While it won’t be as iconic as its Castlevania or Ghouls 'n Ghosts influences, Heidelberg 1693 is sure to scratch that itch for those yearning for a similar title. Boss battles are large and the highlight of the experience, though infrequent between the random and challenging difficulty spikes.

In terms of a recommendation, I feel like if you like beat-em-up games already, it's an easy sell, and bonus points if you like the retro genre. Even those who aren’t huge fans of retro, I feel if they give Terror of Hemasaurus a chance would like it too. If you like the same thing over and over again with a simple premise of destroying everything, Terror of Hemasaurus is your game. The sound, the graphics and the overall gameplay has me hooked and I just want to destroy everything in my path. If you'll excuse me, I need to take out that helicopter and smash a skyscraper because I can.

There is something old fashioned about Evil West, in many ways. It’s linear narrative, brutal combat and simple dialogue - all remind me of the Xbox 360 era, and this isn’t a bad thing by any means. Sometimes you don’t need all the best graphics, or an open world with a million tasks and quests, because sometimes you just want to beat bad guys up. Evil West gave me that, and cowboys and vampires too.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord feels excellent in most cases, like whacking someone off their horse with a spear, or getting that perfect hit on an enemy in battles. The map is far more varied from the first game and they improved on a lot of mechanics in this sequel as well. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord was shallow in some ways, and sometimes has annoyingly hidden game mechanics, but kept me coming back for how unique it felt from its freedom of choice.

Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is everything we have all dreamed about. It plays on the classic game system with a true to the era difficulty, graphics, and sounds. The control system makes this possibly one of the best 8-bit games out there and I absolutely loved this trip down memory lane when I used to purchase GPK cards as a kid, complete with stick of stale and hard gum.

While I’d categorize Firefighting Simulator - The Squad more of a simcade than a pure simulator, it does have some enjoyment to it regardless of its many shortcomings. Even though it has a lot of ‘jank’, I found myself trying to do just one more mission until the late hours of the night. Aside from playing alongside from friends though, there’s not much longevity here, as the gameplay loop doesn’t change from start to finish. On a half-off sale I could recommend Firefighting Simulator - The Squad for a few hours of entertainment, but at full price (currently $38.99 CAD), it’s a bit too pricey for what it offers.

Although the lighting, the UI and the font were deal breakers for me, Castle Renovators is still a solid renovation game. It’s got some bugs, some imperfections and some things that may irritate a well seasoned gamer who knows their way around a renovation simulation game or two. In terms of a recommendation, I’d play Castle Renovators if they fixed the lighting issue indefinitely and tweaked the UI to make it a little less messy. Other than that, I think I gotta tell grandpa I’ll politely pass on the kingdom offer.

If you’ve been looking for a Diablo or Path of Exile alternative, you want to check this one out. Don’t let the Warhammer 40K setting steer you away, as even a very casual fan myself, I found myself addicted to the ARPG gameplay. There’s a ton of content included, and while it does a poor job of slowly introducing each element or teaching you a lot of things, there’s a surprising amount of entertainment to be had regardless of your playstyle or class choices.

I had some fun with Police Simulator at first, but the bugs and glitches really hurt the experience. It’s fun enough running around for an hour or so issuing tickets for parking, littering, drinking in public and jaywalking, but when you really have to interact with the AI the game really breaks down. Having the game mechanics of investigations, arresting and calling for backup completely fail due to poor AI is really disappointing. There’s a decent core game here, but it trips over its own feet too much that it can be really frustrating to play at times. There is some fun to be had causing havoc and seeing what you can get away with before your shift is forcefully ended, but after an hour or so of that the novelty wears off and you’re left with getting back to work.

In terms of my recommendation, Ship Graveyard Simulator isn't a title that you need to drop whatever you’re doing, clean off your schedule and buy right away. If you want to take a chance and you are highly invested in the simulation or renovation genre, then you may enjoy this whole heartedly, even with its lack of engagement. If you are the type of person that expects to be engaged and want to play a title for hours and hours on end, Ship Graveyard Simulator is then hard to recommend. For myself, I’m already yawning, I’m going to go down for a nap. Wake me up when the music comes back on and I can salvage more materials.

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.

McPixel 3 isn’t for everyone. It’s crude but it gave me the kind of unexpected laughs that I haven’t had since moments playing the most recent South Park game. If you want something to have a few laughs, and not take seriously, I think you’ll like it. If you like crude humour, you’ll love it.

As for a recommendation, I can’t give you one as I wouldn’t buy Animal Shelter Simulator after experiencing it. I would give it another try if they worked on the user experience more, fixed the bugs and seemingly big glitches that make it unplayable. I feel like they missed the mark on this one and it’s disappointing. This concept I could see gamers of all ages enjoying, and I personally love this genre for their relaxed vibes. I was looking forward to matching animals with people, sending them off to their new homes and expanding my shelter to be a mega shelter, but I think I’m going to lock this one up and move on with my next venture.

With over twenty supported languages and a genuinely interesting story if you take the time to find and read the notes strewn about the estate, Charon’s Staircase impressed me most with its great as a whole, and the fact it was created by so few people. While Desmond searches for this mysterious staircase there’s a great foreboding atmosphere you explore, even if there’s no tension or actual danger within its Oack Grove estates' walls, leaving you frustrated with its obtuse puzzles.

