A modern monster catcher RPG that brings lots of smart evolutions to almost every Poké-like system you can imagine.
Hibiscus & Butterfly tries to do more than it should as a second episode, but this is still a sweet, warm visual novel that's as restorative as one of its good cuppas. If you wanted more Coffee Talk, you're in for a treat.
Dripping with atmosphere and armed with several compelling story hooks, Dredge is an eldritch fishing tale that will have you hooked from the word go.
An affecting and powerful visual novel, The Wreck takes a long hard look at grief, guilt and family relationships to deliver a cathartic gut punch to the senses.
After ten years away, Company Of Heroes 3 returns with two stonkingly good single-player campaigns and a bevy of multiplayer options. Its enormous Italian operation could have more tension in the way you conquer the map, but its RTS battles remain as compelling as ever, and the sheer breadth and variety on offer here will please new and veteran players alike.
Square Enix's gorgeous JRPG returns for a second outing, but bar a couple of very minor evolutions, this is effectively the same Octopath Traveler as before.
A thoughtful exploration of humanity's will to survive, Deliver Us Mars marries big, planet-sized problems with gripping, interpersonal drama - and pleasingly tactile platforming. The only disappointment is its rather rote puzzles.
Mahokenshi has some good moments of spontaneous creativity, but this Japanese mythology-themed deckbuilder is more gruelling than it is great.
A straightforward remaster of the 2007 PSP original, Crisis Core is a perfectly fine action game that's received a handsome glow-up for 2022, but its story adds little to the wider FF7 plotline.
It's a better superhero game than it is strategy game, but if you're a fan of the MCU, Marvel's Midnight Suns is absolutely essential. Not only is this an ambitious tactics RPG that captures the fast, frothy fun of its comic book source material, but it's also a brilliant marriage of Into The Breach's intellectual conundrums and the turn-stretching power fantasy of Gears Tactics. The best Marvel game by a country mile.
A thoughtful, wry and vivid exploration of future tech and its impact on humanity, Flat Eye is a gripping narrative management hybrid game from the makers of Night Call.
Not much of a glow-up from Tactics Ogre's PSP remake in 2010, but this is still an engrossing turn-based tactics RPG that will keep you battling for hours and hours and hours and hours...
A moody Metroidvania with enough Hollow Knight DNA to tide you over until Silksong, but its stilted protagonist and occasional lack of direction prevents this from being one of the all-time greats.
This handsome detective game isn't quite the second coming of Return Of The Obra Dinn, but it does come pretty damn close. An entertaining story told through a dozen murders, The Case Of The Golden Idol is a mystery well worth solving.
A simple, but powerful blend of meditative mining and wave-based tower defence, Dome Keeper keeps you coming back for more.
Its stunning real-time battles with tactical pause are packed with drama and visual flourishes, but The DioField Chronicle's convoluted story and deeply questionable cast hold it back from true greatness.
A brilliant tabletop card game with strong puzzles, great characters and big moral quandaries to ponder.
There's a good point and click adventure to be found here, but it's buried under a gruelling turn-based battle system that makes everything feel like too much of a slog.
Its story is the same old cyberpunk sci-fi you've heard before, but Jack Move's invigorating battle system, winsome characters and gorgeous animation make this Japanese-style RPG worth a look.
Some of its later levels are a little abstract, but on the whole Railbound is a handsome puzzle game with a lot of neat ideas.