I can’t stress enough how close Embers is to something great here. Strayed Lights is just a few design decisions, tweaks and adjustments away from being fantastic. It’s a beautiful world you want to explore, but you just need a touch more guidance to feel less aimless. Even as someone who cares little for story in games, a little something here might help players feel more connected with the world.

If QTEs are up your alley (or you can endear ’em), 1f y0u’re a gh0st ca11 me here! is a cool little experience with great art, an interesting story to tell and multiple endings. It’ll cover an afternoon no sweat.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is an odd return to what has been a mostly mediocre series. It fixes multiple issues, mainly control-wise from the past titles, without adding much else. It isn’t great to look at, and while it can be fun to play, its poor balance as you progress kills any joy to be found after not too long.

I think HYPERCHARGE Unboxed’s biggest strength has been its marketing over the years. They’re not going for some live service title that is your forever game. The base game is $30 and if you have friends to play with you’ll get a week or two of fun out of the campaign as you try to unlock everything. It’s never bad, it’s never great, it’s fine.

If you are curious about this game, I think you should just jump in and experience it. If for nothing else besides going through this surreal and bizarre story.

All in all, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) is, at its best, a safe and minimal upgrade over last year’s episode and, at its worst, a visibly rushed, somewhat poorly designed, and unbalanced collection of game modes. Sure, it builds upon the excellent technical and mechanical background from last year’s game, but much more worryingly: it offers a short Frankenstein monster of a hybrid campaign with much of it being essentially repurposed Warzone content; a Zombies mode that also feels like an unbalanced and unpolished rehash of things we’ve seen in said battle royale mode and last year’s DMZ; lastly, with multiplayer limiting itself to fairly superficial (if generally positive) changes, alongside merely introducing remakes of old maps.

At the end of each mission/day, it’s hard to tell how much food everyone needs, there isn’t a bar or gauge to let you know. I also ran into the issue where I couldn’t access my crafting tables and machines … half the game is crafting and building your base. If you can’t do that at the end of the day when you get supplies, what’s the point??

If you want to play games that respect your gaming time this is probably not for you. This game has a lot going for it but at the same time contains many things that diminish its playability.

Catie in MeowmeowLand is extremely niche: unless you are a child, a parent playing with a child, or you simply like really weird and bizarre things.

As it stands, REMEDIUM: Sentinels is a fun and cheap (only about 5 bucks) little top-down indie bullet heaven roguelike bonanza, but mainly because this formula doesn’t need anything fancy to work and be fun. But with even consoles having far better alternatives already, I can only recommend this one to hardcore fans of the genre who already grinded the hell out of Vampire Survivors, Army of Ruin and so on.

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem is a simple stunt game, not really a racer, as players have to do flips, donuts, smash stuff and so forth with these giant-wheeled behemoths in Hot Wheels fashion. It lacks the depth or variety of most Monster Truck games on console, and in particular the lack of any race modes is a bit disappointing, but the focus on younger audiences and a forgiving difficulty should make for a decent Hot Wheels experience, for those that seek such a game. The lack of almost any multiplayer, aside from the 2-player local play is a big bummer for the longevity of the game, but if you want an enjoyable solo romp to run through, it’s a good time.

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.

In conclusion, NORCO is a bit of a mixed bag. Whilst it looks and sounds stunning it is let down by a story that pushes itself so far out there that it has no way of coming back. Although already critically acclaimed this could be one of those games that is far more beloved of reviewers than the people who actually play it. Only time will tell. At least its availability on Game Pass means that it can be picked up and easily dropped if it turns out not to be your cup of tea.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a mostly competent remake of an original that needed an update. The combat and upgrade changes are welcome, though those in the ending and its attempt to justify the expansion are not. If you’re a longtime fan of the series, there may be enough here to drive you mad. If you’re a lesser fan like me or brand new to it all, there’s enough fun to be had here that it’s worth checking out.

For all its clunky aiming, messy visuals, glitches and limited content and variety, I still wanna say I enjoyed running through the campaign on a summer evening. Bloodhound is like a cheesy Z-tier movie. You know it’s far from great, yet getting demons splattered left and right for the duration of a summer blockbuster might just be worth your time and money – if not at the full price of 10 bucks or so, maybe on a deeper discount.

