This is a solid game built off an old experience that brings videogame horror to the visual contemporary. It can be frustrating and grinding at times, but this is how games were designed and played back in the day. We just may have come too far for a presentation of this calibre to be tied to game-design so long lost. Plenty of value if you’re a survival-horror/horror fan, or just a Resident Evil fan, but for mine -- a brand new experience would have been more welcome.

As with any good tactical game, the system takes a few turns to get the hang of, with new strategic moves being learnt even after your umpteenth battle.

There’s a touching, melancholy, and ultimately heart-warming story at the heart of Stray, one that plays into the immediately lovable (and somewhat timeless) nature of cats.

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate throws story out the window and trades it for a huge amount of monsters and content. In a way it feels like a send off, of the old Monster Hunter before we get a true version built for the Switch - from the ground up.

With a shift away from clear-cut good and bad, Spec Ops challenges the sympathetic grey-matter with highlighted gaps between 'killing machine' and morality lessened as you tread "the line".

Ratchet and Clank Q-Force proves that after ten years, there is still life in the old Lombax yet that is worthy of consideration – if only there were more mission objectives and levels to enjoy.

The Unfinished Swan is entirely satisfied with being extremely interesting and lovely, rather than being the sort of larger, more crucial experience it occasionally seems like it might turn into. Its greatest ambitions are met with just enough enthusiasm and creativity to assure a fantastic experience, though, one worth pondering on just as much as it's worth playing.

The forgettable story is forgiven when the package of fast, furious and fun driving is brought back to save the series from obscurity. Reflections, you are given a pass for Driv3r, this one's a keeper.

Bloodborne is, overall, one of the best games I've ever played. There's no small amount of genius involved in taking a winning formula and skewing it into something which is similar but distinct in a way which forces players to relearn a game system they already fundamentally understand.

This blueprint is still fun, don’t get me wrong, but if anything New Dawn represents more of a sunset on an old design sheet. Might be time to drop a figurative nuclear bomb on Far Cry as we know it right now, in an effort to rebuild, from the ground up; something new and contemporary for the brave new world ahead of us. Fuel, after all, will be a thing of the past soon enough.

Even though there are several weapons to unlock and find along the way, a lot of them feel undercooked. Plus, some of the boss mechanics lean a little too heavily on the side of increasingly more difficult patterns to learn. That being said, it’s still worth checking out. Immortal Redneck is the sort of game that seemingly comes out of nowhere, where initial curiosity leads to hours of fun. For fans of old school shooters and the rouge-lite setup of games like Rogue Legacy then it’s well worth equipping Grandpa’s Blunderbuss and venturing into a pyramid filled with adorable but dangerous snakes and flying skulls.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is ultimately a visual showcase for the PlayStation 5, a thrilling dimension-hopping adventure, and a next-gen experience that feels like it could only exist - in this form - right now. In an age where realistic visuals, that is real-world settings and characters with proportional features to our own, are often the barometer for fidelity, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart reminds us that a heightened animated or cartoon-like look can offer a greater sense of immersion and believability than just about anything else.

When things go right and you’re walking out the vault with half a million in unmarked currency, not a cop in sight, Payday 2 is one of the most satisfying co-op games of all time. Yet even when your plans explode in a mess of buckshot and tear gas, it delivers a level of co-op excitement that is hard to find.

It’s not all seamless, exactly how it’s blend of home-base to expedition works takes a while to become apparent – leading to some confusion. The combat too and dashing about is a little imprecise (even when using a d-pad) which can lead to some frustrating boss encounters. In the end, through brevity, variety, and focus, Olija is a rewarding slice of action, contemplative fiction, with great action-adventure design.

The Enemy Within lets you shape and navigate your way through not only an entire relationship, that being the one with John Doe, but also in the direction and creation of The Joker. When you factor in that the Joker is perhaps almost as iconic as Batman, that Telltale was able to execute this progression at all, let alone imbue it with emotional weight – makes The Enemy Within essential for fans of the caped crusader.

We can hope that next season, EA Canada continues to iterate, and strikes a balance between footballing glamour and realizing the beauty and passion of mid-table obscurity, because all football fans deserve the chance to experience a real simulation of the game we love.

