Guard Duty feels like a blast from the past. The way it is set up and executed, it certainly feels like an old point and click adventure that has been ported. That is testament to the work and effort that has been put into the game to capture that experience. I’m sure this will be a pickup for fans of point and click games that like to adventure with a fair challenge.

Grim Legends 3: The Dark City is a fitting end to the trilogy. The gorgeous artwork and varying puzzles remain engaging throughout, upheld by a decent story that helps to maintain player immersion. Sadly, issues with poor voice acting and its lack of a steady difficulty curve pulls this down from greatness. Though, even with that in mind, this adventure is well worth a visit.

Hyper Sentinel may well be overly chaotic at the best of times, but there’s no denying that it’s fun, well paced and full of action. There’s a lot of content to work through within and although it does become repetitive before long, it’s still worth its weight in gold. Those that enjoy the roots of this formula will thoroughly enjoy what’s on offer, despite its niggling issues.

After jumping back into the Plants vs. Zombies world, I can safely say this is my favorite way to play the franchise, classic tower-defense style gameplay loop. Not third person shooting or open worlds, just six lanes, some plants and some zombies. An argue can be had to whether we needed this as there are older GOTY editions, but I can’t lie and say I wasn’t excited to earn new achievements for it again. There is a little bit of new content but all in all this is just another repackaging of PvZ which if you’ve never played before … I definitely recommend it.

Whilst it’s slightly let down by its stodgy controls and its dull boss battles, Fimbul has enough going for it to make it a worthwhile investment. The story is simple, but told well enough to keep you in place throughout its short run. Combat, though hectic at points, is satisfying enough to see you through most encounters. It would have been nice to see more from its interesting choice system, but overall, the game gets more right than it gets wrong.

Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition is a great next gen version of the original with crisper visuals, vastly superior load times and more things for the player to do. The MOCAP work could be a little better and perhaps some work is needed on the card system (or just scrap it altogether). Tennis World Tour 2 is one of the better tennis games I have played in a while, but it still needs a little work to take Top Spin’s crown.

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.

Torchlight III has come a long way from the original game. The graphics stay true to the series but look a lot more refined. The options for characters have been compacted, but the introduction of relics allows you to mix and match for variety without suffering from choice overload. It stands shoulder to shoulder with games like Diablo as a fair alternative, but I feel playing with friends is a must as you may lose interest just playing solo.

Sea of Thieves offers a stunning world for players to explore and uncover its secrets. It’s fun, often hilarious, and unique. Though, the lack of meaningful structure and its simplistic gameplay really do hurt the experience. The game needs to offer more than cosmetic stature and acquisition if it wants a lengthy lifespan. Still, this is one of the few exclusives that Microsoft can, and should, be proud of.

Although quirky, Visage is a thrill to play as the random events can change your experience with the game each playthrough, but playing it more than once will remove most of the thrill by knowing the jump scares and harder puzzles. I hope SadSquare studio continues to add to this title, as it can benefit from it, and it deserves to be played by the horror genre fans. I managed to solve all puzzles and earn all 27 achievements for 1,000 gamerscore in Visage in roughly 12-15 hours.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is an ambitious game. It’s beautiful, deep, and compelling but suffers from a lack of clear direction on how to navigate and appreciate everything that it contains. There hasn’t been a game quite like it before, which unfortunately doesn’t work in Ancestors favor because more time is spent figuring out it’s mechanics than actually enjoying it.

A Summer with the Shiba Inu is a lovely little game that offers real catharsis. It draws you in with cute characters and holds you with its rather fascinating story. Whilst it does drag occasionally, it is well worth making your way through. There’s a clear level of love and dedication felt throughout Shiba Inu, from the phone interface, to the backgrounds, to the 70000 words it advertises on its page. If you watch the trailer for this and it interests you, it’s hard to go wrong with a purchase.

Sable is one of the latest games to get a day one release on Xbox’s Game Pass service so it’s almost impossible to not give it a recommendation for anyone with a subscription, but on the whole, I was somewhat let down. The game has some of the most visually stunning graphics I’ve seen, but the gameplay gets repetitive. Exploring the desolate expanse on your own terms is not as fun as it sounds; however, a compelling series of quests and wonderful writing throughout are just enough to keep you hooked and justify the price of admission if you’re already a Game Pass subscriber.

Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 is a decent 2D platforming shooter when it wants to be. The game’s main issues sit with its short length, its dull boss encounters and its somewhat lack of evolution when comparing it to its predecessor. Still, its gorgeously detailed and diverse level variation, together with the sheer amount of carnage that players can unleash, collectively delivers a fairly fun experience nonetheless.

