Shantae and the Seven Sirens is yet another feather in the Shantae series cap, pairing solid gameplay, beautiful visuals and an excellent soundtrack in what is close to the ultimate package
Paper Mario: The Origami King isn’t the game that fans have been clamouring for, but its excellent world building, charming dialogue and enjoyable battle system still provide a high quality experience
Necrobarista is a stylish visual novel set in a curious Melbourne cafe where the dead can spend their final hours among the living
Carrion is simply a great time. The metroidvania gameplay loop is addictive, while its sound design and highly detailed pixel-art look makes it a joy to hear and look at. An average story and lack of an in-game map sap some of the enjoyment, but Carrion's ability to have you play as an unstoppable monster is gory grandeur.
Skater XL at its core is decent fun, but its lack of worthwhile objectives and lacklustre performance sees it fail to stick the landing
Into A Dream has some interesting ideas, but the muddled storytelling and enjoyment-sapping gameplay stifle its ability to have a positive impact.
Manifold Garden's unique aesthetic and creative puzzles result in a memorable journey that is well worth the price of admission.
No Straight Roads has an interesting premise and a fun story to tell, but unremarkable combat and open world exploration result in an overall mediocre experience.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 takes the addictive gameplay and amazing soundtracks that shot the series to stardom two decades ago and polishes them to near perfection for gamers of the modern day
Tamarin strives to be a spiritual successor to Jet Force Gemini, but its poor art style, stale and disappointing gameplay, and shoddy controls result in a game that won't be remembered as fondly as its inspirator.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time succeeds in bundling together a charming story, addictive gameplay and an N. Sane amount of content, resulting in what is without a doubt Crash's greatest adventure yet.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a thoroughly entertaining 3D platformer that is a joy to see, hear and play
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity impresses with its narrative and fun hack and slash action from the offset, but dreadful performance and repetitive gameplay ultimately stifle its impact
The Pathless is a charming indie adventure with a strong atmosphere, engaging exploration and a myriad of fun puzzles that is too good to be forgotten amongst the next generation hype.
Immortals Fenyx Rising may not do much to push the open-world action adventure genre forward, but it does still ultimately succeed at being yet another competent release cut from the all too familiar Ubisoft cloth.
Hitman 3 does an excellent job of wrapping up the World of Assassination Trilogy, pairing the predictable yet enjoyable narrative with the refined and forever reliable Hitman gameplay
Super Meat Boy Forever is a sequel not afraid to shake things up, but in doing so it fails to capture much of what made the original so amazing
Cyber Shadow is the exciting product of melding memorable NES classics such as Mega Man and Ninja Gaiden. It's difficult and frustrating at times, but the stylish 8-bit look, bopping soundtrack and enjoyable gameplay result in a quality action-platformer.
Bravely Default 2 is a decent JRPG cut from the same cloth as its inspirators. The combat is undeniably addictive, but its old-school sensibilities see it occasionally suffer from poor pacing and frustrating periods of grind.
It Takes Two is a thoroughly entertaining and engaging cooperative journey that constantly throws interesting new mechanics and gameplay ideas into the mix. Its narrative shortcomings are disappointing, but the stylish visuals and detailed sound design make for an impressive presentation.