Dead Static Drive is a pretty, broken game. The poor gameplay mechanics and constant issues with quest progression further drag down what is otherwise a disappointing title.

It’s one of the best multiplayer games of the year, standing toe to toe with the giants in the genre. I’ll see you topside. [Review-In-Progress score = 90]

It may not be the most polished or spectacular racing game on a surface level, but you get used to its jank, as you fill up its immense sandbox with cool things to do – alone or with buddies – there simply is no racing game with such an exhilarating and creative sandbox out there. This in turn makes me forgive some of its oddities and problems. If the community lives up to the game’s lofty ambitions, we might have quite the game on our hands. I will surely revisit Wreckreation after launch, as I’m very curious to see how it evolves from here. [Review in progress/ Provisional Score = 80]

Battlefield 6‘s multiplayer is the most Battlefield-coded entry in the franchise in many years, taking us back to the series’ glory days. Tight gunplay, excellent presentation, impressive polish and a surprisingly robust launch arsenal. [Multiplayer Score = 90]

King of Meat may not feature the tightest 3D platforming ever, nor the most engaging brawler mechanics in history. Yet, its eventful and varied dungeons offer exhilarating platforming, satisfying exploration and chaotic combat. It’s fun as a solo game, but with other players it turns into an absolute riot. Tons of items to throw around, explosions, moving platforms, wacky physics – it’s hilarious chaos. With plenty of player customization, a powerful level editor and an almost stupid number of things to unlock, King of Meat could easily stay in your multiplayer rotation for quite some time. Here’s hoping the game’s player population will be solid enough to keep it around for a long time! [Provisional score = 80]

The design decisions that Keepsake Games have made so far for Jump Space have resulted in a compelling, rock-solid foundation for what promises to be a genre-defining game. Jump Space puts fun, intrigue and slick gameplay systems first, mashing together multiple genres into something that is oozing with charm, replayability and jaw dropping wow-moments. I am hooked. [Provisional Score = 85]

I’ve decided to make this a review-in-progress, rather than a final score, for a couple of reasons. The first is that getting 4-6 players together to pump in twenty or so hours in a week is a tough ask, and I want to play a bit more before I render a final verdict. I also feel like Void Crew is the sort of game I could recommend, especially for gamers that enjoy the chaos of multiplayer co-operative games. However, that recommendation can only come once it’s had a few more patches to resolve what I feel are some pretty glaring issues. Until then, fans of these sorts of titles should be aware that the fun is in there, but there are number of issues standing in the way of finding it. Perhaps they’re lost in the Void? [Review-In-Progress Score = 60]

If you’re a fan of the original game, I’d say there’s nothing ground(ed) breaking here. In fact, it’s very easy to like Grounded 2 because in many ways, it’s the first game again, albeit at a much bigger scale, with new mysteries to solve and an entirely new map to explore and survive in. The core strengths of the original are here and intact, from the gorgeous world and solid survival mechanics, to another intriguing story to unpack, but I can’t help but feel there should have been more from the start that feels truly new. Still, it is a lot of fun, and as we begin another early access journey, this peblet and clay foundation is pretty solid – I can’t wait to see what else is in store. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]

Indeed, much like the original Descenders, Descenders Next is already an incredibly addictive and enjoyable game, one that transports this really sweet game formula into a whole new extreme sport style. There’s already a high variety included and plenty of unlocks to go for, though many of the game’s sports and features are yet to arrive. But the first Descenders was a game I kept going back to for years, just keeping it installed on my console and sometimes going back for a single run, or for hours at a time. This sequel is already setting up to be one of the next Game Pass addictions for me and many other gamers out there, and I’m excited to see what Descenders Next’s future bring us. The transformation for Descenders worked, and this Game Preview version is already a very strong starting point – go check it out, will ya? [Review in Progress score = 82]

This review might seem a little contradictory, critiquing and then partially absolving those critiques, but this is a review in progress after all. I’m still forming my final opinion of the game as I keep playing it, but what I can tell you now is that if you’re interested in Elden Ring combat and exploration, and also have a couple of friends who are, Elden Ring: Nightreign is a game full of depth and plenty of things to kill and places to explore. That being said, my mostly solo-play experiences were a mixed bag at best, preventing me from praising the game too much or giving a high “review-in-progress” temporary score. [Provisional Score = 72]

This is a short review because La Quimera’s full release is over before it begins, while never being fun. The writing and voice acting are bottom of the barrel, and having three main missions for $30 is insulting. I hope I’m wrong and my game just broke, but the Steam achievements only showed three “complete mission” types along with the tutorial, so I doubt I am.

