DeVuego

Ultimately, like many licensed games based on pre-school programs, Dora: Rainforest Rescue is not a deep or innovative platformer. It is, however, very loyal to the Dora IP, it is bright and colourful and incredibly accessible for even young players’ first videogame ever. It could have used some more inventive or variety, but it’s a great Christmas gift for young Dora fans. Especially now that it’s 50% off!

I think a lot of us often struggle with something, and A Pizza Delivery does itself few favours by stitching together a random set of experiences under self-doubt and confusion. But life really is just a road of things happening until it’s over—self reflection may be in order, but there’s no point wallowing in it. I really liked this game.

NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound does exactly what it aims to do. It isn’t trying to be a large, 25-hour, big-budget experience. You’ll get a solid 4 to 5 hours of fun combat and platforming the first time through. It’s full of gore, has a decent story, and the graphical splendor on offer, if you’re into pixels, makes it that much easier to recommend if the $40 price tag doesn’t turn you off..

Blades of Fire is not going to be a game for everyone. It’s beautiful, runs great, and has some design decisions that made me pull my hair out. It’s incredibly long, and I do not think that it benefits the game in any meaningful way.

Toy Tactics is deceptively simple yet a lot of fun. It’s got the charm of toys clashing about as environments, spells, and the right tactics change the course of the game. And all the while offering varied objectives, great level design, and quite a number of modes for play. If you’re in the market for a unique real-time strategy game, look no further than Kraken Empire’s latest hotness. ∎

Fans of the genre are unlikely to find a better game this year than this. Now I’m off to have a good cry and hug my kids.

Creatures of Ava is an excellent title, and it’s on Game Pass at launch.  If you want a game that lets you explore a gorgeous alien planet, get your inner photographer on, and know when to mix in its version of combat then I think it is well worth a download.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy is an occasionally pretty, decently fun title.  It’s not too long, and if you’re into collecting things there’s a solid reason to replay each chapter.  I’m not sure when it is going to hit Xbox but if you have even a decent PC and love stealth platformers then this could be one worth picking up.

The big question I asked myself when it came to writing a review was this: Is this just a low-effort cash grab, or is it worthy of the fantastic show? I’m pleased to say, I feel they’ve landed firmly in the latter camp. The usually impeccably imparted ‘lesson’ each episode of the show delivers arrives here in the game exactly where it should be, heart and warmth intact.

From the beautiful presentation to the fun coming-of-age story, Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is easily one of Tequila Works’ best. Fans of League of Legends have had their hands full with Riot Forge’s other releases and they can have another helpful serving of a fantastic adventure game.

It’s the simplicity of the game that makes it so much fun to play—it’s just done so well. The gorgeous visuals, solid score, and strong gameplay system make The Mageseekers: A League of Legends Story so easy to recommend to anyone. This game is way too good to pass up on.

This is a decent time waster, that’ll get you a bunch of Gamerscore.  It’s not a good game, but it’s cheap, and you’ll see your numbers go up.  Sometimes that’s all you need out of a couple of bucks and thirty minutes of your time.

Blind Fate shows potential for this rather new dev team. They nailed multiple parts of what it takes to be great, with the writing being solid and the voice acting being fantastic. It looks good but feels terrible to play, only getting to almost decent after many hours. It can feel wildly unfair but there is still just enough there that it may be worth checking out if you can find it at a decent price. It may not be the best Samurai game, but it’s got spirit.

‘Arise: A Simple Story’ is a well-designed Platform Puzzler with a very clever time manipulation mechanic. The game is very striking visually and the musical score picks you up and carries you along the way with it. The puzzles are not over-taxing but are challenging enough to keep you interested and create a nice, chill gaming experience. If you are looking for a platformer game that will take you on a bit of an emotional journey, you should check this out.

I think Mango Protocol has made a great beat ’em up that continues the story of their previous two games (as far as I am aware at least). If you like the cutesy art style, enjoy a buttload of pop culture references, and are looking for a game to play with a friend this weekend, you would not go wrong with Colossus Down—it certainly made for a fun play session with my family.

If you want to investigate a mystery by exploring a beautiful location and solving puzzles whilst also learning about Polynesian culture this is a good place to do just that.  I have played numerous games of this type over the years and this is another that I really enjoyed. I certainly felt a sense of achievement at the game’s conclusion.