Game Grin

Overall, AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES- nirvanA Initiative is great as both a sequel and a stand-alone title, catering to both returning fans of the series and brand new fans, who can even choose to avoid spoilers regarding the first game. I can truthfully say that this game deserves a place in the libraries of anyone who loves point-and-click games, murder mysteries, futuristic aesthetics, ARGs, and V-Tubers, as well as anyone who is looking for an in-depth story experience.

I found the level design in Ultra Age was a little too sparse at times; you would find a lot of big wide-open, areas and empty hallways when you travel through the different areas. Even with the lack of objects in the environments though, it could be a bit tricky at times to find the right path to get to the next area. Ultra Age isn’t an incredibly long game, it seems to take about seven or eight hours to complete, but I was okay with that.

Starship Troopers: Terran Command is a great real-time strategy game that has you leading your troops to victory against the arachnid alien forces trying to take over the galaxy. The multiple difficulty settings make it accessible to anyone who wants to destroy bugs!

In closing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge may be one of the best — if not the best — TMNT games to date. It’s incredibly faithful to the source material and it had me grinning from ear to ear throughout the majority of my time with it. With an absolutely killer soundtrack, gorgeous pixel art, super stylish animations, and easy pick-up-and-play mechanics that don’t dampen the fun factor; this may well be one of my favourite games of the year. Turtle Power!

There is so much to do here it’s going to take a long time before you get bored! If you are unsure about playing survival titles, this may be the gateway drug for you; it sure got me hooked! I just wish the game would let you know ahead of time that the bottom row of boxes is where you want to place the weapons or items you will be using as it took me way too long to figure this out.

While Seven Pirates H clearly belongs in Horny Jail, that doesn’t make it a bad game. It may be somewhat poorly translated, levelling up may be repetitive and tiring, and some of the music could be better, but it’s actually pretty decent. A single playthrough will run you about 10 hours though, so at £34.99 it might be priced a little high if you only plan on playing through once.

The Quarry offers an incredible amount of fun in seeing how many different ways the same night can play out, more so than ever before. But even if someone only wanted to experience this game once, they would still have an amazing time with the title’s endearing characters, strong plot, and jaw-dropping visuals. Just, be careful how you play, got it? You won’t believe what you’ll become…

The soundtrack is relatively simple but works as a decent backing to the gameplay, whereas the effects of the gunshots give weight to your shots, with a nice little telltale clicking sound effect to signify your ammo is running low. The environments and visual style of The Cleaner in a slower genre of game would fare a lot better than the quick shooter it tries to be.

Sephonie is an enjoyable title gameplay-wise, and although it is quite an exciting adventure to undertake, it is its only upside. Ugly graphics and uncomfortable story-telling that felt more riddle-filled than DARK SOULS bogged the experience. That said, Sephonie will be a good experience for any that like puzzle platforming, as it brings plenty of fun challenges to the table.

Cotton Fantasy is a title that you should definitely check out. Plus, with so many unique characters to play as and the leaderboard that has all players competing to get on, you could keep yourself busy for a long time!

The vague lore, worthless UI, and frustrating lack of information were only overshadowed by how much I really wanted to like this game. Each poor choice left me yearning for what Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters could have been, but isn't.

Truth is, despite being too stupid to fully finish Peppy's Adventure, the game is pretty great. Although a lot of its content is gated behind levels much too difficult for me to beat, I enjoyed my time with it; it offered me a level of difficulty I hadn't faced before. Numerous collectibles throughout the worlds are sure to increase the difficulty every once in a while, which should be a welcoming feature for those smarter than me.

Summertime Madness is an engaging puzzle-adventure title with challenging puzzles, stunning graphics, a beautiful soundtrack and a wealth of collectibles. While several of its puzzles are needlessly complex, and some collectibles are near impossible to find without a guide, it is enjoyable for fans of the puzzle genre nonetheless.

Overall this is a fun title with a silly sense of humour and a happy story that is sure to provide some fun to anyone who has some kind of timing. If you just can’t keep along with the beat you may get a little frustrated or annoyed hearing the same few songs on repeat.

Overall, I enjoyed Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising. It’s on the short side for an RPG, although I appreciated this due to its repetitive nature and found that it was over before it became a chore. An absolutely stunning game to look at, with a charming plot that has made me want to know more about this world. I’m now firmly aboard the hype train for the upcoming release of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

Plainly put, Sniper Elite 5 not only managed to meet my expectations but far surpass them. What I thought would be a fun game for a couple of hours at most became quickly a phenomenal release I couldn't get more of. Whether I charged in guns blazing or tried to be the ideal sniper or I did the side quests or main objectives, I had fun.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker is definitely on my list for Game of the Year. I can’t overstate how much I’ve enjoyed playing this game over the last couple of years. When I’m in the groove I can while away the hours disassembling ship after ship, and even with as much experience as I have I’m still not bored with the various ship configurations. I highly recommend going into debt to LYNX.

Jett: The Far Shore is a simple yet beautiful game that makes space seem scary and dark, yet wonderful all at the same time. Not being one who has a complete set of working senses I can’t say what the sound is like. The visuals are well crafted, almost reminiscent of 16-bit titles like Virus on the Acorn Archimedes.

It’s rough around the edges, with texture glitches, numerous spelling mistakes, and the like, but it was hard for me not to be taken in by the great environments and overall aesthetic of this title. Just like the teaser for this review says, this is as close to a Dead Space soulslike as we’re likely ever going to get!

Kaiju Wars is going to be a title you will want to give a try. It could be a little repetitive [near the start]/[over longer periods] especially if you were fighting the same kaiju repeatedly, but once you progress enough to get new things like extra forces to recruit for your battle or the option to name the kaiju you discovered it added more variety to the gameplay!

Evil Dead: The Game is, frankly, a solid title and an incredible entry in the Evil Dead franchise. It doesn’t quite hit the mark in some areas, but it offers a great experience as a Survivor and acts as a decent repository of the series’ best characters. Barring the insect version of Ash from the comics, of course.

A visually appealing game with an incredible core concept but is unfortunately quite frustrating to play. In general, it feels like there’s an emphasis on quantity over quality – with a lot of filler content that doesn’t really have much to do with the purpose of the title. Luckily, in the latest patch notes, developer Pyramid Games did say it is planning on improving things in future updates so there’s still hope.

Although the loading screens are frustrating and the voiceover left some to be desired, King Arthur: Knight's Tale is an enjoyable experience.

Bakery Simulator is an intense experience; there are so many different things that you must take care of to just do something as simple as making breakfast buns or bread. Not to mention recipes like croissants that require more work, since you are cutting the dough and rolling it up into its crescent shape.

Dungeons of Dreadrock is an enjoyable puzzle experience with fun mechanics that get a tad more complex over time. That said, the puzzles never grow too difficult, which can either be a good or a bad thing depending on your enjoyment of puzzle games. Short and enjoyable, Dungeons of Dreadrock should be good to pick up and keep you occupied for an evening.