Rod Oracheski
Frostpunk is used to carry messages you don’t often see in games, forcing gamers to make – and think about – the kind of difficult choices nobody should have to make. A must-play game.
Gears 5 is the best looking the series has ever been, and that's maybe the least of the improvements here.
Inside is a remarkable second effort from Playdead, surprisingly outshining their first outing, and a must play.
Assassin's Creed Origins is a gorgeous and well-realized world filled with danger and excitement in equal measures. A stellar return from hiatus for the franchise.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is an impressively crafted open world action-RPG that challenges gamers to see and do everything it has to offer.
No Man's Sky has come a long way from that humbling start for Hello Games. There could still be improvements to some gameplay systems and the user interface, but overall this is a greatly improved package that's brand new for most Xbox One gamers and well worth going back to for PC and PS4 players who dropped it shortly after launch.
Wargroove will leave Advance Wars’ long-forgotten fans beside themselves with joy.
Control is the culmination of nearly two decades of Remedy's work in the third-person action-adventure genre and it's a pedigree that shows. Firing enemies through barriers to take out their friends is ridiculously fun, start to finish.
NHL 20 has some minor issues but plays a fun game of hockey. RPM Tech 2.0 is a revolution for the game’s controls, eliminating most of gamer’s complaints, at least on that front.
If you’re a fan of grinding, and I mean the fun kind of ‘I wonder how far I can take this’ grinding, then you’re going to LOVE Disgaea 4 Complete+.
Long-suffering Crackdown fans finally have a worthy sequel. The campaign was every bit as campy and fun as expected, with Terry Crews a perfect addition to the cast, and the multiplayer proving to be surprisingly entertaining.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a gorgeous trip down Nostalgia Lane, but it’s not the slam dunk ‘must buy’ revisiting of a classic game that I expected it to be…and it better not be another five year wait until ‘Part Two’ arrives.
If Episode One is just setting the stage, I can’t wait to see what the next four will bring. A must-play for Batman fans.
The Final Station has a nice look to it and the generous checkpoints mean you will worry more about supplies than a surprise death. It’s a bit short, clocking in at about five hours, but worth a look.
theHunter: Call of the Wild is a fantastic looking game, and does a great job of bringing some of the thrill of the hunt – and the chase – to the home.
What you’ll think of Sea of Thieves seems to depend on what you expected going in. Those that wanted a single player pirate adventure are bound to be disappointed by the relatively simple gameplay loop of going to find chests and returning to port with them, earning money to buy cosmetic rewards. Those looking for a multiplayer game with solo or co-operative play options are much more likely to be happy with what Sea of Thieves has to offer.
Amazing graphics and spectacular webswinging/webslinging help overcome a sometimes-frustrating camera and repetitive missions.
Alec Mason’s adventures on Mars are just as much fun as they were nearly a decade ago. Worth a look as a low-cost summer game.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a stellar first game in what could be a great series. It’s available ‘free’ for those with a subscription to Xbox Game Pass, but it’s worth the price of admission regardless. A great intro to the tactical strategy genre that eschews the stats-heavy side of things to keep it fun.
Charming and quirky, with a great soundtrack, Sparklite will hit gamers who grew up with 8-bit and 16-bit games with a giant shot of nostalgia.