Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii brings about solid 3D brawling combat back to the series alongside tonnes of minigames, fun pirating sections, and intense set piece battles the series is known for. It's more Yakuza---are you going to say no to that?

The developers at Megagon Industries have done a great job on building on their first game by adding a bunch of excellent new ideas, a fun multiplayer suite and what feels like a great, fresh take on skiing with the tight, responsive controls they’re known for. It’s addictive, thrilling stuff and I can’t wait to hit the slopes as soon as I’ve finished writing this. It’s available on Xbox Game Pass and Steam, and I hope you try it out.

Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven is an excellent, pricy expansion. I spent over twenty hours, having an absolute blast, learning the secrets of the mountain. If you have an endgame save, then Woolhaven is absolutely worth the cost for fans of the title.

It’s great that Xbox players can now play this awesome musical adventure. Everhood is well-paced, offers a balanced difficulty, features great music, and takes players through one hell of a psychedelic trip that’s also bittersweet. You owe it to yourself to give this one a go.

Lil Guardsman is funny, occasionally heartwarming, and a ton of fun. It takes a simple premise and builds it into a unique and excellent video game.

Make no mistake, I had fun playing DRAGON QUEST III. I appreciate what it’s done and brought to the table. But over the course of its runtime, I found myself losing interest thanks to a bombardment of random encounters and not enough between all that. So many games have come since then (and are still coming out today!) that have been greatly influenced by this JRPG classic, bringing their own twists and turns to storytelling and battle systems. There’s a good time to be had here in the HD-2D Remake, but if you’ve never played DRAGON QUEST III before, walk in with tempered expectations and to be down a few more hours than the game really should’ve been.

An infinitely replayable and ridiculously addictive indie phenomenon with wagons of content that only costs like 5 bucks sounds like almost too good to be true, and to be fair the game does have a few shortcomings. For starters, the initial impression may not be the best, with the first stage being dull-looking and the sprite artwork not being anything special. It’s when the game is at its slowest and least exciting too, but it’s not long before the true “bullet heaven” begins. Some of the endgame challenges and unlocks are a bit convoluted too, and figuring out what to do without a guide can be complicated, but we’re talking about stuff so late in the game that I barely consider this a minus. And as a plus, since I tested the PC version, I mostly played on keyboard but the controller works exceptionally well too as an input method.

Toy Tactics is deceptively simple yet a lot of fun. It’s got the charm of toys clashing about as environments, spells, and the right tactics change the course of the game. And all the while offering varied objectives, great level design, and quite a number of modes for play. If you’re in the market for a unique real-time strategy game, look no further than Kraken Empire’s latest hotness.

It looks and runs great, plays fantastically, and has more high-quality content than most RPGs I’ve played before.

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivors is easily one of the best bullet heaven titles out there – which is no small feat, considering the amount of competition there is nowadays. Excellent visuals, lovely gameplay, with the unique mining mechanics that add a lot of depth to the runs. There’s a ton of content to grind towards, with even 300 unique achievements at launch, making this title a strong candidate to stay installed on your SSD for quite some time. A bit of a shame perhaps that it lacks any sort of co-op, since that’s a huge part of the original Deep Rock Galactic experience. Even so, this is one of the finest bullet heaven games out there right now, and with it launching on Game Pass, you have no excuses not to dig into the deep dungeons of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivors.

The visuals are gorgeous, the pacing isn't overtly stretched out, the combat is fun and fluid, and the story is still great. Anyone can get in on this game's excellent blend of school life and role-playing genres and I can wholeheartedly recommend this game, not just because Persona 3 is a classic for me, but because Persona 3 Reload is genuinely fantastic.

Pentiment is not going to be popular. I do think however that it will become a cult classic… It’s a unique, dazzling work of art that will stand the test of time for as long as we remember it.

If you can find a way to break through the difficulty barrier, there’s a fantastic brawler on offer here that I definitely think is the template going forward to bring the 2D scrolling beat ’em ups into the 3D world. Where previous efforts like Die Hard Arcade didn’t quite stick the landing, SIFU definitely takes home the gold.

With beautiful visuals and expertly crafted levels alongside a dash of simple but intuitive gameplay, NeverAwake is a fantastic twin-stick shooter and one I can recommend to just about anyone. And lemme tell you, I haven’t quite liked an on-rails shooter in quite a while. This one is the real deal.

