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A decent enough romp, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is let down by a few technical issues and some extremely dated graphics. Switch Lite users won’t get the full experience, but still enough to go on. Console limitations aside, it is fun to hoof Rebels about and use them like levitating pin cushions from time to time.
Lawn Mowing Simulator lands on PS5 in a good condition, though the lack of PS5-only features and a little bit of spit and polish wouldn’t have gone amiss. Thankfully, the zen wonderment of this game remains, and there’s really nothing else like it.
Arise – A Simple Story contains a beautifully told story within a charming puzzle adventure. With poignant moments and joyful visuals, this game has the ability to capture a breadth of emotion with ease. It’s a short but worthy edition to narrative driven puzzle games.
A pseudo-sequel that’s worth inserting a coin for, Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers takes the premise of the original and builds upon it in some imaginative ways. With a diverse and interesting cast, most of which you can romance should you choose, as well as some astute commentary on the state of modern day gaming culture, it’s a smart and engrossing title.
In a post Elden Ring world, Dolmen feels dated and too formulaic. It also lacks the personality, character and soul of the genre’s luminaries. If you’re looking for a new Soulslike game to scratch the itch however, Dolmen will certainly do that, despite its lack of mechanical innovation and uneven difficulty.
Whilst it may seem like an intermission before Bloodlines 2 comes out, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong isn’t engaging enough to fill the gap. Lacklustre gameplay, unsightly character models and a sense of “You should know this already” are enough to put off the new players. Maybe for the fans, but that’s only if they’re coffin up the money for it.
A few small gripes aside, Eternal Threads is a smart, uniquely structured and thoroughly enjoyable narrative adventure. By taking a trope that has become associated with the genre and owning it, the game feels fresh among the other games that attempt this concept too. If you enjoyed the likes of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture or Tacoma, you’ll enjoy this.
A child friendly, deeply approachable title that’s design specifically for the youngest of gamers, My Friend Peppa Pig is a triumph in tie-in game design. Like an interactive episode of the TV show, the little Peppa fans in your life will likely love this title because of its authenticity and ease of interactivity.
Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is adorable with clever logical puzzles that may appeal to the masses who love a good puzzler. Despite being filled with Bioluminescent beauty though, the lack of direction and repetitive environment holds it back from being anything more than ordinary.
Vampire :The Masquerade: Bloodhunt is a solid battle royale with huge potential that it’s not quite reaching just yet. The traversal and rooftop battles are huge fun and the map is terrific. So long as Sharkmob believe in it, there could be something pretty special here down the line.
It may have some technical issues that highlight the indie budget, but the good in Winter Ember outweighs the bad. It has all the stealth trappings; the frustration, the patience, as well as the stickiness of the combat, to harken back to the olden days. It may not be original, yet it doesn’t matter when it looks this nice and plays like the classics.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an essential gaming experience. It’s simultaneously a hilariously absurd adventure that can be enjoyed on its own merits and an insightful examination of storytelling in gaming. The acutely self-aware new content reframes the original game to give it refreshing new purpose alongside a cluster of new barbs aimed at the flaws in modern gaming. A must play.
Micro Pico Racers is a perfectly fine attempt to replicate the Micro Machines formula. It’s nowhere near as charming and the formula has aged quite a bit in the intervening 30 years between when it was first realised and now. If you’re hankering for a budget racer with a 90’s feel though, this will certainly fit the bill.
In Nightmare is a pale competitor to other titles of the horror-adventure genre. Stealth that’s preferable to charge through, puzzles that are the blandest of time-wasters and a narrative of dark themes burdened with typos and poor delivery. Real nightmares threaten your sleep with terror and fear, whereas In Nightmare only threatens to bore or frustrate you to death.
A charming, if simple, Zelda-like full of pot throwing and weirdness, Lila’s Sky Ark will fill a few hours, but fails to really differentiate itself in a crowded modern market.
Echoing the wonder and joy of 90’s arcade racers with a pumping soundtrack, Slipstream is well worth a look if you’re after something full of nostalgia with modern blemishes that bridge the gap between the two eras. And boy it looks good. So, so good.
What could have potentially been a good hybrid of walking simulator and multiple choice adventure is instead buried under boring gameplay and eye-straining visuals. Ashwalkers squanders any narrative replayability by being an all-round drab experience that is as uninspiring as the wastelands it’s set in.
Cat Café Manager is a cozy, stress-free casual management game for anyone who wants to adopt cute kitties whilst serving coffee. Whilst not changing the genre of management style games in any particular way, this is ideal for those wanting a homely game to play at ease.
Model Builder’s powerful suite of building and painting tools enable calming and creative game play that makes a potentially tricky hobby very accessible. There’s oodles of potential here but some of that remains untapped as of yet. Future DLC and updates will hopefully tap into that and extend the game’s longevity.
Weird West sadly just isn’t as unique, strange or compelling as its setting and ideas suggest it should be. A decent twin-stick shooter with solid but repetitive combat, a limited sandbox and inconsequential decision making undermine the potential for an awesome gun slinging adventure. Sometimes, declaring yourself weird just ain’t enough, you’ve got to have the stones to commit to the best duels of the wild west.