PGA Tour 2K25 is a golf video game. It is neither offensive nor special in any way. It can be shockingly expensive vs. the amount of content on offer, starting at $70 and going all the way up to $120. If you haven’t played a round of videogame golf in a long time it may be worth a go if you can split the cost with some friends. Outside of that, and especially if the crashing issues are happening, it’s tough to recommend.

Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition is an absolutely inessential upgrade for what is quite the timeless classic. It’s still a mighty fun and deep single player RPG campaign, with a ridiculously addictive core gameplay and plenty of content to boot. But the few changes and additions barely warrant a new version, especially if you already own the previous backwards compatible Xbox 360 or PC version, with the lack of any sort of multiplayer being a bizarre omission. It’s quite the classic single player experience, but this remaster doesn’t quite change enough to become an essential buy.

I’m the kind of person who can sit in front of an idle game for hours, as I multitask something else like writing reviews or watching a TV show. Yet, Tap Wizard 2’s bizarre game design initially made me want to log off after a couple minutes at a time, and I really had to force myself to sit through various ascensions and countless deaths just to see if something more exciting came along. Eventually, the game evolved to a point that I could say I was having a decent amount of fun. But unless you’re a hardcore idle game fan and need a fix, you can likely this one out, as the first 10-20 hours of this game are easily the least enjoyable part of an otherwise quite okay game.

Control was a 9, and Alan Wake 2 was a 10 for me. I love Remedy’s games – normally – but FBC Firebreak seems to have lost their usual magic in a search for a wider audience. I get it, but I do not like it, and I think it hurts the title in the long run.

The big question I asked myself when it came to writing a review was this: Is this just a low-effort cash grab, or is it worthy of the fantastic show? I’m pleased to say, I feel they’ve landed firmly in the latter camp. The usually impeccably imparted ‘lesson’ each episode of the show delivers arrives here in the game exactly where it should be, heart and warmth intact.

I like every part of Alien: Rogue Incursion except for the most important one, the combat. It looks amazing, sounds great, and has a solid story. I am sad to say that I found said combat, and how often it was forced upon me, to make the game tough to recommend at launch. Not only that, but this is a ‘surprise’ Part One. At $40 I hope that the full package, many patches later, can find the brilliance that’s hidden underneath this game’s faults.

Defend the Rook is a solid roguelike-tower-defense-tactics game. It’s a unique spin on a handful of genres that I like, but it has some control and difficulty issues that hold it back.

Though Sociable Soccer 24 offers fun arcade football action (and with a lot of teams to boot), its slower speed and poor AI makes matches feel samey very quickly. This impacts the progression more than I would have liked, making climbing the ranks very uninteresting. But there’s a solid arcade game in here and I hope to see improvements made to the core gameplay overtime.

Unfortunately, for the good that Infinity Strash does for the serialised manga, it shorts itself through poor retellings of the anime episodes, simple but ultimately boring combat, and a Temple system that really doesn’t mesh well with the main campaign. But if you’re a shounen or Dragon Quest diehard, Dai’s adventures are a fun spectacle—but I think I’d rather watch the anime.

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.

God of Rock is a unique rhythm game experience that offers a lot in the way of gameplay options and content. Online and crossplay are also present alongside a custom notetrack maker for songs that easy to use. And even if I like the idea and the aesthetics, I felt that the game doesn’t really know whether to focus on being a fighter or a rhythm game and I ultimately left the game with middling feelings.

Ultimately, Adore offers good ideas, trying to combine ARPG with monster collection, but ultimately doesn’t play them as well as I’d hoped especially as a roguelike. Still, there are a few reasons to like this game, just not enough to ‘Adore’ it.

Lifeless Moon takes on the challenge of describing the root of evil, taking to detail what the product of one’s environment is. And even though the game struggles to tell it, it’s a novel story set in the backdrop of space and time (and occasionally the pretty vista). If you can put up with weak platforming and light puzzle solving, you can knock this one out in an afternoon and have something to think about for the evening.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. is a game with few strengths and many flaws. Thankfully most of these issues are small and the combat may allow one to look past them and still have a good time. That was almost the case for me but the repetitive encounters, the often frustrating level/boss design and the absolutely infuriating platforming, stuck with me more than the stylish combat and awesome attack animations. I’d recommend folks to try the game on game pass to see if the combat clicks, but otherwise I think it’s time for Grave to go back to sleep.

