Leap is the very definition of a mid-tier game, not bad, not great – a few iterations from finding itself and its audience.

JoJo Siwa: Worldwide Party is an auto-runner platforming game where you will be running, ducking, and bashing your way through obstacles to eventually make it to the big concert. The game doesn’t provide enough variety in my opinion and the limited gameplay they do have can be improved (re: timing). Granted, I doubt I’m the target audience so I asked my young daughters and they were more impressed than I so check out the video and decide for yourself!

Pinball FX brings virtual pinball action back to our consoles with this brand new iteration of the game. While it doesn’t feel great that previously bought tables don’t transfer to this game, it’s a great starting point for new players and there are options for returning. The premium pass is a good idea as a way to experience most of the tables that Pinball FX has to offer if you are okay not owning the tables once the subscription is up. Otherwise I’m happy with what I’ve played. It’s been fun to get a few rounds in each day and tackle the events to experience tables I otherwise might skip over. Worth the price of entry at free, but the microtransactions are a deterrent for some.

Disjointed is the lingering feeling once all is set and done with Atomic Heart. The articulate opening and the immense effort made to craft an absorbing alternate-history World War II Russia is certainly appreciable and admirable. Dishearteningly though, the FPS experience is weighed down by an awful lot of busywork and obnoxiously annoying characters that it’s hard to feel wholly immersed. As an FPS it certainly has some aplomb going for it, but it gets lost in the shades of comparison with greater games. If Atomic Heart was able to carry the brilliance of its opening twenty minutes it would be an excellent game, but sadly we’re stuck with an entertaining enough but bland and by the numbers shooter.

While a few tweaks could have seen it reach the next level, what we get within Scars Above is a fun, challenging adventure that we could quite happily have seen stretch on for a few more hours above our 11 hour playtime. The use of various offensive elements that can be combined is great, while the gadgets generally are good to use as well. Wrapped up in a world that feels vast without actually being too big, this is a solid title for those looking for a little challenge over the course of a few evenings.

Seven Doors is short but entertaining puzzle title. The fact each puzzle tests us in different ways is a nice touch, although this will impact the difficulty differently for different players. We’d like to see the movement smoothed out a bit, but as it is this is worth a look for those looking for some quick hit puzzling action.

A throwback to the early days of arcade gaming wrapped up in more modern presentation, Akka Arrh is a fun, albeit head-spinning, title.

The pop culture references combined with the solid and unique gameplay are just the ticket for those looking for a fun first-person shooter experience. Some people might not like the pixelated art style, but it works extremely well here. All too often, the retro-inspired shooters that I play feel outdated, just like the games they are emulating, but Fashion Police Squad provides a fresh take on the genre by combining plenty of humor, fun mechanics, and level design variety.

Brimming with ideas and invention Risen embarrasses most modern RPGs, although it shows its age in its infuriating combat. Nevertheless, it is worth playing for those that can look past that.

Overall, if you found yourself a fan of Deliver Us The Moon and wanted more, Deliver Us Mars will no doubt have you feeling thrilled. If you’ve yet to play that however then this is still a perfectly enjoyable title in its own right too, and whilst the opening hour can feel like it’s dragging a little, the story soon picks up and feels compelling enough to get you through to find out just what’s been going on. There are noticeable improvements here too and whilst there is still some stiffness and clunkiness to work around, Deliver Us Mars is a game well worth a look if you want something memorable.

For me, director Paul Raschid’s The Complex is still the ultimate example of the live-action gaming genre, and while Ten Dates didn’t quite grab me as much as that title, it’s still a very decent interactive adventure. More inclusive and with a fuller, more robust cast than Five Dates, fans of Wales’ other titles would do well to check this out.

Less time spent on the needlessly long cutscenes and in-between mission sections, and more on the feel of the combat and we could have had a little gem on our hands. As it is, this only gets a recommendation for those willing to suffer for their entertainment.

Tails: The Backbone Preludes is another stunning title from Eggnut and Raw Fury. Excellent writing and character work, stunning presentation, and multiple paths to explore make this an easy recommendation.

Dead Space is back with a fantastic reimagining of the 2008 original. The game plays just as well as it did before, but now comes with a host of visual, audio, and general gameplay improvements that make it one of the best survival horrors out there. Here’s hoping should we get further iterations they use this as the baseline and steer clear of the issues that plagued the series later on.

This is the most in-depth look into the wizarding world of Harry Potter we’ve ever seen and being able to explore with hours of content to discover, quest, and fight through. Hogwarts Legacy is worth the price point and is a well polished addition to the wizarding world.

Clunky Hero is a beautiful mix of platforming and Metroidvania-like action. The mechanics and controls feel fun to play, and the visual style really suits the style the developers are going for. Add in Monty Python-esque jokes and we’ve got a bit of a winner here.

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.

We Were Here Forever has taken everything about the series we’ve loved so far, and has upped the ante at every turn. Bigger, more intricate puzzles that are incredibly satisfying to solve, and now with cross platform play, there’s even more chance to find a buddy to play with.

Overall, Backfirewall_ is a unique and entertaining game that offers a fresh and original experience. The game’s clever puzzles, diverse app-characters, and numerous collectibles make it an engaging and rewarding game to play. Its humour adds an element of fun and playfulness to the game. If you’re looking for a narrative, adventure, puzzle game that is a bit different from the norm, then Backfirewall_ is a game you won’t want to miss.

One Piece Odyssey is a great game for fans of the series, as it offers a chance to explore the world of One Piece and interact with its characters. The combat system is engaging and the open-world environment allows for a lot of exploration and replayability. However, some players might find the controls a bit clunky, and the pacing of the game can be slow at times.

All in all, we enjoyed our time with Chasing Static. The retro-stylings hooked us in and gave the creepy atmosphere a more unique flavour, while the gameplay and story were good enough to keep us coming back for more. A little more action wouldn’t have gone amiss, but as it is, Chasing Static comes out as something we’d recommend to those looking for something a little different.

While the premise is decent enough, Trenches falls at every hurdle in trying to make a game worth recommending.

Paper Ghost Stories: 7PM is a short tale, though one we enjoyed while it lasted. Here’s hoping we can get some more fleshed out tales in the future.

Swordship is fun in very short bursts but it soon begins to get too repetitive for my tastes.

The joy of Wavetale comes from the exploration and free-flow traversal. The story and combat leave much to be desired and the openness of the water can really slow the flow of the game down. It was a short and slightly above average experience overall, shoutout to the visuals and sick traversal combinations you can sometimes pull off when the environment lets you.

High On Life certainly isn’t an intellectually profound game or a deep and meaningful one (despite a quasi-emotional end-game), it’s just an FPS that wants you to laugh and indulge in silliness for a little while. As long as you jive with the game’s grooves, you will like what High On Life has to offer, but be warned – when you’re playing a game that’s high on its own supply, sometimes it won’t think straight and it’ll leave you yearning for something more.

Andrade games have created a unique 2D homage to the games of yesteryear while adding a fair amount of new ideas and gameplay. The macabre setting is portrayed perfectly with fantastically detailed pixel art. While there are a few questionable choices made in the game’s overall design, anyone who is a fan of old-school 2D action platformers should definitely give this a try, alternatively, if you want to experience an over-the-top, horror-themed 17th-century Europe depicted in fantastic pixel art then Heidelberg 1693 is the game for you.

Reky offers a uniquely styled puzzler title with a deceptive challenge, although at times the interface makes this harder than it should otherwise be.