I’m astounded. This game has absolutely floored me. It’s taken hold of my life, my soul and my everything for the past three weeks.

Literally just completed it with the “Age of the Stars” ending. Level 188…92 hours…and I adored every single second of this masterpiece. Elden Ring is my first FromSoftware Soulslike experience, I usually shy away from challenging games due to unnecessary stress and frustration. Yet, Elden Ring taunted me. It lured me in with its undeniable difficulty. With every death, I learnt from my mistakes. I become stronger and stronger and stronger, raking in the runes and slaying bosses with my overpowered sorcery.

Everything, and I mean everything, was perfect in this game. The no-handholding exploration of a richly detailed sprawling world. Optional catacombs and caves that then unveil an entire new area with multiple points of interest and rewards. The fair yet intimidating combat. The myriad of different character builds, weapons and incantations. The epic orchestral score. The varied bosses with moves that would absolutely pulverise you in one slash of their sword (Malenia can politely go away…). The lore, the atmosphere, the addictive grind for runes. EVERYTHING!

Here I was 4 months ago exclaiming “I can’t believe GoW: Ragnarok” didn’t win GOTY. And you know what? Elden Ring deserves all the accolades, acclaim and praise it gets. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, genuinely a masterpiece.

Top-tier Castlevania alongside 'Symphony of the Night' (which funnily enough Aria clearly uses many elements from Symphony!). Challenging with typically well-designed enemies that you slaughter with a wide variety of weapons. Great castle layout with unique rooms. Intuitive "Tactical Soul System" - which progressed the metroidvania sub-genre tenfold! - allowing you to absorb unique offensive and defensive abilities from enemies. Memorable boss fights - aside from the first three which then become normal enemies later on in the game. Soma Cruz is everything. Death is a bitch.

It's relatively short but this is pure Castlevania excellence and, alongside the DS sequel 'Dawn of Sorrow' is easily the best portable entry in the franchise.

This was bahhhh-fflingly good. (Wait, that's more a sheep sound). This was kinda AHHHHH-some! (Better!). Who would've thought a sequel to the meme-experimental-tech demo that took the Internet by storm would actually be an incredibly polished game? Genuinely fun, with so many details hidden within every nook and cranny of this sizeable island filled with stupid quests, hilarious references and enough collectibles to fund a goat army. The way completing quests adds related items/themes to your goat castle. The altering of the world map when a quest is completed, such as detonating a nuclear bomb in the middle of a town. The sheer amount of costumes with unique abilities, including an angry granny riding the goat armed with a yarn ball cannon(?). Just so much content for a well-priced game.

Sure, the core essence of the Goat Simulator hasn't changed. There are some unrefined bugs/glitches that can make for some frustrating moments of platforming between buildings. The driving is clunky. And once you've found the vast majority of collectibles, trying to find those last few can be absurdly frustrating. But the whole experience is SO much better, to the point where this sequel actually feels like a game rather than a demo.

Well, I can confidently say that Tchia is the first game I've played set in New Caledonia. And for what it's worth, the level of authenticity to Kanak culture (despite the game itself being fictional) is incredibly refreshing. The indigenous talent, ranging from Awaceb's directors' personable upbringing to the native instrumental score, is Tchia's biggest accomplishment. The picturesque sun rays beating down on you as you dip your toes into the crystalline blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Relaxing, relaxing, relaxing...

You climb mountains, ride the waves and even "soul-jump" into different creatures and inanimate objects. Yes that's right, you can become a poopin' pigeon, a dainty ukulele or even a boring big rock. Unfortunately, the only animal you'll want to be is a bird because it's the fastest way to traverse these two sizeable islands filled with jumbled collectibles that really do not incentivise the core aspect of exploration. Stamina fruits are great, but collecting pearls and braided trinkets (two currency forms) to trade for cosmetics? It just doesn't motivate. And with no combat or skills to evolve, there's nothing to develop. Would've loved some enhanced manoeuvrability or agility, because Tchia is damn slow bless her!