Shortcomings found in the sometimes-clunky writing and overly scripted emotional moments can feel unearned or sloppy. But the spirit and charm found in the surprise-hit Life is Strange is certainly here in The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit.

As an entire experience there is a lot on offer, and the game encourages multiple playthroughs with a number of difficulty settings, Mercenaries, Treasures and more to find and unlock. I wasn’t wholly sold on werewolves and vampires and fairytale zombies initially, but as I progressed through the game, my inner cryptozoologist emerged and I just left all scepticism at the gate and enjoyed the game for what it is: more outlandish and out there, is more better.

Shadow of the Colossus has its place in videogame history. It’s not indelible, but it is much-loved and for a number of good reasons. It’s just a barebones experience that can get tiring quickly, and feels like it needed just a little bit more “oomph”. I’m not here to rag on what it meant as a game back in 2005, but I am here suggesting that a visual overhaul of this nature -- in that it is glorious -- could have also come packaged with camera and gameplay fixes, at the very least. You’ll need patience and determination above all else, but if you’re an eye-candy sort of person, Shadow has it in spades. I just wish it also had a little something more as well.

The product offered here is good, but not quite as brilliant as it could have been.

Far Cry 4 isn't a masterpiece. It's not going to rock any boats or blow any minds. It's a brilliant toy, a fantastic tool for players to screw around within when they feel like some lighthearted fun.

The Wolf Among Us is off to a great start – if it can replicate The Walking Dead’s emotional nuance and stakes going forward, it could turn into something special.

With a combat and customisation system that was on par with the narrative, Tyranny would be one of the greats. As it stands though Tyranny is a narrative triumph, and thanks to the freedom it provides reinforces the notion that the RPG genre can be one of the best places to find rich multi-layered and rewarding story experiences. And few games handle player choice as well as Tyranny.

King's Bounty 2 lives up to its name in the sense that it delivers abundance. Like an ultra-compressed version of Skyrim, it feels full of things to do even if it doesn't necessarily excel at any of them. The combat is solid. The role-playing is solid. The questing and adventuring and writing and everything else are solid, too. It's comforting and familiar and simply does what it does without a great deal of fuss. In many ways it feels like the ideal pandemic lockdown game. I'll happily load King's Bounty 2, pull up the covers and settle in for the weeks and months to come.

Starved for Help tells a better story than A New Day did, but the sparse puzzles and that one huge glitch hold it back from being a huge improvement.

The characters are not only memorable, but the questions they and the overall story raise go beyond plot twists for the sake of plot twists. There’s care and an attention to detail worth celebrating here. Roman culture isn’t simply a cool historical backdrop, customs, behaviours, what we now know of the times can be found and felt in every corner of the world. And in many of the conversations you’ll have.

As a fan of all things racing if push came to running start I'd probably place myself firmly in the garage of an arcade racing fan. Ahem. But as with the first game in the series I found a great deal of enjoyment with Project Cars 2. The graphics and sound especially won me over. And whilst the struggles, trials, and tribulations of such a demanding simulator may have left me shaking with rage, the sheer exhilaration I felt after hitting a series of apexes so perfectly, culminating in a podium finish, was sweet recompense.

On the whole, more time in development might have ironed out some bugs, and the Day One patch which I’ve had a play with today addresses *some* issues, but a few more persist. They’re not game-breaking, but stand as reason enough the game might have needed another month or so in sharpening up. All that said, there’s a fun game here for people who are into 100%-ing anything they touch, and for those looking for something a little bit different. Be sure to watch the video examples riddled throughout this review to get an idea of what you’re in for, but I’ll be spending the rest of my game-time after plonking roughly 18 hours into it, uncovering everything else it has to offer.

In the end though, by not committing to either the sim-style of TIE Fighter or the arcade-action of Rogue Squadron – the middle-ground falls a short of brilliance. Most campaign missions follow a similar flow, rarely delving into sheer cinematic spectacle or pure sim-like protracted and intense battles. But there’s no denying that when played in VR Squadrons often feels like a dream come true - and when it stays on target, it’s a force to be reckoned with.

