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ONE PIECE: Grand Gourmet is a charming management sim that, despite some clunky quirks, will put a smile on any One Piece fan's face.
Stupid Never Dies isn't perfect, but it's an incredible charming debut release from GPTRACK50 Inc. that is absolutely packed full of personality.
Tenebris Somnia is a real labour of love, showing the developer's affection for both classic survival horror and cinema in equal measures. The slow drip of story and tension through the excellently produced live-action cutscenes contrasts with the pixel graphics, while the ways the world opens up to explore Ivan and Julia's relationship create a compelling story. In a golden period for horror gaming, Tenebris Somnia is yet another excellent entry, showcasing a different aspect of the genre.
If you're left cold by the modern Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy Resonance returns you to a simpler time, offering old-school action and a decent narrative, while wrapping it in a delightful visual wrapper.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is a lot of fun, but it's also a game that's entirely removed from standard gaming. This isn't going to appeal to everyone, but I think it's a slam-dunk for those that have kids who want to get involved, or people who want a convenient way to get themselves moving just a little bit more, even if you're unlikely to be working up a sweat. It's a lot of fun, but it's also a game that's largely more of the same, so knowing that you'll like a few of the sports is a must.
Enshrouded is my favourite of the recent raft of survival games. It's distinctly unique, what with the Shroud occupying parts huge parts of the map, and the insane building potential is excellent, arguably making it the best survival game of the year.
Infection Free Zone is a slightly flawed realisation of a genuinely brilliant idea. It can take far too long to research things initially, but if you can get past that there's a deep and difficult survival strategy game here. But it's one that allows you survive in your own neighbourhood, or in the aquarium from The Last of Us Part 2, or Westminster Abbey. There isn't really anything else quite like it.
The Runner series is amongst my favourite driving games of all time, and over the hill is a unique take in the same spirit as those games. Its cosy, calming outlook and laidback vibes could have felt out of place, but this is an adventure game, in the truest sense of the word.
Jackbox Party Pack 12 is a really good party game bundle, and if you've been hoping for some new and genuinely fresh games to drag your mates into, it's definitely going to get the job done. The fact that both Hyperface and Megapals feel actually new is also an accomplishment when we're so many years into the series.
Another Eden Begins is an odd game. On the surface it seems to have everything you'd want from a modern JRPG but there is so little happening beneath the surface that it never really leaves its disposable gatcha origins behind. The core mechanics are functional enough that I played it through to the end (on Steam Deck whilst commuting and/or watching TV) but it's hard to recommend at the full price – even less so with the extra content locked behind a further purchase.
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is an incredibly entertaining game and a wonderful return to form for a series I've loved since forever. While it isn't an echo of the entries I love the most, it's still a fantastic game. The game is pure Castlevania in the best way, and the story and voice acting are sublime as well. If you like any Castlevania games at all, you'll adore this.
One More Level came into Valor Mortis with a bucketload of ideas, spilling them onto the drawing board and seeing what happened. Surprisingly, many of these disparate ideas seamlessly snap together like magnets while others show a bit more resistance, requiring some clever design work to form a unison. The end result is an inventive take on the soulslike genre that offers a satisfying, challenging gameplay loop without the laborious RPG trappings.
Silver Pines is yet another excellent indie horror game and would not be out of place as part of the Silent Hill franchise. The combination of survival horror and more involved platforming exploration works fantastically well, while the town is chock-full of hidden secrets with enigmatic mysteries to solve.
Hellraiser: Revival is everything I wanted from a game based on Barker's series. The extremity of its depiction of the slippage between pain and pleasure, the visualisation of both the Cenobites and the Labyrinth, even the sheer visceral nature of the combat and environment. I might be a little biased as I am such a fan of the source material, but this stands out to me as one of the best horror tie-in games I can remember and is essential for anyone with even a slight fondness for the Cenobites and their dark delights.
Neon Abyss 2 masterfully weaves in modifiers, meta-progression, and monstrous weapons for an extraordinarily enjoyable experience. On top of all of that, you've also got co-op, and a mass of mechanics that get added as you keep fighting through as well. This is a rogueliie for the ages, so don't miss out.
Gears of War: E-Day is a reminder of just how bloody good this series can be. After twenty years, perhaps Gears didn't need another revolution, it just needed another Emergence Day.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is a decent survival game, but it's weighed down by too much busy work. After the first tech level everything requires so many resources that you'll feel more annoyed at having to gather them than excited by the prospect of getting stronger. If you've got a bunch of friends to play with regularly these issues aren't insurmountable and you'll probably have a good time, but if you're playing solo will want want to lower some of the settings, abandoning your trophies, and you'll still have to do all the busywork yourself.
Star Wars Galactic Racer is the best arcade racer in years. It mixes compelling racing action, an addictive progression system, and excellent world building while stringing a narrative through it all. It's very fast, and very dangerous. It's also very, very good.
Amid so many quick cash-ins that prey on nostalgia, this is a remaster done right. Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered is a fantastic modernisation that completely overhauls the visuals of the original game while adding smart new features and quality of life improvements, making it just as fun and enthralling as it was a quarter of a century ago.
Qliphah In Providence's Shadow has the ambition to try something different, but in practice it needs better execution. It feels like a rhythm based battle system that has a very slow beat to it if you just focus on counters, with any pace needing you to attack without a care for defence. The battles are repetitive too and once you settle on a build there is no real reason to change it up.