The Plucky Squire is a game clearly made with a serious amount of love for the wonderful medium of glorious interactivity that is video games. And for it being the first title from development team All Possible Futures, it’s a staggering achievement in art, design and ideas. It’s just a shame the gameplay didn’t get as much attention as the nostalgia it so skilfully indulges.

Although there were aspects of this game that I had a hard time vibing with, overall, I think this is a fun game if you’re in the mood for some 90’s 90s-style survival horror. And maybe if I was simply in the mood for this type of game, I would have enjoyed it more. It certainly isn’t a bad game, and I hope no one has that takeaway from my review. I think anyone who likes this style of game should absolutely check it out!

Above all, the team at SMG Studios have created a game with all the LEGO charm one would expect, full of the sort of variety only LEGO can bring, and a selection of mini-games that produced all the screaming, laughter, competition and fun one would want from a family-friendly title. Definitely one to break out on game nights.

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.

Layers of Fear (2023) is a solid compilation of two decent horror titles. It is a massive graphical upgrade that uses a new narrative to tie them together in a satisfying way. Releasing at $30 MSRP if you haven’t played the games before and love to get creeped out then this one is well worth checking out.

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown’s Mask of Darkness DLC adds multiple hours of mostly enjoyable new content. It’s a mission pack and not an expansion, thankfully this cutting room floor material is nearly as good as the base game and well worth checking out.

Landing force is a welcome and timely DLC for anyone who has enjoyed playing Sniper Elite 5. It is another mission to lose yourself in for several hours and although not mind-blowing in its own right it is a good addition to the base game and is arguably of a higher quality than the pre-order linked ‘Target Fuhrer: Wolf Mountain’ mission.

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.

Solar Ash is short, sweet, and a little too repetitive. The gameplay is a ton of fun the first hour or two. By the end things were carried by the gorgeous visuals, excellent music, and heartbreaking story. This one should be a no brainer to at least check out through Game Pass.

With a low play time of 2 hours or less, I would definitely recommend this game if you are at all interested. The story is engaging, even though it ends abruptly. You might feel yourself wanting more, but if you save your progress along the way, you can go back and complete those mini-games you might have skipped or try to find the secret scenes. there isn’t much to dislike about this charming installment other than it ends too soon.

NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound does exactly what it aims to do. It isn’t trying to be a large, 25-hour, big-budget experience. You’ll get a solid 4 to 5 hours of fun combat and platforming the first time through. It’s full of gore, has a decent story, and the graphical splendor on offer, if you’re into pixels, makes it that much easier to recommend if the $40 price tag doesn’t turn you off.

Solo or with friends it is a hell of a lot of fun, and an easy recommendation to at least give it a try.

Quarantine Zone: The Last Check is a fun, repeatable, relaxing time. Few games let you stare so much before blowing a hot load of lead directly into the target of your gaze.

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a fun romp through old fashioned Japanese horror. The atmosphere is lovely, the story is interesting, and though the gameplay might wear down a bit over time, it’s a unique survival horror game that I can recommend to anyone.

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.

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.

Minecraft Legends wasn't a game I was particularly excited about, mostly due to its strategy leanings. However, it's always nice to be surprised, and there's a lot of fun to be had, particularly with friends online. The single player can be as chill as you'd like it to be, but PVP is absolute panic-inducing carnage in the best kind of way.

As much as Robobeat’s pace and style hits all the right notes (heh), I feel like it doesn’t truly live up to the high standards of other rhythm-based FPS games on Xbox, such as the aforementioned BPM: Bullets Per Minute and Metal: Hellsinger. While the game’s mechanical depth is sound, with lots of skills, traversal options and weapons, the overlong and battles in flat, unmemorable arenas make these encounters less exciting than they could be. Still, it’s a fun time, and while it doesn’t have the option of importing custom music like on PC, fans of fast-paced boomer shooter should still have a good time with Robobeat.

It’s a good-looking, if not very well-performing Unreal Engine 5 game that shows us a cool world, it populates it with an interesting lore and rich characters, and gives them just enough meat to get through a couple sessions’ worth of single player third person action adventure campaign, with a combat that is just enjoyable enough to last the ride. If that sounds like your jam, it’s cheaper than most AAA games of this kind, launching at under 40USD/EUR, with even a 10% launch discount. The lower budget is felt in a lot of areas, but fans of the genre who can close an eye on such things should have a good time with Echoes of the End.

I still think Ruffy and the Riverside is worth your time if you’re a hardcore fan of platformers of the 90’s, especially if you’re still waiting for a proper new Banjo-Kazooie – though I’d argue that Yooka-Laylee does a better job at replicating that style. Ruffy’s adventure has enough spins on the formula to stand out, especially the creative swap mechanic and some ideas beyond the opening levels, but I feel like there’s a lot of unforced errors in this title, which made me not enjoy myself as much as I hoped I would. Maybe it’s just me, because the game definitely oozes charm a lot of the time, but I wish the actual game was as exciting as the ideas behind it.

Floppy Knights is a fun game that is really close to being a great one. Its major flaw for me is how long everything takes. From mission length to waiting on enemy turns, and the slow loading of the menu system it can be a drag.

Technically, the game does look the part, with solid graphics especially on Xbox Series X where the game was tested, albeit there’s noticeable and rather annoying framerate drops whenever the game loads new players into our session. In the end, I find myself having a good time with Shredders, but there’s still plenty to iron out in its design before it has the chance to be remembered as one of the great snowboarding titles.

SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is a strange game for sure. It’s an enjoyable enough mecha-based extraction shooter, with serviceable combat and traversal and with the excitement of this genre’s formula. Said gameplay loop does very little to stand out from the crowd, despite a somewhat unique presentation, and the technical woes and limited content and variety thereof, end up limiting its potential. It’s also a paid game with tons of baffling microtransactions, timers to wait out, massive grinds and glacial progress, which could make you lose interest rather quickly. At its core, Bandai Namco’s latest is a solid extraction shooter, make no mistake. If you’re looking for that, jump in; this is certainly a very solid game in a vacuum, mechanically stronger than my score would imply. Arriving this late into the genre, however, it really should be offering more and better content than it does to really stand out – and it should respect players’ time and effort more.

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!

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.

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.

At its core, OddBallers is a fun game with an engaging gameplay loop and good enough variety to last for a while, but with little marketing, a seemingly nigh non-existent playerbase and some technical woes it’s hard to recommend this one just yet, unless you’re guaranteed have a group of friends to play with.

All in all, Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is a fast-paced, yet accessible racer, based on Netflix’s show and the Hot Wheels toys. It certainly fails to live to some of its full potential due to a variety of reasons. These include an oddly twitchy handling, lack of online, a lack of real challenge and limited variety. Yet, the show’s infectious style, the speedy races and the editor should ensure a good time for younger players and fans of the show. Even I, as an adult, had a good time, speeding through these acrobatic Hot Wheels tracks, despite the game’s limitations.