If you’re a fan of the tower defense genre you’ll no doubt enjoy your time with this game, testing out the upgrades, working on optional objectives and fighting bosses that break up the monotony. Even though fatigue may eventually come quickly for casual fans of the genre, and the difficulty can spike quickly, kudos to EXOR Studios for creating a different tower defense X-Perience.

Even though there are only 5 missions, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 does a wonderful job highlighting the actual mechanics of what it takes to be a sniper when it comes to planning your shots. Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts 2 takes a lot of what was fantastic of the original game and improves upon it in many ways. A graphically beautiful sandbox game that blends strategy and gameplay into an incredible tactical experience and a realistic firing mechanism that immerses you into a real-world situation. This game does have its faults and shortcomings, and yes, sadly it has a lot of them, but that didn't stop Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts 2 from finding the target even if it wasn't a bullseye.

In all, Greed Corp is very different from typical strategy but a lot of fun - it feels like a really good tabletop board game and is easy to play, and is well put together.

I’ll admit, I learned a substantial amount about the world of trains and locomotives thanks to Train Sim World 3, and while non-fans might not see the enjoyment of running a train for over an hour getting from point A to B, I oddly become quite addicted to the relaxing enjoyment it brought. Veterans are sure to be excited about all of the authentic content, though due to its niche audience, casual or new fans might find it difficult to understand at first.

Overall, Midway has put out a solid wrestling product that should compete with its rival very well.

From its opening moments, to the credits and everywhere in between, the humor The Last Hero of Nostalgaia brings is surely part of its focus, bringing a more lighthearted approach to a Soulslike. Nearly every item description has some humor, even to the achievements, all topped off with plenty of fan service and gaming references you’re sure to recognize. Sure the humor wears a little thin the latter half, but fans should enjoy this different take on their favorite genre.

While I can’t recommend Jurassic World Evolution 2 based on it being a park management sim, its real draw are the dinosaurs which are undeniably intriguing and captivating. The large variety of them kept me looking for more species to unlock through expeditions and gene splicing. The Chaos Mode was enjoyable as a fan of the Jurassic Park movies with ‘What If’ type scenarios, but Sandbox mode left me wanting more from the game. I would say this was more geared to fans of the Jurassic Park movies as opposed to fans of park management sims, and there are much better ones out there. For fans of the movies and dinosaurs, you’d be hard pressed to find a game more in line with the franchise.

The animation was a blocky pixel style and played well into the family-friendly chilled aesthetic. The music was lovely and in keeping with the simplistic style of the game. Most lifestyle sim games have a certain feel to them, and Alchemy Garden is no different. Although Alchemy Garden has some rough edges, and could really use some accessibility options added to it, it’s a delightful and cozy lifestyle sim, and I will likely continue to dabble with it, creating potions and gardening, for some time.

If you try the demo, and you're having fun it's worth playing through it, just realize the game isn't going to give you much more than that outside the story, its just more of the same.

Overall, I have to say that for $14.99, Fernz Gate delivers a quality retro RPG experience that shouldn't be missed by fans of the genre. While it may seem a bit shallow at first, Fernz Gate offers a wealth of bounty should you have the time to investigate its depths and acquire it. While you're doing that however, get ready for an fairly amazing experience that will take you straight back into the glory days of quality RPG gaming.

Your enjoyment will surely depend on your resilience to frustration when it comes to dying over and over again, and while I would at times border on rage from having to do a certain section dozens of times, finally completing that section or boss was exciting and felt incredibly rewarding. Completing Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril, even on Very Easy, was quite a challenge, and I can’t fathom Unfair where you get one hit and life, but the challenge is there should you desire. While not as polished as some of the greats of the genre, Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril was an exciting yet infuriating time down 8-Bit nostalgia lane.

As an indie bullet hell title, Ghost Blade HD was a fun little title I sunk a few hours into. Once I learned all of the mechanics it utilizes I had a lot of fun with it, as should you, regardless if you’re a casual or hardcore fan of the genre. Is it going to sit amongst the legends in the genre? No, but for the price of admission, shmup fans like myself should have fun trying to climb the global leaderboards trying to prove their shmup prowess amongst the community.

With the amount of content provided and the increased audio and video fidelity upgrades, Shattered Remastered Deluxe will provide you with some of the best quality brick breaking action you will ever play. Challenging, rewarding and always entertaining, PikPok did a fantastic job remastering this game and it's definitely one that should be strongly considered given the quality for the price.

