Aniquilation is a twin-stick shooter that seems to have forgotten it is a twin-stick shooter, or that putting so much mayhem on the screen at once doesn’t always equal fun. Shooting seems to be the attack I am using the least and although the game looks pretty enough it’s not really a joy to play for me.

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.

Dead End Job is fun fast-paced action top-down shooter which tests your reflexes and patience. The story is a bit vague, but the character styles are quite detailed and disgustingly fun to look at. It is quite easy to lose some time into playing through this even though the game doesn’t vary too much. But there are enough different enemy types, items and job perks which keep the game interesting.

The Z Axis: Continuum isn’t likely to rock your puzzle-loving world, but it does enough to stand out on the merit of its interesting, manipulative mechanics. The game slowly feeds you into the basics of play before throwing larger, more complex levels your way. It may indeed be lacking in the visual department for more reasons than one, but it still goes on to present a brain hammering challenge nevertheless.

The racing in Gravity Chase is fin and the use of tubular and half pipe tracks means there’s less time worrying about crashing and more focus on the actual racing. The sense of speed, especially when boosting, is top notch even if it makes accurately hitting boost pads or pick-ups difficult at times. Unfortunately, the samey-feeling tracks and need to unlock them for each player count meant that my enthusiasm for playing dwindled far quicker than I’d have expected.

All in all, I enjoyed my time reading through of Angels with Scaly Wings, and with the numerous possible endings this should give keen readers to come back for more.

Players looking for a short, snappy precision platformer would do well to at least entertain the idea of Cattie, even if it misses the mark in a few areas.

Sun Wukong VS Robot gives us a bite-size game at a bite-size price. Nothing here will blow you away but if you are looking for a quick game and like classic platforming game mechanics, you can do much worse. If you are on the hunt for a quick 1,000 gamerscore, then look no further than Sun Wukong VS Robot.

Ultimately REDO! left me wanting to go back to other metroidvanias rather than to put more time into this one. The slower traversing of the land and the unforgiving combat just doesn’t fit my preferences but that doesn’t mean REDO! is a bad game. I would recommend anyone interested in REDO! to check out the gameplay and if your interest is still piqued then give it a go. The artwork is pleasant and the puzzles required to progress may appease you more than it did me.

Much like any other game from Artifex Mundi, Queen’s Quest III: The End of Dawn will serve you well if you’re seeking a decent point-and-click adventure that’s chock-full of interesting, diverse puzzles. The entire experience is predictably pulled shy of greatness due its hit and miss story, its poor animations, and its shoddy voice work, but, in grand scheme of things, the game does manage to maintain player engagement through variety and innovation.

As a TMNT fan I am drawn to all content about this tubular foursome, especially the games! TMNT Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants was no exception. Considering I’ve not played the arcade cabinet for this game before I was very excited. It did give me an evening of fun as it felt like I was right there in the arcade hanging out but unfortunately the experience was short lived. While yes, there are leaderboards to entice replay-ability, they weren’t enough to keep me coming back to the game. So, if you are looking for a quick turtles experience (especially if you have some local buddies to play with), Wrath of the Mutants may be what you are looking for.

With some great performances and an interesting story premise, The Gallery had me sold from the start. Unfortunately, some over bearing choice work and consequences take us out of the tale being told too often for us to really get invested in it fully.

I and Me goes a long way with the few mechanics that it encompasses, putting forward a solid puzzle game that boasts both quality and distinction. The game’s accessible functionality and its charming design makes it an appropriate choice for players of all ages, but its questionable difficulty curve is bound to frustrate the younger audience. Still, when all is said and done, there’s an endearing journey to be found here, if indeed short lived.

Giga Wrecker Alt. has all the markings of a stellar platform puzzler, but sadly doesn’t quite manage to achieve greatness due to its lackluster boss encounters, its at times frustrating design choices, and its somewhat floaty handling. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a hell of a lot to like about the journey at hand, from its intriguing story through to its several interesting mechanics, but the fun is religiously interrupted by the game’s aforementioned drawbacks.

