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Candylands Journey is a light, accessible platformer that delivers plenty of visual charm and cheerful fun. It’s not a game that redefines the genre, nor does it need to — its strength lies in being simple, relaxing, and pleasantly crafted. If you’re after a colourful, easygoing platformer that plays smoothly on Xbox and offers a few hours of sweet escapism, Candylands Journey is worth unwrapping. Just don’t expect it to keep you coming back for seconds once you’ve finished.
Sky of Destruction on Xbox offers an engaging blend of arcade shooter thrills and tactical planning. The ability to switch between aircraft, manage loadouts, and issue commands to AI allies provides depth rarely seen in top-down shooters. Explosions, destructible environments, and responsive controls make the action enjoyable, while the modular inventory system rewards careful planning and experimentation. Its main drawbacks are the underwhelming tutorial, inconsistent audio, and occasional repetition. These don’t ruin the experience, but they prevent it from reaching its full potential. For players who enjoy shooters with a strategic layer and don’t mind investing time in understanding the systems, Sky of Destruction delivers hours of explosive fun.
The Knightling on Xbox is a bright, joyful adventure that captures the essence of why we love this genre — exploration, imagination, and heart. It might not have blockbuster polish or AAA depth, but what it does have is soul, and plenty of it. This is a game that rewards curiosity, encourages playfulness, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. For players who enjoy relaxing exploration, clever world design, and a dose of lighthearted heroism, The Knightling is an easy recommendation. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s fun, creative, and full of character — and sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit is another great game and excellent homage to classic games from the NES era. The challenge is hard, but fair, level design is really fun, tight controls, but the game is quite short and there’s no real replay value, but the core gameplay is addictive; I kept returning to play it. This game will definitely fall in my top 10 of the year and I can easily see myself replaying it. Highly recommended.
Visually this game is stunning with the choice of high resolution pixel art and a vast array of well thought our designs not only for the enemies but the overall feel and aesthetic that makes the world around the hero a place of ruin and repair. Each floor you clear you find yourself fascinated about the new colour palette, baddies and the way they handle and forget to dodge everything around you because you are taking it in. Not only that the soundtrack leans heavily on things around you reinforcing the game’s theme of isolation and struggle and giving it that RPG feel.
If you want a bland but playable adventure title, Blood of Mehran will be for you. As you traverse different environments, you will experience a feeling of Deja vu. This wouldn’t be too bad, but the Groundhog Day gameplay and dull action will not inspire you to keep playing. Though it wasn’t for me, you can grab your copy from the Xbox store!
Formula Legends is a quirky and unique racer that celebrates the decades of Formula One. Sure, it isn’t on par with the offerings of the official games that arrive annually, but it does serve as a solid alternative that can be fantastic fun. It can be occasionally frustrating, but that’s more of a skill issue on my part. If you don’t mind the fact that there is no licensing or online multiplayer, then it’s a vibrant and fun experience that will give you a good amount of enjoyment.
Forgive Me Father 2 is a great first person shooter. Surprisingly decent weaponry, mostly enjoyable level design and intense sequences of fight. However, as you’d expect, it’s a bit repetitive after a while and platforming isn’t ideal in an FPS. If you’re looking for balls to the walls action and colorful weaponry, Forgive Me Father 2 is one of the best games of 2025.
Due to the collaboration of two of my favorite developers, SWERY and SUDA51, Hotel Barcelona was one of my highest anticipated games of the year. Unfortunately, it’s a disappointment. The best way to describe Hotel Barcelona? A 2D Soulslike(-like) mixed with roguelite mechanics; two genres that don’t mesh all that well. Having to repeat the same things and levels constantly with ever changing conditions doesn’t allow gamers to practice and remember patterns. Due to the difficulty, there’s a focus on grinding to level up and upgrading your skills, but it gets frustrating after a while. The levels are enjoyable, but you’ll get annoyed having to replay them for the 10th time. There’s potential here buried under forced grinding. I can’t recommend this to anyone else but the masochists.
Dovetail Games has made significant strides forward in Train Sim World 6. It is refreshing to see them experimenting with how trains run along routes. Having random events added this year made me feel like I was in the cab, having signal delays, temporary speed restrictions, and even rescuing trains from the Dawlish Sea Wall are part and parcel of what we may have to do on a tough day. Whether you’re a driver, conductor or even a dispatcher in TSW6, the game feels more true to life than it ever has. It’s not just about driving trains anymore; it’s about living the railway. The changes the development team has made have introduced more immersion, unpredictability and the familiar polished product we are used to.
Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition is a fun and very tense first person shooter. Unlike typical horror games like Resident Evil or more recently Cronos: The New Dawn where you see enemies walking towards you, Xenomorphs come from all corners of a room which adds a layer of tension. However, it is short and features a bit of backtracking. That being said, if you can overlook these quirks, Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition is absolutely worth it.
Hate to say it, but I can understand why WayForward couldn’t find a publisher back in 2002. Shantae Advance is one of the weakest entries in the series. Irritating boss battles, lack of maps, boring levels and the “where the fuck do I go” kind of approach sucks the fun out of it. However, it’s great that WayForward and LRG were able to finish this project for long time fans of the Shantae series, but if you’re looking to dive into the purple hair protagonist’s adventure, try Shantae and the Seven Sirens instead.