The story is surprisingly dark but really you're here for the beautiful views and casual gliding, and for that the game succeeds...just...

We Love Katamari, and We Love Bandai Namco for remastering this PS2 classic! There's nothing quite like rolling up paper clips to people to buildings to countries to planets against the Japanesque funk of catchy songs (I still hum them...). While I'd put 'Forever' as the greatest game in the franchise, there's no denying the innovation We Love Katamari introduced with its level variety and addictive rolling. Every single frame is charming, even in the more frustrating levels (I detest the campfire level...).

This "Reroll" adds new levels, stickers to collect and a fresh lick of paint to make the cosmos even more cosmically inspiring. The object pop-in could've been improved and the sound effects less compressed, but again, We Love Katamari...and so should you!

Ahhh the picturesque countryside of Dordogne. The vibrant watercolour palette, summery vibes and majestic views really capture the splendour of rural France. Fortunately alongside the beautiful art direction is a delicate narrative photographing loss, nostalgia and reconciliation. Split (unevenly I might add...) between Mimi's present time as she attempts to recollect her memories after her grandmother's passing, and Mimi's adventurous childhood recording sounds, taking pictures and generally exploring the countryside. The story is paced well and is clearly the focus (as it should be!).

Gameplay-wise, it's a little lacking if you're wanting something more than an interactive novel. There are minigames within each chapter, ranging from making tea to fixing a kayak, which do change the pace. Yet the interesting binder mechanic, where photographs, stickers, sound recordings and poetry can be use to collage your thoughts along Mimi's journey, isn't implemented enough to warrant its inclusion. Just felt underused which is a shame.

Still, it's a chill short game that is perfect for the summer, boasting gorgeous visuals and a personable story that is sure to make you smile!

I graduated Escape Academy! Wahoo! Now to set forth into the real world and become a fully fledged escape artist, whom can only solve certain logic-based puzzles as this school tends to re-use the same type of puzzles. Sequences, code breaking and basic maths. I would've liked to have seen other varieties like scavenging or manipulating 3D objects to uncover keys. Heck even puzzles that manipulate the surroundings like light puzzles...

Fortunately it's a small game and each themed escape room never outstays its welcome - except the final boss which became slightly obtuse with the computer directives. It just needed more variety. Probably way more fun with a co-op partner though, so I'll be trying that next with the DLC levels.

The cinematic reverence of '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Interstellar' infused with the gravity hopping mechanic of 'Tiny Wings'. Visually impressive with a variety of different planetary terrains to keep the surface skimming and cloud gliding as fresh as possible.

Unfortunately it's just not particularly interesting after the first planet. Each planet seems longer than it should be with most recycling basic hilly terrain or liquid waves. The energy pick-ups do not make much of a difference to the squishy ball thing you control. And the one planet where you lose your abilities and rely on the surface wind to guide you was painfully tedious.

Not really any need to play it again after the first interplanetary playthrough.

Oh to be in the mind of Keita Takahashi. I love me some 'Katamari Damacy' and thought 'Noby Noby Boy' was a weird albeit memorable experiment. Takahashi's wonderful imagination once again permeates from every second of Wattam, yet another weird game only this time revolving around holding hands, pooping and blowing anthropomorphised objects up with a magic hat. It sounds bizarre (it is!) but the sheer wackiness and affable charm of befriending sushi, a toilet and even a lawn mower is the attraction here.

Gameplay wise it's fairly basic yet experimental and is really just a sandbox for friendly kabooms! You switch characters, hold hands in a really finicky way and repeat until the world is restored. Fortunately it's not a long game so the freshness stays for the majority of the experience but I just wish Takahashi would put my ingenuity into the mechanic of his games like he did with 'Katamari' in order to have that addictive innovation while keeping the kawaii Japanese aesthetic.

Taking photographs have never been so dimensionally interesting before! Click click, snap, place a photograph and BAM all of its content and layers are now in the tangible third dimension. It makes for some very intuitive puzzles and solutions, from negative space to MC Escher illusions. The mechanics progress and evolve with such great pacing that each level rarely feels recycled, and for a short narrative puzzle game that's quite the achievement.