I was surprised that Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed was priced at $29.99 USD ($38.99 CAD - currently a sale), expecting a fully priced game. This is basically that sweet spot when it comes to value and replayability given its repetitive nature and lack of maps. Nostalgia will certainly be the main reason many pick it up, but without any friends to bust ghosts alongside with, I’d question its longevity.

As a game, there’s no real mechanics here aside from choosing between multiple options and selecting them with the ‘A’ button. So, while it may not be interesting in its gameplay, that’s not what it’s setting out to do. Late Shift is attempting to blend two mediums together, something I think they did well, making certain decisions weigh heavily on your conscience, unaware of the ramifications later on. You’ll need to commit some time to see all of what Late Shift has to offer, but finding a new branch to the storyline is exciting, and I’m still trying to find a few of the different endings. It's a game experience where your decisions are yours alone to make. Your decisions are you.

With four separate factions, each with two campaigns, there’s a ton of content here to keep you busy for quite some time, and that’s not even factoring in the multiplayer skirmishes as well. It may not be the most robust RTS out there, but it’s a great console RTS that vets and newcomers alike should enjoy. Plus, who doesn’t like Vikings?

Double Kick Heroes a very fun add to the Game Pass library and it’s a blast to play with friends passing the controller back and forth while sipping on a few adult beverages. The soundtrack slaps and the story and dialog don’t get in the way while you’re trying to just chill and have a good time. Double Kick Heroes knows what it is, and it does it pretty well.

Overall, I have really enjoyed the overall challenge and experience of playing Vangante. With the ever-changing levels I often have felt frustrated every time I die and have to restart from scratch again, but the bonus is that you earn XP and level up each time, slowly making overall progress. So while you may feel like it's one step forward and two back, there is a great sense of accomplishment as you progress, even if it's quite slow at times. Vagante will be on my recommendation list to anyone who loves a good challenge and enjoys the fact that no two runs are the same.

Ship of Fools is a game full of rough battles and tough decisions. I firmly believe it should be played with a friend, and I totally lost count of how many times we thought a run was ‘the one’. Ultimately how much fun you have with Ship of Fools comes down to if you have someone to play with. Solo was fine, but co-op was a blast. I can see myself grabbing my first mate and heading out again on our very own Ship of Fools.

While I enjoyed my time with Howard, unravelling the case before me, I’ll admit, it won me over early on simply for being based in my home town. Seeing a familiar yet strange version of my city was exciting, and while most won’t have the same connection, that’s what drew me to Backbone initially. While some might question the latter half of the narrative, I’m still glad to have experienced it, and since it’s currently available on Game Pass, you can do so too with little barriers.

While not without its list of issues, the length of Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Definitive Edition is deceptively long, the voice acting is quite well done, the dialogue is written well and the world has more than enough lore to get lost in. While its console port could have used a little more care and work, it’s still a great gaming experience if you crave those classic cRPG’s from the late 90’s – early 2000’s and want a classic D&D-like experience.

Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide, although not perfect as it has some issues, still manages to bring about a fresh and deeper evolution of the Left 4 Dead gameplay formula making for a somewhat enjoyable gaming experience.

ClusterTrack is very aptly named. At times it truly is a complete cluster &$%@, but in a good way! It’s a chaotic, yet smartly designed platformer, one of the best I’ve played it quite some time.

Even with its minor issues and lengthy grind it still made the cut.

If you see this title being offered around the 400 Microsoft point range, give it a try; if only to battle the exploding penguins and evil Lighthouse.

Steep is a beautiful package that unfortunately, once opened, gives you more hassle and trouble than you may imagine.

MechWarrior 5: Clans is a solid mech game that does have a lot of drawbacks. Yes, the story isn't the best, and yes the graphics outside of the cinematic characters leave a lot to be desired, and the sound outside of the weaponry should all be removed... But despite all of that going against it, I have to say that MechWarrior 5: Clans is a fairly enjoyable experience if you're into the genre. While priced now at $49.99, I can say that you should save your money and pick this up when it's on sale. There is a lot of room for growth with this game, and hopefully with some upgrades of its own and some fine tuning, this can become a truly sensational mech experience.

I actually enjoyed Cuisineer more than I thought I would. Once I got a few upgrades and didn’t have to come running back to town after filling my bags in ten minutes, I started to enjoy it much more. Having a fridge full of ingredients meant I could run my restaurant all day and make some good coin. There’s certainly some pacing issues, an endgame grind, and could use much better tutorials, but playing casually, running a dungeon or serving patrons here and there is quite enjoyable and relaxing.