Nobody Wants to Die is an incredible experience. Engaging detective gameplay, an incredible soundtrack, and a fascinating noir-yarn come together to create one of my favorite games in a long time.

South of Midnight is a stunningly beautiful and moving experience. While the gameplay doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, it combines excellent writing and music to move your soul in ways only the best games can. This title is an enormous step-up for Compulsion Games, and I hope this isn’t the last we see from Hazel Flood.

Soul Hackers 2 is a solid game. It’s not the most impressive technically and you can see the budget constraints, but it tells a fascinating story with a style few can match. If you’re a fan of Dungeon Crawling JRPGs then you should check this one out.

While I enjoyed catching up with some of the familiar faces, Coffee Talk Episode 2 doesn’t add anything to make for a better experience and overall feels lesser than the first. Thankfully, Game Pass makes this an easy recommendation for the music alone, but I don’t think you’d be missing out on much if you stopped with the first game.

Summing things up, Whilst looking nice, the game is overly complex and pretty boring. If you don’t care about the story, characters, mythology, or plot branches which are on display from the start of each act, this soon becomes a slog to play through. If you are a fan of the genre, this would be worth checking out if it comes to Game Pass, but I cannot recommend buying it. Coming from Don’t Nod, this is a disappointing game.

As a big fan of cinema and storytelling, I enjoyed the attempt at a mostly well told, if somewhat predictable yarn, full of plot twists and surprises, particularly with friends in tow.

Yeah, Rita’s Rewind doesn’t quite stand toe to toe with the greats of the genre, even the modern ones, but it’s still a very worthy entrant into this classic genre still in the midst of a high quality revival.

Schim is certainly cute, charming, and has a surprisingly emotional look into the themes of depression and midlife crisis. Perhaps it could dig deeper into its arguments, and maybe even dare a bit more with its gamepaly. Similarly, with a length of only about 3 hours and limited replayability, the launch price of 24.99USD/24,99EUR feels a little excessive, and I would absolutely recommend waiting for a sale. But when that sale does arrive, give Schim your consideration: it’s a quite beautiful little game with an intriguing concept and even a good message to give to its players.

I can’t help but thoroughly recommend I Am Your Beast. It’s a neatly designed, satisfying game that combines the addiction of great ‘one-more-go’ titles with some solid, satisfying gunplay, all wrapped up with a surprisingly engaging narrative to help keep you invested. If you’ve ever had the urge to indulge in a secret-agent-revenge-fantasy, consider that itch thoroughly scratched.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a triumphant debut for Surgent Studios. At $20, and available on day one for PlayStation+ subscribers, any fan of the action-platformer genre would do well to check it out. Zau’s journey through loss will stick with me for a long time, and the excellent gameplay already has me itching to play through it all again.

Teslagrad 2 is a short but well-designed and pleasant experience. Perfect for those who just want to master speed and puzzle solving in a Metroidvania over fighting hordes of enemies.

Tchia is the latest, and one of my favorite, late ports to Xbox that’s arriving thanks to Game Pass. It’s a beautiful game, with an incredible soundtrack, fun gameplay, and an emotional story full of loss and love.

The Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered feels barebones. You get these titles with a few new bells & whistles and not much else. It is thoroughly disappointing for a game that was in more need of a full gameplay remake than just a graphical uplift. With so many great remaster/collection packages hitting, I wish this one had been given a little more love.

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remastered is a remaster done right. Its main issue is the game it is remastering doesn’t hold up to modern titles well enough. If you have that itch to dive back in and the $30 price isn’t too much then it is well worth the price. If you don’t have those feelings though, it’s tough to recommend.

Dead Island 2 is fantastic. It knows what it is, and that’s a ton of sneakily smart dumb fun. The FLESH system is horrific and awful and the best. Smashing, chopping, burning, and exploding humans has never been so fun. At $70 some may want to wait as it isn’t the longest campaign. I’m already doing a second playthrough though, and this is a game I’ll be coming back to for a long time.

