Katharine Castle
A straightforward remaster of the 2007 PSP original, Crisis Core is a perfectly fine action game that's received a handsome glow-up for 2022, but its story adds little to the wider FF7 plotline.
It's a better superhero game than it is strategy game, but if you're a fan of the MCU, Marvel's Midnight Suns is absolutely essential. Not only is this an ambitious tactics RPG that captures the fast, frothy fun of its comic book source material, but it's also a brilliant marriage of Into The Breach's intellectual conundrums and the turn-stretching power fantasy of Gears Tactics. The best Marvel game by a country mile.
A thoughtful, wry and vivid exploration of future tech and its impact on humanity, Flat Eye is a gripping narrative management hybrid game from the makers of Night Call.
Not much of a glow-up from Tactics Ogre's PSP remake in 2010, but this is still an engrossing turn-based tactics RPG that will keep you battling for hours and hours and hours and hours...
A moody Metroidvania with enough Hollow Knight DNA to tide you over until Silksong, but its stilted protagonist and occasional lack of direction prevents this from being one of the all-time greats.
This handsome detective game isn't quite the second coming of Return Of The Obra Dinn, but it does come pretty damn close. An entertaining story told through a dozen murders, The Case Of The Golden Idol is a mystery well worth solving.
A simple, but powerful blend of meditative mining and wave-based tower defence, Dome Keeper keeps you coming back for more.
Its stunning real-time battles with tactical pause are packed with drama and visual flourishes, but The DioField Chronicle's convoluted story and deeply questionable cast hold it back from true greatness.
A brilliant tabletop card game with strong puzzles, great characters and big moral quandaries to ponder.
There's a good point and click adventure to be found here, but it's buried under a gruelling turn-based battle system that makes everything feel like too much of a slog.
Its story is the same old cyberpunk sci-fi you've heard before, but Jack Move's invigorating battle system, winsome characters and gorgeous animation make this Japanese-style RPG worth a look.
Some of its later levels are a little abstract, but on the whole Railbound is a handsome puzzle game with a lot of neat ideas.
A gripping blend of roguelike deckbuilding and tower defence, ORX is a real-time strategy game that's all about the rush of the draw and playing the best hand you've got against a ticking clock.
Some of its puzzles could be more kid-friendly, but Lost In Play is a charming point and click puzzler that really taps into the joy of childhood make-believe.
A remarkable tale about the best cat in video games finding their way home through a dense and rich post-apocalypse. A must-play for cat lovers, and it also breaks new ground for action adventure fans.
An intriguing and novel take on Hideo Kojima's Strand ideas, Witch Strandings is a bubbling cauldron of magic and menace about saving or suffocating a haunted forest and its woodland inhabitants.
A 60-minute story bolstered by a moreish endless mode, Gibbon: Beyond The Trees rejoices in the physicality of its titular primates while telling an affecting, heartfelt story.
A tedious action RPG with more filler than an arc of anime, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising offers little to excite or challenge those awaiting its more exciting Suikoden successor companion, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
A deep and riveting turn-based tactics game, Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters embraces the mayhem to create one of the most thrilling strategy epics of recent years.
A comforting and elegant village builder, Dorfromantik has grown to become a puzzle game for the ages. Its soft approach to strategy makes it instantly accessible but challenging at the same time, and its chill, lilting soundtrack soothes the soul.