Category: Review

I've been testing out the latest 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller for over a week solidly now, and I really think it's a properly great controller and a worthy successor.

RoadCraft is about to release from Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment, their next-gen heavy-machinery simulation and sandbox game from the team behind the popular SnowRunner and MudRunner. The good news - it runs on Steam Deck and Desktop Linux.

Utopia Must Fall from developer Pixeljam has absolutely absorbed my attention recently. It's easily one of the best modern arcade shoot 'em ups I've ever played with a great moody atmosphere.

Mineshaft is a clever blending of genres that takes the very basics from Tetris but makes it quite an interesting challenge with resource gathering, tool crafting and puzzle solving. It's like a mini Minecraft / Terraria version of Tetris.

Rift Riff is all about jumping through portals (okay Rifts, whatever) and extracting precious juice. Monsters don't like you doing that though but the juice must flow. It's out now with Native Linux support.

My new favourite deck-builder? Could well be. Starless Abyss released late in April from Konafa Games and No More Robots blending together the worlds of Eldritch horror and deck-builders in a space strategy theme.

I cannot stop myself clicking play on Glass Cannon, it's a properly great and unique shoot 'em up experience that twists the genre in a fun way that's too easy to get obsessed with.

After recently having the chance to review the rather large UPERFECT UMax 24, the team at UPERFECT sent over the much more portable 16 inch UColor O2 for me to take a look over.

If you don't hear from me much over this week (or for the rest of this month), it's because I'm dedicating my time to playing GNOMES. A new tower defense roguelike hybrid from developer DYSTOPIAN with ever-expanding biomes to battle through.

See you in a week. Nubby's Number Factory is what the developer calls a "plinko-style roguelike" (everything is a roguelike now apparently?) where you drop your ball (Nubby) down a pegboard to rack up increasingly large numbers to stop the sun from exploding.

In need of a new monitor? UPERFECT sent over a review unit of the UPERFECT UMax 24 and I've come away from it thoroughly impressed with it.

After a while in Early Access, Whisker Squadron: Survivor has launched that attempts to blend together the on-rails shooting from Star Fox with a few elements of the bullet heaven survivor-likes popularised by Vampire Survivors.

A road trip RPG that blends in some inventory management and unique turn-based battles that has you fight off everything on the road from tractors to abandoned suitcases, Keep Driving is a charming and clever game worth your time.

Airships: Lost Flotilla is a steampunk themed auto-shooter just released from David Stark, an offshoot of their other game Airships: Conquer the Skies and it's simply great.

Chrysalis from developer Metamorph Games wins top marks for some originality here, and if you're a fan of cute tower defense games that mix in some exploration this is one for you.

Ballionaire from developer newobject and publisher Raw Fury scratches all the right places in my brain, and I want more of it.

Pest Apocalypse from Kikimora Games is out now, a fresh Bullet Heaven blending together the worlds of Vampire Survivors with something like Crazy Taxi and it's thoroughly chaotic.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl from GSC Game World has now been released and after playing it pre-release, I've had a damn fun time with it.

Available now in Early Access, survivor-like bullet heaven Temtem: Swarm is another game entering the crowded but popular genre from developer Crema.

Continuing my quest to play every survivor-like there is, Karate Survivor is the latest I've been kicking and punching through and it's great and surprisingly different to the rest of the crop.