A new score and weapon mechanic compliments Contra: Operation Galuga’s fun gameplay, but they can’t cover for levels that feel poorly paced and uninteresting enemy design.

By the end of the game I walked away a happy camper. I got a fairly good understanding of what people love about VTubers, a bit of terminology in, and all-the-while engrossing myself in an entertaining story with good visuals and music that sadly does have its own set of pitfalls.

It’s a huge step up from the first game, and a delightfully dumb, beautifully good time.

Robocop: Rogue City is a 7, but it’s a really fun 7. It knows what it is, and it sticks to that no matter what. The writing isn’t the best, and some of the characters look straight out of a $3 steam simulator title. Still I had a ton of fun beating this one over the course of a day and a half so if you love the series it’s well worth checking out.

Need For Speed Unbound, even at its launch, is certainly rather packed with content. The story sees the player throughout 4 weeks of days and nights throughout many events, some mandatory and most optional, with players always being able to decide how many seen-before events they wanna rush through again for some extra cash. With tons of unlockable and upgradable cars, a robust if uninspired multiplayer and an open world with plenty of things to do, Unbound’s unlikely to last you less than a couple dozen hours, unless you get bored before the end credits of course. But boredom isn’t what I’d associate with the latest installment in this everlasting franchise: Need For Speed has found its identity, and while a few concepts require some finetuning, it’s the best episode in a long while and one of the most stylish and generally finest racers of the generation thus far.

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]

With the Kickstarter long behind, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was easily worth the backing fee, my copy coming in just last Friday. I was skeptical, as stories with enormous casts don’t always fare well in pacing—but great combat, excellent visuals, and an entertaining story about rising from the ruins of warmongering makes for a fantastic turn-based time.

To put simply, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is an addicting and relaxing farming game with a solid gameplay loop and lots of replayability. Definitely one of the better farming games out there, so put down the sword and shield and pick up a watering can for a change—you won’t regret it.

Eternal Strands is a fantastic first title from Yellow Brick Games. It’s an IP I hope to see more of in the future, as its excellent gameplay felt like a breath of fresh air for the genre. It’s out Day One on Game Pass and even in this bloated 2025 release schedule I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out no matter where you play.

Pepper Grinder is short, fun, and nails what it’s going for. It’s fun solo but if you can convince a few curious friends the leaderboard system could give you way more than four hours of a good time.

Cronos: The New Dawn is excellent. Gorgeous graphics, smartly deliberate gameplay, an intriguing story, and incredible music create a new IP that is easily Bloober Team’s best.

Kotama and Academy Citadel is a good Metroidvania title that does its own thing when it comes to progression. Which is part of why I like the genre so much—the fact that there’s still so many ways to get players engaged with differing approaches to character upgrades, challenges, storytelling, and the like. Kotama’s game doesn’t always nail every aspect that same of the greats of the genre do, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have a solid combat system, boss fights, and excellent visuals and information relaying. This is a solid Metroidvania title to add to your ever-increasing backlog.

I’m stunned. It is an incredible first effort from the team at Omega Force. Mixing Monster Hunting with Green Lantern crafting works beautifully. I hope this series is around for a very long time, because this game is excellent.

Threefold Recital is a great 2D narrative adventure title, no thanks to its unique setting and enjoyable characters. The team has done an excellent job between balancing story delivery and breaking up the eventual monotony with distinctive minigames that are both repeated and one-off. Behind all this lies themes of living and identity that resonate not only for the three leads but for the player as well.

Dead Take is a solid four or five hours of classic horror puzzle fun, mixed with some excellent (and some mediocre) live-action scenes. It isn’t looking to break any ground, instead targeting a good, scary time, and nailing it.

I’ve quite happily played through and enjoyed Simon the Sorcerer: Origins, and for fans of the series, this is genuinely a pretty great return for this 90’s adventure game anti-hero. In many ways, it feels made by a group of fans that loved these classic games, and as such, is made with a fair amount of care and passion. I hope they get to make another one.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a decent game. The Casey Jones & the Junkyard Jam DLC is worth it if you’re interested in the base title, though I’d only give it a full recommendation if you have a friend or three to play with.

