Jordan Campbell

“A Dream About Parking Lots is a truly unique game that is one of the shortest experiences I’ve played, one that you can finish in under an hour. I can’t describe this as a video game if I’m honest, it is more of an interactive process of thought with minimal gameplay. That said, I admire that the development team at Interactive Dreams has pushed out something that is a little out of the ordinary in the gaming space. At just £4.19, it isn’t going to break the bank, and if you fancy a casual walking sim that brings thoughts and feelings lost to the forefront, then it may be worth having a short blast with this.”

“Cook, Serve, Forever is a fresh experience that I wouldn’t personally classify as a direct sequel to the others. For me, it came across as a far more accessible title in comparison with some great storytelling with incredibly vibrant and polished visuals. Essentially, what you’re getting here is more of a rhythm-based button-pressing game than a dash attempt to serve several food items at once in a successive order. For those who loved the formula of the Cook, Serve, Delicious titles, you may not enjoy this one as much. But I admire the way Vertigo Games has attempted to try something new. I do think the game is a little pricey for £24.99 on Xbox, especially since there is probably only around 5-10 hours of gameplay involved. It’s a short but wonderfully illustrated and crafted journey, though one that even casual players may love.”

“Achilles Survivor is an exceptionally polished and moreish title that nestles in with the likes of Vampire Survivors and other popular roguelikes in the genre. This one has some unique aspects, including building structures that assist you in the heat of battle. It blends tower defence strategy with fighting hordes, which I haven’t yet seen with any other similar experiences. For the same price as the average pint of beer here in the UK, it is well worth a punt for several hours of fun.”

“I was pleasantly surprised by Rally Arcade Classics, and I’ve had a ton of fun dipping into the huge feast of content on offer. If you’re a fan of older rally games such as V Rally or Colin McRae, then, like me, you’ll enjoy your time with this.”

“Spirit Of The North 2 builds upon the goodness of the first outing, improving the experience by offering a larger world and extended playthrough. If you played the original and loved its calm nature, the compelling storyline, and the gorgeous worlds, then you’re in for a treat and will love this adventure”

“Cookie Clicker works well with a controller on the Xbox family of consoles and becomes a moreish experience if you’re into your idle clicking titles. It’s the perfect title to leave running in the background whilst listening to a podcast or doing something else. The majority of my playtime with this one was dipping into it every half hour and expanding everything whilst writing other game reviews. You can go and play this for free at any time from anywhere in the world in any internet browser. But playing it on the Xbox family of consoles gives you access to those precious achievements and the ability to save the game and pick it up later. For that reason alone, I’d recommend it at its low price of £4.29, which wouldn’t even grab you a decent cold pint in the UK.”

“For its reasonable price point of just £14.99, Cattle Country is worth every penny in the return you’ll get from it. There is tons to do and I’ve invested a good 20+ hours just sifting through the first year of the game and I’ve loved exploring every nook and cranny and ticking off as much as I can, making friends, protecting the community, and just losing hours gathering resources and taking in the gorgeous graphics. Not only does it bear many similarities to indie greats like Stardew Valley and Graveyard Keeper, but it puts its cowboy hat on and goes down as a must buy for 2025.”

“Spray Paint Simulator provides tens of hours of content if you’re happy with the repetitive nature. For Power Wash Sim fans out there, this scratches the same itch with the same satisfaction. I’ve exhausted all the campaign missions now, and there are options for co-operative play, but sadly, they are limited to the free-spray mode for now. I’m sure as time passes by, the development will add more content and future updates to the game. I’d love to be able to run through the campaign with a friend eventually, but it’s great that the foundations are there for even more. I spent nearly 30 hours with this one, and it is well worth checking out with your wallet or even through Xbox Game Pass.”

“I had a fantastic time with Peglin, and there is a potential for plenty of hours of gameplay if you want to achieve everything the game has to offer. It is indeed a game of luck in some respects, as you can only really project the direction of your shots, but you do influence how the game plays out with your choices throughout the game. Some runs take persistence, and you’re destined to fail many times, but I found this where the fun factor was. Working my way to the final bosses in the hope that how I played would either take them down quickly or chip away at them was intriguing. If you enjoyed the Peggle games and also like your roguelikes, then this is a mash-up that simply works well. For the amount of hours you get in return, it’s a worthy investment of just over £16. With a huge whack of user reviews being in the very positive category over on Steam on PC, that speaks volumes. Whilst this was released back in 2024 on PC and Nintendo Switch, it is one of the best indie titles I’ve had the pleasure of playing on an Xbox in 2025.”

“Fragpunk is a solid entry into the first person shooter genre. It is tough to tell whether this one will become a permanent fixture in the live service space or dissolve in the future. After 20 or so hours with this one, I am still enjoying the shard card and ranked modes. The true test of time is whether they keep changing up the formula, characters and weaponry to keep the appeal. If I had to explain this game in my own words it would be along the lines of CSGO and Valorant with its own unique twist. With the game being completely free to play on consoles and PC, it is well worth a try if you’re into your hero shooters or anything FPS related. I really struggled with crossplay on due to PC players potentially having faster reaction times, but there is the option to switch this off. As with any live service game, be prepared to spend a bit if you fancy some nicer skins or even unlocking features a bit quicker. Overall though, it is a shooter that is brings hours of fun if it hooks you in with the round based objective play.”

“When I first started my time with KIBORG I was in two minds whether I was enjoying it or not. The first few runs are punishing whilst you gauge how the game functions and how to time and perfect your attacking and defending. The experience really blossoms when you start to unlock more within the skill tree which in turn allows you to become a little stronger each time you start a run. Replayability is there if you want to keep repeating runs and try and max out the skill tree whilst reaching the end game. It sure is a challenging game and there is a repetitive nature to it after several hours. However, the varience in weaponry, implants, floors and enemies within them could give you enough longevity to justify its reasonable cost for a polished and finished brawler.”

