At Sundown sports a tense and interesting hide and seek-like style of play through the use of its cleverly implemented light and shadow stealth system. However, despite its fairly healthy variation across its weaponry, its modes, and its maps, it all falls victim to repetition a lot sooner than expected. It doesn’t help matters that, even on launch day, its online component seems painfully devoid of popularity.

Rush Rover manages to hit that sweet spot in roguelikes of being a good challenge, but also not feeling like it’s wasting the players time every time they have to restart. Some generic visuals and awful music aside, there’s a lot of fun to be had with it – and a few extra easy cheevos never goes amiss eh?

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix is obviously a game aimed directly at children. To be fair though that shouldn’t be taken into account when deciding my verdict on the title. At times the game can seem fairly simple, but at others be a frustrating mess considering all the items and abilities that can screw you over in a race. It just doesn’t have that racing vibe that I’m used to seeing in racing games. It feels more hectic and chaotic more than anything. Without a doubt in my mind, my younger self would probably love this game and everything it has to offer. Taking off my nostalgia goggles Kart Racers 2 just isn’t the game for me and that’s OK. I know that the target audience would get a kick out of it and play it for hours on end. I’ll stick to Mario Kart 8 for now.

I have just finished Episode 3 of The Expanse and am unsure how I feel. In this episode, we have just landed at the mining station and you are with Maya throughout – however, at just 50 minutes long, I felt a bit short-changed that it was all over so soon. To be fair, there is a good amount of drama and a big set-piece to cap it off, but at the same time a newly introduced puzzle mechanic is pretty naff and only seems to pad out the already short runtime.

I came into The Survivalists with high hopes, being such a fan of The Escapists. Sadly I came away from my time with it underwhelmed. There’s certainly fun to be had, and the feel of Escapists is here is parts, but some of the elements, such as the lack of storage space when out exploring, kept bringing my experience further down the longer I played. Here’s hoping Team 17 can bring me back in with the eventual (please) Escapists 3.

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.

Despite the fact that the game is quite unrefined and poorly paced, and overlooking the AI’s rubber band functionality, Meow Motors isn’t half bad. This is one kart racer that certainly caters for the younger audience, and even with its problems in mind, it just about manages to get more right than it gets wrong. It’s colorful, it’s cutesy, and it’s fun when it works as intended, but with more time in the proverbial oven, it could have been much better.

Battle Alliance seems like it will be a love letter to fans of the series with so much content to unlock and so many battles to experience. For those that don’t care for the franchise, the offering is very slim.

Through the Darkest of Times attempts to bring life in the Third Reich into focus, and is absorbingly successful. It’s a shame that its limp presentation will put people off, as there’s a wonderful and strategic board game here, and an even better evocation of what it was to be a member of the resistance.

Out of the Box’s story is oddly compelling, with its characters just interesting enough to keep you going. Its gameplay loop leaves something to be desired, but if you can work through it, there is an enjoyable time to be had here.

While Sonic Superstars demonstrates creativity and innovation in the Classic Sonic formula, it falls short of reaching the heights set by its predecessors. Some levels are just frustrating and not enjoyable. What we really need is simply Sonic Mania 2.

Phantom Fury is an incredibly fun throwback shooter, with awesome weaponry and brilliant encounters throughout that are undermined by a plethora of bug and issues that hampered my time with it far more often than it should have. In terms of my enjoyment in the moment, this has entered the top end of my games of the year so far, but those issues mean I can’t recommend it without heavy caveats.

Real-time strategy games have always struggled on console due to being restricted by the limited input method, such as the controller. Persevere here, however, and you’ll find a deep and engaging RTS with plenty of challenging content to keep you busy for hours on end. Sudden Strike 4 is far from perfect, but it is indeed competent enough to justify a recommendation.

Listen, I am usually the first to play “weird” games or at least give them a go. This one was no different. It wasn’t quite what I expected and that’s okay. And the story has heart so I would encourage players to try it and see for yourself just what others can come up with in the creative space like videogames. If it had more gameplay elements, I’d probably be more keen on it but you may find a hidden gem in this one for yourself. You never know.

Overall and If you want a challenge, then Loopindex may prove a little too easy. If you’re after that satisfying Gamerscore increase, then you’ll likely be in your element, as an hour is no gargantuan task for any player. As for general quality, Loopindex isn’t a standout performer. It gets the basics completed but you shouldn’t hope for anything more.

Spartan Fist is a simple pleasure, what you see is what you get, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’ll have fun as long as you manage your expectations; it will get repetitious while you grind enough upgrades to make it to the end of the game. As far as mono-mechanic games go, Spartan Fist is enjoyable and recommended.

