The Library of Babel has beautiful art and an intriguing story, but the game built on top of that lacks polish and evokes old-school design in the worst way.

I know I am not the intended audience, however, I did have fun with this kart racer. Controls are simple with the added feature of auto acceleration for the younger players (or the lazy ones like me), while the graphics look good and are on point for the Gigantosaurus world.

In the mashup of the year comes Panic Porcupine which is kind of like throwing Sonic and Super Meat Boy into a blender. Overall the challenge of the game is fun to take on but can quickly become overwhelming if your skill isn’t up to it. If you are one that can keep the rage down and is decent at platforming, I would recommend this game. If you are one to need a new controller after dying over and over … and over again, then maybe save your controller and play something easier.

There’s enough here for fans of the Sherlock Holmes style detective games, though for me the constant back and forth between menus and uneven movement through the world left me uninspired to continue playing.

Nuclear Blaze is an absolute joy to play, be it taking it easy on Kid Mode or working through the 2 hour campaign on one of the multiple difficulty modes. The action and level progression is almost perfectly paced, it looks stunning, and only very, very rarely did we encounter a moment where we had anything less than great fun extinguishing flames.

Warm, inviting and pleasant, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus And Butterfly is a wonderfully accessible and gentle graphic novel game with a beautifully well-meaning heart. Changes from its predecessor are minimal, but Hibiscus And Butterfly encourages you to discover an array of comforting drinks, while the cast of fantastical and not-so fantastical characters tell you about their life predicaments, their perils and their successes. Much like a good pick-me-up, Coffee Talk Episode 2 is as easy as you’d like but has space for you to master the fine art of being a top-tier barista in a busy bustling café. The addition of Hibiscus And Butterfly Pea brings a classiness and a radiance that will lighten your day, and there are reasons to replay the story several times through to see everything it has to show for itself. There’s still plenty of room for Coffee Talk to grow and flourish, but this sequel is well-worth diving into if you just want to take a pew, grab an eye-opener and relish in a bevvy of stories.

I hope you expected some running and gunning with a game called Guns N’ Runs because that is exactly what you get. Make no mistake though the challenge this game will bring you. Ultimately it was not the challenge that did it in for me but the blandness. While definitely retro inspired it was not an exciting experience that I would recommend to anyone other than those who love grinding out difficult games such as this.

I am impressed with Dead Island 2. The first Dead Island didn’t grab me as much and it was only when I tried the demo at the recent WASD event that it piqued my interest. There is a lot to enjoy about Dead Island 2. It looks stunning graphically, the story – although surreal – is gripping enough and the skill card level progression is refreshing. The combat is the feature that feels familiar and could have been quite dull over time, but Dambuster have introduced many things (such as curveballs) to keep things interesting. Fun solo, but even more enjoyable with a few friends, this long awaited zombie slasher comes recommended.

While the idea is novel and decent on paper, God of Rock left us wanting thanks to a tricky learning curve and music that fails to inspire replayability.

Pirates Outlaws is a solid deck-building roguelite that adds tons of content and lots of interesting spins on familiar formulas, it is an easy recommend for fans of the genre. For those that are new to this style – there are better places to start.

King of the Arcade does a fair job of being a cheaper title that gives you value for money. It’s not too difficult, it gives you a feel of what arcades used to look like in the past and there are plenty of different games to play. Those born around that era they will find the knockoff titles fun to play if not just amusing. It could be a fun way for a parent to expose their kids to games of the past without it being overwhelming and without all the loading.

Emoji Kart Racer lacks in content that is offered for the pricing they have selected. The sounds are if not annoying, the best part of the game. The music isn’t too short or too loud, except for the emoji’s sound effects for winning. The visuals are clean, colorful, and work for most levels. There are tracks influenced heavily by bigger, more well known Arcade racers. There are typos in some signage which I don’t think is intentional. The length of the time played is less than four hours and could have been shorter if the karts went a little faster. The AIs and respawning functionality removes all challenges. This title is for beginners and those who are younger. Had there been a better user interface for using items and targeting others and the scaled difficulty wasn’t so low, this could have been a worthy recommendation. The drifting was the biggest let down, or lack thereof. I was simply left wanting more from the control and handling. The design of the game was well done, just not the feel of how the kart rides.

The visuals are amazing, the game is simple and it has a heart, that I can say about Minecraft Legends. There are things that could’ve been done better and it’s not as complex as the Civilization games – or any strategy game for that matter – but Mojang and Blackbird Interactive get my respect for venturing off into the unknown and finding a treasure like this.

