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I enjoyed my time with Mika and the Witch’s Mountain and whilst the game is far from perfect, I had to remember the target audience and who this would appeal to. My seven-year-old loved joining and playing this one while I reviewed it. He enjoyed watching the conversations and how Mika interacted with people to gain information for the next objective and then using her broomstick to deliver parcels. It does become somewhat repetitive at times and it does fall a little short at around six hours of gameplay, but this is always the sweet spot for an indie for me. It holds enough quality, polish and great mechanics to make it a game to consider for your younger ones, but I’m not ashamed to say I enjoyed this one as an adult too.
For a remaster of a 30+ year old game, the developer did a surprisingly good job with X-Out: Resurfaced. The controls and overall gameplay is solid and holds up pretty well. Being able to customize one of the four submarines to tailor your playstyle is a nice twist. But it doesn’t make it any easier. Lack of continues and extra lives (unless you have enough to buy additional(s) subs) makes for a frustrating and repetitive experience as dying boots you back to the main menu. If you’re looking for a hard as nail shmup experience, this is one of the best. If you’re looking to dip your toes in the genre, this ain’t it.
System Shock is another remastered hit from NightDive Studios. They did an overall great job bringing back this classic from the dead. While they did an impressive job in terms of visuals and presentation, unfortunately, under the hood, i.e. the core gameplay, is still incredibly archaic and might put off the Call of Duty crowds. If you can tolerate the confusing navigation and lack of handholding, System Shock is an enjoyable experience. However, if you enjoy a more streamlined experience, System Shock might irritate you more than anything else.
I was pleasantly surprised by Robodunk and spent far more time with the game than I anticipated. This was down to the addictive and short yet snappy gameplay loop with plenty to unlock. The development team have done a fantastic job at combining such a familiar experience with classic games such as NBA Jam and Playgrounds yet introducing the roguelite elements within the experience, and it works! Admittedly I would have loved to see some online multiplayer elements here as I feel the game would suit the competitive style of playing against real-life opponents. For those who love same-screen fun though, you’re in luck with 2 player co-op options and also local multiplayer with up to four players. For £12.49 it’s a reasonable price-point for potentially hours of fun, alone against AI or with players from the comfort of home.
Cycle Chaster H-5 is one of the most enjoyable, easy to pick up and fairly challenging shmup I’ve had the chance to play in quite sometime. It’s simple and there’s nothing to complicated; you have all weapons at your disposal from the get-go, controls are solid and it has a distinct unique style. While this is a great shmup for those looking to dip their toes in the often overly challenging genre, it might be a too easy for those looking for something more substantial to chew on. Definitely worth your time.
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator was disappointing and didn’t meet my expectations. I encountered a myriad of bugs throughout the experience, repetitive dialogue and gameplay, and poor visuals. This is unfortunate, as the concept and the way some of the scenarios are put together are fantastic. This isn’t to say there isn’t fun to be had here and you’ll struggle to find an experience that is on par and as accurate within the ambulance/paramedic genre. I do feel though that this game could have been done with a little more time in the oven to give it some extra polish and perhaps that will come in the form of future updates. There is plenty within the gameplay loop here for a good 20+ hours or maybe longer if you enjoy grinding your way through everything on offer.
Big Helmet Heroes is a fun, well-crafted beat ‘em up with tons of personality. Its engaging combat, varied heroes, and stunning visuals make it a joy to play, and the imaginative levels and hilarious weapon choices add to its charm. However, it’s held back by its disappointing co-op implementation, frustrating performance issues, and frequent bugs—particularly on Xbox. If Exalted Studio can iron out these technical issues and maybe even add online multiplayer, this game could easily become a standout in the genre. But as it stands now, it’s a diamond in the rough—polished in some areas, but frustratingly unrefined in others.
The fighting genre has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years. You could argue that it’s currently the strongest it’s been, but the re-release of these games in such an impressive package goes to show that Capcom were amongst the early architects that helped what came to follow. Simply put, MvC: Arcade Classics is an excellent collection that celebrates the early days of the mash up madness of Street Fighter, Marvel and co. It’s to be hoped that part II of this collection, scheduled for later in 2025, continues with the quality-of-life improvements and quality seen throughout this edition.
Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines is a great mix of action, platforming and exploration. Each level almost feel like a mini-Metroidvania like game where players are encouraged to explore every inch of every level to find all gems, treasures and collect as many (if not all) fruits. But Luna’s twin-stick shooting mechanic takes a while to get used to in a 2D environments and the “forced” exploration can feel like a chore. However, if you can get past these quirks, you’ll discover an addictive little gem and one of the best games of the last 12 months. Highly recommended.
Turbo Overkill starts off great. The fast paced movement, shooting, exploration works well as a whole, but the deeper you get in the game, the more platforming rear its ugly head and ruins the complete experience. I had flashbacks of DOOM Eternal’s overabundance of platforming, except worst because if you don’t position yourself perfectly on the walls to wall run, you’re screwed. Missing the wall jump augment? Well expect to be screwed later in the game. It starts off well, but the platforming killed it for me. Great shooter where its paced is ruined by monotonous platforming. Unless you’re a die hard FPS fan or looking to experience a new “old school” type experience, I cannot recommend Turbo Overkill.
