I was ready to bounce off, intimidated by its depth and pacing, but this game is truly something else. Great writing, VA, world design and more than anything, an obscene level of player agency.

Extraordinarily good art, great music and very well put together. Runs are challenging; there’s quite a lot of cognitive load and mistakes are punished hard - but it’s fun as hell.

A lot of the magic of the first one is gone and unfortunately it’s just kind of… uninspiring. For everything it does well, there are two things it doesn’t. Worth a look on sale.

IO Interactive’s reboot trilogy bundled into one package, and it’s about as good as a stealth sandbox gets. This is the culmination of over 20 years spent perfecting one format, and nobody builds these clockwork dioramas like IO do. Each map is a puzzle you learn by failing: patrol routes, target habits, a perfect silent run after a dozen botched ones. Few games reward patience this generously.

My worries for such a fundamental shift, turning Darkest Dungeon into a roguelite, are completely quashed. Its predecessors brutal, punishing heart is still here, inside an absolute masterclass in presentation.

Clever, unique game with lots to like. Core gameplay loop is solid & the unlocks are meaningful. Art, sound and especially music are all fantastic. All quality, but quantity may leave some wanting.

A relatively short, and undeniably Tiny version of Darkest Dungeon. Could do with a bit of a QOL uplift, but still very fun and superb value for money. Cute, compelling strategy, and great music.

Chess with a shotgun. Gets a bit deeper as you play, and deceptively satisfying. Cool packaging of a neat little concept and worth a look.

Turn-based survival with an insanely cool aesthetic, atmosphere and tone. Foreboding and dread are everywhere, but the game somehow manages to balance with an air of charm, irreverence & humour.

I’m not usually a huge fan of turn/tile-based X-COM style strategy games, but Othercide’s setting, aesthetic, lore and indeed roguelike aspects hooked me. Has its issues, but absolutely worth a look.