Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Reviews
Ixion elegantly balances the dynamic play of a colony simulation with a grand, meticulously directed sci-fi narrative. Its perilous journey through a cold and dangerous universe is vivid and engrossing, although its complex routines occasionally obstruct its storytelling ambitions.
It's Dwarf Fortress as we know it, but much more approachable for both new and returning players. The new interface makes it easier to get started, but there's still a huge amount to learn and the game isn't great at teaching you. If you can give it the time and patience it requires, you'll be rewarded with one of gaming's most intricately detailed and deeply satisfying story generators.
Folkloric life sim Kynseed is like a gingerbread house with a witch inside: made up of excellent parts and unpleasant surprises. The pretty bits are delightful, but not nearly enough to hold it together.
The Callisto Protocol isn't that scary and has potentially annoying combat, but it would still be pretty fun if it didn't run like your three day old reheated takeaway.
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.
Iterates on the first Warzone with tweaks that make your decisions more meaningful, all backed up by a new map and DMZ mode that make this a complete Call Of Duty package.
Two final girl sprints forward and one terrified limp back, The Devil in Me is the strongest Dark Pictures to date, but still feels like Supermassive are yet to find the right balance between fun and frights, camp and terror, and interactivity and storytelling.
A simulation of the everyday reality of being a nuisance sheep, Goat Simulator 3 is more than just the sum of its fart noises.
Mechanically simple but visually engrossing, Somerville offers an interesting, if not particularly deep, sci-fi adventure.
Pentiment is an enthralling murder mystery that uses the rich backdrop of 16th-century medieval Europe to masterful effect.
Vile Monarch's post-apocalyptic city-builder puts its people first to great success but walks a fine line between providing too much or too little to do.
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.
Probably the best Sonic has been for a while, with open zones that make for scrappy fun and incredible frustration in your hunt for the Chaos Emeralds.
An engrossing JRPG that uses the framing of a life sim to ground its twisty and overblown story.
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 charming puzzle game about the satisfaction found in organsing and tidying. Plus one mischievous kitty.
A cosy puzzle adventure about a group of ghosts discovering who they were and why they are still hanging around - and then helping them reach the other side.
A more measured approach to movement brings out the best of COD's arcadey shooting, but watch out for unwieldy unlocks and performance issues.
The full release of this still splendid arcade splat'em up adds variety, depth, and an endgame you may or may not feel compelled to conquer.
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.