Like a Dragon: Ishin is a great standalone work that holds its own in a fantastic series. An exciting whodunnit plot is the basis for a whole lot of action, some solid storytelling, and characters you sort-of know and will grow to love.
Two Point Campus is a delightful treat. Consistently funny, enormously satisfying, and challenging to boot, it'll take you right back to the best years of your life, or make the worst years of your life better.
Ever wanted to try escape rooms but never got around to it? Well, Escape Academy is a real treat to tease your brain, especially in co-op. It's approachable with a great hint system, whilst providing a decent challenge for more seasoned puzzlers.
It's a shame, but Matchpoint Tennis Championships just didn't quite get there on most aspects of its tennis simulation. A lack of licenced players and UI bugs only compound the core issues with the controls being far too simplistic and repetition setting in extremely quickly.
With its unique hook, surprisingly in-depth gameplay, and fascinating mystery, Card Shark is an absolute delight.
Gibbon: Beyond the Trees tells a hugely important story wordlessly and effortlessly, combining the gameplay and story in ways that inspire both powerlessness and hope.
Nintendo Switch Sports is an admirable attempt to fill the void left by the Wii Sports series, but a lack of offline progression and small selection of sports means it doesn't quite reach those heights.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the perfect Lego game, the perfect Star Wars game, and a fantastic sendoff to an illustrious series as a whole.
The real pleasure with WWE 2K22 is in the hilarious community creations and chaotic action in the ring with friends. Download someone's crude rendition of Queen Elizabeth II, jump into an Extreme Rules match, and take them down from the top turnbuckle. At its best, it's an absolute joy.
The reason I play Hearthstone is because of the wild and unpredictable interactions that happen when the fantastic creativity of the design team is allowed to run wild. Unfortunately, most players are unable to experience it first-hand in the current Hearthstone Alterac Valley meta, but that doesn't make it less deserving of your time.
Gran Turismo 7 represents a true return to form for Polyphony Digital. Despite being the seventh mainline iteration, the team is still able to keep the series feeling fresh with its new coat of paint and innovative technology with its new weather system and soon to come AI. For Gran Turismo players out there thinking this might be a half step measure it’s not; it’s a full blown experience and so much more. It’s an essential must-play for any fan out there and it just might be my favorite Gran Turismo thus far.
Retro Bowl does a fantastic job with what it's trying to do. Being a mobile game ported onto the Switch, it was always going to be a challenge to figure out how to make it work, but New Star Games has come out with another lovely arcade treat.
It all meshes together into a game that's far too difficult and without the satisfaction that comes from making progress in a difficult game. It's like bashing your head against the wall, and unlike other games with this approach, the wall isn't starting to crumble. The wall has grown a smug, laughing face as it prepares to take away one of your character's most important abilities, just in time for the final boss battle.
Battlefield 2042 is a game you need to have a squad alongside you to properly enjoy. It's just a shame many have been turned off from the game before it becomes the exciting simulation I know it can be. A lot of my friends have given up on it, but I don't want to just yet.
It's a must-play, the perfect next step for existing FM fanatics, and the ideal place to start if you've never dipped your toe in the deep end of management simulations. You'll be able to get started easily and stop playing after just one more game. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to lose 6-1 to Liverpool in a failed attempt to implement a Gegenpress at Reading FC.