I’m afraid that Prince of Persia fits right in that group of games like Mirror’s Edge and Dead Space where they’re really good games whose only shortcomings are that they’re moderate length single player games.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is an absolutely beautiful game, not just in its visuals, but also the audio and Senua’s actual journey from the original game to what she’s become in this sequel. There’s a famous quote stating video games can’t be art; I’d argue that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II proves this inaccurate. Artistry across different senses and technology come together to craft an amazing and meaningful tale worth experiencing. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a linear narrative driven action game that is unique, intense and incredibly immersive. With a focus on mental health and illness, there’s nothing quite like Hellblade II, a visual and audio experience unlike anything we’ve experience before, raising the bar of what ‘next-gen’ should mean. Once again, a Hellblade game is going to be in my GOTY contention.

Island Thunder offers an experience much different to the gun blazing rampage games out there such as Unreal, Mech Assault and many other shooting games. It offers a fairly realistic wartime experience to people without all the inconveniences of bullet wounds, battle fatigue syndrome and death.

The light-hearted narrative and the way the background is created to look and feel like a storybook all give Trine 5 a delightful cozy feel. It’s gorgeous and there is something about the aesthetic that caught my eye immediately, even though I had never played any of the previous Trine games. It is a gorgeous and charming puzzle platformer and I think most people would find something for them to enjoy in the gameplay. The easiest difficulty level makes for a very chill experience when playing. I’d recommend taking this trio of heroes on an adventure soon.

It is a very well put together game, from the reimagined single-player campaign, the 'hard-as-nails' cooperative mode (spec-ops) to the addictive and refined PvP with crossplay, no loot boxes, and an upcoming battle pass.

My overall opinion is really just asking myself why I didn't play the MLB The Show franchise more throughout the years. I can only imagine what kind of difference has been made with each iteration. This year for sure has made me a new fan, and I plan to continue to check out the franchise as the years go on. I found I want to log in every day to see what new cards I was getting and to see if I could improve my skills more and more, and they have. I will definitely play this homerun more throughout the year.

nothing short of an innovative homage to a classic masterpiece that is simply enjoyable gaming. With more innovation in this $4.99 release than we have ever seen, Hipster Whale has seemingly reinvented the wheel and we couldn't be happier about it.

If you loved the original Tales of Vesperia on the Xbox 360 and want to experience it again, this is obviously a no-brainer, as you’re given new content on top of a shiny new coat of HD paint. It may be pricey for a ‘Definitive Edition’, but the added content does boost its value to make it worth experiencing. If you want a great JRPG that you may have missed last generation, then Tales of Vesperia should be high on your list if you’re looking for a new game to dump 50+ hours into, as long as you can handle a dialogue and cutscene heavy experience.

Undoubtedly, this Darksiders remastered game is most likely the best $19.99 you can spend on the Xbox One at this moment as you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of a game that is solid all around.

Graphics and sound are absolutely the strong points in Ace Combat 6.

There's a lot to like about Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, a humorous storyline, beautiful graphics, and gameplay control that is solid as a rock. Without a doubt, this game checks many of the boxes that make up a phenomenal platformer, but while it checks many of them, it doesn't check them all. For instance, there are familiar faces that you'll encounter throughout your journey, but there aren't as many new experiences as I had hoped there would be.

WRC 10 is absolutely amazing! The biggest downside is the learning curve, but the effort is well worth it when you take the time to master its handling. You can choose your tires and their position to suit the track and or your driving style and well as choose between auto and custom settings of the braking, suspension and other fine tuning. The amount of customization that is available for the player makes WRC 10 easy to get into regardless of your skill. Now we just need the ability to use a steering wheel instead of a controller and this would be an even better simulator.

They do have some patchwork to do as far as menu interface and Lobby environment go, but as a friend remarked to me recently, "we don't buy games for their interface, we buy them for their gameplay", and gameplay is where Ubisoft's talents have shined brightest.