All in all, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a middling effort that is helped along by the titular protagonist’s whimsical humour, the sparklingly colourful Wishworlds and the jolly soundtrack. Unfortunately, The Cosmic Shake spirals down from its promising state as an original SpongeBob adventure because it feels like any old-school platformer from twenty years ago. Sure, the kiddies will find The Cosmic Shake to be a simple and satisfying slice of SpongeBob silliness to savour, but without an impactful zest to it, there’s not enough to make it stand out from previous outings. There’s a woeful dearth of depth here that ensures The Cosmic Shake flounders adrift in the high seas of averageness, instead of soaring into the skies of sensation. It’s an adventure that will do in a pinch, but SpongeBob fans know this could have been so much more.

Jagged Alliance 3 has many ups and downs but I ultimately came away frustrated, especially with the combat and the over complicated controls. There is potential there but I’m not sure I can wait around another 24 years to see that potential flourish.

As a brief but well-crafted Netflix indie title, Highwater hits the mark with its sense of worldbuilding, the interesting flourishes of its combat, and the underlying themes that give it a richness that’s worth exploring. Highwater is held back by stodgy writing, character interaction and a frustrating menu system, but for a few hours of apocalyptic storytelling amidst a flooded world, where you can discover new islands and yank cigar-chomping big men to their doom, Highwater is worth a shot and is buoyant enough to stay afloat despite the threat of capsizing.

Neon Blood was still an enjoyable ride despite the issues listed, mainly again due to that stellar presentation and a tale that, while not exactly original, was executed well (and briefly) enough to keep our interest high throughout.

Upon reflection, Beyond A Steel Sky may well be a tale of two games. One side of the equation sees it as an interesting narrative adventure with strange characters, a bustling metropolis, intriguing gameplay elements and a welcome sense of humour. On the other side meanwhile there’s the flatness of those personalities, unexplored ideas, a dearth of reasons to care, a mediocre protagonist and a game you can brush off and forget about. There’s enough here for you to be welcomed in but there are far greater alternatives out there – especially ones that aren’t dragging and lugging about a twenty-five-year-old design. It’s worth a shot then, but much like the game itself you will refer it to the past once you’ve finished it.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is described as a game that sets itself apart from other walking simulators due to the addition of puzzles and engagement. It’s a shame however that these very additions are easily the weakest points in the game. The story may well be interesting and it’s certainly a stunning experience, but it takes a lot more than that to truly stand out.

Despite the absence of needed features, despite its lack of replay value, and despite the fact that it’s not all that difficult, there’s still quite a bit of fun to be had in Riverbond. Not only is the game accessible, charming, and unique, but it sports a fair bit of diversity as far as its gameplay is concerned, and manages to spread it well across its handful of varied, gorgeously designed worlds. It’s just a shame it falls short of the mark elsewhere.

The Vasara Collection will appeal to the scrolling shoot em up fans as it combines both the old-style games and a modern re-imagining of the original games. It is far too difficult for anyone who is not experienced in this genre of games, and it can get old and frustrating fast after repeatedly dying in the game. But for those who like this style of game and like a hardcore challenge then this collection is packaged nicely just for you.

I really enjoy the unique concept on offer here, with interesting and engaging FMV scenes that keep you hooked and actively wanting to find out what happens next. While the mini game sections are on the bland side,they are short enough – with enough variety – to not detract in any sort of major way.

Wargroove certainly packs an impressive portion of diverse content, but its harsh difficulty, together with its complexity, has a tendency of muddying the water. Nevertheless, if you can overlook Wargroove’s taxing challenge and bear with it long enough to understand its varied functionality, there’s a lot to like about it, especially if you’re a fan of strategy games.

Out of Space is a fun game to play and on your own, it’s about careful planning and high pressure. Playing with others it is about great communication and cooperation whilst still maintaining that high focus. I worry that the singular objective will harm the replay value of the game. As a party game once you have conquered the biggest ship I am not sure it would be something to play repeatedly. But then that is easier said than done I’m sure.

Paradise Lost manages to keep the intrigue high with its alternate history tale and great environmental story-telling, but is let down by it glacier-esque pace. If you can push through that though, there is an entertaining time to be had here.

Aftercharge’s fun and unique cat and mouse-like concept is both neatly structured, and finely balanced. However, whilst the game offers a decent amount of depth through its well designed and diverse cast of interesting characters, it’s greatly held back due to its lack of gameplay variation. The bottom line here is that distinction alone will only go so far, Aftercharge needs to cover more ground, and soon.

Oh My Godheads is fun, bright, colourful and zany, but it’s somewhat let down by repetitive play, a lack of content, and no online support.