Between the co-op, collectibles, challenges, achievements and upgrades, there’s more reasons to keep going back to Shredder’s Revenge than probably any other game in the genre has ever provided. This is all on top of fun and fantastic combat and a nostalgia overload that most should love. But even those who weren’t necessarily fans of the Ninja Turtles, still have a great scrolling beat ’em up to make their way through.

Cat Quest III is a remarkably simple but fun adventure game for all ages. I enjoyed its numerous pirate, cat, dog, and rat puns all the while taking on foes of all sizes. There’s a good amount of weapon and armour types and the challenges can keep those of all ages busy, be it alone or with a family slash friend. A pirate adventure that is truly fur everyone.

Playing on a Series X, the game ran at 120fps and felt smooth as butter.

Swarm 2 is a ton of fun. You’ll swing around shooting robots in decent-sized arenas until you can barely stand because it feels so damned good. A solid progression system and good looks don’t hurt either.

The game performed well on my Series X, the artwork, music and voice acting is of the usual high calibre and fans of the universe will find this entry as enjoyable to play as any of the others that have gone before it.

These yearly sports title releases can be tough to review. I don’t get to live in them like so many people reading this will choose to do. From someone who has reviewed the last few, this one feels like a solid iteration on what last year accomplished. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel so much as refines it to run more smoothly. WWE 2K25 is a big game, with an enormous amount of content on offer whether you’re into the online part of it or not.

Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is bigger and better, giving the player more combat options and opportunities while offering a map full of movement and combat-based challenges. There’s a solid variety of enemies and bosses along with unique scenarios that keep gameplay fresh and you on your toes. Tie it up with great visuals and music, and you have the best sequel to Ender Lilies that could possibly exist.

Jusant then – a beautiful, relaxing adventure that players can tackle at their own pace. Exploring every nook and cranny of this world, and charting your own path is something that should be savoured, and you should absolutely add it to your download queue via Xbox Game Pass.

Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is a great 2D platformer title that boasts a beautiful presentation and good level design that can challenge but never strangle you. Good narrative pacing and ability acquisitions keep Momo’s game from becoming stale—and don’t get me started on the fun boss fights. A perfect title for the Metroidvania faithful and newcomer.

My biggest hope is that Tribute Games can implement some of the combat tweaks I mentioned earlier to really take this title to the upper echelon of games in the genre because as good as it is, it doesn’t quite stand toe to toe with the greats, but it’s agonisingly close.

Prodeus is stupidly fun, looks incredible, sounds fantastic, and is launching into a subscription service many people reading this may have. It’s been a bit of a weird marketing cycle leading up to the launch of the game, but I hope as many people as possible at least try it out. It’s one hell of a love letter to the FPS genre for both the old and the new.

Revisiting the original trilogy is still a blast, especially online, despite many other collections already exploring those games. Padding out the title count with many ports of the same goes is a bit futile, but a good exercise in game preservation.

Stray is a good game, even great at times. It has some very well designed levels, it looks fantastic, it has an intriguing story, and it does a fairly decent job of making you feel like a cat exploring a new world. But while it does those things well, it has many areas that don’t keep up. The strict jumping can often be a disappointment, the puzzles are almost always too simple, and while the game doesn’t overstay its welcome, I found the second half to be significantly worse, largely due to the lack of verticality in the levels, but also for other reasons as well. With all that being said, while I don’t think Stray is great enough to compete with the very best indie games released (both this year and the last), it’s still a good game. And for 30 USD it’s not going to break the bank either. Especially for those wanting a slightly different platforming experience, one without a bipedal at the helm.

Barring a middling ‘middle’ entry, The Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy brings a set of great games from a series I love to the big screen. There’s no beating the bush around this one: this collection does Apollo Justice.

DRAGON BALL Sparking! ZERO is a great 3D arena fighter. It’s got a sizeable roster, huge maps, and a fun combat system that I quite a bit of mileage out of over the weekend. A clumsy user interface and only one splitscreen map does suck the life out of the party a bit, but there’s still a great game here for Dragon Ball fans and arena fighter enthusiasts.

Still Wakes the Deep is a special experience. A brilliant setting for a horror story is matched by quality writing and stellar voice acting.

Crusader Kings III is a phenomenal game that is not for most. If you have the patience, reading ability, and time this is one of the best, funniest, and most varied sim games on the market.

Tarsier Studios have taken their signature DNA and refined it - it's not perfect, but it's a sharp, confident experience. Bleak, beautiful and deeply unsettling - Tarsier certainly haven't lost their touch.

For those wanting a more modern fighting game with a focus on story based single player content, you’ll need to look elsewhere. For fighting game fans who want the simpler more quaint arcade and competitive experience then look no further, Virtua Fighter is back!

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Campaign is excellent. While the story might not be perfect it was just logical enough to keep me happy. It’s available at launch for Xbox Game Pass Console, PC, and Ultimate members on Cloud, Console, and PC. I’d only recommend a purchase if you’re into the MP and Zombies as well, as $70 is a big ask. Still, if you’re looking to shoot the ever loving shit out of a lot of people, there’s nothing quite like a good Call of Duty campaign. It helps that this one is great. [Campaign Review Score = 85]

Two Point Campus is an improvement over Two Point Hospital. For some people creating a hospital where patients are treated for a wide variety of strange diseases will be more enticing, but Two Point Studios has done a very good job at blending the humour of the previous game with the atmosphere of a university campus. The result is a great simulation game that builds and improves on the strength of the previous title. And by doing so it has nestled itself at the top of the genre.

LEGO Voyagers is a gorgeous, surprisingly emotional adventure about friendship, the joy of pure play and supporting one another. Even the smallest of us can achieve great things.

WWE 2K24 is the best wrestling game that Visual Concepts has made by far. They have a complete package, with a massive roster, and a clear vision. If you’ve held off on upgrading at launch the last few years I think this is the time to jump in.

TEVI is a fantastic 2D Metroidvania. One that is fun to play for just about all levels of gaming ability, but it’s also a replayable one and has plenty of content you can run through, backgrounded by beautiful visuals and fun music. An easy recommendation for the action platformer fan and then some.

Ultimately, CRISIS CORE REUNION is a great game. It lands the story beats, and the combat feels good. Fans of the original experience on the PSP will find themselves right at home here and new players will have a good time, especially if they like Final Fantasy VII as a whole.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a damned good game.

As this is the only way to get these games at home outside a Dreamcast, PSP or Emulation I strongly encourage fighting game fans to jump in and absolutely lose themselves in the Power Stone world! Play the other games too…

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 is an amazing, epic ride through a glorious hellscape. Visceral combat is matched by stunning graphics to create a title that never relents in being as over the top as possible. It is one of my favorite titles of the year so far, and one I cannot wait to dive back into as post-launch content starts to stream in.