AJ Small

“Cairn is thoughtful in its mechanical exploration of being a climber and it also delivers a story that pushes back on the mythology of the sport and the people that reach the highest levels. This is an essential game.”

“Kentum is an excellent combination of Metroidvania exploration and combat, and light base construction. The two genres enhance rather than distract from each other.”

“In VF5: R.E.V.O. the gameplay and content have never been better. This version feels like the complete package, even if visually it is starting to look long in the tooth.”

“Heading Out has a clear sense of style and carries the whole experience. It falters a little with the driving model and some small bugs.”

“Robots at Midnight brings little to the genre that is new. It is decent enough but lacks the spark to elevate it.”

“ISLANDERS: New Shores is an absolute treasure that improves on everything set up before. Amazingly, it also ends up being a great entry point for newcomers by remaining soothing and unstuffy even with the added bells and whistles.”

“I am Your Beast is lean, well paced, and full of style and humour. An essential purchase for anyone that loves to chase a perfect murder run.”

“Knock on the Coffin Lid is a solid entry in the roguelite deckbuilder category. Anyone sick of the other big contenders will have plenty of things to do. Those looking for a bit more story than usually found will get the most out of it.”

“Kiborg has crunchy combat and a fantastic sense of adventure to its progression system. Anyone looking for a character action game that delights in the absurd should give it a try. That said, you will need to be content to deal with the unfinished nature of some aspects.”

“Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds: Ultimate is a loving remaster/reworking of the original title, it is bursting with content and all of the originals wide-eyed excess. For those revisiting this will be everything they could possibly want (bigger roster, more modes, better multiplayer). For hardcore beat ‘em up fans the combat might not be deep enough for them but they aren’t the target audience for this title.”

“Techno Banter is a wonderful little title with tons of Berlin charm. Part text adventure, part Papers, Please, and a handy dousing of EDM.”