Mortal Kombat 1 is one hell of a fighting game, one that I can see myself putting in as many hours as Mortal Kombat 11, if not more, and I’m really excited about its future.

Motorfest is the most exhilarating, fun and satisfying the franchise has ever been, with improved handling, graphics, less cluttered progression and even a few smart tweaks to Horizon’s ideas.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is both an excellent unofficial sequel to the classic Jet Set Radio games and a smart evolution and modernization of the formula to better fit modern sensitivities and to offer more variety. Sure, the story could have been better and maybe Team Reptile could have swayed farther from Jet Set Radio… but this is exactly the game fans of the franchise want and deserve.

Phantom Liberty caps off a miraculous comeback for the Cyberpunk franchise.

Revhead, at its best moments, is a simplified but somewhat enjoyable car management simulator, leading into basic but customizeable races against the AI. Unfortunate that the game’s graphics, presentation, polish and so on range from disappointing to severely lacking, making this 20EUR/USD buy difficult to recommend to anybody.

NBA 2K24 continues the series’ strong basketball simulation elements, but some egregious monetisation this time around and changes to progression make this entry a little more frustrating than it has to be. Still, the ‘Mamba Moments’ mode is a super cool tribute to an awesome player and for me, quickplay with family is where it’s always at.

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.

Long time fans of Punch-Out should definitely check out Thunder Ray as it provides a stunning and fun modern day fix at a welcoming price of admission.

Ultimately I’m a bit torn on Boti: Byteland Overclocked. On one hand, it’s gorgeous and charming, but it’s gameplay and the myriad of bugs I ran into really soured the experience. On the other hand, Boti is still fun to play and I wouldn’t mind going back for the collectibles and a hundred percent run in the future.

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.

Demolish & Build fails at being an enjoyable game in every single way.

The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo plays its strengths through its animators’ beautiful work and the somewhat challenging puzzles that accompany Mr. Coo’s surrealist world. For fans of traditional animation, this adventure is a no brainer.

Microsoft has done phenomenal work reviving and revitalizing the Age of Empires franchise and it is an absolutely blessed time for the strategy genre, especially if you are an Xbox Game Pass subscriber who is looking for a new experience. Microsoft has done phenomenal work reviving and revitalizing the Age of Empires franchise. I can’t put the Xbox edition of Age of Empire IV down; I am truly absorbed by the new way to play.

Starfield is a new beginning. Not only for Bethesda but for Xbox as a whole. With excellent writing, stunning graphics, and thrilling gameplay it makes the galaxy yours to explore, shape, and live in. It is a wondrous tapestry to experience your story in a way that only the best have done before.

For fans of the series and its world, I think they’ll definitely find yet another fun, physics-based adventure here.

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.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is an odd return to what has been a mostly mediocre series. It fixes multiple issues, mainly control-wise from the past titles, without adding much else. It isn’t great to look at, and while it can be fun to play, its poor balance as you progress kills any joy to be found after not too long.

Immortals of Aveum is a fantastic game that I’d recommend to just about anyone, especially those hungry for a different take on some familiar formulas.

Madden NFL 24 is made for the returning fans. One title in a series that will continue to go for many years to come. You can see it in the features they’ve added, such as returning modes and iterative improvements on the presentation and gameplay mechanics. But technical issues compounded with an unintuitive user experience and unhelpful tutorials make it difficult for someone new to the sport to really sink their teeth into American Football. Still, the core gameplay is solid and fun to play—I just wish it were easier to get to.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is fantastic in every way. Excellent gameplay, nice graphics, great sound, and a ton of variety in its objectives mean this absolute gem is one you should look into no matter when you’re reading this review.

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.

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.

The highly competitive nature of Running Fable and its extremely inviting price (about 8 dollars/Euros, check your region!) make this little speedy platforming title a fun little experience that can probably last you a good night of fun or two with your gaming buddies, as long as they’re able to look beyond some lack of polish here and there.

Atlas Fallen is close to being damned good. It is let down by a lack of variety in enemy encounters, poor side quests, and dreadful writing. Still, the combat quickly becomes damned fun and with the option of co-op, it’s well worth checking out if you want some God of Crackdown-style action platforming adventures.

Ultimately, Adore offers good ideas, trying to combine ARPG with monster collection, but ultimately doesn’t play them as well as I’d hoped especially as a roguelike. Still, there are a few reasons to like this game, just not enough to ‘Adore’ it.

World of Solitaire is one of the best videogame versions on modern consoles of 5 famous solitaire games, and at an inviting price around 10 bucks, it’s definitely worth playing for fans of the genre. A lot of cool features extend its longevity, but perhaps allowing more customization of the rules, more actual gameplay variety and some extra quality-of-life changes would have made it a truly unmissable experience for card fans.

As it stands, REMEDIUM: Sentinels is a fun and cheap (only about 5 bucks) little top-down indie bullet heaven roguelike bonanza, but mainly because this formula doesn’t need anything fancy to work and be fun. But with even consoles having far better alternatives already, I can only recommend this one to hardcore fans of the genre who already grinded the hell out of Vampire Survivors, Army of Ruin and so on.

Overall I’d argue this is probably the best Double Dragon game yet. It does just enough to modernise the franchise without straying from the path well traveled and alienating fans of the franchise. Which is a particularly tough task given the age of the series and the seemingly directionless path it has taken over the journey. The omission of online co-op is a bummer, but given the state of online co-op in scrolling beat ’em ups, I feel like this complaint loses more and more steam with every game that doesn’t include it. I feel like Rise of Dragons lays a pretty good foundation should they choose to continue making more games going forward. If the next game can tighten and speed up the combat and go back to a more conventional control scheme it could be something truly great.