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.

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.

Mia and the Dragon Princess is worth a look if you are a fan of this type of game. Impressive acting talent is present although they are in full-on ‘hamming it up’ mode, the fight scenes are well choreographed and there are a few killer lines of dialogue. If the idea of a children’s TV drama mixed with a brutal British gangster film appeals to you, this could be a dream come true.

NBA 2K24 continues the series’ strong basketball simulation elements, but some egregious monetisation this time around and changes to progression make this entry a little more frustrating than it has to be. Still, the ‘Mamba Moments’ mode is a super cool tribute to an awesome player and for me, quickplay with family is where it’s always at.

For $3 US this is one of the better titles for achievement hunters to check out. It’s cheap, decently fun to play, and all of the achievements can be earned in no more than two hours.

There’s nothing actually inherently wrong or bad with Wrath of the Mutants in terms of mechanics and combat. It’s a serviceable scrolling beat ’em up that brilliantly pays homage to the TV show it’s based on. I guess the “issue” is, that it’s not great either. It’s just ok. It’s just that “being ok” really stands out at a time when scrolling beat ’em ups are experiencing a renaissance with games releasing in the genre that stand toe to toe with classics of the past. Wrath of the Mutants does not. But I guess that’s ok.

Madden NFL 24 is made for the returning fans. One title in a series that will continue to go for many years to come. You can see it in the features they’ve added, such as returning modes and iterative improvements on the presentation and gameplay mechanics. But technical issues compounded with an unintuitive user experience and unhelpful tutorials make it difficult for someone new to the sport to really sink their teeth into American Football. Still, the core gameplay is solid and fun to play—I just wish it were easier to get to.

Shadows of Doubt should be great. A lack of variety leads to repetition so quickly that I can’t recommend this 1.0 and console release. If the devs continue supporting the game with new content, especially something more directed like the tutorial mission, then it could potentially become an indie classic. For now, though the game is a mere shadow of its potential.

For me, for a multiplayer game all focused on replaying levels again and again, the very fact that both my teammates and I were already tired at the mere suggestion of playing through all this snow again, meant one thing. I’m afraid I’m going to have sit this blizzard out.

Ultimately, Sonic Frontiers struggles with creating interesting levels and challenges in its large maps filled to the brim with padding. But if you can look past that, there is fun to be had within its frustrating confines.

Compared to the recent Security Breach and Hello Neighbor, Bendy and the Dark Revival succeeds at being the better game by having proper level design and, for the most part, proper enemy encounters. It’s a shame it falls flat in so many regards because had it not been for the clumsier BioShock-like gameplay and the port being a spot of frustration, Bendy’s latest retreat could’ve been a solid adventure title. Still, the groundwork is present if not a bit misguided and it’s a good canvas as any to ink future entries onto. Which I approve of! I find this style of bedroom horror more interesting than the thirteenth billion zombie shooter anyway.

Pigeon Simulator is the definition of ‘fine’. While it does nothing great, most mechanics work just well enough to allow for fun when in a group. It is a poor experience solo, though, so unless you have a friend or three, which is made easier as a Day One Game Pass launch, it may not be for you.

A very lightweight package which shows that Matchpoint Tennis Championships isn’t a high budget tennis game.

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.

While there are worse shooters on the market than Splitgate 2, there are a ton of better ways to spend your time as well. The game is free, so it’s worth a download if you’re curious, but I’m not sure you’ll end up wanting to spend a ton of time on the game as it currently sits.

Road 96: Mile 0 may be an interesting experience to anyone new to the universe but can hardly be classed as an essential play. Mixing rhythm gaming sections into the standard walking simulator gameplay is somewhat jarring and frankly unnecessary. It may have been a better idea to release a standalone title for rhythm fans than taint the gameplay style that had worked so well previously. This game can easily be avoided without really missing out on anything, especially for fans of the original game for whom the narrative is already flawed.

