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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.
Transport Fever 3 is a great strategy game for those of use who love logistcs, trains, planes, and helping a map full of businesses and town to thrive. In exchange for large amounts of money, of course. If you can handle a few console controller related kerfuffles (perhaps by playing on PC instead) and a lot of advanced planning, Transport Fever 3 is a great option for it.
Therapods is a fabulous new entry in the point and click genre with a style and character all of its own. Whether you're a long-time fan or just checking in because of the dinosaurs, you'll have a yabba-dabba-doo time – oh wait, that's a different story of man and dinosaur co-existing!
Minecraft Dungeons II is a perfectly tuned sequel, taking everything that the first game got right, and expanding, revising and improving on it.
DreamEcho is a flawed game that will still appeal to a certain crowd. If you're a fan of the sort of extreme build crafting that others think is too much, then this is a good choice for you. Otherwise you'll probably get a bit tired of the game after a few hours.
Taking another step forward for this classic series, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve brings a truly cinematic outlook to its special brand of arcade-infused dogfighting.
FC27 is a slight improvement to FC26 but even with some of the gameplay changes and the addition of The Grounds, it does not feel like a major evolution. The Grounds is currently quite basic and needs expanding upon, while FUT leans too far towards arcade goalfests, and my personal preference would be to see more of the authentic gameplay style peppered in there.
Box Knight surprised me once it got going. After some slow early runs, the game opens up to become a satisfying power fantasy in which enemies that destroyed you at first become easy to defeat. The power growth is well judged to keep you grinding and I cleared everything in just over 10 hours, a length which felt perfectly judged rather than overstaying its welcome. It's not a game that will blow you away but it could be the perfect palette cleanser between grander experiences.
Rivage is a very good looking game and has some great talent in its voice acting which, alongside the written messages, emails, and notes, all goes to give depth to characters that are not present. However, the puzzles are hit and miss. While most are a decent challenge, some outstay their welcome and feel padded out along with the multiple barriers placed in front of players.
Silent Hill: Townfall got its hooks into me pretty quickly, and I'm desperate to keep going back for more playthroughs. Purists might moan that it's once again not set within Silent Hill, but the series has always been more than just a physical location. It is an entity, a state of mind, a place where people are forced to confront the things they would rather leave buried. Townfall understands that. It takes the ideas, themes and psychological horror that make Silent Hill what it is and puts them somewhere new.
Stick it to the Stickman is one of those rare games that feels built to put a smile on your face and keep your entertained. It's full of strange twists and turns, not in the story, but within the gameplay itself, and it's consistently entertaining and quite refreshing as well. My only issue with it is the lack of online co-op, but it's a blast with a couch co-op friend, and it's a dream on Steam Deck too. Please play this, it's one of the best games of the year.
Any game that lets you execute a bus, or stamp on windows to direct a cat to attack a woman called Sandra is a winner in my books. Remedy should be credited for taking their time and making a very different sequel, rather than more of the same, and also for throwing a lot of ideas into the game. However, for me, it's a little too unfocused and padded.
The Relic: First Guardian feels like a case of a smaller developer overextending itself. It brings an aggressive twist to combat and features a host of bosses to battle, but that's not enough to overcome the game's flaws and weaknesses. A flurry of patches have arrived since launch, but you're currently still better off waiting to see if they can address more of the core issues.
A multi-stranded strategy RPG masterclass, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is absolutely a part of the conversation for being the very best game in this venerable series.
A fun, breezy open-world racer that does a great job of capturing the magic of the toys, Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is likely to fill plenty of hours with car-ramming delight for younger players. For everyone over the age of 12, there's Forza Horizon.
Moonlight Peaks is a fantastic cozy game experience that focuses on farming and relationships, but minimises mechanical challenge and possible penalties. If that's what you're looking for in a farming game and the supernatural trappings appeal then there is a lot to enjoy here. The lack of more involved mechanics makes this a perfect game to play alongside more demanding titles and there is always something to do to push things along.
For Switch 2 owners, this edition of Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion is the perfect addition to Remake, Rebirth and Retribution, and I'd argue that it's essential for fans that have yet to experience it. However, Square Enix once again put consumers last, and with no upgrade path beyond buying the game for a second time, this is simply not worth your money if you own the Switch version.
Star Wars Zero Company is a solid take on the turn-based tactics genre that's really elevated by its Star Wars story and characters. Unfortunately it's let down by bugs and quirks that directly impact the gameplay and will need further updates to reach its potential.