Unfortunately, yes, it's far too short (and somewhat overpriced for its length). All that unique creativity easily could've been stretched out to a decently sized 6-8 hour adventure. And then there's the stupid final level that decided to include a 5-minute timer to solve 9 puzzles in a row. Timer in a casual puzzle game? Na-uh! It's not a well-reasoned "difficulty spike" that tests your understanding of the mechanics, it's just a gimmick to make you stress in a exploratory casual game. Not needed.

It found a view, but needed to really paint more of its interesting puzzle designs into the picture.

Yoku's Island Express ingeniously flips its pinball arcade roots to organically conceive an innovative Metroidvania that, whilst is absent of consequential challenges, delivers the necessary goods with assured confidence and composure.

WHAT I LIKED:
+ The postman always rings twice. Yoku, a dung beetle permanently attached to a ball comprising of all sorts of stuff, becomes a postmaster on a thriving island and must deliver letters to certain characters in order to prevent a looming calamity from occurring. The playing controls Yoku, which in turn moves the ball around the island. No jumping. No sprinting. The majority of traversal is managed by manipulating pinball paddles to guide Yoku's ball, and consequently Yoku himself, through ramps, bumpers and a plethora of tracks within the substantially luscious open-world location. It's an incredibly unique blend of two genres, and one that works effortlessly in supplying fun without resorting to excess perseverance.
+ Mokumana in all its stunning glory. The island to which Island Express is set in is varied and interconnected, as all good Metroidvanias should be, and is filled with an abundance of collectible Wickerlings and upgrades to specific equipment. However, its beauty comes from the picturesque water-coloured backdrops that give life to the island. From the snowy tundra mountains of Ivory Peaks to the thick dense foliage of Gorilla Woods. The best of the genre produce an organic free-flowing world, and Mokumana sits among the best by designing its world around the pinball mechanics without making them look disarranged.
+ Please insert coin. Yoku is bounced, flipped and tossed around like a raw patty on a smoky barbecue. The incorporation of pinball mechanics in a two-dimensional side-scrolling platformer should not work. But, here we are, and it does so magnificently. These interspersed segments test the player's classic arcade skills whilst also embedding the various special abilities that Yoku comes across as he searches the island high and low for mailboxes. For example, vacuuming up slugs which can then be used to explode Yoku's clump of stringiness and change his trajectory, or to obliterate boulders. Several optional scarabs also add further challenges by enabling the player to complete certain manoeuvres within the pinball areas, maximising this mechanic's potential even further. Flip those flippers!
+ The postmaster really is a fungi. Dispersing various mushrooms across the island to find suitable habitable conditions, recovering ancient fragments of a statue, juicing up the juicery and loads more! Island Express is open-world, and therefore a plethora of side-quests are available which will reward Yoku with some incredibly useful items. Diving underwater being one of them...
+ Squish that spider! The main story somehow involves boss battles where Yoku must fully pelt the ball into the bosses' weak points. Whether it be a giant spider, igniting a space rocket (we'll count that...) or a flying...indescribable creature with claws and substantial grimacing? Either way, they are cleverly merged with the pinball mechanics, newly introduced abilities and pack a wholesome amount of charm.

WHAT I DISLIKED:
- Who knew being a dung beetle being employed as a postmaster would be so breezy? Yoku's Island Express is definitely aimed for the casual audience, lacking in any real challenge. Failing to flip Yoku's ball will result in loss of fruit, the basic currency of the game, and an instant restart in the same area. The abundance of fruit consequently relinquishes any fear of loss. Missed activating a flipper? Boom! Here's another chance, and another...and another. The only real challenge is learning the geography of Mokumana, however thanks to the detailed in-game map and unlockable bee-lines (essentially fast travel points) this is made easier. It's not a major critique, as many will seek to have a relaxing yet fun time with Island Express, but those searching for real challenge are unlikely to find it here.

VERDICT:
8/10 wallet upgrades