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A simple but effective throwback to simpler times, Knights of Pen & Paper +1 Deluxier Edition is a love letter to tabletop roleplaying games and the fun you can have acting daft with your mates whilst throwing dice. If you’ve come looking for a deep and layered plotline or a finely balanced battle system, you’ve come to the wrong place. This is the land of the min-maxing, meta-gaming meat shields and their party of pals. Best enjoyed by existing TTRPG fans who want to churn out a few micro quests whilst taking a break from something more taxing, there’s fun to be had here if you enjoy the simple things in life.
Mindcop is an incredibly entertaining whodunit that expertly blends level headed crime solving with laugh-out-loud foolishness in a way that just shouldn’t work – but it does. Questioning the folk of the Merrylin Crater Camp and scouring for evidence is delightfully simple, and the pivotal time mechanic creates an incredible sense of urgency that’s often lacking in crime games. It’s a game that takes itself just seriously enough, as showcased by its combination of derpy cartoon-noir visuals and saxophone laden soundtrack with its cast of well rounded characters and layered storyline. Fun from start to finish, Mindcop is dripping with tongue-in-cheek playfulness that you won’t need a forensic team to uncover.
Stalker 2 is a game that I didn’t think would happen, and in a form I didn’t expect in 2024. It’s a game that eschews a lot of modern design sensibilities, both for good and bad, and that doesn’t really play like anything else made this decade. It’s a fantastic retro shooter, an excellent exploration sim, and at times, terrifying horror experience and melancholy musing on the industrial legacy we leave on the world. For some it will be frustrating, unclear and punishing, while others will revel in the freedom on offer. If you enjoyed the previous games, you already bought it. Otherwise, if you wanted a more desolate isolation than a Fallout offered, a more chaotic shooter than Call of Duty, a less structured apocalypse than Last of Us, or just really missed those moments in Far Cry 2 when your assault rifle jammed for the sixth time mid-gunfight, it’s time to hop the fence and enter the zone.
As much fun as I’ve had with Neptunia Riders Vs Dogoos, the game does feel like a DLC that has somehow been spun out into a full release. In my short time with Neptunia Riders Vs Dogoos, I had a lot of fun despite the limited gameplay options and lack of variation through the levels. Because of this, along with the quirky and niche humour that the franchise is known for, I’d find it hard to recommend to anyone who isn’t a diehard fan of Neptunia and the Goddesses.
Overall, Wargroove 2 may not add too much to its predecessor, but when you already have a good thing going, why change the formula? The long levels and occasional screen clutter can be annoying, and the story of the campaign is not especially cohesive. However, despite the lack of new features, at its core the tactical gameplay and the gorgeous visuals are a true throwback to the brilliant Advance Wars series. If you’re a fan of that formula, then look no further, as Wargroove 2 is available on Xbox Gamepass, Steam and Nintendo Switch.
Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition is the equivalent of a classic car getting a detail, a fresh wax, and being rolled out to wow an all-new audience at the car show. Under the hood, it’s still very much a product of its time, but that doesn’t make the final product any less enjoyable to drive. Boasting the same hilarious and addictive gameplay as 1999 but with a lovely new set of 2025 HD visuals, old-school fans will be thrilled to have this absolute gem available on their modern machine. Just how much this release will move the needle with new players remains to be seen, as it’s very much a port that comes ‘warts and all’, eschewing a few layup modernisations in favour of offering a thoroughly faithful remaster instead.
Nikoderiko: The Magical World is a vibrant platformer that the whole family will enjoy. Jam packed with eye-popping visuals, loveable characters and solid level design, it’s the prototypical modern day platformer. Hampered only by long loading times and a smattering of bugs, the main drawback might only be how heavily it leans on its source material, essentially becoming Donkey Kong Country Returns-lite - for better or for worse. Sporting modern palatability and polish alongside the old school gameplay, if there was ever a game that a parent could show their kids about ‘platform games back in my day’, Nikoderiko is the one.
Vampire Survivors is an arcade game packed full of things to do and just when you think you’ve had your fill, the game will somehow drag you back for one more game. Vampire Survivors is one game that I can fully get behind and would recommend to everyone… except vampires.
Europa isn’t quite the boundless adventure that I was expecting. The joyful aerial exploration is held back by portions of lead-heavy ground traversal, slowing the gameplay to a crawl and sapping enjoyment from the experience. The visuals are striking at a distance but fail to hold up to closer scrutiny, making the decision not to make the game an entirely fly-by experience all the more baffling. Underpinned by a meaningful message that’s delivered with real heart, and boasting an incredibly powerful soundtrack, Europa, sadly, feels like an agonising near-miss.