Deadly Days isn’t a game that I would be dropping hours of time into or would be playing on week’s end. There are elements that do make the game work such as it’s fasted paced gameplay, a variety of weapons and characters, and a story that involves the zombie virus being spread from a contaminated hamburger. There’s even story progression in the game which actually surprised me. The RNG aspect of the game is a bit frustrating along with the constant micromanagement of my team of survivors. I just feel like aspects like these shouldn’t belong in a Rougelite game. If you wanna a game to kill some time then I would gladly recommend Deadly Days, but if you want something long-lasting this may not be the game for you.

LEGO DC Super-Villains has a lot of fun with its source material, and although it does indeed prove that it’s good to be bad, taking some steps away from its play-it-safe formula would have been much, much better. That said, there’s a plethora of exciting content, depth and replay value on offer here, making this a must have for fans of the series. Just don’t expect this to be LEGO’s defining moment.

Urban Flow is a clean, simple puzzle game that can lead to some frantic multi-tasking. If that appeals then this is must have.

Despite some flaws, I’ve enjoyed my time with Source of Madness, but it’s not a roguelite where I want to start over as soon as I fail. I think the art design and Lovecraft theme help it stand out in a crowded market, and even though it’s filled to the brim with madness it’s nowhere close to being at the top of the mountain.

Kiborg has crunchy combat and a fantastic sense of adventure to its progression system. Anyone looking for a character action game that delights in the absurd should give it a try. That said, you will need to be content to deal with the unfinished nature of some aspects.

After Wave: Downfall will no doubt attract many achievement-hunting players, but Shoot ‘em Up enthusiasts looking for something new and different should also consider picking up the game. The gameplay is fast and fun, it has a unique aquatic setting and viewpoint, and it provides a great challenge to anyone willing to work their way through each of the difficulties.

There is so much negativity surrounding this title, but I don’t care. I have had a good time with it. Does it have faults? Yes it does. But this hasn’t ruined the experience for me. I’ve had fun playing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The first boss fight was bluntly rubbish however the second boss fight makes up for it in my opinion. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League feels like it was meant to be DC’s version of Marvel’s Avengers. I feel Rocksteady did a better job in keeping my attention and making missions easier to follow, even if they do have a repetitive nature to them.

Grow: Song of the Evertree feels like a mobile phone time-killing game that has been plucked out spruced up with some gorgeous graphics, added some great orchestral background music, pumped the game full of things to do and gives you free license with how you want to play create your worlds. As with these types of games, some things can get quite repetitive but if you want a stress free pretty looking game then you could easily lose some hours with this game.

Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice is a dedicated addition to the Leisure Suit Larry series using the same tried and tested formula. There is more than enough crudeness, sexual humour, interesting plot twists and fiendishly difficult puzzles for long time fans to enjoy. This game is not for everyone, nor does it want to be; it knows what its fan base wants and aside from a few niggles it delivers something the fans will enjoy.

My experience with The Wild Eight was hit and miss. The story had me gripped but not having a waypoint was something I struggled with. The fact you have 8 characters you can play as with different perks to help you survive is a nice touch and will add to replayability. If you love exploration games this is something you should grab, and at under £25 it’s a fair price.

The Gunk is a perfect example of a developer that can make tired mechanical tropes sing with master craftmanship.

Newt One is a peaceful, colourful and nonviolent game with a meaningful story line and thoughtful characters. Whether playing competitively to achieve level goals or to relax as an escape from the chaos of life, it is left up to the individual to enjoy the game however they choose.

I used to be a fan and casual player of Magic: The Gathering many years ago, and that experience was very valuable in playing Nowhere Prophet. For those who enjoy card-based battlers like Yu-Gi-Oh or Gwent then this is a decent game which incorporates an interesting storyline, a simple well-executed survival element, and a refreshing take on the card-battling genre. It stays in the sweet zone of complexity to not scare off newcomers and shouldn’t bore the hardcore card battlers. I thought this game was a bit too difficult when I first played but I managed to get to grips with the elements in short time, making the journey that bit easier.

As a standalone game for fans of the series that don’t already own Warriors Orochi 4, the Ultimate version would be the best option to procure as the added content makes the original a little redundant. As for DLC this a very pricey in comparison to other DLC and could be a tough sell. But if you enjoy this hack’n’slash series then it is very fun to play and worth picking up. For hardcore fans, the extra chapters, characters and infinity game mode may be enough to persuade you to add it on.