Dreamcore is one of the best, most unique gaming experiences in this still early year. The unneasyness and creepyness relies on atmosphere instead of cheap and predictable scares. While you do know that nothing will jump up out of nowhere, your mind still thinks something is coming. But as you’d expect, it’s very light on gameplay, this is all about the overall experience and it does feel cheap to have only two levels out of the box. If you’re looking for something different than the typical horror games, Dreamcore is absolute must play.
Yellow Brick Games should be super proud of the project they have produced here. Both the Xbox and Playstation platforms especially have been crying out for a game like this for some time and Eternal Strands is a journey that is well worth your time. The fact I could play this on my Legion Go on my handheld in downtime at work and then pick up where I left off at home on my Xbox Series X made it an absolute pleasure to play. It is refreshing to see a real success story in gaming from a new studio and IP from an industry that has struggled and suffered layoffs en masse in the last few years. I highly recommend picking up and playing Eternal Strands whether it is on Xbox with Xbox Game Pass, Playstation or Steam. It is a title that oozes fantastic design choices right across the board with a compelling storyline and engaging gameplay consistently. You’ll get a good 30+ hours out of this game depending on your pacing and whether you want to explore every nook and cranny as I did. This is the first stand-out game of 2025 for me and deserves to be a roaring success, I can’t wait to see what Yellow Brick Games create next!
Dynasty Warriors Origins is one of the best gaming experiences of this very young year. The combat is surprisingly deep, there’s an enjoyable variety of weapon where you’re sure to find a favorite, yet the game still encourages you to mix and match a bit. The special attacks are fun to use and the amount of enemies on screen is very impressive; despite some generic features. While it can get repetitve during long play sessions, it remains one of the more enjoyable games to play after a long day of work or school. If you’ve been hesitant to jump into the series, unironically, Dynasty Warriors Origins is great entry point. Highly recommended.
Well, I think we have found the first near-masterpiece indie game of 2025. Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders takes everything that made Megagon Industries’ first title great and strides forward with a super-polished experience. I’ve managed to play this across several devices for this review: Xbox Series X, Lenovo Legion Go, and even cloud gaming on my mobile phone. It is the perfect game to engage with anywhere you are and with the Xbox play anywhere feature it is available freely once in your personal library too. The addictive nature of just one more run, as you strive for perfection, is ever-present. It’s a game which is a challenge to master but is oh-so-satisfying when you hit courses perfectly. If you’re an Xbox player, you’re in luck since it has been integrated into the Xbox Game Pass library for January 2025. But even at its £20.99 price point, it is well worth every penny for the number of hours you could sink into its slopes.
Sniper Elite Resistance is another worthy entry in the franchise. While the game engine is starting to show its age, it still plays very well and the gameplay is solid; aside from slightly wobbly controls when requiring precise positioning. If you’re played any previous entry in the series, you know what to expect whereas if you never played a Sniper Elite game, Resistance is as a good as any to jump into the series. Fans of shooters should definitely pick up Sniper Elite Resistance; it’s a consistent entry in a solid franchise of shooters.
SlavicPunk: Oldtimer gets the combat and gameplay loop bang on and I had a great time with the overall experience. Unfortunately, it misses the execution of the storyline and immersion with the irritating small text. I could only actually read this by taking a photo on 10x zoom with my phone camera, this is how bad it was on a 55-inch TV. That isn’t to say there isn’t fun to be had here though, it looks and plays fine but can be easily finished in one 4-5 hour session if you hammer through it like I did. For £14.99 though, if you’re into Cyberpunk-esque environments and you’re after a twin-stick shooter with a story that you’re not too fussed about, this one may be for you.
Unfortunately, Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is the prime example why not every game should be remastered, let alone considered for the remaster treatment. The combat is archaic and clunky. While I can understand that back in 2000, this was passable and borderline revolutionary, this doesn’t cut it in 2025. This game is clearly for those who hold a fond place in their heart for it. If like me, this would be your first attempt at this game, highly recommend skipping it. There are a bevvy of better beat’em ups available. Never thought playing as Darth Maul would make him such a pathetic weakling.
Swords & Bones 2 is fun and nice diversion from more complex gaming experiences. All you have to do is run through simplistic 50 bite sized levels, earn coins and level up your character. Nothing really complex here. If you played the first game, it’s just more of the same, except level design is slightly less irritating. If you haven’t and looking for a short time killer for some quick Achievements, Swords & Bones 2 is worth the investment.
Super Solitaire is a solid entry into the Xbox store and whilst it is available on mobile and also Nintendo Switch, it is nice to sit and play with a controller to hand. The developers have kept things simple here, with the ability to jump on and just play. If you want to extend the fun then there are harder difficulty levels and also daily challenges. But it is just Solitaire at the end of the day and if you’re a fan then you’ll probably love it.
Candle Knight is a decent Metroidvania style game. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, the unique combat adds a unique layer of strategy, albeit it does feel like it holds the game back and it’s a lazy way to avoid opting for a deeper combat system. If you’re a fan of the genre, I’d definitely recommend Candle Knight. If you’re looking to dabble in the genre however, I wouldn’t recommend this as your first experience.