For fans of the franchise, the game has both a gallery where you can look at previously seen story moments, and a jukebox where you can listen to music from various games in the series. I also appreciated how the game lets you customize the colour tones for the characters, such as making Billy’s jacket a bright neon green. I didn’t come across any bugs at all in my time with the game; everything felt polished and smooth playing on an Xbox Series X. Oh, and Ronaldo is in this game. Like the football player Ronaldo. Not really sure how I feel about that still…

Breakout Beyond takes a classic and forgets the most important part. You can’t have a brick-breaking game be fun if it doesn’t control well, and this one does not at launch.

I’m really happy with the features that are available in inZOI right now and I’m really looking forward to what will be added in its future. Right now, I hope the developer can resolve some of the more basic but key features such as more hair styles and presets for body characteristics. This is a really charming game (fluffy cats and their ability to help aside) and I’ll be coming to inZOI very often over the coming months for further impressions and to follow the game’s progress. If you’re a life simulation fan, you’ve got to try out inZOI [Early Access Impressions]

Slitterhead has a weirdly intriguing plot and cool art design wasted by endless repetition and outdated game design. There’s something here. I found Slitterhead pulling me during the first few hours. It was the last 80% of the game that was a dreadful experience.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Campaign is excellent. While the story might not be perfect it was just logical enough to keep me happy. It’s available at launch for Xbox Game Pass Console, PC, and Ultimate members on Cloud, Console, and PC. I’d only recommend a purchase if you’re into the MP and Zombies as well, as $70 is a big ask. Still, if you’re looking to shoot the ever loving shit out of a lot of people, there’s nothing quite like a good Call of Duty campaign. It helps that this one is great. [Campaign Review Score = 85]

STAR WARS Outlaws is the dream 3rd-person open world title so many of us wanted. It’s big, and fun, and while it has some flaws I have greatly enjoyed my time with it. A massive progression blocking soft-lock is a bit of a bummer and instead of this being a final score it’s going to be a review-in-progress one as I wait to see the rest of the title once it’s fixed. [Provisional Score = 80]

Ultimately, Turbo Dash Kart 2024 Racing is somewhat serviceable in terms of driving experience and not exactly broken in any significant way. But at the same time, the game design is as basic and generic as it gets, with nothing that really stands out, no part of the game that feels particularly finetuned, and no true reason to play this specific game over the dozens of far superior Mario Kart clones available on Xbox alone. The lack of any form of multiplayer pretty much seals the deal. Hardcore fans of kart racers may spend a passable couple hours here, but I wouldn’t recommend this game to others.

Right now I’m not having nearly as much fun as I was hoping. Gorgeous visuals, occasionally stellar combat, and an intriguing narrative have been held back by progression issues, and far too much busywork in-between runs. I have confidence that Moon Studios will figure things out, though, and that by version 1.0 this game could be an all-timer. [Early Access Provisional Score = 65]

So ultimately, Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection is a severely disappointing remaster work of two classics that aged a good bunch, yet are still enjoyable due to the sheer quality of these iconic shooters.

As disappointed as I was with the first DLC I think I dislike the second one even more. It’s a mishmash of unenjoyable mini-games, and while the music is great the gameplay is not.

Gangs of Sherwood was fun for 15 minutes. Every second after that was a dreadful monotony that I cannot recommend to anyone living or dead.

Revhead, at its best moments, is a simplified but somewhat enjoyable car management simulator, leading into basic but customizeable races against the AI. Unfortunate that the game’s graphics, presentation, polish and so on range from disappointing to severely lacking, making this 20EUR/USD buy difficult to recommend to anybody.

Demolish & Build fails at being an enjoyable game in every single way.

The game follows the typical Super PowerUP Games Pinball setup of having incredibly easy-to-obtain achievements. With a modicum of skill, you’ll be able to snag 1000g in 30 minutes to an hour. There isn’t anything else to the game, like always, so unless you’re that desperate to get your gamerscore up for $3 US this one is impossible to recommend. It’s a generic, boring, table that looks fine but is not satisfying to play.

The Creepy Syndrome is not creepy and features no syndromes. It is a low-budget horror title that relies entirely on jump scares and stilted, cliché-filled writing. If you skip the dialogue and get a strategy video you can get an easy 1000g out of it in an hour or two, but you will not have an enjoyable time while doing so.

I beat the game and earned all 1000g in roughly 25 minutes of playtime. For $5 it’s an easy sell for achievement hunters out there, and one of the better playing achieve games I’ve played.

There is no part of this game that warrants it’s $40 asking price. It would be a bad deal at a quarter of that cost. Mediocre driving, poor performance, terrible world textures, ridiculous achievements, and a lack of any intriguing content make me question what is a “simulator” about it at all.