Xbox Tavern

There is much to wrap your head around from the start to plan everything you need into a limited inventory and hope you survive. But if you give the game enough time it becomes much easier to manage and you will find yourself wanting to explore more and take more risks. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and I think it’s definitely worth a playthrough.

Less content, less interesting, crippled by bizarre design decisions and bugs. Rico London feels like a weak test run for its precursor rather than a fully fledged sequel.

Gem Wizards Tactics for me feels like a half-decent PC game that has struggled to be remade for a console. It’s quite clear that a mouse would make all the menu navigation a lot easier. It would also help explain what all the skills are if you hovered over them. But the clunky controls, impossible menu navigation and weirdly short story mode made me lose interest in this game pretty quickly.

The Wanderer is an interesting look at the Frankenstein story and the visuals are appealing. However, what is here is a little predictable and the binary choices don’t inspire the imagination.

Overall, Bugsnax is likely to be a game that will sit well with the younger audience or casual gamers thanks to its minimalist approach and vibrant and colorful game world. Those wanting a meaningful experience are likely to find the systems in play here too linear and predictable and with no real pull to keep you going, it’ll only remain interesting for as long as you feel entertained by finding new food/creature hybrids. It’s not a bad game, but it’s not one that fills its full potential either.

All in all though, I’m not sure really about whether I enjoyed Paratopic enough to recommend it. It’s fairly priced for what it is but at the same time, and much like Baltoro’s Fatum Betula, it seems to layer on the weird for the sake of it, hoping that there can be some more depth or meaning pulled out of it by the player.

Similarly, the combat is super slick, stylish and gratifyingly nuanced, that it will please many who beg for a finely-honed, lethal and precise katana-thrusting gameplay core. Unfortunately, the repetition of enemies and their compositions do get in the way as there isn’t enough diversity in the enemy variety nor the deviation to manipulate curiosity in interesting ways, but ultimately if you want a brief, beautiful and brutal action game, you should certainly take this trek.

Overall, if you look to MotoGP as your go-to racer of the year, then 2022’s effort certainly won’t be a bad way to spend your time. If you’re looking for innovation and a unique experience, however, the new NINE season will surely be a breath of fresh air, but with flaws of its own, there is very little to warrant an entire £60 worth here, and you’d probably feel a lot happier picking this one up with a little knocked off the total price.

And with that, I’m going to bow out. Without wanting to sound preachy, just know that you’ve never played anything like The Stanley Parable, and this Ultra Deluxe edition just expands on that in ways I couldn’t have foreseen. There are a lot of titles that gain short term notoriety thanks to the memes or streamers reacting, but this will outlast anything else that has come before and deserves to be considered one of the very best game experiences of all time.

The game doesn’t offer a lot through variety of cars or customization options; however, it doesn’t need to. The game is relatively cheap for what is being offered with stunning visuals and audio design.

Overall, if you’re someone who has only found their way to the underrated world of Kingdoms of Amalur with this remastered package, then the Fatesworn DLC will be a nice way to seal off the adventure and is well worth a look, although maybe consider a sale given the price point.

Some great ideas are hobbled by awkward execution in Winter Ember. For every bright spark there are a handful of quirks and issues that are just too prevalent to overlook. It’s just a shame that the parts don’t form a cohesive whole, and instead we’re left with a game that is stuck in the shadows of the greats.

The visual up-spuff is great, and MegaPixel have remained as true as they possibly could to the original game’s gameplay and beats. Even using a controller HotD is great fun, and those who haven’t spent the best part of 25 years playing it will just be treated to a gloriously fun arcade experience.

Overall, if you are after a moody, vibrant, and focussed action platformer that can hold your attention throughout, then Gunborg: Dark Matters is definitely one you should be playing, be it in 2022 or beyond. It may be incredibly challenging, it may in essence be basic platforming, but it also brings together well-crafted mechanics, smooth controls, and some fantastic gameplay to create a memorable and enjoyable title well worth your time and money.

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.

Paradise Killer rejects such linear design and instead counters it fantastically, offering up a substantial level of freedom in both how you tackle your enquiries and the way the conclusions pan out. The agency Paradise Killer offers players makes you feel like the godmother of all gumshoes, and it looks ravishing to boot. You might be put off by its text-ample nature and exploring can make you feel like you don’t know where to go at times, but such criticisms are folly when the freedom at your disposal is so enticing.

The art style alone might be worth giving RPG Time: The Legend of Wright a look especially if you are a fan of adventure-style games. There were definitely some high points such as the mini-game where you catch fish using a musical piano bridge that plays the tune of London Bridge Is Falling Down as you catch the fish. Overall, however, the pace and the shallow gameplay made me wish there was a way to get some of my time back from RPG Time: The Legend of Wright.

Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition has made it’s way onto Xbox and while it’s not bad, it’s not great. Mediocre platforming mixed with simple yet convoluted mechanics that took my brain longer than it should to catch on made this for a very “meh” experience. At least it’s easy gamerscore though!

It might be on the long side but I still found myself wrapped up in the tale of Ms. Lace and her cohorts as they try to overthrow a monopolistic corporation. Well worth a look for those who enjoy visual novels with a side of not so subtle messaging behind it.

It’s been a long wait for this latest LEGO title, but boy, was it worth it. Updated gameplay and controls feel fresh, while the visual and audio work do the LEGO Star Wars name justice nicely. With plenty of thigs to see and do, this could well be the ultimate LEGO game when all is said and done!

Weird West is now one of my top Devolver Digital games. This action RPG set on a fun and strange spaghetti western stage provides an engaging story the brings all the chapters together nicely albeit through some repetitious gameplay loops to ultimately build a universe I hope we get to explore more of someday.

Kombinera is a hell of a challenge, though at the same time its also quite fun to put ourselves to the test to try and best it. For such a simple premise, Graphite Labs have packed this charming puzzler with enough challenge to last us a long time indeed.

Mekabolt+ is a highly enjoyable puzzle platformer styled after those early 90’s titles us older gamers remember fondly. Quick restarts are a blessing, and for some quick and easy action then this is a decent title to check out.

Mages and Treasure is a lovely retro Zelda-inspired game but lacks the punch, depth and storytelling to really make it stand out as something worth checking out.

If Rise of the Third Power was a ‘AAA’ game, critics would be shouting from the roof top telling you to play this game, so this is me SHOUTING FROM THE ROOF TOP, telling you to go play Rise of the Third Power! It’s only April but I’d be surprised if any game released this year knocks this off my number one spot for game of the year.