Sean Smith
PGA Tour 2K25 is a fine game of golf. It looks and sounds lovely, has an intuitive and fun control system, and can be tricky and nuanced or as hardcore as you want it to be.
As lovely a use of the undeniably cool source material as this is, MACROSS -Shooting Insight- is a commendable effort, but one that's destined to remain rather niche, it seems.
Virtua Fighter 5 REVO is technical, fat-free arcade combat at its best, and this polished PC port deserves to put a ton of new eyes on the product
Under Defeat is a superb game, which quite rightly earned plaudits upon release and still feels like an essential part of anyone’s shoot ‘em up library.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II has plenty for players to enjoy even if you decide to deviate from completing the main story. Everything looks and sounds incredible, and while the story is a bit meandering, the combat is sensational.
Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection had much promise with its heartfelt story, but it just doesn't quite hit the mark across the board.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is a warm dose of nostalgia, a highly amusing, varied and reverentially detailed step back in time.
Breath of Death VII The Beginning is a superb remaster of a well-regarded Xbox Live classic that harks back to a simpler time.
Tetris Forever is a superbly put together package, and an eye opening documentary with some genuinely footage on show.
Great God Grove had me hooked until the moment I had cracked the thing and brought peace and harmony to the Grove.
Rage of the Dragons Neo is not only a much better game overall, but there are a stack of extra bells and whistles that make it a no-brainer.
Void Sols kept my interest for far longer than any other game of its ilk, and is perfectly suited to the Steam Deck where I spent my time with it.
Hatch Tales: A Heroic Hookshot Adventure deserves its place in the pantheon of retro platformers on the Switch.
Rogue Flight is a good entry into the genre and one that is enjoyable but has a feeling something is slightly missing.
Blazing Strike looks the part but struggles to put up a fight in a crowded market that is only getting stronger.
8-Bit Adventures 2 is a game clearly engineered by folk who have an innate reverence for the genre, and no doubt know their way around an early Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest.
Europa is a gorgeous, transcendent mood piece that becomes an effective mindfulness exercise, an escape from reality.
Pureya is an original, if short lived take on the microgame genre that is a half decent way to while away a bit of time.
Undisputed has a good swing, but in boxing, if you come at the king, you best not miss. Just like the irrepressible Canelo, Fight Night is still the reigning champ.
It's not quite at the level of the games that inspired it, but Athena Crisis is a great effort with loads of customisation options.