I promise you, I dub the We Were Here games a "Friendship Test" for a reason. You’re going to be amazed how difficult it is to describe odd shapes and what you see, or flabbergasted at how poorly your friend is unable to do so. While our first playthrough was an hour and a half, I can see us playing once more to try and get those coveted gold tickets by improving our scores. We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip acts as a taste test to the series, but is its own standalone experience, and since it’s currently free, make sure you and a friend download it to see how good your communication truly us and if you'll remain best mateys.

Signs of the Sojourner is a really unique and fascinating way to approach dialogue in gaming. While some may see the gameplay as simplistic card placement, there’s an underlying reasoning for your card choices. It’s simplistic to understand the card game mechanics but will take some dedication to not only master its deeper intricacies, though it will require multiple playthroughs to see everything Signs of the Sojourner has to offer. Regardless if you aren’t generally into narrative heavy games or even card based ones, Signs of the Sojourner is a really unique experience that I’m glad to have had.

While the tutorials for a lot of the mechanics are lacking or not explained well, with enough time, I went from not really enjoying myself to having to do just ‘one more run’ for a specific upgrade. Once you’ve wrapped your head around all of what’s possible and how to craft, it goes from being a confusing and frustrating grind to being a fun yet repetitive shooter. While it does become tedious at times, Wizard with a Gun starts to really shine once you learn of its elemental intricacies.

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.

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.

I loved the graphics of this game, the cars were flashy and the maps were enormous. Landmarks were right on and transitions from one area to the next were seamless.

PHOGS! puts a smile on your face, is utterly weird yet charming, and unique. Give a two headed dog a bone, or two, and download PHOGS! on GamePass if you’re looking for a unique puzzler that is simple yet entertaining.

This title is already very popular on Live, but the patch would make it 10x more enjoyable.

A very easy game to recommend. I didn’t know what to expect from it when I first started playing, but it wasn’t long before I fell in love with it and found myself ardently exploring the ins and outs of every one of its themed locations.

All in all, IMMORTALS FENYX RISING surpassed my expectations. It was a fun and beautiful game, full of exploration, puzzles, combat and humour. Despite being left with wanting more from the combat in the game, I could not stop playing it. Between the humour and the sheer delightfulness of Fenyx, I was captivated and found myself wanting to continue exploring and playing its world more. In the end, it is a game that I can wholeheartedly recommend if you are looking for something new to play this year.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Fable 3's imaginative and engrossing plot (and subsequent twists) along with its revised gameplay and core mechanics, as a whole package I simply didn't feel it was an epic in tale or scale that Fable 2 showed us.

The Flying Wild Hogs team brings stylish hard action in Trek to Yomi and it’s a very fun game to play through for the story and art style. You will be challenged more than a few times throughout the four-to-five-hour story, and in the end you will feel accomplished by beating it. It has its frustrating times, times that I had to set my controller down and walk away, but I always wanted to go back for more and retry the scene to move forward. It launches into Gamepass, so you really have no reason not to give it a try. I am confident you’ll like it.

Cave knows what it does and does it well. Fans won't be disappointed and if you want a hair-pulling challenge and can actually fathom what's happening on the screen in these bullet-hell shooters, you'll feel right at home.

So, even though Riddled Corpses EX seems like a shallow game, the replay value is off the charts and not seen in some big AAA titles that we pay $60+ for today. COWCAT has created a game that is so addictive it should almost be considered a controlled substance and that, for such an indie title, is something almost never seen in the gaming industry.

All in all, SNK PLAYMORE has more than fulfilled expectations of what would be expected from this series.

Hell Pie is absolutely over the top with attempting to be purposely obscene and gross, and it succeeds at doing so. While its core gameplay as a 3D platformer is worth the play alone, your enjoyment will lie in how adolescent your sense of humor is. I’m a twelve year old at heart, so of course I laugh at farts, fighting Nazi turds and other taboo topics. While the shock value wears off in the later half, thankfully Hell Pie can fall back on its solid platforming gameplay, simply being a fun game at its core. If you need a cheap laugh and want to just have some fun, Hell Pie is the disgusting and obscene game you might have been looking for.