The design choice to not have any character progression is an interesting choice that I’m not sure if it’s paid off or not. While it is a unique way to force players to play more strategically, you unlock all the characters quite quickly, and from that point on there’s no more variety really, as I simply stuck with the same 5 characters basically every battle. The current asking price of $29.99 CAD feels a little steep given the brief Story Mode and lack of any character progression, but those looking for a more streamlined TRPG might enjoy the forced strategic play, even if there’s not much variety overall.

Let’s talk business. If you’re someone who loves the Let’s Sing series, you will more than likely love Let’s Sing 2023. If you love to sing but don’t care about the song list or adding onto your library by paying for it, then you will probably like it as well. But the biggest obstacle of Let’s Sing 2023 may be the song list, as it's very subjective on your personal musical tastes. There’s only so many times you can sing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” before the song loses its charm and drives you, your parents or spouse literally insane. I can’t see myself picking up my microphone again and playing Let’s Sing 2023 several times in a week, though I may play this with a bunch of friends or family once in a while when we get together. For now, I’m making my final encore.

While more tricks and options would have made Tanuki Sunset more enjoyable, if you’re looking for something chill to occupy your time, or as a palate cleanser between games, I’d recommend this indie title, even just for the soundtrack.

Gunfire Reborn was fun to play alone, but it shined when I was playing with someone, almost as if it really was meant to be played alongside with a friend. Gunfire Reborn shines in some aspects, and not so much in others, but it is definitely worth a try if you have Xbox Game Pass, especially if you can get someone else to join you. It may not be game changing, but with smooth satisfying gunplay and an expansive build system, there is a lot to explore in Gunfire Reborn.

What starts out as a legitimately interesting story turns into something completely else by the time the credits roll. The whole jaunt with Lazarus will last about 3 to 4 hours, as anything more would have worn out its welcome, and I’m not sure how much more of the voice acting I would be able to tolerate. Certainly a unique game and setting, what’s most important is that yes, you can pet the cat.

For how clunky the overall experience is, I will admit there’s plenty of replay value if you can ignore all of its shortcomings, issues and suffer through Silver's delivery. While some might not being locked into their choices permanently, it makes you deal with the consequences of your actions, also a clever way to force multiple playthroughs if you want to experience everything The Last Oricru has to offer and I did enjoy going with my gut reaction rather than seeing a ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ option. Unless you’re a massive Soulslike fan looking for a new game to stream or master, it’s hard to recommend joining the Ratvolution.

Overall, Them’s Fightin’ Herds has a lot of dialogue to read, cool soundtracks, wicked action adventure and My Little Pony went badass kind of feel to it. The controls are easy to figure out for the most part but the amount of dialogue to read was a bit of a downside. While there was only one episode available to play at this time of this review, I look forward to continuing the adventure in the future.

There is clearly a lot of love and attention to detail involved here. I think if you are a fan of craft beer, if brewing interests you, or you are into simulation style games, you should check out Brewmaster to see if its flavour profile matches with your tastes.

Having a robust online leaderboard that separates every mode and ship is welcome, providing plenty of replay value if you want to top the numerous high scores online. Having nailed the classic 90’s style, gameplay and aesthetic, Sophstar is a decent shump overall, and although it doesn’t reach the heights of an Ikaruga, it’s certainly worth your time if you’re a shmup fan.

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.

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.

New Tales from the Borderlands is absolutely heartbreaking to play and experience. I went in with a hope and optimistic belief of a good quality, story based Borderlands experience. Sadly what I got in return was a 'woke' story devoid of character development, emotional investment or any drive to really connect to a player through the Borderlands environment. As of this writing though, I'm trying to decide which is the greatest loss, that it was released, or the game that could have been that never will be. If you're looking for a quality story experience then go with the Telltale games instead. When you limit the player interactions and focus on the story, you take a big risk, and sadly this is a risk that didn't pay off for Gearbox and certainly didn't pay off for fans of the Borderland experience.

I started playing Pentiment wondering what I had gotten myself into. The first hour was slow, a lot of reading, and a lot of religion. But once I got into it, I couldn’t stop playing. Utterly addictive like a novel I couldn’t put down. Pentiment was a highlight of my year, and one of the best games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. Covering an abundance of topics, including losing people before their time, and loss of a child, there are many options to create great discussions if you want to talk about this game with others. I look forward to talking to my friends after they’ve had a chance to experience it. It’s not perfect, I don’t think any game is, but about as perfect as you’ll find. This game will likely divide players, but those who enjoy narrative driven stories, historical settings and perhaps even a murder mystery will surely find something to love. Pentiment is a perfect jaunt through an imperfect part of history.

You’ll get what you put into Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Those that can dedicate well over a hundred hours will surely get a deep and lore rich adventure with plenty of replayability. That is, if you can get over the sheer overwhelmingness of it all in the beginning or don’t feel guilty playing on a lower difficulty. Having gone into the experience without any expectations, I’m glad to have had this adventure even if it did take a dozen hours to start to really understand how I wanted to do so well.