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It may not look overly original on the surface, but dive a little further and Mark of the Deep is an engaging, compelling little adventure.

Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire looks to recapture the magic of Skies of Arcadia, but slow combat and clunky controls let it down significantly.

Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports has some flourishes of fun, but the clunky movement and unresponsive controls let it down.

Deathbound feels like an early access game at times, with ponderous, imprecise combat and a world that simply struggles to find its way.

Despite the uneven combat, Astor can be a fun time. Once you’ve got yourself a mount to make exploration faster and you’ve unlocked a good selection of weapons, finishers, and special attacks, it becomes a much more enjoyable affair than the opening hours would have you expect. Those who chase big damage numbers might also appreciate the combo counter, which adds an extra dimension to the combat. It’s not a bad game by any measure, but it doesn’t really do an awful lot to stand out from the crowd.

Mullet Madjack is a fantastic boomer shooter, with Roguelike elements and loads of fresh mechanics that mean you'll never get bored.

Saviorless is wonderfully macabre though. It has the look of a kid’s cartoon and the sudden shocking violence of a horror film, but it gels together perfectly. There are no ancillary skill trees to bog it down, no gear menus or upgrades, no XP to earn or boss skills to absorb. It’s a dark, sometimes frightening, often sorrowful tale told with little exposition and sparse dialogue, that took me a little while to get into and then held on tight for the duration.

Dicefolk is a cracking monster battling Roguelike, with seriously clever combat unlike anything else I’ve ever played. The different strategies you can implement to make a synergistic team of destruction always feel sensational, and there’s enough content for you to be playing it for the rest of the year. It’s hard to make time for games given how busy 2024 is already, but Dicefolk is a game you need to fit into your schedule.

Horizon Chase 2 is quick to jump into, and while it might not be packed with content, it's a ton of fun to play.

The concept of Adore is great and would really fill a gap in the monster collecting market, but the actual game just isn’t much fun to play. Alongside some performance issues on Switch and a repetitive soundtrack, there’s just not a whole lot to recommend here, and it’s a real shame because I really wanted to fall in love with Adore.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is easy to recommend for those longing for retro platformers, but is over a bit too quick.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway is a decent kart racing game, but technical issues and poor track design prevent it from being anything more than that. If you or your kids are huge Nicktoon fans then you’ll likely have some fun racing around as your favourites, but don’t go in expecting a Mario Kart killer.

Aztech Forgotten Gods has a great concept and interesting setting, but the gameplay is simply unacceptable in its current state. I can’t remember the last time I found controlling a character this unpleasant. While the idea of a futuristic Aztec setting is fantastic, I experienced far too many bugs and glitches for this to be worth recommending right now.

What Lies in the Multiverse is a sublime puzzle platformer. The puzzles are engaging and the story balances comedy and drama with aplomb.

Navegante is clearly a talented studio, and have it in them to come up with something really special, but Greak Memories of Azur sadly falls short.

This is a fairly minor complaint though and one you’ll learn to live with in time. Awkward camera aside, Blue Fire is an excellent adventure game with just enough flavour pinched from a variety of games across a plethora of genres and platforms. It’s a wonder that it doesn’t feel derivative, and instead manages to stand apart as a joyous adventure through a dark yet well-designed world.

This is a great colony sim with a a ton of imagination, well-disguised in places as real science. It lays the existentialism on pretty thick at times, and it has the potential to thoroughly overwhelm you, but Per Aspera is an oddly intoxicating expedition into the colonisation of another world.

If you’re hankering for more of that simple, unfettered Doom action, Hellbound may well scratch your itch. It’s not deep or particularly clever, but it is about as close to a 90s FPS as you can get without just playing one. It’s deliberately challenging, knowingly over the top, and as loud as you want it to be. Just don’t be surprised if it all feels very familiar from the get-go.

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break is just pure goofy fun, and I definitely preferred playing it on the Switch more than I would have tied to a TV. It does have framerate issues, but if you want to be able to play a near infinite number of courses from the comfort of your own bed then I’d definitely recommend this version of the game.

Thankfully, with its remarkably simple map creator and some rather fun obstacle course gameplay, Rock of Ages 3: Make or Break has a potentially bright future ahead of it, as long as the community sticks around; which I suspect it will.

Bug Fables: The Eternal Sapling is a charming RPG that continually feels new, and the characters in your party all help to tell an interesting story. New skills and items help to reinvent the mechanics, and the medals also offer new ways to play and shake up the battles. Kabbu, Leif, and Vi’s journey is an epic one, but it’s one you’re going to want to experience. It looks gorgeous, it sounds brilliant, and you’ll never grow tired of its constantly evolving gameplay.

Evan’s Remains is a laid back puzzle platformer, with an exceptionally enjoyable story to tell. The twists and turns in the tale had me hooked for the duration, and I never wanted to look away from the charming visuals. The puzzles never quite hit the highest level of challenge, but for a slow-paced and emotional afternoon of gaming there are few options more enthralling than Evan’s Remains.

A fun mech fighting game, with really enjoyable slower paced combat. Unfortunately Override Mech City Brawl is marred by framerate issues, and there's nobody online to play against