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Cuisine Royale is a surprisingly fun battle royale. It won't compete with the likes of Fortnite for player numbers, but if you fancy something different with its own irreverent sense of humour, then I'd recommended giving it a go.
In an industry still obsessed with lifelike visuals, gratuitous violence, and tear-jerking stories, Wattam is a welcome remedy. Though short-lived and bizarre is its design, it has a joyous cleansing effect that will have you grinning ear to ear.
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch is a solid return for the series, mixing classic minigames with a handful of new ones that use the Switch's various capabilities – and which exclude those with a Switch Lite. Just as with the original, it's going to be easy to drop in for a few minutes a day and test yourself, but this isn't really doing much more than the DS games.
While Heroland looks good and has a few funny moments thanks to the writing, there's simply not enough here to make it worth your time. Idle games work well on mobile because you're meant to do other things while they're chugging along, Heroland requires too much input to be left alone, but not enough input to ever hold your attention.
With this latest batch of DLC, Frontier have taken Jurassic World Evolution to its natural conclusion. All that budding dinosaur park owners ever really wanted to do was create their own Jurassic Park and now they can, buoyed along by the deeply welcome return of the franchise's most recognisable stars.
New additions and returning favourites make Discover University a very strong offering, despite being the eighth expansion pack for The Sims 4. It improves on previous university-themed expansions but doesn't quite achieve the lively atmosphere of other DLC packs available for a similar price. A strong recommendation for hardcore Sims fans, but not a must-buy.
Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs is a lot of fun. It works exactly as you'd hope in VR, and the game world is pretty to look at even as you're toppling the horribly capitalist pigs and their snotty structures. The level editor is an excellent addition, though there's no online sharing at the moment. Even without that, it's still a fun game to play and should keep you occupied for a few hours.
L.A. Noire: Case Files cleverly recycles one of the most intriguing games of the decade. Team Bondi's meticulous meticulous world-building and technical achievements still live on, clicking seamlessly with VR, even if Case Files doesn't exactly break new ground.
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency is an excellent addition to the Budget Cuts universe, one which well and truly builds on the original in every way. The new tools add in plenty of new strategies and the stealth gameplay is just as good as it was in the first game. The levels have a bit more variety now too, which should be a nice change for anyone who works in an office in real life. It could have done with a slightly longer tutorial for brand-new players, but aside from that, it's a great addition to anyone's VR library.
AVICII Invector proves to be something of surprise. Edge of the seat rhythm action, great visuals and a varied and moving soundtrack make this a fantastic retrospective of a genuinely unique artist.
Last Labyrinth might tickle your morbid curiosity through its mysterious atmosphere and deadly puzzles, but with Katia's slow speed and hit and miss puzzles, the game quickly loses steam.
With Audica, Harmonix has taken a shot at reclaiming the rhythm action crown. It touts a challenging lineup of stages matched by a strong song roster yet feels boxed in by its shooting range premise.
Mosaic might only last a few hours, but within that time it has moments that can stick with you, bring you joy amidst the monotony of everyday life. There's a message here to say that there is always a glimmer of hope even if it isn't always obvious, which is a good message to send. Plus, there's a talking goldfish.
If a classic JRPG is what you're looking for, The Alliance Alive HD delivers most of what you could want, if little else. With a few tweaks to the JRPG formula, a likeable cast of occasionally dumb characters, and some interesting combat mechanics, it's not exactly breaking the mould, but it's doing a pretty good job of filling it.
There's much to love about Sparklite, and it's clearly been a passion project for the small development team, but my overall experience was a frustrating one. It's hamstrung by its half-formed and unnecessarily repetitive roguelite structure that undermines the positives of the aesthetic and challenging boss fights. A good roguelite gets better and more complex with repetition, but Sparklite just increasingly overstays its welcome.
Lost Ember is a great looking game that provides a number of different ways to play and explore its world. However, there are too many distracting performance issues that need addressing to improve its playability.
Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy is more Layton, but with a host of new characters and a healthy dollop of puzzles. Unfortunately, they're weaker, more contrived tests of your mind than previously. Katrielle and the stellar supporting cast really boost the experience, as do the stunning visuals, but the sum of its parts is less than I expect from a Layton title.
Dusk Diver is a game that promises a lot with it's gorgeous visuals, but the combat ultimately falls short. Its basic combo system and missable story are not enough to even come close to some of this year's stellar action titles.
Mary Skelter 2 is a fun game at its core, but it surrounds that with a lot of elements that detract from the experience and make it almost unplayable in public, at home, or anywhere you think your screen could be seen. Fanservice isn't an inherently bad thing, but the characters are all way too young to be used in this way, and it's just not great. The customisation is good, and the combat gets great the further you press on, but it's hard to ignore the random instances of undressed girls sprinkled throughout the game.
Black Future '88 is a stylish, stunningly fast roguelite that has a unique setting and world to mess around in. If you love to get your head smashed in by games, then you'll undoubtedly fall in love with this one, but if you need a bit more than that to commit, then you might not find anything here for you. It's a lot of fun, but it does feel a bit cookie-cutter in some places, and the world of roguelites is very competitive nowadays.