Reviews

There’s a reason so many games dabble in alchemy. There’s the foraging for ingredients, the making of bubbling concoctions, and finally seeing what they do. But Alchemist Simulator opts for only the middle stage of this process, and reduces it to the step-by-step following of a cookery manual.

It’s not without issues, but the brilliance of the parkour and deepness of the combat easily outweigh the various bugs and glitches which pop up. Perhaps it’s not able to revolutionise the genre like the first game did, but Dying Light 2 Stay Human is still more than worthy of your time, patience and hope of staying human. 

If you’ve got a hankering for some old-school, 8-bit platforming thrills, without any concerns about bugs or quibbles, then Super Onion Boy 2 is cheap and plenty cheerful.

There are problems with text size and some big glitches when playing in the first person, however the inventiveness and story win over these misgivings. In all, The Enigma Machine provides an experience that stays with you way after the game has finished. 

If you have a lot of prior Yu-Gi-Oh! knowledge, and the time to invest, Master Duel is most certainly a good game, deep down. For the rest of us lesser mortals, the bar to entry is set ridiculously high, and feels like the world it holds is basically impenetrable.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran of Siege or looking for your first foray into a tactical shooter such as these, Rainbow Six Extraction will not disappoint.

Do you score a game identically to the game it copies? Mushroom Run 2D is last year’s Fantasy Dash, but with a mushroom. Scoring it lower would be petty, but having been spat out by the same sharp-edged and awkward levels, we’re feeling extremely petty. Please, for the love of endless runners everywhere, please let this be the last Fantasy Dash clone that we have to experience. We’ll give you 79p not to.

If you are a hidden object addict who has - somehow - reached the end of their backlog, then Dracula’s Legacy Remastered feels familiar and satisfying enough to generate enjoyment. For anyone else, may we point you to the hundreds of Artifex Mundi games that do a far superior job.

Fatum Betula is a game - and an experience - that feels old school yet completely new and unique in the same breath. The lack of guidance is something that will split the gaming community, but it must be agreed that the surreal visual design is fascinating, disturbing, and brilliantly designed.

Kansei: The Second Case HD is a hugely enjoyable way to spend some time. It’s nice to take your foot off the gas every now and then to play something that makes no demands on you. The story is intriguing, and trying to figure out not only whodunnit, but whydunnit as well, will keep you revisiting the narratives and trying out the various conversational gambits that are on offer. 

It might look like a weird hybrid of a device, but the NACON MG-X Pro Controller works superbly well when teamed up with Xbox Game Pass and your Android phone. 

Despite lacking some depth, Rubber Bandits offers a thoroughly enjoyable multiplayer experience both on and offline. It’s the perfect party game to dip in and out of if you’re after something a little different.

There’s something very genuine about Starlight Shores. It’s a nostalgic get-together with friends around a campfire, and there’s a warmth between the characters that’s lovely to share for an hour or two. 

There is a fairly good game in Downslope, hidden away beneath unnecessary difficulty and exposition. Had this been an endless runner in the same vein as sliding down mountains in The Alto Collection it would be much more enjoyable.

We’d encourage you to pick up Kinduo, particularly if you have a co-op partner who’s eager to collaborate with you on some puzzles. But go in with the knowledge that, just as things get good, as the difficulty is beginning to creep in, it unceremoniously ends.