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Jack Axe has the opportunity to be a fun little platformer, but it suffers from horribly unreliable mechanics that make it more frustrating than it is enjoyable. Between the endless unrecognised button presses, janky hit boxes and your abilities routinely failing to launch, there’s enough to discourage some folks from going very far at all. But for those who show a little faith and push on -fear not- you too might be rewarded by a terminal crash and a deleted save file at the crescendo of the game. Sadly, it’ll take a lot more than the delightfully sweet visuals to keep this one off the chopping block.
Teslagrad spins an interesting tale off the back of an interesting gameplay mechanic, coalescing into a game that’s fun to play from start to finish. Flinging yourself around using electromagnetism makes for some excellent platforming and puzzle solving, and the tale of dystopian revolution is magnificently told, at least for those who seek out the necessary pieces. Perhaps only lacking in a little bit of reliability in the mechanics and a bigger visual budget, Teslagrad does a great job flying the flag for alternative Metroidvanias and deserves an incredible amount of praise.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a tight hack and slash, full of fluidity that sees blood, guts and dismembered limbs fly all over the shop. The story is very wobbly, but among the over the top violence is a challenging game designed to test your skills as a ninja, and while the game is tough, even on its easiest setting, it never feels unfair. Team Ninja encourages you to try different approaches to boss fights so that when you do ultimately prevail, there is a great sense of achievement.
Devil May Cry harkens back to simpler times, offering fun hack and slash action that you don’t need to take too seriously. Capcom treats us to some very cool environments as we wander across the spooky Mallet Island, smashing through some excellently designed enemies along the way, and what gets in the way can mostly be put down to inexperience on the developers’ part. The fixed camera angles that served them so well in the past are a real pain this time around, and the slow and deliberate menu system detracts from the fluid pace they were going for. This debut entry offers a fun peek back at the origins of a popular franchise; it might be fun for fans of the modern entries or videogame historians, but the average man in the street probably isn’t missing out by not revisiting it in 2025.
Syberia is absolutely of its time, offering a point-and-click adventure that now seems outdated in almost every aspect. With aging character models, an archaic and ugly UI and whole townships blatantly designed to facilitate a few oddball puzzles, it’s unlikely to win over many new fans in 2025. That said, it’s not all bad – the pre-rendered environments still look pretty decent, and there’s a few moments so ridiculous that you’ll likely get a laugh or two. Perhaps like the clockwork automatons in the Voralberg factory, Syberia is a product of a bygone era, but not without significance to those curious about days gone by.
We Were Here Too is a regression from the original in almost every way, setting it up as the low point of the franchise so far. While the visuals continue to evolve into the characterful style we’d come to love in future entries, the sound design takes a nosedive, as does the puzzle design, which feels bland, flat and somewhat repetitive. Lacking the sense of atmosphere and immersion that makes other entries such fun, there’s the feel of a workplace teambuilding in We Were Here Too – sure, you’re working together, but it’s because you have to, not because you especially enjoy it. Thankfully, I know that future titles soar to significant heights, and I’m thrilled that the team at Total Mayhem Games found their groove with time.
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.
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.