If you fancy moonlighting as a budding scientist battling for survival against other-worldly forces and scientific experiments gone wrong, you’re going to love Abiotic Factor. It’s a refreshing and charming take on the survival genre, full of great mechanics and systems, an engaging story and world and importantly it’s an absolute blast to play with friends. Go in as blind as you can, because like with all scientific endeavours, the joy is in the discovery.

Excellent visuals with great performance, vibrant tracks, a technical driving model with quite the skill ceiling, a massive depth and variety, despite the not crazy amount of unique content just quite yet. It may lack a memorable single player portion, and it does have a few minor shortcomings. Rest assured though: Sonic’s latest kart racer is one of the absolute bests the genre has to offer. Its incredible spectacle and high-octane racing slingshots it to the top of the must play kart racers on Xbox, and I’m sure I’ll be revisiting this one for a long time.

It is a triumph in the FMV game genre and one of the, if not the best gaming experiences of my lifetime.

Cocoon is an impeccably designed game that stands as a shining example of how this medium alone can teach mechanics and intent without saying or displaying a single word. Any players who prefer to solve problems with their brain and not a gun, should without delay, go forth and discover the many beautiful worlds of Cocoon. The choice, and indeed, the world(s), is in your hands.

Humanity is an excellent blend of puzzle and platformer that has an enormous amount of content. It’s one that will be in my Quick Resume for a long time as I jump in for a quick puzzle or two. It’s in Game Pass at launch on Xbox and I highly recommend anyone interested give it a spin.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a fantastic video game. It improves on every facet of the first title. An excellent main quest is paired with Capcom’s best English VO, and some incredible emergent combat.

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania is the dream DLC I never knew I wanted for one of my favorite games of the past decade. It’s full of content that is all of supremely high quality. Whether you own the game outright or play it on Game Pass if any of this sounds the least bit appealing then spend $10 on this expansion. It is phenomenal.

It is amazing how much passion was put into this project by its sole developer Matthias Linda and the artists involved. And you can see it permeate through the games gorgeous 16-bit visuals, accompanied by Eddie Marianukroh’s phenomenal score consisting of tempered orchestra and pleasing synthetic melodies. Despite my frustrations with the combat system, there’s a lot of good you’ll find in Chained Echoes. I can easily recommend this game for any Super Nintendo era role-playing game. A beautiful rose with a very sharp thorn.

With a strong control scheme and physics alongside a solid variety of content, Marble It Up! Ultra is a fantastic addition to the arcade slash platforming-lovers library.

It’s not a flawless game, but throughout years of iterations, it basically transcended the limitations of its bullet heaven genre, creating a roguelite with a depth and variety comparable to the absolute best ARPGs ever made. Maybe you won’t remember the enemy designs, the generic lore, or the name of the 200th skill you unlocked. You will, however, remember how satisfying this game has been for the many hours you’ve dedicated to it.

The Talos Principle 2 is Croteam’s largest and most realised project yet. It’s in every way a natural step from the first title, a beautifully written and challenging one. This game may very well be one of the best narrative puzzle titles I’ve played in quite a long time.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 can be slow and lethargic, sometimes to a fault. It's a game that's more concerned with the plight of a villager than the saving of a kingdom. And yet it's in those very moments, the conversations in the back of a cart, the early morning horse-rides in the brisk, cold air; that the magic, charm, and humanity of it all shines brightest.

Fans of the genre are unlikely to find a better game this year than this. Now I’m off to have a good cry and hug my kids.

As it is right now, Xbox is the only platform where you can play every single mainline Final Fantasy game, barring, of course, the sequel to this one: Rebirth. But that’ll come in due time, so the point still stands. What is that point, you ask? Pretty simple, really. Xbox is the premier place to play Final Fantasy on consoles, and Final Fantasy VII Remake is a JRPG worth purchasing for fans and non-fans of the genre alike.

Wolfenstein II: The New Order is almost great but is held back by a number of issues. A few design choices Machine Games made far too often took me out of the game and frustrated me to no end. For such a great feeling game, the lack of damage indicators to and from enemies made the game feel off far too many times. An outdated health system forced me to play the game differently than I wanted to. Instead of the clear intent at fast paced chaotic action the game does so well, I was too often hiding behind cover, scouring for health packs, and dying in seconds due to frequent difficulty spikes. Even with these issues, I still had an overall positive experience with the game due to strong story beats and chaotic moment to moment action. Wolfenstein II is a game I would recommend to anyone but is a game that may leave you feeling a bit frustrated in the end.

Neon White features incredible gameplay and some of the best “one more try” levels in recent memory. It’s so fun to play that it can’t be brought down by its poor story. It is worth a purchase or Game Pass download, especially if you’ve got some friends to compete with on the leaderboards.

Outside the aforementioned oversights, there’s a near perfect collection on offer here that’s an absolute must for fighting game fans.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a 10 when it comes to combat and visuals. Incredible replayability, a decent story, and a good soundtrack are let down by frustratingly imprecise platforming. Still, the other parts are so strong that I can easily recommend this game to damned near anyone.

Return to Monkey Island is great. It takes the adventure game to new heights of hilarity with a clever narrative, fantastic stylized graphics, wonderful music, and a huge amount of heart.

Sea of Stars takes formulas and gives them a nice fresh coat of paint. Even though the narrative won’t hold your attention, you’ll find a game that offers stunning visuals and sound design that accompanies a fun battle system with unique mechanics. Easy to pick up and play for everyone, old and new.

Monster Train 2 is excellent. It takes everything I loved about the first game and makes it just a little better. The looks, music, and strategy will have me playing this one for years to come.

An instant classic that gets what makes the Metroidvania genre so good.

Unicorn Overlord is a fantastic strategy game that is both gorgeous as it is fun. Tactics fans are in for a treat, and even those weak to the genre find this game to be a fulfilling experience.

BALL x PIT is a brilliant mish-mash of two genres, with excellent strategic choices in its main gameplay sections. The town building may not be for all, but I enjoyed it well enough. The only minor issue was the sameness of the progression between the base game and new game plus. Still, it took me nearly 60 hours to get to that point; it’s in Game Pass on Day One, and I had a blast while doing it.

Ultimately, The Talos Principle: Reawakened is a fantastic remaster of an already great game.

Botany Manor is an enjoyable puzzle-focused adventure with an obsession in weird plants and an interesting estate. What might be lacking in overall narrative is made up for pleasant pacing and a relaxing homework assignment at a country side world of plants.

For Xbox players, Persona 3 Portable is an amazing game. And despite this version’s flaws, I implore you to give it a go.

Mindcop is a great detective adventure that puts emphasis on creativity and critical thinking for the player to find the perpetrator. The tools you’re given are adequate for its open-ended approach to game design, and ultimately, it’s up to you to help Mindcop uphold his reputation against a townspeople who carry plenty of baggage.