Indie games often get overshadowed by their much larger and longer counterparts, but sometimes a solid indie title is just what you need to shake up your gaming experience. While it may not be an exceptionally long game, Shady Part of Me is worth the time playing it through. It has interesting gameplay and a beautiful aesthetic that surrounds what is a pretty somber story. In a game that revolves around themes of darkness, sadness, uncertainty and fear, one quote from the game was a bright spot for me: “Hand in hand, we break free from this nether. Step by step, we will rise together”.

It’s rare that a game finds a way to fully explore the weight is choices and consequences, and even more so to find a debut game to that. Lacuna does a fantastic job in that regard. Coming in at around 4-5 hours for a playthrough, it is well paced, doesn’t have a lot of filler and keeps the story front and centre. Take it from this dame; it doesn’t take a gumshoe to tell you to investigate this narrative driven noir game and not let this prime suspect slip through your fingers.

While it's true that there are a lot of similarities to be seen between Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Revelations, that doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing. Assassin's Creed Revelations delivers on a lot of great qualities that has made the series a success and innovates and evolves what was good into great.

THQ has really listened to what fans have wanted and made WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 the best in the series yet and have really embraced their tag line “ It’s your world now”

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started playing Neurovoider, and even though I died and had to restart many times, I never once became frustrated, always wanting to get in 'one-more-go' in the hopes of finding better loot. At the end of the day this is an awesome game for anyone that likes the mashup of the genres. Neurovoider is a challenging and gorgeous game that has addictive gameplay and an even better soundtrack.

The story of Lost Words manages to be both sad and beautiful at the same time. Having been written in part by Rhianna Pratchett (daughter of Sir Terry Pratchett), the game excels at taking you through the grieving process in a safe and comfortable way that may help prepare some for when they inevitably have to experience it for themselves. I highly recommend taking the time to check out this moving game, but please bring your tissues.

Honestly speaking, if you are a fan of golf or the Tiger series than this game should most definitely be in your library. Do yourself a favor and go check it out.

DSF is all about driving and that's a good thing as it's not trying to be a GTA game in any aspect.

For as much as I enjoyed Trine 4, it felt very crowded when it came to mechanics and having to utilize certain abilities and combinations. Yes, you’re introduced to them gradually, but it’s a lot to take in and remember. I don’t think anyone would be saddened if the combat sections were cut, but I understand why narratively they’re included. While I may have missed the boat on the first few Trine games, I certainly won’t from this point forward; you have a new fan.

Once I played the multiplayer mode, Overcooked truly surprised me. This can easily be one of the main multiplayer games any gamer will pull out when they have friends over, as it’s very simple to learn and will have everyone laughing when barking orders at one another. It’s got a unique concept, great gameplay, and almost anyone can enjoy its simple premise. If you don’t have anyone to play with though it’s going to be a frustrating and dull experience, but if you can get even a single person to play with you, Overcooked will have you coming back for one more order.

Overall this is a great game for fun with the buddies. Trying to out trick, out dunk, out dribble will definitely appeal to you. This is a fun game to play and is not for the serious sports enthusiast.

You’re not in control of anything in Virginia, and once you come to accept that, it’s a completely different experience. It’s not going to appeal to many, but for those of you that might understand it, you will find something truly unique that sticks with you long after the credits roll.

If you enjoyed Jackie's first outing, you'll enjoy it once again here, albeit a short return back into hell.

I honestly expected Windjammers 2 to be quite a simple and bland experience, but there’s some depth to its gameplay for only using a couple of buttons. If you missed out on the original Windjammers, don’t sleep on this sequel. It may seem like an odd mashup of sports, but it works and becomes quite addicting once you become a badass Windjammer.

There is just so much to talk about, and really more worth experiencing than just reading about. Upgraded graphics with really impressive hair and skin, the ability to download the app to scan your face and put yourself into the game, and even the real contest, there's simply a massive amount of things to do. Make sure you also check out the shoe creator, which lets you design your own kicks and for your created player, give power-ups to give you that on-court advantage you have always wanted, and I absolutely love it. Definitely give NBA 2K23 a chance. Yes, the controls can be hard to learn but if you practice and work at it and do the drills, just like in real-life ball, you too can show you have what it takes to make it in the NBA.