Caravan SandWitch is a small-scale open world adventure that delivers a tale that’s as heart warming as it is sombre; it’s filled with nuanced relationships and impressively deep lore, and I found it a joy to experience. There’s little to fault about the cosy, risk free gameplay except that it simply may not be to everybody’s taste, but for me, it makes a nice change of pace to a landscape that’s currently bubbling over with ultra-tough soulslike adventures. Pottering around in your beat up old van and doing good deeds for people feels genuinely rewarding, and exploring the final abandoned outposts of civilisation on Cigalo offers a sense of adventure that’s so much bigger than its 10-15 hour runtime.
During its 4-hour playtime, I realised that Life of Delta is perfect for those looking to make their start in the point-and-click genre. Some puzzles are decidedly unclear, which could frustrate newbies, but those who’ve tackled this type of game before might find the game easy when it comes to gameplay.
Overall, Monolith is a bit of an enigma of a game. Worth a go, for sure, but this might be one that really leaves you most with a feeling of disappointment. If you like ambient settings, some light hearted dialogue interspersed with some fascinating story arc ideas and absolutely loooooved what they did to the finale of Game of Thrones, it’s time to blast off and pick this one up! If you're someone who can’t stand a bad ending, maybe leave this one on the digital shelf - personally, I’d have preferred a Sopranos style fade to black… hole.
Dreaming Sarah is a rather nonsensical wander through a string of surreal environments and sadly never coalesces into much more than a hodgepodge collection of ideas. It’s a carefree and low stakes affair which may appeal to some, but with almost no story to speak of, and driven by only the tiniest sliver of gameplay, I found my attention span waning long before the two-hour runtime was up.
The Iron Rig DLC offers that trademark DREDGE spookery, a myriad of new tools, and shoals of extra species to lengthen the overall experience. This new tale isn’t as well told as The Pale Reach, but the extra gameplay content is much broader in scope, encouraging me to even polish off quests from the main game that I had previously consigned to the deep. If ‘more of the same’ makes you want to pull your waders on one more time then you won’t be disappointed, but players expecting vast new experiences may want to give it a miss.
Machinarium is a ‘straight off the lot’ point-and-click puzzler that excels through some wonderful world building, clever storytelling and adorable characters. Whilst never straying far from the standard formula, there’s still plenty to enjoy, not least the fantastic, rust-covered visuals and well constructed soundtrack. This is one I’d recommend to newcomers and veterans of the genre in equal measure - while old school fans might not get much brain stretching out of it, it’s worth everyone’s time for the chance to experience this wacky welded world for yourself.
Overall, Sword of Convallaria leaves me torn. On one hand, the stunning artwork, impressive soundtrack and detailed tactical combat are all huge positives that would normally propel the game to a much stronger recommendation. But on the flip side, the time-restricted gameplay, unbalancing gacha aspects and aggressive microtransactions are pretty sizable turn-offs. Perhaps more palatable to experienced mobile gamers than traditional TRPG fans, it irks me that so much potential is buried beneath so many unsavoury pay-to-win mechanics.
SCHiM is a sweet little platformer that takes a joyous childhood idea and turns it into a heartwarming story that’s engaging and enjoyable. It shows off some great silent storytelling that connects you to the main characters by way of a great introduction and finale, despite losing some steam in the middle. SCHiM showcases an undoubtedly wonderful mechanic against some striking backdrops, and while it doesn’t quite get into high gear, there can be no denying that this shadowy hop-fest is great fun, and that some of the finer details will certainly bring a smile to your face.
Overall, Noreya: The Gold Project is a sprawling Metroidvania that offers 20-hours of nimble exploration amidst some simple combat and a somewhat fractured plotline. Despite sporting some lovely pixel art visuals, a wonderful musical score and an intriguing premise, there’s a general lack of polish that left me a little wanting. Established Metroidvania fans will find a solid addition to the genre with plenty to enjoy, but in the end Noreya might serve as a reminder that all that glitters is not gold.
In a vacuum, it’s hard to recommend the original We Were Here – it may be free, but it’s plagued by audio issues throughout and is decidedly simpler than the newer entries, inviting entirely the wrong kind of headache. But from the perspective of the franchise as a whole, it does offer a cool window into the origins of We Were Here, and it’s obvious that the seeds of many great ideas are already beginning to take root in this initial entry, shaky though it is.