Gareth Brierley

If you like your gameplay hard and wish to mix survival horror with some good old fashioned multiplayer hunting, then I don’t think you can go too wrong with this highly original game.

Bee Simulator works well as a good educational family experience on Xbox One. It will provide small kids with some great characters, and a nice story, but should also give them some challenging but rewarding gameplay that is relaxing and fun.

There have been some brilliant games that have examined and confronted anxiety, depression and mental health matters in the last couple of years. Sea of Solitude is one that springs to mind and any quick look at the gaming and social forums will see you understanding that these issues are very present in the minds of many at this moment in time. Fractured Minds aims to delve into these topics, releasing on the Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC to shed a light on anxieties and to ensure that the playing audience take note, all while taking them on an immersive journey.

Tracks - The Train Set Game on Xbox One is a game for the creatives and the builders of worlds. It's a game where you could happily lose a hundred hours making a multi-piece railway line that twists and turns around a kitchen table like an award-winning piece of architecture. It will reward you if you invest in it and it is there where gamers will get the most from it.

It's an alright game that has potential, but unfortunately the Caretaker doesn't deliver this time around.

At some point in time, everyone has wanted to be a pirate. It's a very attractive profession, is it not? What with all the fluffy open chested shirts, golden boxes of treasures, sailing the open seas and nicking stuff, it's a vocation that looks a lot of fun. Most recently in the gaming world, the pirate life has been a successful one, with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Sea of Thieves providing a bit of an insight. Now though Atlas has come along and it too wants you to taste some rum, put a parrot on your shoulder and head out as captain of all you can see and plunder.

Nikola Tesla led a fascinating and unbelievable life. The Serbian-American was an inventor, an electrical genius and a futurist. He came up with ideas involving X-Ray machines, death rays that could end all wars and automated boats. He died penniless in New York and the true nature of his successes and ideas only came to light many years later. The gaming world has taken to his mythology over recent times though, delivering several projects in which he has appeared or influenced the experience. In Close to the Sun he is one of the major players as the game delves into the imaginings of his work to create a fantasy adventure. But does it electrify?

Someone important once said "Let there be light", and there was light. Sole is a game all about light and also its deadliest enemy - the darkness.

Fans of roguelike experiences will have a lot of fun here. There is something great about Overland on Xbox One, but if it’s taught me one thing, it’s that survival in the apocalypse is a bloody nightmare.

When the last generation of consoles where in their heyday, the popularity of the 'become a pop star in your own living room' genre was high. In fact, it was all the rage. It started with Guitar Hero, moving across and through Rock band and SingStar and then into Rocksmith territory. It's hasn't been such a popular genre over the last few years but Let's Sing Country on Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch hopes to change that trend.

Whenever I think back to old Scooby-Doo cartoons, when the group of heroes reveal the true identity of the monster at the end of the episode, it's always the caretaker of the local school that is the culprit. And just think, they would have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky kids. Caretaker Game on Xbox One takes the notion of the monster being the caretaker but I believe that this is far from being a kid's cartoon show. Far from it...

Over the years there have been many ships lost at sea, and the loss of these ships and crews have become the stuff of legend. The Mary Celeste is a famous case in question when the ship appeared without its crew missing, ship untouched and the mystery of what happened has created multiple theories. These range from cargo poisoning in the food supply to pirate ghosts killing the whole crew on a winter’s night. Return of the Obra Dinn on Xbox One, using this same template, charges you with the task on solving this mystery of the ship that suddenly turns up six months later after being lost at sea.

There are games that favour exposition and the 'holding your hand" technique so you, the gamer, know exactly where you are, who you are and what you're supposed to do next. These are not bad experiences, and it has to be said that some of the best games in the world use this system to great effect; games, like Red Dead Redemption II and Assassin's Creed Origins. Other games though try a different route, employing no voice-over or cut scene or tutorial, but just let you discover the world and its narrative alongside the hero. Stela on Xbox One is one of those games and it has released today.

Felix the Reaper on Xbox One is a very unique and original game. It has bundles of charm and a great central premise that involves a warm central character that has more dance moves than a young John Travolta. The puzzle side of things does get a trifle hard later on, but it's a great brain teaser that utilises a range of different perspectives and object management

Stela is an epic poem of a game that plucks at the heart and makes you yearn for a world that you never knew existed. It's what this wonderful medium of gaming should strive towards, and for me it’s very nearly the perfect experience.