Mary Billington

“If you've ever thought that operating a guard post sounds like a mundane job then check out Lil' Guardsman where every person you admit or deny has a big impact on the fate of the city. This hilariously silly indie has heart, making the most tedious of jobs entertaining. 💂”

“Coral Island is a carefree island farming sim with a lot of charm set in a vibrant world. It borrows quite heavily from similar games yet it also manages to forge its own identity and throw in a bunch of fresh concepts, too. 🏝️”

“Tales of Arise - Beyond the Dawn explores life after the main story. However, it does so without adding anything substantial and the story feels rushed which makes this DLC hard to recommend even for fans of the main game (which is, in fact, awesome). ⚔️”

“Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express is an impressively entertaining and unique spin on the classic mystery story even if our moustachioed hero, Hercule Poirot, is more serious than I'd like him to be. 🔎”

“Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos is a surprising return to what made the earlier titles special and it feels like Natsume is putting some much-needed attention into fleshing-out the series. With its focus on exploration and a huge world to traverse, tons of items to find, and a variety of animals to nurture as well as solid farming, mining, and fishing; there's a lot of fun to be had with this instalment.”

“Paleo Pines is a cute sim that focuses more on collecting and exploring than it does farming and its large selection of dinos to befriend are totes adorbs. Amassing a collection of dino pals is rewarding and a lot of things are done well but it just doesn't do enough to keep players hooked like similar games do. Here's hoping the developers take what works and really run with them in their next game.”

“Silent Hope is a challenging dungeon crawler with familiar sights from Rune Factory sprinkled in and there's definitely some fun to be had for those looking for a more action-packed adventure that's set in the same universe. However, the unbalanced heroes and mandatory grinding will certainly put off many players.”

“Rune Factory 3 Special is an attractive upgrade to the DS original and I had fun exploring its dungeons, upgrading my tools, farming, and wooing my future wife. However, its issues with inventory management, lack of gender and marriage options, and a rather limited set of dungeons make it a middling (but still good) Rune Factory game overall.”

“Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case is another enjoyable mystery with great gameplay and a complex storyline that'll keep you guessing. I'm definitely looking forward to Blazing Griffin continuing to improve the series and seeing what they come up with next.”

“The Entropy Centre is a difficult first-person puzzle platformer that will reward you for thinking ahead and remaining patient so make sure you're prepared for quite a challenge as well as some needlessly frustrating footwork.”

“Disney Speedstorm is a kart racer that's a heck of a lot of fun and it has an enjoyable and unique power-up system so if you can get past the confusing currencies and menus then definitely give it a chance.”

“Process of Elimination is a fun detective game with an interesting cast and story as well as a unique board game twist on investigating. As long as you're prepared to read a lot of text, you'll enjoy unraveling the mystery of The Quartering Duke.”

“DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate is a mostly fun investigative VR adventure that sets the stage for hopefully more games in the genre. Physically standing inside a crime scene and finding clues is surprisingly thrilling but I just wish it had a more interesting world to explore.”

“Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey explores an alternate mythological history to the Ripper killings of 1888 and it certainly has a lot of flaws but if the subject matter intrigues you, there's some enjoyment to be had with its high quality writing and impressive voice acting.”

“Backfirewall_ does an excellent job of personifying something that the average person takes for granted: their smartphone. Exploring its artistic CPU and cluttered Bin is a lot of fun and it offers a surprisingly heartfelt story. If you can look past the glitches and don't mind referencing a guide here and there, this is one unique first-person puzzler that's worth your time.”

“Drago Noka presents an imaginative and attractive pixelated city-builder with a twist and some exceptionally deep gameplay. As long as you're not in it for a story, you'll end up sinking hours into exploring the nooks and crannies of what it has to offer.”

“Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is an enjoyable sequel with attractive graphics, a heartwarming story, and the addition of an impressively useful buddy system. It's got some quality of life improvements, too, which is great. In the end, fans of Story of Seasons will have a lot of fun tending to their animals and crops while unlocking silly gadgets with Doraemon and friends.”

“XIII is a linear first-person shooter with a neat graphical style that offers simple fun akin to a game that belongs in an arcade. However, FPS veterans may be put off due to its linearity and general lack of depth.”

“Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is yet another colourful and adorable rhythm game in an excellent series. Its Great Drum Toy War mode helps shake things up and the online and local multiplayer components are genuinely a great deal of fun.”

“Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo offers a story with many twists that I didn't see coming. If you can look past the general lack of polish and you're in the mood to relax and play something with little gameplay, you'll enjoy your time watching the story of Ed Miller unfold.”