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Agatha Knife is well written, funny and unique. The gameplay doesn’t take the genre to new heights, but it does tick all of the boxes that it needed to, to ensure that the adventure remains fresh and engaging throughout. Group this with the fitting soundtrack and the colorful hand-crafted visuals, and there’s little reason to dislike what’s on offer outside of its potentially touchy controversial subject material.

Nowhere near the classic the true Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo was, this pretender does an unsatisfactory and un-compelling job of providing a worthwhile experience. The story takes its time to truly materialize convincingly, and the payoff isn’t worth the effort. From an appearance standpoint, the game looks atrocious and will not have the looks your mother could love either. The act of controlling and playing Vertigo is passable, but unfortunately it hasn’t been properly optimized for console – which goes for both how the game looks, and the absence of a proper cursor when pointing and clicking the environment. Despite flashes of intrigue in the story and some enjoyment with the past memories Ed relives, Vertigo is a shoddy game that fails to live up to lofty standards – and as it shows you quite vividly, this one has fallen off a bridge and splattered on the ground below.

Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles is a surprisingly deep RPG that offers a rich and interesting story, fast-paced combat and the freedom to explore its world however you see fit. Issues with its poor voice acting and somewhat dated visuals to the side, Anima is one hell of a fluid experience that seamlessly combines several well developed functionalities together to produce a memorable adventure.

Despite very slight niggles over control and getting myself lost, the reality is that Piccolo Studio have delivered an incredible debut full of rich storytelling, tear-filled beauty and unforgettable moments. Their own attention to detail and the obvious love they have poured into this game lift it far beyond the heavens their hero seeks. Whether a debut outing or otherwise, the game is outstanding. They may have also just delivered my game of the year.

When all is said and done I believe Blasphemous 2 will sit high atop the Metroidvania Pantheon. However, throughout almost my entire time with the game, I couldn’t get the first game out of my mind – thinking how I should go back and play it again or finish off all of the free bonus DLC. The new weapon system with its three separate weapons gives this a good amount of replayability and allows for many different playstyles which is great. As a whole, the sequel is much more approachable for new players to the genre, and while there are plenty of improvements and quality-of-life additions, I can’t help but feel that Blasphemous 2 is the inferior product. Hopefully, the Game Kitchen plans on adding additional content here as they did with the original. I enjoyed my time with the game, but it needs something more to really draw me back in. 

To sum up Bluey: The Videogame would be to say that a dad had a fun time playing this game with his kids. It may have been a short experience for us totaling up to a few hours for the story and all collectibles, but they certainly had a good time. Our main feedback comes down to the length and nitpicky details like repeated dialog and camera controls when playing with multiple people. Overall I can recommend this game for families of young kids (or fans of the show I suppose) that want to get together around their Xbox together for a few hours.

Call of the Sea is a enjoyable first person puzzler that lays on said puzzles thick and fast. That it also looks stunning didn’t hurt my time with it. Having access to the journal is a great touch, and the story kept me hooked and keen to see what was next throughout.

Candle: The Power of the Flame delivers a gorgeously detailed and thoroughly well executed puzzle adventure. From start to finish, the game does an excellent job at keeping the player engaged through its clever functionalities and environmental mechanics. There’s some issues with slow, sluggish movement, but in the face of everything that Candle gets right, this one problem is easy to overlook.

Despite having some neat ideas across the board, the final execution of Colossus Down just feels a little too awkward and uninspiring. Clunky, repetitive combat and a teenage angst-filled story do little to inspire continued play. There are far better examples of the genre out there, on which your time is better spent.

Concept Destruction is a simple, well-executed idea and that is fun for all ages. It’s basically Destruction Derby but at a budget level. It’s easy to pick up and play, and even with the limited game modes you will still have a good time.

Disney Speedstorm has the potential to be something great. The driving is smooth and fluid, the maps are vivid, and I love the characters and how they’re made to perform. But let’s be real here, gacha mechanics shouldn’t even have been considered for a racing game. This won’t be the last action racer we’ll see and I don’t expect any of them to be the next Mario Kart killer. I do expect them to at least not be a cash grab hidden behind a mask of beloved iconic characters, cool power-ups, flashy tracks, and cool funky music.

EMMA: Lost in Memories simple premise means it is easy to get to grips with, but some vague collision detection and dull visuals/music lead to it all round feeling rather bland and frustrating to play.

