Elex II is an ambitious and slightly bonkers open world RPG hampered by badly written and unpleasant characters.
Wonderful, lo-fi sounds and hand-crafted visuals make A Musical Story a clear a labour of love, sadly let down by its rhythm mechanics.
Abermore is a stealth RPG that oozes potential, but a bevy of game-breaking bugs renders it virtually inaccessible.
Rogue Legacy 2 really is a lovely game and I’m glad Cellar Door have included options to make it more approachable. It stands as a terrific example of how to let players tailor their experience to their liking, whether that means a helping hand or dialling up the challenge.
A warts and all take on a tumultuous period in history results in a surprisingly thought-provoking experience.
An engrossing JRPG that uses the framing of a life sim to ground its twisty and overblown story.
It's Dwarf Fortress as we know it, but much more approachable for both new and returning players. The new interface makes it easier to get started, but there's still a huge amount to learn and the game isn't great at teaching you. If you can give it the time and patience it requires, you'll be rewarded with one of gaming's most intricately detailed and deeply satisfying story generators.
Mixing Into the Breach with Frozen Synapse makes for an inevitably strong core of mech combat, but the rest of Phantom Brigade is underwhelming.
Minecraft's blocky charm is present and correct, but the rest of Minecraft Legends is only as deep as the skins it wants to sell you.
Cassette Beasts is classic Pokémon expertly remixed for those who feel they have aged out of the series' target audience.
A fast and joyously entertaining rampage through a spot-on recreation of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, Boltgun is the FPS that 40k fans have dreamed of since the first time they inexpertly splodged too-thick paint all over a Space Marine. Pacing issues can't prevent it from being a bloody good time.
A serviceable tactics game lumbered with an uninspiring setting and narrative, brought right down by bigoted stereotypes.
FromSoftware delivers a superlative action game that builds on its Soulslike pedigree while staying lean and laser-focused.
Lies of P has strong enough foundations in its edgy tone and tweaked weapons to provide an enjoyable experience for those in need of a FromSoft fix.
Moonring adds modern convenience to a classic Ultima-style RPG to create an approachable and appealing adventure with a huge amount of depth and discovery.
A solid core could provide some great competitive match-ups, but the dreary, generic campaign will fail to impress solo gamers.
Rogue Trader nails the 40k setting and provides an appropriately massive narrative filled with meaty tactical combat, though some bugs and poor performance hold it back.
After a brutal start, No Rest For the Wicked's early access build settles into a compelling gameplay loop, but a lack of standout moments tempers expectations.