Everhood: Eternity Edition isn’t just a mere port, it adds a whole new slew of songs for veterans to enjoy as well. The addictive rhythmic gameplay is tough but fair and elevated by the fantastic soundtrack for anyone that loves good beats and chiptunes. The story does take some unexpected dark twists, but it was surely a memorable ride. I’ve never taken any drugs in my life, but I can only expect this is what it might look like if I did. Already a cult hit, I hope more experience the unique weirdness of Everhood that had previously not heard of it, much like myself, as I now anticipate its announced sequel.

Stay Out of the House has some great suspense and I was constantly looking over my shoulder and listening for my captor nearby. Full of jumpscares, they don’t feel cheap, and the atmosphere feels like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in video game form. Like a great B-movie or slasher flick, Stay Out of the House might be a future cult classic if you’re into retro PS1 graphics and tons of blood and gore.

While the PC version came out in 2016, Stellaris: Console Edition delivers one of the most amazing individual experiences to be found on the Xbox One to date. Full customization and so much content that you will easily wonder where the last two weeks of your life went. Stellaris is a game that allows you to become a benevolent leader, interstellar overlord and everything in between, and tailors a graphically beautiful real time strategy experience that shouldn't be missed.

Kombinera is pure retro magic, undeniably Atari, and every bit feeling like the games of my ‘good old days’. Bright colours on black and white backgrounds, the classic retro music, I instantly felt like I was back playing the old school games of the 80's with my little brother. The difficulty was not consistent however, and at times really frustrating. The controls often felt too ‘floaty’ when they really needed crisp reaction to navigate some of the puzzle levels. I’ve often heard the term ‘rage platformer’ used for some old school games, and I think Kombinera could absolutely fit the bill. If you like puzzles and platformers, and don’t mind a bit of frustration while working towards your rewards, pick up this retro feeling gem.

Boasting the largest collection of Marvel heroes and villains in one title, Marvel Ultimate Alliance is a terrific game for the die-hard fan of Marvel comics.

They did great on the multiplayer but could of put a bit more time into making it work more than it does.

Although there were a few things that I think could make the game a much better experience, mostly more checkpoints for myself, the beautiful art style and surreal feeling while playing really make this a game I have no problem recommending for people to check out. It may not be a very long game but I enjoyed my time immensely. The ocean will always be mysterious, alluring and you never really know what may lie below. I hope we see more games like this in the future.

Is the game perfect? No, not by a long shot, but after a few hours of learning how to do everything like creating my own spells and chaining my combat moves together, I really started to have fun with it.

While there’s a plethora of technical issues, I’m hoping these will eventually get fixed, as aside from the bugs, Blacksad is very well written, contains a ton of twists and turns and takes place in a fantastic 50’s noir backdrop. I admit, Blacksad is generally more interesting because of its anthropomorphic characters, but it surprisingly doesn’t feel out of place or odd once you get sucked into its dark world.

There’s a timer in races and you have to meet all the checkpoints in time so you don’t retire early. This gets quite frustrating whenever you don’t get there in time, and the whole timer aspect shouldn’t belong in motorcycle racing games period.

Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 3 adds a few new features this time around, though none make it feel like a drastically different game from the previous year(s). While it may just feel like another lap around the track, it is a slightly smoother go this time around.

Visually, you’ll be repeatedly awed while you’re playing by some of the vistas the game shows off. From a gameplay standpoint, all of the mechanics are sound and solid, ships behave predictably and will obviously slow down when you’re trying to sail into the wind, and your guns and swords kill enemies as long as you use them right. The in-depth content might not be there quite yet, but if you give it a month or two, given what Rare has said about further content, you may very well be pleasantly surprised on that front too.