Overall, if you want an old cartoon-style game that can give you quality platforming, stick to Cuphead, Enchanted Portals may look the part but it isn’t the part where it counts and it’s real use is to showcase to sceptics what makes its inspiration so good.

I was very surprised by Endling – Extinction is Forever. I enjoyed it for the most part, with a lovely visual style and story, although the gameplay felt a bit repetitive at times which held it back slightly.

Whilst short and somewhat overly dramatic in regards to its writing, the game’s core loop is thoroughly well designed, putting forward engaging, clever mechanics that rarely grow tiresome. This is further upheld by solid visual and audio design, both of which collectively set the vibe of the game remarkably well. Puzzle fans looking to fill a quiet evening will no doubt enjoy what’s on offer, it’s just a shame it’s all over with far too soon.

Not a belting success nor a show stopping flop, Evil Dead: The Game is buried in a misty purgatory that it can’t shake itself out of. The atmosphere is potent, the combat is visceral and strong despite its heaviness, and there’s certainly a good potential for multiplayer pleasures here. But much like the characters’ clothing, sweat-dabbled skin and blood-soaked exteriors, The Evil Dead can start to stink of the same old formulaic multiplayer games we’ve played before. However, if you want a good time with mates The Evil Dead will do in a pinch, just don’t expect this nightmare to last long.

The game’s hands-off approach allows for a more relaxed and carefree affair, which is massively refreshing when we consider the current farming trend that tends to favor realism and constriction above all else. Putting its slightly convoluted mechanics aside, Farm Together offers a relatively light-hearted and fun experience that, although repetitive in the long run, manages to stand tall and firm.

While including the Lüscher color test is a neat idea and actually quite well implemented (in our eyes at least), there’s no getting over that aside from this USP, Finis is a pretty basic and simple puzzle game, where the main challenge comes from the controls rather than some cleverly designed challenges. Worth a punt if you’re looking for something to give an evening’s puzzle action, but keep expectations low.

Gigantosaurus The Game is a very friendly and easy going title which will provide hours distraction for young children and fun the whole family. It is not too difficult to play and there is a good balance of puzzles, collectable items, races and cut scene animations to keep everyone amused and entertained. It is likely to lose its appeal once the kids reach a certain level of maturity, but it is definitely recommended for families with younger children that need a good diversion and older family members who can jump in and out to help if anyone gets stuck.

In the here and now, Guts ’N Goals is fun in short bursts, at least solo. There’s a ton of stuff to unlock, the match types are fast and hectic and the extra modes prove to be a great way of mixing things up. It’d make a great addition to a local multiplayer night again in the near future, and once online play is there there’ll be more incentive to keep returning.

Overall and if you like horror games that pick up on typically used tropes or ones that have atmospheric tension dripping from every angle, then Ikai is probably going to call out to you. If you’re wanting a polished Japanese scare-fest, then you may want to either wait for a few updates or skip this one until a sale rolls around. It’s not a game you should avoid entirely but even with incredible audio and fantastic atmospheric design, this isn’t likely to be the biggest horror you’ll play this year, but in the same breath it will be far from the worst.

Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is a very cutesy platforming game that does it’s job surprisingly well. The “speed tech” taught is simple but effective and the variety of level types was a pleasant surprise. The art style and the story are nothing to write home about and certainly won’t appeal to all but platforming fans who admire gameplay are encouraged to give the pirates a run for their money. It doesn’t really overstay it’s welcome (underwater levels aside) and the levels feel bite-sized which was nice. A fun game to just pick up and play for bits at a time.

MechaNika, although short, is one of the funniest puzzlers in recent memory. There’s next to no difficulty as far as its gameplay loop is concerned, but this game is much less about complexity and much more about the journey at hand. On that score alone, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any game of the like that remotely relays as much character and wit as MechaNika does.

Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition is one of those games where you feel yourself getting better the more you play, and I usually enjoy games that give me that experience. Once you get an understanding of the gameplay it’s a very rewarding and fun game although getting to that point can be a bit unconventional. Discovering everything on your own can be a fun endeavour but I also understand why some players might abandon the game because of its obtuse nature. It starts out slow, and you have to build up your arsenal and inventory, but overall the journey is very fun. It can feel somewhat grindy at points, especially the end game, and it would be nice if there were one or two more levels and/or some boss variety. In the end, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of roguelite platformers, especially if you like shooting tons of Gunz and exploring an exquisitely designed morbid pixel art setting.    

