The Casting of Frank Stone one of our favourite Supermassive Games releases yet.

Overall, if you’re a fan of the other mechanic simulators and want something you aren’t likely to know about straight away, then Rover Mechanic Simulator is a good shout. It’s not the longest of games with an 8-10 hour playtime, but if you want something to simply play through at leisure, without all the excessive hustle and bustle of most games on the market at present, then this is certainly the tranquil experience you’ll be looking for.

Overall, Super Toy Cars Offroad is just not good, at least not for me. I enjoy a goofy arcade racer intended for children occasionally and love classics like Mario Kart and Cruisin’ USA. This sadly lowered the bar of expectations for me from this developer in their near future. The last game took around 4-5 years to develop while this one was less than two years. It feels rushed when racing through the tracks and learning the levels becomes a chore with trying to manage the dreadful physics on top of normal map memorization. This makes it even more luck based having one lap work flawlessly, then getting thrown around and hitting invisible hitboxes taking the same path lap 2. At least the power ups aren’t overpowered and not a huge threat, which is sad to say about any racer with item usage and combat mechanics. The game isn’t hard, just needs more polishing to work out the issues. I would pick this game up only on new game sale if you love this genre or wait for a better sale in the future. You would have more fun just playing the second Super Toy Cars game, as I believe that’s the best entry yet. The shoddy gameplay for Offroad allows the music and visuals to outshine, even if they aren’t a beacon of light to bathe in.

Pathologic 2, although not as polished as maybe Fallout or Elder Scrolls, still contains all the necessary features for a story driven first player adventure. The games difficulty and time frame can have you sweating under the collar and sometimes become a bit overwhelmed, but you can praise it for its detail to character work and story line.

Bad North is a fun, challenging RTS Roguelite. The visuals paint a charming picture, giving you a false sense of security until the Vikings begin their assault. As your island is bathed in their (or your own) blood, the game keeps you on your toes despite the simplistic interaction you have. This is absolutely worth your time, even if the genre isn’t usually up your alley.

However, slight technical issues aside I feel confident in saying that Martha is Dead is one of the best titles I’ve played this year. Its gameplay mechanics are simple but put to use effectively, but it’s the narrative, themes, and the way this is all tied together that really stand out. It’s gruesome, grim, and will be hard to stomach for some people, but if you’re up for a truly gripping and thrilling tale, then Martha is Dead is a must play.

Starship Troopers: Extermination is a game full of tremendous potential. Two years after early access that potential seems within reach with a bit more polish. The action can be a blast, but often the bugs, some design choices, and unstable servers act against its overall vision. Often it felt like I was fighting the game itself and not the bugs onscreen.

It might not stand shoulder to shoulder with the greats but for those looking for a new story driven FPS to play, Industria is one to check out.

Outward’s harsh difficulty, its hands off structure, and its constant stat management wont be for everyone. This is one hell of a demanding RPG, and as such, it can feel less like an adventure and more like a full-time job. Still, the game deserves a lot of praise for its ambition, its depth, and for its choice-driven structure, but in the face of its poor design choices, its awkward combat, and its lack of visual polish, it’s hard to wholly recommend.

Home Sweet Home is a guaranteed heart-stopper and gets a lot right with the tools that it uses. There’s the occasional issue to contend with, but the bottom line here is that this is a top survival horror title for the enthusiast of games such as Amnesia and Outlast, developed meticulously to relay the same style as that of the infamous P.T. It’s stunning, it’s intriguing, and it’s very, very scary.

Considering that it’s a sequel, and despite its efforts, Monster Energy Supercross 2 doesn’t feel wholly refined overall. The game suffers considerably due to its loose handling, its steep difficulty curve, and its excessive loading times. That said, there’s enough diverse content on offer to keep die-hard fans entertained until next time. Just don’t expect the quality to have come on in leaps and bounds in comparison to its predecessor.

I was skeptical about Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions as it had some high bars to hit. I think for the most part the fun factor made an appearance, but I don’t know how long the legs are on this game, only time will tell. For the most part I don’t find the replay-ability high after a couple dozen hours but again, time and content updates could drive me back to it from time to time. I think for the price it’s a fun time and Harry Potter fans should feel at home on the pitch here.

InnerSpace is both relaxing and endearing, but fails to truly captivate due to the lack of meaningful progression and pace. It’s a game that encourages players to take a journey into the unknown, yet doesn’t quite relay what the player is journeying towards once there. It’s certainly pleasing at first, but it wears thin far sooner than it should.

Slave Zero X did not grip me with the story, however, the simplistic game mechanics were a nice change of pace. You move along the area from left to right, you can hack and slash your way through the enemies, there are various enemy types each with its unique attack pattern and weapons. As you can see from the video above the graphics are very “retro” but the developers, Poppy Works have added camera shifts as you move along the levels. This gives this 2D game more visual depth. I personally found some bosses very tricky to beat, add the fact they have no health meter, some battles can be are very frustrating. I did find myself on more than one occasion stuck trying to manoeuvre to the next section. The above “issues” did not take away the fact I did have a blast playing Slave Zero X.

Shoot 1UP DX is a short and sweet game that is good for a quick pick up and play session. I did enjoy trying to max out getting 30 ships at once but I actually found the mode where you only control one ship more fun.

Override: Mech City Brawl suffers from some minor framerate issues and the occasional character-specific bug that, once present, quite literally puts a stopper on your game. Despite those problems, Override is pleasantly accessible and goes on to provide structural depth, combat diversity, and heaps of action-packed, fun, and exhilarating moments from the get-go. This is one brawler that’s fit for the whole family.

Outside of these fixable issues Bite The Bullet is a fun action title that adds in a unique mechanic to proceedings, in eating foes to gain abilities. It’s challenging without being too punishing, has a pretty good sense of humour, and offers plenty to sink your teeth into in its upgrades, hidden areas, and side quests. Plus, that soundtrack is just awesome. Like, seriously excellent.