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch is a solid roguelite strategy RPG. I think players will enjoy the roguelite mechanics and world mythos very much, but combat and level design leave a lot to be desired. Still, it’s not a bad experience—I am quick to drop a boring SRPG, but this one kept me engaged throughout the entirety of my playthrough.

Immortals of Aveum is a fantastic game that I’d recommend to just about anyone, especially those hungry for a different take on some familiar formulas.

Midnight Fight Express kicks serious ass. It is short, sweet, and packs one hell of a punch. The combat never gets old, and with it coming to Game Pass at launch I highly recommend it to anyone that likes action movies.

For a full launch, I think there’s plenty of content that’ll keep you entertained. It has a strong driving model with interesting mechanics and plenty of modes to tackle alone, with a pair, or a group of mates. I find KartRider: Drift to be very addicting, seeing as I’ve put well over 50 hours into the game already, I can easily see myself putting more than double over the coming months.

I’d like to say something more original or outstanding about ArcRunner, but in so many ways it’s as generic of a cyberpunk third person roguelite shooter as it gets. Solid visuals, a decent soundtrack, enjoyable but not outstanding gameplay, though impacted by a low variety that becomes evident when grinding through near identical scenarios one after another. And yet, I had a great time with this game, with tight difficulty and risk vs reward gameplay making it an enjoyable way to pass a couple evenings in this relatively unexciting April of new releases. If you need some mindless action that plays and looks pretty good, do keep an eye out for this one.

Close to the Sun is short, sweet, and a solid yarn. It takes an interesting alt-history setting and is pretty enough to put up with occasionally clunky gameplay. It’s short at only 3 hours for a full playthrough, so it’s worth giving it a try if you have any interest in the premise.

PowerWash Simulator is a very simple, and very good game. Alone or with friends it’s both fun and stupidly satisfying to clean dirt with water. A healthy variety of locations, tools, a solid upgrade path, and even new looks are on hand to make this one well worth checking out.

Railway Empire 2 is a great game for fans of simulators and builders. It tries to find the middle ground between being accessible and challenging, with the chance of losing the more advanced players in the process. The developers can cherish what they’ve created. But could expand upon the ideas some more for the next iteration. As I’m sure plenty of players would love to go deeper into the world of building a railway empire.

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]

High On Life 2 is bigger yet smaller. It’s both bold and more reserved in how it dishes out gameplay mechanics and story beats. I loved my 15 hours with it.

Fashion Police Squad is smart, plays pretty well, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s priced at $20 on Steam, and if that holds true for the Xbox launch then this one is an easy recommendation for any lover of first-person shooters and fashion.

Atelier Marie Remake is a fun game. The clock system keeps you on your toes, making you plan out your days, and the town of Salburg always has something to surprise you. An easy recommendation for the systems-driven or RPG player.

Episode Aigis is a great addition to Persona 3 Reload, if only for the additional story content and new battle challenges. But this episode sheds too much from the base game, leaving a tedious adventure in the wake for those looking for The Answer.

If you are a fan of Dead Rising there’s a good chance you will really like this remaster. If you’ve never played the game before and want a fun zombie slaughter simulation, this game still holds up well, but you’ll have to look past some of the game’s flaws and remind yourself that it is still bound by 360-era design.

JoJo is a pretty solid fighter and a pretty good upgraded port to boot. Some may find the price somewhat prohibitive given the semi-bare bones modes on offer combined with the fact that we are ultimately talking about a port of a niche near decade old fighter, but if you can look past that, there’s fun to be had. Jo Jo Manga/Anime fans should definitely be giving this a go.

The game’s cutesy style that reminisces perhaps too many forgettable indie games is only a ruse – the game has charming characters, the humor is on point, the amount and variety of content is quite impressive and, most importantly, the gameplay works very well. It isn’t the most complex or riveting gameplay loop, but then again the popularity of titles like Muse Dash show how simplicity and polish walk hand in hand, and now Rhythm Sprout is furtger proof of this. Recommended to all rhythm game fans looking for a more humorous take on the genre.