Dr. Fetus’ Mean Meat Machine is an occasionally brilliant match 4 puzzler. It has great ideas mixed with middling execution. I can’t say I “enjoyed” my time playing it, but I appreciated the looks and sounds when I was sane enough to pay attention to them.

I’ve rarely been so disappointed in a game. Clash is stunning to look at and listen to. It has excellent 1 on 1 combat set in a uniquely crazy world. The utter lack of care for its player’s time and obtuseness to the point of maddening frustration hold back what should be one of the year’s most compelling titles. If you have the skill, patience, and a walkthrough guide this one may be worth a look at on sale.

It looks beautiful and has some great midi-style music, but is let down by a gameplay loop that simply doesn’t hold up.

It looks beautiful and has some great midi-style music, but is let down by a gameplay loop that simply doesn’t hold up.

I wouldn’t recommend this at full retail price. However, it’s on Game Pass for Xbox and PC, which I would recommend if you’re interested and have about 8-10 hours to kill.

The Callisto Protocol is a gorgeous mess. I cannot recommend it at the full launch price. The combat is miserable, and the story is simply not interesting. If you are a massive fan of survival horror it lets you down by not being scary either, instead relying on jump scares the entire time. It is highly competent technically though, and I hope the team at Striking Distance gets more time for their next title, which very well could be a sequel to this one.

It’s nice to see a Neptunia game (and particularly a Compile Heart title) make its way to Xbox platforms. I’ve always thought this series knew its audience and its audience know of it—you’ll know right away whether you like Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters’ video game-themed world and characters and designs. Just keep in mind that you’ll be putting with a fairly weak RPG trapped in a time period where an overclocked GameCube was the hottest gadget on the market and Hannah Montana once had a presence at E3.

FAIRY TAIL 2 is best left for fans and potentially players of the first game. A fun combat system and entertaining character interactions are strained against a linear, dull boss rush adventure with poor performance and weak sidequesting. I don’t think I can call this game an RPG in any capacity.

Hello Neighbor 2 is a game that features advanced game design, so it’s no wonder things turned out like this—it’s a difficult game to make especially for a small team. But if anything, I think it is a step in the right direction for the game’s inevitable sequel. There’s no doubt in my mind simply because it’s a better game than the first. If the team can figure out how to keep its solid level design and integrate challenges that tie in both the AI and the puzzles within the level, I think there’s a homerun to be had here. But until then, keeping tabs on your neighbours for a short while isn’t the worst thing you can do with your time.

Can I honestly recommend MX vs ATV Legends in its current state? Not really. The motocross bike races are being done better by the competition, the 4-wheeled vehicles are pretty smooth to drive but the game’s general inconsistency still makes them less fun than they should be, and at this point in time there’s just way too many technical issues, inconsistencies, AI woes and design flaws. It’s already a relatively low budget racer with a quite inviting pricepoint too, but that can’t become an excuse for the launch of a product that simply appears to be unfinished.

If you love the idea of taking a floppy tube, pointing it at something hot, and spraying all over it until everything is cold and you’re filled with regret then FireFighting Simulator – The Squad can be done alone, but it’s far better with some friends.

Moon Mystery shoots for the stars and nearly achieves its goals. For $20, you get 5 or 6 hours of occasional fun, and a few moments of utter bewilderment. It is an ambitious, flawed, mediocre game that I kind of love.

Bulletstorm was been a guilty pleasure of mine around launch. It was never the best looking, and the story was terrible. It was just good, mindless FPS fun. The translation to VR, while commendable, doesn’t translate into an enjoyable gameplay experience. Combine that with a game that hasn’t aged well, and constant crashing on both PC and Quest 3, especially at $40, is not something I can recommend.

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.

It’s a really unfortunate development for me that I just couldn’t find much enjoyment in the simple act of actually just playing this game. It undermined the quality of everything around it and the issue is, gameplay/combat/control is the most important aspect of this genre and if it’s not up to snuff, then the rest falls down around it.

