Ash Wayling
A literal bang-or-bust experience, Buckshot Roulette has that it-factor that combines a snappy gameplay loop with a stunningly low bar for entry that will keep you coming back for more.
Clearly an object of passion, Bears In Space is far more than a vehicle to deliver endless skits and gags. It's a more than competent shooter that has been painstakingly put together to reflect the joy felt by individuals who clearly love classic gaming, oddball entertainment and most importantly – having fun.
With its emphasis on action, exploration, and a heaped helping of theatricality, Princess Peach: Showtime! showcases that our dear Princess is more than comfortable in the spotlight. If the odd performance issues subside, it may just be ready for a standing ovation.
Akka Arrh is a relic from a lost time, making itself quite at home with a modern player through overwhelming visuals and a gameplay loop that seeps into your gray matter.
Ultros is one of those rare beasts that ticks many, many boxes for what makes a game memorable, right from the second its title screen sucker punches you with its prismatic panache.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is the essential final chapter to the Ace Attorney courtroom experience. It's a hilarious, heartwarming, and mind-bending experience that will leave you cheering at every triumph and gasping at every ridiculous twist.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader not only promises, but delivers the very thing it was designed to be – a meaty, authentic Warhammer 40k game that feels right at home in its RPG trappings.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a masterful example of passionate game creation, blending a white-knuckle comic book adventure with the beautiful pathos of being human. It is sensational. It is spectacular. It is Spider-Man. (Two).
NetherRealm Studios has scooped up all of their favourite toys and re-distributed them across the playroom in a way that has revivified the Mortal Kombat experience, birthing perhaps the most solid and enjoyable fighting game I have ever encountered.
While the fear factor may not go all that far, the gameplay experience in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is smooth as butter and flows like claret from a freshly opened artery.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood drinks deep from the well of creativity, shattering whatever narrative mould you may have expected to deliver a magical fortune telling experience you'll find hard to forget.
Not a mere reboot or refresh, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons delivers a fiendishly familiar beat ‘em up that will have you hooked on its charming retro styles and clever modern trappings.
Diablo IV is a must-play for fans of the series and newcomers alike. It invites you to lose yourself in a world of darkness and embark on a thrilling journey filled with relentless battles, captivating storytelling, and a hauntingly beautiful audio-visual symphony. Just ignore the extraneous limb reaching for your wallet.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun successfully captures the dark and expansive lore of the Warhammer universe, immersing the player in a grim and pixelated future that will appeal to both fans of the franchise and FPS enthusiasts.
Outer Terror is a daring and defiant ode to the beauty of retro horror, delivering an arcade experience that is familiar but unique enough to keep you digging further.
LEGO 2K Drive rips up the tarmac with its confident self-identity and gorgeous worlds, delivering one of the most outright enjoyable arcade racers in modern history.
Hogwarts Legacy is the most definitively accurate and exciting wizarding world adventure people could hope to experience, short of getting a real-life invitation to Hogwarts. With hours of content and a wealth of wizarding wonderment, you'd be hard pressed not to enjoy yourself to an impressive capacity.
Lone Ruin nails the brief on what makes an appreciable roguelike – combining a slick and sexy aesthetic with a core gameplay loop that can be rapidly picked up, but is deep enough to beg for mastery.
Darktide is a game that has atmosphere seeping out of every orifice. Its design brings a crushingly depressing and oppressive aesthetic to life in new and exciting ways, transporting the player to the grimy underbelly of Tertium. The most shocking realisation is that you don't want to leave.
Evil West might wear old-school clothes, but under the hood it's a modern stunner. Gorgeous and gutsy, the tale of Jesse Rentier paints a dark world where the best way to illuminate your path is by way of a shocking Tesla-powered knuckle duster. It deftly navigates some of the pitfalls that are to be expected when forging a new IP and drops a winning hand that is more aces than eights.