In the end, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered brings us back to arguably the most exciting era of the franchise, allowing us to revisit with updated controls and graphics these iconic action adventure classics, while also mantaining the smart level designs, puzzles, etc. as they should be – though, for better or worse, without any real attempt to fix any of the games’ shortcomings either. While the game does indeed look and control better, there seems to be a rather heavy-handed use of AI for upscaling textures, with also various locations where the completely different lightning models used drastically alter the atmosphere – often for the worse. There’s also no real new content or updates, making it feel like we’re playing a slightly modded version of the originals. Which, for a Tomb Raider aficionado like me, is absolutely fine – these games still hold up for the most part, even though some of the action-packed sequences and convoluted puzzles of 2 and 3 are a bit over the top.

MADiSON is a psychological horror game without any psychological horror. It has jump scares galore, and at least on PC, it’s a completely broken mess for me before launch.

From the beautiful presentation to the fun coming-of-age story, Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is easily one of Tequila Works’ best. Fans of League of Legends have had their hands full with Riot Forge’s other releases and they can have another helpful serving of a fantastic adventure game.

Motorfest is the most exhilarating, fun and satisfying the franchise has ever been, with improved handling, graphics, less cluttered progression and even a few smart tweaks to Horizon’s ideas.

Lords of the Fallen is a stunningly good game. Following a path set for it by Dark Souls 3 it nails every major part of what makes From’s games so damned good. Stunning visually, the art style and music are some of my favorites. While the very end does get too “big” for its gameplay this one is an easy recommendation to both the most hardcore Souls lovers and those who feel intimidated. Seamless co-op takes what is a great game and makes it a special one.

To wrap things up Wavetale is a heart-warming story of discovery and reconciliation. Traversal of the islands requires players to overcome some rather creative platforming challenges and never gets repetitive. Although it takes a while to get going, the story is well written and the adaptive music and environmental design of Strandville bring the place to life. This title has a lot going for it and although it is not the longest experience, it is well worth several hours of your time.

Just Dance 2026 Edition is still just as fun as it always was. It’s a great title to get your friends and family together around the TV all the while losing a few calories in the process. The experience is a bit clumsy this time around and some bugs can get in the way, but that won’t stop you from enjoying the latest round of songs in this year’s iteration of Ubisoft’s popular dancing series. All you gotta do is Just Dance.

Ultimately, Promise Mascot Agency is just a great time. Excellent humor, hilarious characters, great dialogue, and just enough nonsense to stand out from the masses. The actual mission structure and open world formula is hardly anything special, borrowing most elements from the countless similar titles out there. Yet, Kaizen Game Works’ virtual trip to late Showa Era Japan is full of charm, making its 20 or so hours of content fly by like a spring breeze. When you’re done with some of the big games of the season, such as Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, the Oblivion remaster, or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, consider hiring these mascots, alright?

Monster Energy Supercross 5 is certainly not a revolution, and if you’re still knee-deep into the high octane races of last year’s installment, there’s perhaps not many reasons to upgrade yet. However, a revised physics model and much improved riding assistances make the game a lot more accessible than before, making this the best episode so far for newcomers.

Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town is a fantastic adventure game in that it is laid back, funny, and easy enough to be enjoyed by just about everyone be they child or senior. You might not know who Shin-chan is, but don’t let that stop you from taking it easy and looking up once in a while.

With Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark, there’s a solid solo and fun cooperative campaign that offers a good 15 plus hours of action, depending on how often you get lost. Level design has improved since the last game, humour is on-brand with Gal Guardians’ preceding series of games, and movement feels great. Here’s another Metroidvania I can recommend to the newbie and veteran alike.