“Sociable Soccer 25 finally lands on the Xbox console and is a nice little nod for the older gamers out there, but also an evolution of the past for the gamers new to this style of play. Admittedly, I was a bit frustrated at first getting to grips with the control scheme and how the players reacted to my button presses, but over time the game grew on me and I was playing with more fluidity and keeping possession. Sometimes the AI feels a little stale and doesn’t appear to be as reactive as I’d like, but then I remember this doesn’t have the enormous team and budget that something like EAFC has. This is a casual take on the football genre, and I love that it finally makes its way to my favourite console, because there is always room for more footballing fun. For this one, though, the experience is short-lived for me without online multiplayer, and I feel like they are missing a trick by not including it. If you’re not one for competing online, then it still provides a great slice of fun alone or in local multiplayer with family or friends.”

“My Little Universe surprised me with its addictive gameplay loop to the point I kept coming back for more until I finished it. Whilst the game is never particularly challenging, you do feel a sense of progression as you dive deeper into each area. I put a little over 20 hours into the game, so there is plenty of content here if you want to achieve 100%. Whilst I couldn’t seem to get hands on with my Lenovo Legion Go alongside my Xbox Series X, I am looking forward to playing again in handheld mode. The game should be Xbox Play Anywhere on launch, so those with PC/Handheld devices should be able to get their fix.”

“For those who have never heard or engaged with anything Dog Man related, you may find this just an average platformer. It very much is just that when it comes to how it feels to play. Having watched the movie I did feel like I understood the mechanics better and why the characters intertwine within levels to work with certain elements. It is a faithful nod to the brilliant cartoon design of the books, a few of which I have purchased for my Dog Man obsessed little lad. If you’re after a family friendly platforming title that even smaller children can enjoy, then Dog Man is worth your time. Those who enjoy a challenge however, may find this a little on the easy side.”

“Idle Zoo Park provides a good few hours of fun if you want to work through the experience for all the achievements. Unfortunately though it becomes extremely repetitive with little variance througout the different Zoo locations. Going from one Zoo to another feels like you’re just repeating the same level again with the odd single enclosure being the only difference. After two hours I had gained all of the achievements apart from the last two, one of which wants you to spin the wheel fifty times, and the other unlocks once you have gained all other achievements. Sadly I didn’t feel the need to return for close to three more hours of clicking on completed levels to get the full one thousand gamerscore. Completionists may find that it is worth their time to boost their personal gamerscore. But this experience will last you a few short hours at best.”

“I enjoyed my time with Mika and the Witch’s Mountain and whilst the game is far from perfect, I had to remember the target audience and who this would appeal to. My seven-year-old loved joining and playing this one while I reviewed it. He enjoyed watching the conversations and how Mika interacted with people to gain information for the next objective and then using her broomstick to deliver parcels. It does become somewhat repetitive at times and it does fall a little short at around six hours of gameplay, but this is always the sweet spot for an indie for me. It holds enough quality, polish and great mechanics to make it a game to consider for your younger ones, but I’m not ashamed to say I enjoyed this one as an adult too.”

“I was pleasantly surprised by Robodunk and spent far more time with the game than I anticipated. This was down to the addictive and short yet snappy gameplay loop with plenty to unlock. The development team have done a fantastic job at combining such a familiar experience with classic games such as NBA Jam and Playgrounds yet introducing the roguelite elements within the experience, and it works! Admittedly I would have loved to see some online multiplayer elements here as I feel the game would suit the competitive style of playing against real-life opponents. For those who love same-screen fun though, you’re in luck with 2 player co-op options and also local multiplayer with up to four players. For £12.49 it’s a reasonable price-point for potentially hours of fun, alone against AI or with players from the comfort of home.”

“Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator was disappointing and didn’t meet my expectations. I encountered a myriad of bugs throughout the experience, repetitive dialogue and gameplay, and poor visuals. This is unfortunate, as the concept and the way some of the scenarios are put together are fantastic. This isn’t to say there isn’t fun to be had here and you’ll struggle to find an experience that is on par and as accurate within the ambulance/paramedic genre. I do feel though that this game could have been done with a little more time in the oven to give it some extra polish and perhaps that will come in the form of future updates. There is plenty within the gameplay loop here for a good 20+ hours or maybe longer if you enjoy grinding your way through everything on offer.”

“Well, I think we have found the first near-masterpiece indie game of 2025. Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders takes everything that made Megagon Industries’ first title great and strides forward with a super-polished experience. I’ve managed to play this across several devices for this review: Xbox Series X, Lenovo Legion Go, and even cloud gaming on my mobile phone. It is the perfect game to engage with anywhere you are and with the Xbox play anywhere feature it is available freely once in your personal library too. The addictive nature of just one more run, as you strive for perfection, is ever-present. It’s a game which is a challenge to master but is oh-so-satisfying when you hit courses perfectly. If you’re an Xbox player, you’re in luck since it has been integrated into the Xbox Game Pass library for January 2025. But even at its £20.99 price point, it is well worth every penny for the number of hours you could sink into its slopes.”

“SlavicPunk: Oldtimer gets the combat and gameplay loop bang on and I had a great time with the overall experience. Unfortunately, it misses the execution of the storyline and immersion with the irritating small text. I could only actually read this by taking a photo on 10x zoom with my phone camera, this is how bad it was on a 55-inch TV. That isn’t to say there isn’t fun to be had here though, it looks and plays fine but can be easily finished in one 4-5 hour session if you hammer through it like I did. For £14.99 though, if you’re into Cyberpunk-esque environments and you’re after a twin-stick shooter with a story that you’re not too fussed about, this one may be for you.”