Dave the Diver is an excellent, enormous title that is best left as vague as possible. Go in without looking too deeply into it and be ready for dozens of hours of some of the best that video gaming has to offer.

Monsters Are Coming! Rock and Road is a solid addition to the never-ending bullet-heaven/rogue-lite/survivors-like (yeesh) genre. It looks nice, plays well, and has at least one bopping track to help carry it through a series of runs that are only let down by some punitive progression requirements.

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.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is an absolute riot. It’s not afraid to rely on copious amounts of nostalgia, while also pushing the series forward in the most logical direction. Treyarch have looked back at Black Ops 2 and 3 for inspiration, and have delivered a fantastic Call of Duty, full to the brim of incredible content.

Once Upon A KATAMARI is exactly what I wanted it to be. A game about rolling up the world, bringing people together (in a non-traditional sense), all the while being a treat for the senses. It’s easy to pick up and can be challenging to master as you navigate levels with twists and turns that can be best described as “the world’s messiest rooms”. You can’t go wrong with The King of Love’s latest and long-awaited game, methinks.

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.

Kentum is a rare gem—funny, smart, and mechanically rich. It’s the kind of game that sneaks up on you, then refuses to let go. If you loved Tiny Rocket Lab, this is its chaotic, sarcastic older sibling with a PhD in cloning and a minor in existential dread. Whether you’re here to build the ultimate base, explore a mysterious world, or just laugh at ORB’s one-liners, Kentum delivers.

RENNSPORT has all the core elements in place to be an engaging and accessible racing simulation. A handling that feels solid even a controller, a more welcoming approach than most hardcore sims have, and a lot of solid ideas to have great racing going at all times – against the AI and online alike. Yet, with only 12+2 tracks, a limited selection of cars, a lack of polish in many areas, various missing features and a confusing microtransaction model, it needs more time in the oven to truly become an essential racing simulation.

For me, once the novelty of the cuteness wore off, I found the mechanics to be a bit boring, and in parts very frustrating (mostly due to the lack of a map when trying to find items I needed). For veteran players, the only stand-out feature here is the way the game looks and the ‘cosy’ style of play. Does this make Winter Burrow stand out in its genre? I’m not sure that it does, and honestly I’m not sure it has endeared me to this type of game at all.

Let Them Come: Onslaught is a quality bullet heaven experience. It offers a lovely art style, an exciting soundtrack and an intense difficulty with well-designed level progression. It is, however, a bit on the short side, with only 4 levels, 2 characters and not a huge build variety. It’s a game that is quite close to greatness, but it will need a bit more content to truly become an unmissable classic survivors-like experience. I still feel like recommending it to fans of the genre, as its gameplay loop is one of the best ones on Xbox right now.

I haven’t finished my own journey with Egging On, but after plenty of hours with this egg-cellent game, I’m comfortable in saying that this is one Game Pass release Xbox gamers shouldn’t miss out on, and PC and PS5 gamers should consider taking a crack at. It’s unique, egg-ceedingly challenging, and yet, full of fun and good humour. Just like all my egg jokes, it’s cracking stuff.

I think a lot of us often struggle with something, and A Pizza Delivery does itself few favours by stitching together a random set of experiences under self-doubt and confusion. But life really is just a road of things happening until it’s over—self reflection may be in order, but there’s no point wallowing in it. I really liked this game.

Voidtrain is a fantastic game in a genre I rarely enjoy. Hypetrain Digital deftly weaves an intriguing, emotional story into a thoroughly enjoyable gameplay loop. It’s launching into 1.0 on Xbox Game Pass, and it is well worth checking out solo or with friends.

Ultimately, XENOTILT: HOSTILE PINBALL ACTION is a great evolution of DEMON’S TILT sensational digital pinball formula. A table that looks and plays even better, various new modes and ideas, even though the general feel of the game has not changed much. Eye-popping 16-bit visuals, a banging 16-bit soundtrack and a brilliant gameplay loop. This is a pinball table with depth and replayability worth dozens of hours of gameplay, and anyone with even a passing interest in pinball should play it. XENOTILT may not be a transformative experience over the previous game, but does it really need to be?