The Precinct has been a pleasant surprise. Solid shooting and driving mechanics, surprisingly deep police-related activities and an enjoyable 80’s cop movie style presentation mostly make up for the small open world and uninspired plot. The end result is a fun little romp onto the streets of crime – but from a cop’s point of view, for once. It’s not gonna win awards for originality, the gameplay could have surely been more refined, and it’s unlikely to make most people’s GOTY lists come December. Yet, it’s been a fun ride that I enjoyed from start to finish, with the end credits rolling before the game’s limited scope could start hurting the experience. Fans of old school GTA should keep an eye out for this one.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a beautiful, challenging, and occasionally infuriating love letter to old-school FPS titles. It’s just the right length and despite a few flaws it is worth a purchase on both console or PC.

Marvel Rivals is an excellent start to what should be a long-running franchise. NetEase has done a great job of proudly using mechanics that are well-known while crafting a uniquely crazy experience all their own. This 6v6 hero shooter/fighter has started from a place of strength. With proper leadership, it should only improve and grow as the years pass this multiverse by.

In the end Sloclap has unintentionally put a lot of roadblocks in the way of both your ability to enjoy and desire to purchase Rematch, but behind all that is one of the best feeling soccer games ever made waiting to blossom and be discovered, as long as you can see past those roadblocks and don’t mind paying up front for the potential this game has for the future.

Shoulders of Giants is a wonderful surprise. It’s a third-person action roguelike with a ton of heart. Great gameplay, stylish graphics, satisfying progression, and a killer soundtrack combine to create a game I loved spending time with. I know it’s great solo so as long as the co-op runs well this is a title you and your friends won’t want to miss.

#Blud is a damned funny title with a great art style. While the combat and puzzles could leave me feeling a bit burnt out at times it’s still an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a beautiful, funny dungeon crawler.

Bright, bold and absolutely bursting with vibrant colour and the kind of charming quirkiness that constantly teases a smile; this is truly a world of creature comforts. It doesn’t do a lot ‘new’, but what it does do, it does brilliantly. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you should absolutely add this one to your download queue.

There’s a lot to like about Ara: History Untold, even with the rough edges that appear every so often. Barring some performance issues, I’d say anyone even a little curious about the genre should give the game a shot and try it for themselves (especially if you have Xbox Game Pass). As for those of you with hundreds of hours in 4X games? Well, Civilization VII is still months away and Ara is a worthwhile competitor in the space and so I highly recommend playing at least a few games during this wait. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself with a new favourite in the genre…

Caravan SandWitch is a beautiful adventure that covers stories of struggles and grief, paired with pleasant French vocals and a vibrant art style. And even though I found its main progression to be tedious, I did enjoy exploring the world of Cigalo and learning about its lovely peoples. If you seek a nomad’s adventure, van included, look no further than this little journey right here.

Outlast Trials may not be for everyone, but I feel confident in saying that those that do love it, will really love it, and considering Red Barrels approach to listening to player feedback throughout it’s early access, it’s sure to be a worthwhile investment.

TopSpin 2K25 is a massive disappointment. Feeling more like beta software, with a lack of modes, players, and fun. I cannot recommend this one at the egregious $70 price point.

You Suck at Parking is a refreshing addition to the racing genre unlike any I have seen before. The controls are simple and the gameplay is accessible but things soon develop into a far more complex challenge. For those who prefer gaming in short bursts, this could be a popular title far into the future especially as the developers have promised much more content is still to come.

In a vacuum, Pinball FX is for the most part a sensational pinball game, and to be fair the closest competition is Zen Studios own fantastic pinball games themselves – who, for yet another installment, remain the kings of pinball in videogame form.

I’m torn on Knock on the Coffin Lid. When all elements align, it’s an audiovisually striking turn-based card game with an interesting lore, good player agency, and an addictive combat loop, one that’s easy to understand but hard to master. Yet, a series of difficulty spikes, an obtuse build system,m and a massive amount of repetition ensure that most of the hours spent in the game are wasted behind trial and error and replaying through many times seen before content, with even a handful design oddities that would need a quality-of-life patch or two. It could have been one of the finest card games on the console, but a handful of bizarre design choices don’t allow the game to reach its full potential.

It is a really solid platformer with a tonne of variety and stuff to do. But I want to be very clear, I don’t think this game is for the gamer who actually grew up on the Smurfs. It’s for their children, who probably don’t even know who the Smurfs are.

