The Holy Gosh Darn has utterly won me over with an excellent time loop mechanic paired with an engaging, humorous story and clever puzzles. It’s been an absolute joy to play, and comes recommended as one of my favourite games this year.

112 Operator excels not only as a crisis management game but as an emotional experience that challenges you to think beyond strategy. The sound design, dynamic challenges, and the human element behind each emergency make it an intense and thought-provoking experience. While the visuals are simple, they allow you to focus on the real heart of the game, the emotional and tactical complexities of managing emergencies. This title will stay with you long after you put it down, making you think about the unsung heroes who answer those 112 (999/911 calls). This isn’t just about making quick decisions, it’s about understanding the human element behind those decisions.

Edge of Sanity has some solid moments and its tributes to HP Lovecraft fiction. It is moodily lit and well designed. There just wasn’t enough to keep me fully committed.

Pico Park 2 is fun, annoyingly moreish, and hair-pullingly frustrating yet hard to put down all at once. With a good group of friends it devolves into utter chaos, where we’ll be laughing and swearing in equal measure. One for those nights where you just want to have a good time with pals – the more, the merrier.

In a world where quick delivery is a major part of our lives, I’m surprised it too this long to get a cool videogame out of the concept. Parcel Corps feels pretty natural in terms of a videogame giving strong Crazy Taxi vibes. When the game flows it feels so good, but it can quickly come to a halt, literally at times and it takes a bit to get it going again. I do like this game but it can feel a little rough around the edges sometimes. This is a good base, and I would love to see it expanded on. If you enjoy “extreme sports” in an open world type environment, you’d probably feel at home with Parcel Corps.

With improved movement mechanics, new dog Luna’s abilities, and a lot of content to get to, Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines is a better overall game than its predecessor. The optional levels are a bit easy, and Luna makes playing as Pablo feel a bit weak, but this is still an easy recommendation for anyone looking for some pure, fun platforming action.

While there are a few mini-games here that are fun to play, the slow unlocking of more levels, the randomness of the rewards, and there being a couple of dud games in a small selection early on puts a downer in Pureya for us.

This “Rebrush” of Epic Mickey paints a successful picture for the iconic mouse, simultaneously celebrating the brilliance of the original game, whilst lifting it up to modern videogame standards in what is a really beautiful remake that is delicious to look at. If you squint, you may find undesirable remnants from its original existence on the Wii, but otherwise Epic Mickey is preserved and improved lovingly here. The reworked controls, revamped visuals, and the numerous ways Purple Lamp have refurbished Epic Mickey shows you the true love the developers have for what they’ve created, and it shines through in just about every way. Platforming can be a tad stodgy at times, and the morality system is a bust, but otherwise this is a real treat for fans of the original game, and an even bigger treat for new audiences, so go and give this gem a shot and you should fall in love with its painterly aesthetic without it wearing thin.

For a 2-hour story extension and 6 unlockable characters, 3 of which are only available at some point in the future, £39.99 seems a steep price to pay. So, unless you’re desperate to play the fun but way too short expansion story and try the new characters out, in the meantime the free Animalities will be fun to play with until the inevitable sale down the road.

The Karate Kid: Street Rumble sticks close to the source material in the way the story plays out and most of their likenesses. The combat is robust and fast paced and great to be played along with friends if you like games like the turtles beat ’em up games. It’s a shame there is no online co-op play but they have provided some ways to replay the game to improve the longevity, and it is quite fun to play through, especially if you are fans of the original films.

Don’t you love when a game delivers on the hype? I certainly do and The Plucky Squire lives up to its promise. I was grinning the whole time playing it and really enjoyed what it had to offer. This is a game that while not providing a ton of challenge in the combat arena, it brought forth some clever puzzles that sometimes made me stop to appreciate what I had to do regardless of if it was actually difficult to figure out or not. A game like this comes around only so often and it is actually one I’d recommend to all gamers.

In short bursts, Tilting Tiles offers a decent puzzling challenge that’s enjoyable to conquer, albeit one that a few quality of life improvements such as backtracking steps or a hint system would improve.

