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But the moment an enemy draws a weapon with which they intend to use deadly force, the game state changes: your License to Kill is activated. This is a brilliant use of the Bond terminology and iconography, but it’s also just flat-out clever game design, delineating the different modes of gameplay. [3-Hour Hands-On Impressions]

Vampire Crawlers’ deck-building gameplay is incredibly smart, and the runs never feel like they stretch for too long. It takes every smart decision made in Vampire Survivors and translates it beautifully to a new style of gameplay. Even if you’re not usually a fan of roguelites or deck-builders, you need to try Vampire Crawlers.

Saros is a bold, confident realization of 30 years of Housemarque. It builds on the mystery and exceptional gameplay of Returnal with an excellent lead performance, and changes to the formula mean even more players will come to realize that Housemarque is PlayStation's secret weapon.

For now, Masters of Albion in early access represents a solid start from the wayward creator of some of the greatest games to have been born on these sceptered isles. It’s premature to be rolling out crack-addled 90 per cent scores in this day and age, but when the AI-pocalypse comes and gaming magazines make a comeback - as surely they will - I can see Masters of Albion being deserving of more than a few accolades. [Early Access Score = 60]

Like its predecessors, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is an entertaining collection of ridiculously random set-pieces, tied together in an easy-to-play life sim. It does start getting repetitive after a few weeks, but the exceptionally localised dialogue and the scope for heavy customisation makes it a game the entire family can enjoy regardless.

There’s something charmingly simple about Pragmata. It’s an 8-hour, linear third-person shooter with a charming, if fairly generic, story. We used to get dozens of these games a year; now, with this production value, they’re such a rarity that it’s a breath of fresh air.

Driving up a mountain as snowy roads stretch out into the distance is a sight to behold, and when you’re in the city at night, with neon signs reflecting against puddles, it’s clear this is one beautiful game. [Hands-On Impressions]

Raccoin is a deeply dangerous game. Full of personality, deep, addictive gameplay, and a great visual style, it's a game I'll revisit for years. Some early game resistiveness doesn't dampen an experience that sits comfortably alongside Balatro and Vampire Survivors.

With few standout multiplayer challenges and little compelling solo content, Bellabel Park feels overpriced and inessential next to the excellent original Switch 1 game.

Despite the tumultuous landscape of live-service games around it, Marathon firmly carves its own place in the extraction shooter genre with an unmatched presentation and breakneck rhythm.