Dying Light: The Beast gets Techland back to their best. I’m a huge fan of the franchise, and I expected big things from this game. Luckily, Dying Light: The Beast didn’t disappoint. The gameplay is hardcore, gruesome, and gory. Moreover, the bosses are fantastic, and there is always a sense of death and despair as you undertake every journey. As such, though it is familiar, I loved it and recommend grabbing a copy from the Xbox store.
Sonic Racing Crossworlds is an impressive return from SEGA and Sonic Team. This outing easily stands with its arm around Mario Kart World on the same pedestal. With its depth, numerous tracks, and customisation options, alongside competitive online racing, there is plenty of replayability and longevity here. Having the crossworlds mechanics makes for spontaneous races that can turn on their head in a split second. It’s a seamless experience on Xbox Series X, running at a solid 60 frames per second, even during maximum screen intensity. It may have taken some time, but this Sonic kart-racing formula is perfection after several instalments and experimentation. There is an excellent fusion of brand-new mechanics and true nostalgia alongside its roster of well-loved characters and excellent soundtrack. For fans of Sonic and the karting genre, this game is a triumph that is well worth buying.
Though the game design is basic, Extremely Powerful Capybaras looks great. The animation is smooth and there are no bugs or frame rate issues. The world can be filled with enemies, but the game never stutters. Additionally, there are some nice minor tweaks to each stage to keep things interesting. The audio is loud, but it lacks originality. The soundtrack is good, and the sound effects are enjoyable. Yet, they are familiar and rarely stand out from the crowd. Playing this was a breeze. Dashing and automated combat ensure it is easy to handle. Moreover, a handy P1, P2, P3, and P4 helps to prevent confusion. I tackled every level and enjoyed unlocking the additional classes. However, I fear that others could find it repetitive and tiresome despite the inclusion of Frenzy difficulty settings. Extremely Powerful Capybaras is a great addition to the genre. The developer has added some nice lighthearted elements to an otherwise familiar genre. I loved the fun twist of capybaras instead of hulking warriors. Additionally, the ability to play with friends locally and online was great. Unfortunately, the unlockable skills and synergies were a little limited, and this holds it back. Accordingly, despite the shortcomings, I think it is great and I recommend buying it from the Xbox store.
EA Sports FC 26 feels like it has made some exceptional strides forward this year. Having played for approximately 25-30 hours since Early Access was released and having invested a similar amount of time in the Closed Beta build, I can confidently say it’s the best version of the game we have had in several years. The key feature is the introduction of two gameplay modes: Authentic and Competitive. It’s nice to see that a lot more attention has gone into Career Mode as well as Ultimate Team. EA have for sure put the work in this time around to try and please every player type that dives into the yearly release. The game is almost polished to perfection this time around, and whilst I have struggled finding my feet in Ultimate Team so far, I am having a bloody great time. If you haven’t dipped into the series for some time, then this year is an ideal opportunity to return. If you’re a regular, then you’ll be right at home with a sprinkle of exciting new features.
Bad Cheese is a truly unique experience that has a fantastic art style that is clearly inspired by the early days of cartoons. I’d liken it to a mash-up between Steamboat Willie and Cuphead. The storyline is what kept me playing through this, with some emotionally heavy narrative and unsettling gameplay that has you on edge. Whilst the game is super short at around 4-5 hours to finish, it is quality rather than quantity. Whilst I was left wanting more, I felt satisfied with its runtime, but the replay value is limited since there aren’t any alternative paths or endings that I am aware of. For the reasonable price of £10.74, it’s worth buying.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is a standout experience in the bullet-hell auto-shooter roguelite genre. It stands toe-to-toe with some of the best experiences out there, such as Vampire Survivors, Brotato, Army of Ruin, and more. Since the game landed on Xbox Game Pass, I have poured close to 30 hours in so far, and I can still see so much replayability and longevity here. The fact that I’ve wanted to install the game on all of my devices to get my fix just speaks to me about how much of a great game this is. If you’re on a budget and want a game that will give you potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay, then for the price of £19.99, it is so worth it. Alternatively, if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription, get it downloaded immediately; it’s an addictive masterpiece.
I was looking forward to giving Baki Hanma: Blood Arena a whirl; I loved Punch-Out!! back in the day, so I was happy to try this. And as much as I wanted to like it, it feels incredibly unforgiving with little to no margin for error. A single mistake can cost you the fight having you to restart over and over again. If you’re a gaming masochist looking for your next punishment, then Baki Hanma: Blood Arena is ripe for you. However, if you’re looking for an enjoyable gaming experience, this is an easy pass.
I’ve spent around 55 hours ploughing through the main story. I have barely touched the side quests, and there are some areas untouched. This leads me to believe that I have hours of action left to explore. The plot is so good that I’d happily enjoy it repeatedly with each Vault Hunter build. Consequently, this should have hundreds of hours of gameplay if you so wish. Borderlands 4 is GOTY material. Juggling this and Dying Light has not been easy. Both crave attention, and I don’t have enough hours in my life. However, it has been a pleasant change of pace and a challenge I would accept again. Borderlands 4 is packed full of energy, madness, and weapons. The open world is great, and the plot is zany, ridiculous, and worth every second. Accordingly, this is GOTY material, and you should pick up a copy from the Xbox store.