No Place For Bravery has some real strong points and I really enjoyed the story in particular, but they're counterbalanced by weaker elements within the combat that meant I wasn't really excited by the whole package. It's a decent effort that will kill a few hours, but not much more than that.
Hard West 2 comes with an enjoyably aggressive twist on XCOM-like turn-based combat, and with a fun way of upgrading your characters alongside, but it's wrapped up in world exploration and characterisation that just leaves me wanting to get back in the fight. There's a lot of fun to be had in Hard West 2, even if it's not blowing minds as a complete package.
As Dusk Falls caught me by surprise, taking a genre of game that's become a bit too familiar and injecting it with a tense crime drama and a singular flair. My hat goes off to Interior/Night and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do next.
Capcom Fighting Collection plugs the gaps left in everyone's fighting game collection, sans Rival Schools of course. With lots of customisation available for how you play, ten excellent ports and a loaded museum, you'd be remiss to miss out on this excellent piece of history.
Chernobylite is a game that's dripping in atmosphere, but doesn't quite hit the mark in other areas. If you can get past its clunky shooting and stealth mechanics, there's some fun to be had in base building and people management.
Ghostwire: Tokyo was not the game I was expecting from Tango Gameworks, but I definitely enjoyed it. Blending magic-filled FPS action with Japanese mythology and an open world Tokyo that reminds me of the Yakuza series, it stands out from the crowd even if it's not truly groundbreaking. Ghostwire has a lot of potential as a new franchise and I'm looking forward to seeing what Tango Gameworks does with it next.
Martha is Dead wants to send a big important message, but the way it's delivered is terrifyingly bad, not only in it's writing but also in the shoddy gameplay.
Fights in Tight Spaces is a really unique and stylish take on the deck building genre with a level of strategy on offer that will be enough to keep people coming back for a long time. Fights in Tight Spaces is worth your attention.
Killsquad feels like a game that's taking a long time to cook. As much as I enjoyed my time playing it, it didn't always hold my attention, lacking a certain special quality. While it's already come on leaps and bounds, I hope Killsquad continues to improve with time.
I so badly want to love Back 4 Blood, but its grindy nature and difficulty spikes out of nothing let it down, leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth. It has potential for those in it for the long haul, accumulating cards and building specialised decks to match the challenge, but right now I just have no desire to go back 4 more.
No More Heroes 3 shines with its fourth-wall-breaking self-awareness, zany characters and stunningly slick combat. It's not afraid to be what it is, Suda 51 and his team delivering a great instalment to the franchise that welcomes us to the Garden of Insanity.
Foreclosed has some really good ideas and excels in some areas. Sadly the gameplay elements make the experience a little frustrating and tough, and the pacing is uneven. Still, Foreclosed is well worth experiencing.
The Ascent has got all the grimy character that you would want from its sci-fi cyberpunk setting, and there's a great combat system to go with it. Simply put, The Ascent deserves your attention.
Toilet humour can be very funny if it's written well and I'm not sure it's written well here. That's a shame because the rest of The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk is a decent effort at the tactical genre, with some genuine replay value thrown in. Why not give it a stab? Or perhaps, a backstab?
BioWare has done a fantastic job of bringing the Mass Effect trilogyup to meet the standards of 2021. While it's still a bit rough in some areas, and there's quirks to how they've retrofitted some elements into the oldest of the three (which is still inferior in gameplay feel), this is the definitive version of the landmark trilogy you remember.
Lady Dimitrescu's towering presence is just the tip of the iceberg of what Resident Evil Village offers. This game takes everything you know about the iconic horror series and dials it up to eleven!
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood feels like it had the potential to be really good, but even though the combat is very satisfying, the drab interludes and disappointing stealth meant I spent a lot of the time asking when the game was going to be over. To me, that speaks volumes.
Hellheim Hassle is a must-play for fans of platformers. Some fiddly controls aside, it's a wonderfully dark and funny adventure that's well worth going out on a limb for.
Despite being just a chess game, there are no real selling points to recommend this over any of the others out there. There's no extra modes, no tutorial and the game is marketed as being something it's not. This is a gambit you should not bother taking.
Body of Evidence has a quirky premise for a game, but it doesn't live up to it. It gets repetitive very quickly and new mechanics just make the game more fiddly and in turn more of a chore, murdering your spare time.