Still Wakes the Deep was an incredible game. Siren’s Rest shows the aftermath and how it affected at least one family. For $13, I think it’s well worth checking out for anyone who’s beaten the main game.

Colour me impressed. When I think indie, I rarely think “open-world”, but BINGOBELL showed me that’s it’s possible to craft a great and ambitious adventure game without a large body count. KAKU: Ancient Seals is one of the best open-world indie games I’ve ever played and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for their fill of lush environments and challenging dungeoneering.

Steelrising is a mix of decent-to-damned-good parts that takes the Soulslike Action RPG and puts it into one of the most ridiculous and awesome settings I’ve seen in a while. Mediocre graphics are countered by a fantastic art style, fun combat, incredible music, and a story that I found myself deeply invested in.

The game’s variety is not very high in fact, and once you see all the transforming vehicle has to offer, it doesn’t really have many new tricks left up its sleeve. It only lasts a couple hours so it’s certainly not a grave issue, but it’s quite noticeable that Agent Intercept was a fun, if basic mobile game, and the transition to consoles hasn’t really added much value to it.

Graven is an old-school dark fantasy first-person shooter that somehow feels like no other, taking cues not only from classics like Hexen but also throwing in elements of RPG, immersive sim, and more, creating a mix that feels unique and engaging. The game’s lengthy campaign does feature some questionable progression at times, with somewhat needless soulslike elements, time-consuming puzzles, and an uneven balance, but none of these flaws could ruin the game for me. Graven is not just a mechanically fun FPS, it’s also a great journey worth experiencing for yourself – but next to spellbooks, metal swords, and medieval armor, do remember to pack a healthy dose of patience, as its often convoluted design can cause some frustration.

Random glitches aside this is indeed a relaxing exploration game. You identify interesting locations, make your way to them, explore the area and collect things. This is a very inoffensive way to game for a while and I would recommend it.

I’m shocked at just how much I have enjoyed Godfall. The melee combat is some of the most satisfying out there and the time since release has been well spent as they’ve rebuilt and tweaked what was a weak new-generation launch title into something far more substantial.

Hilarious banter, ridiculous fights, a great mission structure, and satisfying progression show that Fatshark is only getting better. Being available day one on Game Pass for PC means no one, either alone or with friends should pass on giving this one a go.

It is a faithful 1:1 port of the mobile game, for better or worse. The controls work well in the end but did require some time to get used to. At only $10 at launch, it’s an easy purchase if you’re already a fan or someone new to the series. Here’s to hoping that this is just the start of the franchise porting over to consoles.

Let Them Come: Onslaught is a quality bullet heaven experience. It offers a lovely art style, an exciting soundtrack and an intense difficulty with well-designed level progression. It is, however, a bit on the short side, with only 4 levels, 2 characters and not a huge build variety. It’s a game that is quite close to greatness, but it will need a bit more content to truly become an unmissable classic survivors-like experience. I still feel like recommending it to fans of the genre, as its gameplay loop is one of the best ones on Xbox right now.

Creatures of Ava is an excellent title, and it’s on Game Pass at launch. If you want a game that lets you explore a gorgeous alien planet, get your inner photographer on, and know when to mix in its version of combat then I think it is well worth a download.

Despite everything, however, I had a great time with Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny. The simple gameplay formula and the local co-op options turn this ARPG romp into an accessible entry point into this exciting genre, with the 9 playable Nicktoons characters offering sufficiently diverse skills to bother trying ’em all. It’s a short game, with a very limited loot and build variety. Yet, the game’s solid pacing, cute presentation and fun combat still carry the experience all the way to the end, and I could see many younger folks have a blast, as their RPG-ified SpongeBob fights side-by-side with Jimmy Neutron against evil wizards and robots. I certainly had a lot fun, and I’m not even that young anymore!

After a tumultuous dev cycle, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 shines despite some rough edges.

Despot’s Game: Dystopian Army Builder is a really fun if slightly flawed strategy game that I’m glad I decided to check out. While it’s not something I might recommend to most for a purchase it is definitely worth trying out on Game Pass if you are subscribed.