I’ve genuinely lost hope in this franchise. With the mix of VC shills, content creators that overhype a garbage product, outlets praising the word vomit stew that the player base eats up every year – at least the ones with deep wallets – and the F2P tactics in a paid game, NBA 2K will more than likely never return to its glory days that I loved. I’m tired of repeating myself and I’m tired of having expectations go below the bar, like it wasn’t low enough. Every single year it’s “a step in the right direction.” No, it’s not. I stopped settling for less and everyone else should too. NBA 2K25 is a basketball game but feels like a grindy RPG with heavy predatory practices at play. An utter disappointment. Save your money and play a better game.

Cilla gives all the right shoot em up vibes from the 90’s, but fails to deliver a promising concept. Enemies feel like they have just been copying and pasted from one level to another, with the same movement type. Power ups are welcomed however they seem to lack the punch the power up should have.

If there is one thing I love almost as much as sequels, it’s spiritual successors. Especially if those spiritual successors have turned into a metroidvania. Listen, I had a decent time with Yars Rising but in the end, it has been a bit forgettable. Little things like waiting for loading screens, having to rewatch animations and dialog due to dying, and just okay platforming have soured me just a bit hence my score. I honestly started the game higher than when I ended. I think there is something here however and would absolutely play a sequel to this game if one comes along. Metroidvania enthusiasts should give it a go if they are looking for shorter experience to add to their gamer résumé.

Wild Bastards is a solid sequel with a lot of interesting systems. Those systems mainly interact in the static of the 2D screens, and the drama of the real time combat is less engaging than its predecessor. I do love being a flaming skeleton that shoots fireballs from his fingertips though.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster brings us more than just updated modern graphics, with auto saves, fully voiced cutscenes and some of quality life features. It also brings the nostalgia back for us older gamers who remember it back on the Xbox 360. But whether you’ve played this before or not, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster still proves to be a fun, wacky, and somewhat unique experience, and this is the best way to experience Frank’s story.

Valfaris: Mecha Therion is a shining example of the scrolling shooter genre, with explosive action, over the top bosses, and one of the most exhilarating soundtracks in a game I’ve ever played. Crank up the volume, grab a beer, and this is an evening of gaming well spent indeed.

Selfloss wraps a touching, impactful tale in some clever puzzles, a gripping atmosphere, and some well designed areas. Bugs and a inconsistent camera let it down, but those willing to push through will find an experience that will not soon be forgotten.

Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery Is almost everything you want from a hidden object game. I think a hint system would have been the final piece to include to ease frustration on some levels but as its not restrictive and you can just play on and come back to it later its fine. These games are fun to just jump on and relax and it’s something the family can join in on.

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.

Space Marine II builds upon and improves on its predecessor in every way. Come for the big stompy Space Marines, stay for the intricate interplay between melee and ranged combat.

Star Wars Outlaws is by no means going to be in the conversation for the game of the year but I don’t think it’s as much of a bomb as others are making out. There are a few bad choices which do make the game look dated but there are also some interesting elements to the game. It does feel as if Starfield and Jedi Order had a lovechild that was born 5 years ago but some people enjoy those games and I am sure they will enjoy this game for what it is.

Bleak Faith: Forsaken starts out incredibly strong with its visuals and architecture. It is unable to back up this initial promise with engaging combat, or game design.

Core Keeper is an excellent addition to the sandbox survival genre. The cleverly interlocking systems, the levelling up, and the promise of something new around each corner is going to cause it to consume a lot of people’s times. A must-have for all players.

If you were looking for the next big open-world racing game juggernaut, you’ll be sorely disappointed by Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. The dinginess of its Hong Kong setting leaves a lot to be desired, the racing events are uninspired even though the showrooms and the close-knit racing can be satisfying. Much of Solar Crown feels like a throwback to racing games at the start of the eighth generation, rather than a current force on current-gen hardware. Thus, Solar Crown doesn’t do much that’s wrong or egregious, it’s just uninspired and dull for the most part, and lacking in charisma or a sense of excitement. Such a blow for Test Drive Unlimited‘s return, but Solar Crown races with the reliability of a Porsche with a punctured set of wheels.

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.

I wanted to like Gori: Cuddly Carnage more than I did, perhaps my hopes were too high. In the end I found the levels too repetitive for my liking and some technical issues soured my mood. There were some fun parts in the platforming and chase sequences but that’s not enough to be able to highly recommend this game to my friends.