Oh My Godheads is fun, bright, colourful and zany, but it’s somewhat let down by repetitive play, a lack of content, and no online support. The fact that you only get two out of five modes with the actual godheads is a kick to the teeth, especially when those game modes are the best out of the lot due to the innovation and tense fields of play. It’s certainly a dish best served with your friends and family, but for those that don’t have immediate access to those, the single player components of the game leaves a lot to be desired. It’s fair to say that this could have been much more than what it is – despite the clever and colourful design.

I am a fan of side-scrolling platformers like Inside, Songs of Iron and Limbo, and One Last Breath has taken my gaming breath away! Personally, I am not the type of character to worry about “save the world” elements, however, One Last Breath sucked me into their world and made me think, that some of my real-world actions might have a massive effect on the world as we know it. That aside, the gameplay was wonderful and pleasant to play, with the short sharp and levels that made each section of the game palatable. I felt truly relaxed while playing, even though a wrong move could kill me.

Overall, if you like horror but are fed up with the same overused tropes and want something a little re-energizing then this survival horror/escape room thrill is certainly one to add to your collection. With impressive gameplay ideas, a creepy setting, and some horrific enemies, this is a game that stands out amongst the countless horror titles available on Xbox and it’s one that is well worth a playthrough.

Relicta offers up some clever, challenging puzzle scenarios that use physics in a way that feels natural while also embracing the sci-fi elements of its presentation. The difficulty can occasionally spike, and the story elements, while entertaining, definitely take a back seat to the actual puzzle solving gameplay. But when that gameplay is so good and rewarding, that’s no bad thing.

Rise & Shine is a fun side-scrolling puzzle platformer that effortlessly blends together some fantastic functions and mechanics, which is further married to fluid and satisfying gameplay. There’s a great deal of variety not just to the level design but to the enemy variants too, which helps to keep the game feeling fresh throughout. Sadly the campaign is much shorter than expected, lasting south of five hours in total. Granted, the implementation of added collectibles pushes forward a couple of extra hours worth of play, but that’s not enough to justify the overall story length. That being said, the price point is more than reasonable so it’s hardly like you’re going to break the bank either way. Another brilliant thumbs up is the ridiculously funny humor that will have you in fits of laughter and stay with you until well after the credits roll. If you’re looking for an innovative and challenging adventure to begin the year with, Rise & Shine is a great place to start.

Seven Doors is short but entertaining puzzle title. The fact each puzzle tests us in different ways is a nice touch, although this will impact the difficulty differently for different players. We’d like to see the movement smoothed out a bit, but as it is this is worth a look for those looking for some quick hit puzzling action.

When all is said and done, Smoots Summer Games is fun, for a brief period. But, with no real atmosphere, and no online play, it’s not really going to be keeping you coming back for very long.

Smoots World Cup Tennis is a horrendously developed game that will only serve disappointment. The entire experience is full of poor design choices and technical issues. Furthermore, there’s no shot variety present, nor is there any consistency as far as ball movement is concerned. It may look colorful and sport lots of customization options, but in the face of its sheer lack of mechanical depth and overall polish, that’s hardly a saving grace.

Solo had the potential to be a fun 3D puzzle platforming game. It has a friendly artistic design and the music accompanies it very well by breaking the silence with its slow calm notes. But sadly, it comes packaged with a thought-provoking narrative around your ideas of love which can make you feel uncomfortable and could be detrimental to a relationship if played with your partner.

After playing Souldiers for a few dozen hours I can say that it has a ton of potential, despite its issues I continue to want to play the game when I sit down and turn on my Xbox. The Metroidvania side of the gameplay really shines – the abilities, exploration, and world-building – but the game is marred by bugs and problematic design decisions that make the difficult souls-inspired combat feel less rewarding and much more frustrating. If the game was released without many of these issues I could see myself scoring it much higher but as it is, Souldiers needs to head back to basic training before anyone else enlists in their army. 

Stay isn’t going to be for everyone. This is less of a traditional game and more of an interactive dialogue-heavy experience with a theme that largely revolves around motivation, self-esteem, will-power and anxiety. Stay’s clever “the clock is always ticking” mechanic holds up really well, as does the main character’s mood system. Though, issues with delayed input and the, at times, irritating pace, holds it back slightly.

