Olivia White
Frantic, funny and fantastic
Cuphead stands alone as one of the most satisfying, enjoyable and well-crafted video games of the year.
It’s not the most difficult of games, as Kirby titles generally aren’t, but it is enormous fun, and up there as one of my all-time favourite 3DS titles.
Imaginators captures a magic that I’ve rarely felt since my late childhood, playing the aforementioned N64 platformers on a Winter’s afternoon. This is how you do games for younger people, this is how you do Toys to Life, this is how you do action platformers in general.
Chime Sharp is maybe a tiny bit bare bones compared to its competitors, with no multiplayer and fairly short round times, but the focused precision really suits the game here, and it’s nonetheless a fantastic chillout puzzle game, one I highly recommend.
Gorgeous adventure ten years in the making sets the bar sky-high
Team Ninja's Nioh is the kind of action game that comes along every once in a rare while.
The action is superb, the story is one of gaming's best, the atmosphere and tone are easy to get lost in, and the soundtrack is a marvel, with the end game credits song being one of the best in existence.
Stories Untold is a gloriously 80s homage which doesn't rely on too much familiarity or retreading old ground. It's a fantastic, fascinating example of interactive visual storytelling.
It's a personal, singular experience that everyone can take part in, and with all my heart, I hope you do.
It’s stylish. It’s cool. It’s supremely fun, fluid and rewarding.
In a surprising turn of events, the one-time Xbox One exclusive cartoon shooter Cuphead has come to Nintendo Switch.
Even with its issues, the game shines.
Incredibly simple to pick up and play, but with the potential for plenty of tactical approaches, Videoball is a great multiplayer game and I’d love to see it hit the esports scene in a big way.
With some lovely audio touches where sound effects are created by human voice, to the drifting, melodic soundtrack, the lovely block colour, simple visuals and a memorable, adorable set of storylines, Burly Men at Sea is a short, sweet adventure that I won't be forgetting in a hurry.
The Last Time is a sensitive and thoughtful adventure about the twilight of life
If you’re a fan of gory sword-and-sorcery anime, you may have seen Berserk, either the 90s version or the more recent CGI movies and series.
It's slightly too short, a bit technically ropey in places, and extremely heavily front-loaded with some very dense lore, but once you work your way through the initial overwhelming lack of direction, what you'll find is an exceptionally rewarding RPG filled with deep systems, a ton of genuine replay value, and a lot of love and care.
The plot can be a little vague at times, and the opening hour is fairly meandering, but Conarium is an otherwise exciting, creepy jaunt through the realm of unspeakable evil.
Despite all that, it’s easy to recommend the game because all the RPG elements and Towers of Time nonsense aside, it is a fantastic fighter at heart, albeit one that teases how it could’ve been better still.