LEGO Horizon Adventures is an excellent entry into both the LEGO and Horizon franchises. It adds enough new mechanics to the formula to make it feel like it's a part of both series, rather than one wearing the clothes of the other.
Horizon Zero Dawn was one of my favourite games of the eighth console generation, and this new remaster only improves it further. Many of the changes present may seem subtle at first, and a lot of them are, but when compared to the original side-by-side, some of the changes are substantial, making this the definitive way to experience the game.
All-in-all, Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire is a decent enough RPG with an engaging story. It should run flawlessly on pretty much anything you can throw it at made in the last decade and there's a demo available to try it out before committing to it.
Bloober Team's rendition of Silent Hill 2 is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. Expectations going into it were admittedly quite low, but they've done a fantastic job of bringing this legendary game into the modern era.
Golden Lap is a fun and accessible entry into the seriously lacking motorsport management genre. Its simplicity may put some people off, games of this nature tend to have an insane level of customisation and detail, but if you're looking for a more casual experience that doesn't take itself too seriously and is very easy to just pick up and play Golden Lap might be worth a look.
The challenge of the original is largely still there, though it didn't feel as punishing this time around. I remember my early attempts at the first game all stalling and getting everyone killed relatively early on, and while I came close a few times, most people lived in the sequel. There is a range of customisable options to cater the difficulty to different players' abilities, so veterans can crank it up for a truly brutal experience.
On the surface, F1 24 doesn't seem to be all that different from last year's game.
This all probably sounds a lot like Two Point at this point, and while I don't think it's entirely fair to say that Galacticare is just Two Point Hospital in space, it isn't that far from the truth. I don't think that's a bad thing either.
Children of the Sun is a dark, wonderfully innovative take on the now-cliched outpost clearing of many open-world games. It's incredibly satisfying when a plan all comes together and cultist after cultist falls to a perfectly executed series of meticulously aimed shots.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a great, new entry into the stealth action genre. At around 6 hours to complete the story it doesn't outstay its welcome. I didn't get anywhere near all of the collectibles or upgrades on my initial run-through, and there are three endings to unlock, so there's plenty of replay value.
Bears In Space is my favourite type of game. It's well put together, doesn't take itself too seriously, and puts a lot of effort into keeping things interesting for the player. The story is often nonsensical, but it doesn't matter, the gameplay does all the heavy lifting. Its comedy might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it for the most part. It feels like it could be something put together for Adult Swim or Comedy Central in the early noughties and there's definitely a Rick & Morty influence in there somewhere too.
Helldivers 2 is a lot of fun, assuming you can get into a match to actually play it with other people. If you're not interested in the co-op aspect of the game, then it might be a tough sell. You can technically play solo, while still being online, but there are no bots to assist, and the difficulty curve is largely designed to be tackled by multiple people. I can't guarantee the game would be anywhere near as enjoyable played like this.
War Hospital is an interesting take on the hospital management scenario. It offers up some unique challenges and has some genuinely difficult choices throughout while nailing the tone. Gameplay can get a little repetitive, at least early on there's not a huge number of different tasks to complete to keep it varied and interesting, but with all that said, I enjoyed War Hospital for the most part. Aside from a few instances of audio dropping, seemingly at random, it was a bug-free experience that ran well for the vast majority of my time with it. This isn't going to be for everyone, even those interested in this genre, but it's worth a look nonetheless.
The Last of Us Part II Remastered is a solid upgrade to an otherwise already fantastic game.
I'm conflicted about Raccoo Venture. On the one hand, it's a very pleasant entry into an underserved genre, at least from a presentation standpoint, and it runs great across a wide variety of hardware, including the Steam Deck. There's a huge variety of things to collect and unlock, and levels will no doubt require several playthroughs. On the other hand, I found it frustrating to play more often than not, in part because of this. Ultimately I found myself not enjoying it as much as I would have liked, but if you're a fan of this type of platformer then it might be worth your time.