Dead Static Drive is a pretty, broken game. The poor gameplay mechanics and constant issues with quest progression further drag down what is otherwise a disappointing title.

1000xRESIST is a marvelous narrative-oriented videogame. Its minimalistic, sometimes slow gameplay is accompanied by one of the most engaging and well-crafted stories in modern gaming. Themes such as discrimination, rebellion to authorities and the pandemic are handled with utmost care and credibility. Very memorable characters, excellent artstyle, impeccable performance and even a great English dub. The pace can be a bit slow, and the story does take a little to truly get going, which means it’s probably not going to be a game for everybody. But now that it has finally released on PlayStation and Xbox, and of course launching on Game Pass, do yourself a favour. Play 1000xRESIST, as it really is an unforgettable journey you have been missing out on.

It’s a low-maintenance game with a creative cacophony of ideas mixed with a dab of fourth wall-skirting plays that appeals to a wide-reaching audience of all ages. Where many games opt to host depressing narratives to appeal to their young adult audience, Blue Archive instead plays itself straight—keeping an upbeat vibe with a touch of comic mischief while not being afraid to touch on the “what-ifs” if things all went wrong. It’s easy to pick up and play and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Spartan Survivors won’t win any award for its simplicistic artstyle and quite basic bullet heaven formula. Yet, for a free Halo fan game, I have a hard time asking for much more. The gameplay loop is enjoyable. The game is packed with Halo-themed characters, weapons, enemies and locations. There’s 10 levels and much to unlock. It’s currently only playable on PC, but it’ll hit Xbox consoles in the future, as well. Whether now or when it hits consoles, do give this one a fair shot if you’re into Halo, as it’s clearly a project made with passion by someone who loves the IP.

Bloodshed doesn’t pack a sensational amount of depth and variety. It does, however, offer lots of enemies to burn through in a very satisfying first person twist on the bullet heaven formula, rolling the credits before its repetitiveness could become a huge issue. Definitely one to check out, if you’re looking for your next survivors-like and you’re into boomer shooters.

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!

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.

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]

Majogami is a fun, fast-paced romp with a fair bit of replay value. It can get a bit repetitive due to the nature of the main character’s gimmick, but you’re encouraged to finish up each level as fast as possible. And despite the speed of the game, the composition of the visuals makes it easy to distinguish between foes and the direction you’re going to rend unto them. A great action-platformer all around.

I’ve quite happily played through and enjoyed Simon the Sorcerer: Origins, and for fans of the series, this is genuinely a pretty great return for this 90’s adventure game anti-hero. In many ways, it feels made by a group of fans that loved these classic games, and as such, is made with a fair amount of care and passion. I hope they get to make another one.

Halls of Torment efficiently combines the highs of some of the best bullet heaven shooters out there, with immaculate Diablo-coded looks and sounds. Despite not being revolutionary, nor packing the outrageous depth of some of its rivals, Chasing Carrots‘ title is easily one of the most interesting and addictive titles in the genre. And, as a Game Pass release, you have very little reasons not to give this one a fair shot.

It may not be the most polished or spectacular racing game on a surface level, but you get used to its jank, as you fill up its immense sandbox with cool things to do – alone or with buddies – there simply is no racing game with such an exhilarating and creative sandbox out there. This in turn makes me forgive some of its oddities and problems. If the community lives up to the game’s lofty ambitions, we might have quite the game on our hands. I will surely revisit Wreckreation after launch, as I’m very curious to see how it evolves from here. [Review in progress/ Provisional Score = 80]

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.

Ultimately, I walk away from Painkiller with somewhat mixed, but overall fairly positive feelings. The gameplay is fast, satisfying, with rock solid peformance and excellent graphics making for a blast of a shooter. It is, however, Painkiller in name only, as not only it loses the series’ core aspects, but also is rather uninspired all around. Very few memorable moments in the raids, generic enemy and arena designs, and not quite the depth needed for such a co-op experience to last you long. Still, if you crave for more shooters in the style of modern Doom, do give Painkiller a fair shot, as it can be a ton of fun both solo and with two allies by your side.