The Story Goes On is a decent hack’n’slash experience that blends together some interesting ideas and ties them to a steady progression system. The boss encounters remain fun throughout, and there’s no shortage of secrets to uncover. However, the game is somewhat let down by bland visuals, overly repetitive gameplay, and a lack of enemy variety.

Atomic Heist is a good game, but it would have benefited from some extra care and attention to its design. The lack of interesting and detailed environments pulls this game shy of greatness, especially considering the implementation of random generation. Still, the game manages to hold its own ground through its tense gameplay, heavy replay value and diverse pool of pick-ups and power-ups.

Overall, Overpass 2 is a game that looks to bring the world of off-roading to players by offering what developer Neopica believes to be an authentic experience, but it does so without offering anything that truly simulates that experience. At best Overpass 2 is an arcade racer in an off-road setting, with events that slow the pace from the typical racing game, but with controls that don’t allow for a reactive play through, you’re instead left frustrated and bored by the midseason races whilst the visuals take us back to the days of Baja: Edge of Control, and as much as that wasn’t a hit when it arrived again in 2017, Overpass 2 won’t be either for 2023.

Duck Souls+ is an enjoyable game which tests your platforming skills. The difficulty is a bit all over the place – some levels had me stuck for ages, then the next set I breezed through – but I always kept coming back for one more go. Definitely a good choice if you’re a fan of platformers.

Awkward is exactly that, awkward. This is a game that’s hellbent on testing your relationship with those playing by your side. On that front, it can be a blessing and curse depending on how well you can take a joke. Despite becoming repetitive before long, it’s very easy to play, which makes it quite an accessible experience. Though, by design, it’s likely only going to appeal to a specific crowd.

Kings Bounty 2 have tried to add a compelling story and RPG element to this game and it hasn’t been executed very well. The slow-moving character is morale-sapping at times and it is only the strategy battle element that saves it. But considering I got to a point where the enemy is so much stronger than me and there is no way to grind or lower the difficulty, I suspect others may also find themselves giving up in frustration well before the end.

For fans of South Park what we have here can be considered a filler experience. For those itching for a new South Park title this will suffice but just don’t expect this installment to be a worthy replacement for Stick of Truth 2. South Park: Snow Day! is a short and enjoyable experience to be played with another South Park fan. The shift in genre still allows the show to keep its trademark humor while welcoming chaotic multiplayer fun but it’s also that shift that provided repetitive combat and short replayability. At only $30 some might find it a worthwhile pick-up, but it’s more likely you’ll be looking forward to the sun shining elsewhere.

It pains me to write such negative things about this game because now I am even more interested in the Legacy of Kain series after all the research that was required for this review. It’s not that this is a bad game, it’s just that this is a 2003 game in a 2026 wrapper and my score is intended for those who are new to the series. While I think that I’ll complete this game (with the help of a walkthrough), I’m afraid that today’s gamers won’t have the patience or nostalgic memories to allow them to power through the early levels and experience the story. I hope that this and the Soul Reaver remasters did well enough with purchases from super-fans to warrant a full remake of one or more of these games for newer players to enjoy.

All-Star Fruit Racing is a decently structured kart racing game that offers up quite a chunk of content in return for its fairly generous asking price. The main issue here is that despite being fun, much of the content lacks originality, refinement and depth. All-Star Fruit Racing may stand out, but it doesn’t quite manage to stand tall. Those that seek simplicity may enjoy this, but for those seeking more, hold out for Team Sonic Racing.

If you’re on the market for a simple rogue-lite that doesn’t demand too much focus and perseverance, Devious Dungeon will serve you well. If, on the other hand, you enjoy the intricacies that this type of game is usually known to adopt, you’re likely going to feel somewhat disappointed. Devious Dungeon is a passable game at best, but one that’s admittedly fun nonetheless.

Access Denied’s varied and intelligently designed puzzles are bound to excite fans of the genre, and although it’s a very short game, it does well with the few tools that it encompasses. It’s a shame then, that its handling can be all over the place, which simply isn’t forgivable for a game that strongly encourages perseverance and precision. That being said, and for its fairly generous price, you could do worse.

Compared to Inside, Liquid Sunshine does suffer from a few issues; pushing platforms to cross gaps sometimes takes perfect timing, and climbing higher ledges needs to have the correct combination of characters which can be frustrating as their is cue from the game. Audio does get very repetitive as you progress through the game also. I also wanted to give a shout out to the cut scenes, which are presented in a beautiful comic book style that I really enjoyed, and compliment the great humour God As A Cucumber have written.