Super Soccer Blast is more of a bore than a blast. The first game is enjoyable, but then you notice the flaws very quickly. However, I do take pleasure in shooting from 50 yards out and scoring with ease. The create your own team and player is a nice addition, but it’s a shame there isn’t more content and teams to pick from from the off.

All in all Super Sports Blast is a good little sports game for all ages. The sheer simplicity of all the sports as well as a graphic style, that while not breath-taking is certainly not horrible, make this a perfect game for people to relax and play or even to introduce younger games to the sports genre.

Overall, Super Toy Cars Offroad is just not good, at least not for me. I enjoy a goofy arcade racer intended for children occasionally and love classics like Mario Kart and Cruisin’ USA. This sadly lowered the bar of expectations for me from this developer in their near future. The last game took around 4-5 years to develop while this one was less than two years. It feels rushed when racing through the tracks and learning the levels becomes a chore with trying to manage the dreadful physics on top of normal map memorization. This makes it even more luck based having one lap work flawlessly, then getting thrown around and hitting invisible hitboxes taking the same path lap 2. At least the power ups aren’t overpowered and not a huge threat, which is sad to say about any racer with item usage and combat mechanics. The game isn’t hard, just needs more polishing to work out the issues. I would pick this game up only on new game sale if you love this genre or wait for a better sale in the future. You would have more fun just playing the second Super Toy Cars game, as I believe that’s the best entry yet. The shoddy gameplay for Offroad allows the music and visuals to outshine, even if they aren’t a beacon of light to bathe in.

SuperEpic: The Entertainment War lays its feelings out for all to see on the current state of the big buck chasing corporate side of the game industry. That it does so with enough wit and entertainment factor is commendable; it would have been easy to fall on the wrong side of parody. The core gameplay is fun and engaging, the art is fantastic and – odd typo aside – the writing manages to get the message across in an entertaining way. Undercoders perhaps lent a little too heavily on the MetroidVania aspects with a hard to read map and even harder to keep track of side missions, but overall I had a blast with SuperEpic.

And that’s about it. There’s no extra modes, no MP, no leader boards. As a standalone arcade game it’s passable for quick bursts, but the appeal soon wore off and after just an hour or so I’d more than had my fill. As usual, there’s a fairly easy 1000g to find if you’ve the desire to grind the stages, but I can’t see this being a title that’ll stick in your playlist once that last achievement pops.

The Library of Babel has beautiful art and an intriguing story, but the game built on top of that lacks polish and evokes old-school design in the worst way.

Transformers: EarthSpark – Expedition has come and gone and it’s largely an unforgettable experience for me. Transformers are cool and I always enjoying taking control of one and this iteration started out no different. But as the game went along it was too much of the same button mashing patterns with a navigation system that was making me mad having to constantly check. All of the experiences the first time were fine but it didn’t leave me craving more.

Treasures of the Aegean has been a joy to play; initially, I thought It might be hard to get this review done. I figured I might get distracted by a certain AAA racing game that released around the same time as this, but every time I played that I just wanted to get back to the mysterious island that popped out of the Aegean sea and parkour my way across the environment, solve puzzles and search for lost treasures.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds is the WWE’s big release for the year, but it’s taken a new direction after last years effort and is a decent arcade alternative to the previous WWE games. The gameplay is fair and different, but you always expect a decent storyline to play through as well. The comic strip idea is OK but with no voice acting anywhere it just feels a bit weak.

Youtubers Life is quite an endearing management experience that, surprisingly, doesn’t come across too taxing nor too demanding. There’s a decent amount of depth to be found here, but its lack of gameplay variation is what holds it back the most. Nevertheless, if you can overlook that and forgive the game for its repetition, Youtubers Life will keep you gleefully busy for hours on end.

Overall Ziggurat II provides players with yet another fantastic FPS rogue-lite adventure that can be enjoyed for hours. Whilst the campaign may only set you back around 5 or 6 hours, seeing everything this game has to offer is certainly going to push that time up to more than 50 hours, and with fantastic detail, impressive visuals, polished gameplay and some truly enjoyable content, this is going to be one of the surprise hits of 2022, one which certainly deserves a spot in your gaming library.