Quite how I feel about Missile Command Delta is messy, because there are neat ideas here, mostly to be found within in the actual missile-commanding part of the game. The rest becomes more than a little tedious and while I admire the approach of doing something a little different, I can’t help but feel the whole package feels burdened by the narrative additions, and sadly those parts are not a lot of fun to play through. Unless you’re a massive lapsed Missile Command/Atari fan, I’d maybe let another cadet take your place.

STAR WARS Bounty Hunter is a competent port of a mediocre title. Aspyr has done its best to make the game look and run as well as it can while modernizing the controls. At $20 it will come down to how nostalgic you’re feeling for one of gaming’s biggest franchises’ more mediocre entries.

Dragon Blaze is a nice-looking, decently fun 23-year-old arcade port. It’s overpriced and the achievements are a real p.i.t.a. to get. If you have a co-op partner and a vertical monitor though there are worse ways to spend your money.

Bounty Star: The Morose Tale of Graveyard Clem is a game full of good ideas and poor execution. I loved the setting and enjoyed the story thanks to some great voice acting and music. The gameplay loop was a letdown, though. Full of repetitive tasks and unsatisfying combat. This one is tough to recommend, even if it is Day One in Game Pass

Ultimately I don’t think Double Dragon Revival is going to bring the revival to the franchise the title claims. There’s something here and I reckon another year of development, polish and tweaking could honestly result in a legitimately great scrolling beat ’em up. But as it is right now – especially at an asking price of around $50AU, it’s difficult to justify for anyone outside hardcore Double Dragon fans or scrolling beat ’em up fans that just want something to play before something better comes along.

Eternal Hope is a beautiful, great-sounding disappointment. Even at its low price, it’s hard to recommend. With a playtime of no more than two hours and seemingly no replay value there are far better options out there for your time and money, but not many that look so danged pretty.

It’s a short game that has some additional content if replayed on higher difficulties, but I wouldn’t recommend pushing through these formulaic levels more than once. There’s a really cool presentation and some really funny ideas in here, but we expect far more from veterans like WayForward.

I’m glad I had the chance to play Digimon Survive, but I’ll just keep playing Digimon World 4 and Rumble Arena for my fill of Digi-goodness.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a really good 6 hour game stretched to be nearly three times as long.

Keeping the review short because the game itself doesn’t have a lot of meat to it – with a launch price of 39.99USD/39,99 EUR/33.49GBP, having a single board, 4 characters, 32 minigames, no unlocks whatsoever, no special modes and most importantly no online play, it’s extremely difficult to recommend this game right now. For shame, too, because it’s far from an original or exciting game experience, but the Lasagna Race is chaotic enough and most of the minigames are competently made and fun. The game’s creators also seem to respect the source material, with a lot of iconic locations lovingly recreated, the character animations generally on point and with music and sounds fitting for the IP. But no amount of Garfield love can hide the game’s shockingly low amount of content, making this lasagna party end way too soon.

Outcast: A New Beginning does its best to invoke a sense of wonder as you jetpack 4 feet off of the ground in an occasionally beautiful alien world. Weak writing, terrible performance, and repetitive quest design work together to make it a dour experience in the end.

Infinite Guitars has so much potential. It is a shame to see its wonderful music, killer art style, potentially intriguing story, and promising combat system ruined by questionable design choices.

I think I would have preferred to have more conversations to read as opposed to playing the minigames, but I also think Salamander County covers an odd gaping hole once filled by Xbox Live Indies or Newgrounds games. You’ll likely not open this game again after you’ve stopped playing, but it could keep your nieces and nephews entertained for a moment. And of course, an easy thousand Gamerscore—likely my third time pulling off such a feat!

MACROSS -Shooting Insight- may ultimately be a good fan service title, and it has the modes to boot! But too many cardinal sins add that make for a rather frustrating shoot ’em up experience.

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.

Alien: Rogue Incursion Part One – Evolved Edition’s name is nearly as long as its runtime on console. I was able to clear the entire game in roughly 3 hours, though I knew where to go and what to do after having played it once in VR. Without that immersive interactivity, what was already a mediocre title is made that much worse.