Not For Broadcast is unlike anything I’ve played before. The tv-editing simulator gameplay presses all the right buttons, keeping you engaged in a well-written story packed with humor. The writing really clicks with many elements, riffing on real-world events over the past few years. I don’t know how well the story will age, but the gameplay is so unique that I have no doubt it will stand the test of time. I give Not For Broadcast my full recommendation. I know some of the games I get behind can be somewhat niche and might not be for everyone, but I really believe Not For Broadcast has mass appeal, scoring high in all demographics.

Flat screen or not, The Last Worker had us hooked from start to finish thanks to excellent writing, a charming art style, and constantly changing gameplay and mechanics that rarely outstay their welcome.

The concept of Murderous Muses is great, with randomised runs meaning every game can and will play out differently, giving dedicated players a new challenge to solve each time. However, unless you’re completely invested it can be tricky to keep track of the clues given. Some wonderfully camp acting and an over the top story at least makes even failed runs entertaining, though a little more help – especially early on – wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Mile 0 is something of a pleasant surprise. The inclusion of Rides makes storytelling and decision-making riveting and fresh, underpinned by an insatiably likeable arcade hook. Mile 0 also boasts a greater focus on characters and relationships than the original, helped along by a pleasantly bite-sized price tag. The big dinger though, is that Rides can feel too on-rails for its own good despite its novel use in storytelling and decision-making. Mile 0 also fails to transmit the fervour of Rides to the rest of the experience-this despite some flashes of playful subversiveness and youthful hijinks present throughout. Ultimately Mile 0 can be softly recommended for what it does offer, but it is a lightweight entrée more than a transcendent main course-this one’s lacking the protein and bulk required to truly satisfy over the long haul.

Saga of Sins is an action platformer with some nostalgic tones of some of the old Disney platformers on the 16-bit consoles. The sinister vibe of the story is amplified but the interesting stained glass window graphics. The gameplay is alright but nothing too memorable apart from some tricky boss fights. The voice acting although commendable needed some work and the accents and tone used kill the game’s vibe at times.

DC’s Justice League Cosmic Chaos was surprisingly a game I enjoyed and wanted to play repeatedly. I was going through a very big gaming funk, not knowing what to play, and jumping between games, which could hold my attention span for long. Then I started playing DCJLCC and was slowly sucked into a fun world, with many things to do. If I was bored playing the main storyline, I could farm some shells and coins to upgrade my superhero, find a dungeon, find some gadgets, even explore Happy Harbour, and find comic books hidden around the land to unlock my favourite superhero costume.

The top tier remakes continue to come from Capcom, with Resident Evil 4 taking a beloved classic and modernising it in all the right ways. A couple of small niggles aside, this will go down as one of the greatest games this year, if not this generation.

Backbeat is a Sokoban like puzzle game with a heavy focus on building a funky 90’s band. It looks and sounds great but it is not shy to lay on the mechanics in a hot and heavy manner. It definitely got the best of me but puzzle fans should give it a look.

Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is glorious to look at with an endearingly oddball approach to character design. A combat system that rewards and a story that goes deeper than the ornery main character suggests.

The Legend of Tianding is a solid beat ’em up that offers a unique twist by allowing you to collect stackable buffs, making it a great way for you to customize their experience. The platforming and combat mechanics are superb, and fun. Overall, if you enjoy beat ’em up games, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Deceive Inc. is a title that gamers haven’t seen in a while. Fresh off launch there are improvements that of course can be made but I’m willing to go on a stakeout to wait and see what happens with the title.

WWE 2K23 is worth the pickup for any hardcore or casual fan of the wrestling franchise. Is it something that you’ll play for weeks on end? Maybe for about a month or two sure. Burnout is definitely there if you don’t let your imagination flow. WWE 2K23 is one giant wrestling sandbox waiting for you to jump in. You won’t be disappointed in what you get yourself into.

Blood Bowl III has nothing here to recommend it for newcomers or veterans of the board game when there is a more complete package available in its predecessor.

A short and sweet puzzler that wows with its aesthetic while keeping us entertained with some simple but effective challenges. It’s all over a bit too soon, but don’t let that put you off checking it out.

Zombie Derby: Pixel Survival is a fun in short bursts, though any longer and the simple fact we’re just grinding to progress rather than using much in the way of skill means it likely won’t live long on the SSD.