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]

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t an average game - it's something truly special. It's got its flaws, but it’s an irresistible invitation to wear the fedora of one of my childhood heroes, to crack the whip and fully embrace the thrill of discovery and embark on a genuinely fantastic adventure. Whether you’re a lifelong fan of the franchise or a newcomer with only games like Uncharted or Tomb Raider under your belt, this game delivers an experience that feels both fresh and heavily steeped in nostalgia. Indiana Jones is the original tomb-raiding adventurer and MachineGames have, to put it simply - nailed it. They've crafted an unforgettable journey that’s worthy of the franchise. Ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime? The mystery of the Great Circle awaits.

For my slights with the overall narrative, however, The Gap offers real problems, giving a more sci-fi glimpse to the world of genetic and neurological disorders and how it impacts dreams, ambitions, and our families. For those that love to delve into the mind and its inner workings (with a bit of stretching done to the science behind it), look no further than here.

SILENT HILL 2 is a fantastic remake. It uses the skeleton of one of the PS2 era’s best titles and improves upon it with fantastic graphics, excellent new voiceover work, and, as an Xbox Play Anywhere title, there isn’t a better storefront to buy it on.

STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor continues Respawn’s run as one of the best in the industry. It is an incredible accomplishment, blending top-tier gameplay and narrative in a package few games can match. Performance during my review was rough, but if they can smooth it out then this is a game that no one should miss. For fans of STAR WARS, this is the game we have been waiting for. One that fixes the mistakes of the previous, and soars to heights we could have only dreamed of.

Mullet MadJack is excellent in every way. It looks great, sounds even better, and has gameplay for days. It’s a day-one port into Xbox Game Pass. No matter your skill level, there will be something for you to do in this weirdly wonderful title.

Bang-On Balls: Chronicles is this simple yet ultimate combination of the right elements of sandbox platforming. It’s loads of fun, be it solo or cooperatively, and there’s plenty of unique objectives and challenges to tackle as well as solidly crafted boss fights. It’s a beautiful and large-scale sandbox that offers a banger of a time for everyone.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is an excellent reworking of the original games into one massive package. While I miss the original career mode of 4, this Day One Game Pass drop is a game I’ll be coming back to for a very long time.

Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut is a fantastic visual novel with excellent production values and a lot of dialogue options. You’ll go through a tonne of emotions (mostly unease), but you’ll always remain engaged thanks to a great voice cast and a script that is more than happy to explore uncomfortable ideas.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn’t just in my Game of the Year rankings, it’s in my Best Games of All Time. BioWare has finally matched their recent excellent third-person combat with some of, if not their best, story work to date. This game is an absolute triumph for those old and new to the series.

StarVaders is a wonderfully addicting game, one I didn’t expect to be a highlight of mine this month. The underlying mechanics present can make or break a run in a multitude of ways, the bosses are frenetic and can really pose a challenge, the runs don’t overstay their welcome, and it’s got the visuals and music to boot. This one gets a wholehearted recommendation from me.

The addition of 2-player modes and various improvements make a lot of sense, and do improve the Aaero formula a good bunch, but at the end of the day it’s hardly a hugely transformative sequel. Still, I fail to see that as a devastating flaw. Aaero2 brings us more awesome tracks to ride rails and shoot alien creatures on to the beat of the rhythm. Sure, it could have been a slightly more ambitious sequel in terms of game mechanics, progression and variety. Yet, even so, Aaero2 is one of the most interesting music-based games in recent memory, one that will have my grinding rails while banging my head back and forth for quite some time.

In short, just like it was at launch, Helldivers 2 is a fantastic video game, one on which you can hop on for quick mission to just complete a daily objective, or team up with your besties as you settle in for a long night of patriotism, comradery and impromptu comedy when that misplaced airstrike hits. It’s pure, unadulterated chaos, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lies of P is an incredible game, and the best Souls-like I have ever played that wasn’t made by From Software. It stands toe-to-toe with Dark Souls III, one of my favorite games of all time. They have figured out exactly what makes this genre so damned good. Thrilling combat, top-notch level design, gorgeous scenery, incredible music and more make this one a no-brainer to try out Day One on Game Pass.