Silt is a rather short, basic to control game. The story was intriguing from the start, and if you can look past how bland and unfun it is to play at times it might be worth checking out. For me though a nice art style and possibly interesting story simply isn’t enough to overcome how poor feeling and frustrating I found everything else.

Hellboy Web of Wyrd has good ideas and flawed execution. It’s not a looker, becomes repetitive to play after 15 minutes, and has one of the least satisfying rogue-like setups I can remember. If you love the character the story is interesting, but slogging through the title to see it is a tough thing to recommend.

Alan Wake: The Lake House is a disappointing finale to the game’s content. It was released alongside a solid quality-of-life update, and if you have already spent the extra money on the Deluxe Edition/Upgrade then you might as well check this one out. Just use a guide to keep frustration down.

I think it is fair to say that Deliver Us Mars is a frustrating experience and somewhat of a let-down compared to Deliver Us The Moon. While the environmental art style, musical score, platforming and accessibility settings are of a high standard, far too many aspects of the game are poor. This becomes even worse when you consider that this is the glitchiest game I have ever played on my Xbox Series X.

KIBORG caught my interest with its good looks, and quickly lost it with its bland and unsatisfying gameplay. Using some of the best rogue-lite tactics can’t help this one in the end, as its hilariously bad voiceover work and boring, repetitive combat make it a slog.

Great music and decent graphics can’t save what is otherwise a bloated and unbalanced mess of a title.

Its initial teasers promised a gorgeous magical world full of incredible sites. Instead, we’ve been given something boring, that runs terribly and has a story full of overused tropes.

Blind Fate shows potential for this rather new dev team. They nailed multiple parts of what it takes to be great, with the writing being solid and the voice acting being fantastic. It looks good but feels terrible to play, only getting to almost decent after many hours. It can feel wildly unfair but there is still just enough there that it may be worth checking out if you can find it at a decent price. It may not be the best Samurai game, but it’s got spirit.

Swansong promised a lot but delivered what I felt to be a severely flawed gaming experience. Quality cut-scenes alone cannot carry a title and that has been proved out here. With boring, glacially paced gameplay, janky controls and far too many technical issues wiping out any sense of pleasure gained from playing through to the games anti-climax, I was left wanting.

For $6 the ratio of time to earning all 17 achievements isn’t bad at all, and while it’s not fun per se it isn’t the pure torture that some recent titles I’ve reviewed have been.

At launch, I cannot recommend The Lamplighters League on Xbox. It runs terribly, while looking ugly, and is a broken and buggy mess. Once this game is patched up and fixed though, it’s a gem. Great gameplay, a deep meta-game, intriguing story, and one of the best videogame soundtracks I’ve ever heard will be there waiting for you (and hopefully still in Game Pass).

This is a decent time waster, that’ll get you a bunch of Gamerscore. It’s not a good game, but it’s cheap, and you’ll see your numbers go up. Sometimes that’s all you need out of a couple of bucks and thirty minutes of your time.

Intrepid Izzy takes aim at both those nostalgic for games of 30 years ago and a younger crowd. It’s not that long and no part of it is truly terrible. If you’re in the mood for a light and easy action platformer then this one might be up your alley.

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.

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.

Despite the incredibly janky physics, the shockingly low amount of content, the outdated graphics… Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition can be pretty enjoyable. The high speeds, the adrenaline-filled courses, the retro vibes… in short, I still had fun. I can not recommend a game like this, however. It’s way too short, way too unpolished, way too expensive for what it offers. Thus, you might want to wait for some patches and some deep discounts before joining this family.

Zombie Derby: Pixel Survival is one of the better Time to Money to 1000g games I’ve played. It’s not offensively bad, nor will it take up much of your time or money.

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.

It frustrates me that I have to leave Blood Bowl 3 with a middling review, but despite the solid core gameplay, everything around it frustrates me too much for me to continue playing. These issues may be fixed in the future, but at the moment I struggle to recommend this game to fans of Warhammer, strategy, or possibly even the more hardcore Blood Bowl fan.

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.

ACL Pro Cornhole is overpriced, and a miserable slog to play against the computer. The physics behind your shots never feels consistent, it looks terrible, and even in couch co-op, this is simply one I cannot recommend.

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.