Bannerlord, in spite of its shortcomings, is a great game to play for tactics enthusiasts and players that love huge battles. Its simulation style of gameplay is fairly unique and keeps me coming back. An easy recommendation to all that love their sandboxes.

The plot certainly goes to some very weird places, and while I appreciate the ‘message’ and themes, it barely held my attention. In the end, I’m left with a game that offers no challenge, outside of wrestling with an occasionally frustrating camera. It’s cute, quirky, and occasionally drew a smile, but to a T feels like a wasted concept that really isn’t a huge amount of fun to actually play.

I had a great time with Milestone’s take on the Monster Jam world. The gameplay is tight and surprisingly accessible, with these behemoth vehicles bouncing and flipping left and right in such fun and satisfying ways in both racing and stunt modes. With a great technical background, too, what’s a bit lacking is the inventive in the single player campaign, with merely a largely repetitive sequence of events to beat with little reason or rhyme – one that even shows how little variety the game itself has, as of now, before all DLC or eventual sequels arrive. Personally, that’s a prospect I really look forward to, because Monster Jam Showdown’s base gameplay is really good, so I’d really love to see the format get expanded upon from here on.

All in all, Headbangers: Rhythm Royale feels like the perfect online game for Game Pass, with hopefully a healthy population guaranteed by the many subscribers on the service, the presence of crossplay and even AI players to fill the gaps. The simple yet addictive gameplay loops feel like something worth revisiting from time to time, as hopefully the game’s so far limited variety will improve. Its got funny characters and hilarious competitive party game shenanigans, but it’s also a tad limited currently in terms of variety and depth for its asking price if bought separately.

Gunvolt Records Cychronicle works great for what it is: a spin-off game with fanservice to Gunvolt fans, the game including CD versions of the series’ songs and all. But it’s also a fun rhythm game for anyone to pick up and play—it might even be convincing enough for new players to check out INTI’s catalogue of fun action platformers like the Gunvolt series.

Path of Fury: Episode I – Tetsuo’s Tower is a tonne of fun and makes me a believer in fitness through virtual reality. Strong visuals are backed by a fast-paced rhythm-and-arcade style of gameplay, not to mention a story that’ll peruse you through thugs and police alike. This is easily one of my favourite VR games, even with its rocky caveat.

This trilogy of somewhat forgotten 90’s platformers are certainly a bit hit and miss – outdated but still often effective humor, a unique but often somewhat clunky gameplay, with even some unexpected narratives and lots of voiceovers and cameos to boot. Given that these games haven’t been properly ported to new systems before, it’s brilliant to see them live once again, but this remaster doesn’t really fix or improve much, with the value added being mainly the impressive depth of original artworks, ad materials, interviews and more. The Gex platformers may have never been timeless masterpieces, but they’re a cool piece of gaming history from a now long gone era of raunchy mascots. A cool time capsule, for sure.

I think Disney Illusion Island is built on a solid foundation, but sadly everything around it (be it level design, art, and objectives) are underwhelming. This is a game for the Disney faithful at best, because even for young children, there are an overwhelming amount of fantastic 2D Metroidvania titles to choose from. Unless you really like Donald Duck (and I solemnly raise my hand for the walking TNT box!), Illusion Island likely isn’t going to be worth your time.

Atomic Heart is an excellent game, and it’s an incredible debut title from Mundfish. Clever storytelling, massive set pieces, fun combat, and more make this one easy to recommend.

Don’t get me wrong – Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is… fine, for the most part. If you’re not a purist, and can accept a few occasional glitches, it’s a decent way to experience a classic. But the very few improvements don’t quite offset the game’s increased price, nor its technical and design woes. I can’t say with certainty if art was enhanced via AI, as some seem to claim. Regardless, it is a bit of a moot remaster; unless you’re on a platform, such as Nintendo Switch, without access to prior versions of this fantastic game. If you’re on Xbox, like us, you’re better off with the excellent Xbox 360 version – which is still backwards compatible to this day.