There’s plenty here to love, but you will need patience and you will need resolve, because the orcs and their player-defined society is a thing of, as I said earlier, unnatural beauty, it’s just a shame the rest of the game suffers in their expanded development wake.

The truth is Unravel didn’t need a reason for you to play it, because the basic mechanics handled that for you, and so it didn’t need a story, no less one built around rebuilding foreign and alien memories from someone you don’t have a connection to, nor care about.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind is a definite success, it faithfully recreates and updates the iconic location for both modern audiences and modern gaming hardware. Seriously, simply walking around and taking in all the sights is worth the price of admission alone. Well, for those that think fondly of their time spent with the original Morrowind over a decade ago. But, with a great story that expands and digs deep into the sort of lore and history that would make any Elder Scrolls fan happy, The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind feels very much like its own thing too.

Dawn of Ragnarök could have given us new items in shops, different resources to gather and craft with (though you can upgrade gear to a new tier, which is a nice addition) and more fun with its economy. And while there are differences to what we’ve already played through in the base game and its other two expansions, they don’t make the experience different enough. That said, however, the story here can’t be faulted, nor the treatment of the sagas and history of the Vikings and Norse myth, which is Dawn of Ragnarök’s best element.

Like with the original Halo Wars, what we have is an experience that can appeal to fans of both the Halo franchise and those who would enjoy your typical RTS experience. But, appealing to everyone can have its detriments, with some of the RTS elements in Halo Wars 2 feeling like they could have been fleshed out just a bit more, and some of the more action-oriented scenes feeling like they would have benefited from a perspective that wasn’t so far removed from the ground. But even so, it’s still an often-thrilling experience, and a great entry in the Halo franchise. And, a friendly reminder that there’s always room in the market for a good RTS game.

Something a bit different from the annual update they've come to love. It's another triumph for EA Canada.

With this new structure Ardennes Assault represents the best single-player experience seen in a Company of Heroes title to date.

It remains to be seen how well 400 Days ties into Season 2, although it’s certainly implied at the end that your actions here will have some impact. As the epilogue messily ties everything off, it’s hard to say for sure whether 400 Days is an absolutely essential part of the Walking Dead experience, or whether it’s mostly a fantastic reminder that Telltale knows exactly what they’re doing.

Whether you’re being stealthy or outright flamboyant in your pursuits of slag and biomass and plaz, Void Bastards offers up a fresh and engaging take on the first-person rogue light sub-genre in a package that is has the gameplay to match its vibrant art style.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Expeditions: Rome. The tactical combat held my attention throughout. It has some weaknesses elsewhere, for sure. But like an effective party, they work to offer support. Tinkering away in your camp, or shuffling pawns across the strategic map might not get the pulse racing, but it provides an opportune moment to catch your breath, to rest and recuperate before pulling on your armour and once again striding onto the battlefield where you belong.

For what it’s worth, I loved playing the game. I felt let down and disappointed with my major gripe riddled throughout this review, but every other facet of the game is a triumph. And so at the end of the day it boils down to where you stand on design progression, and on modern day humanised characters with sticky trigger fingers. While I’m in the former camp, I also realise I’m likely outnumbered by those in the latter.

In the end if you’re a fan of explorer, filmmaker, and scientist Jacques Cousteau or feel at home watching the deep sea documentaries of David Attenborough, then ABZÛ is something that you’ll definitely want to check out.

Probably the best place for anyone to jump into Magic for the first time and is great value for money for its breadth of gameplay and content.

Despite an unhealthy smattering of technical concerns, Halo: The Master Chief Collection really is an essential purchase for fans of the series, whether they’re in it for the campaigns, the multiplayer, or the best of both worlds.

Large scale sci-fi strategy is a genre that will hopefully be here for many years to come. And at its core that’s what Dawn of War III is, and what its campaign and multiplayer highlight – epic sci-fi strategy with armies of varied units fighting against different races in heated and intense battles. It’s no secret that developer Relic understands this genre well, which in turn means that the balance and differences to be found among the Space Marines, Orks, and Eldar -- not only in units but in presentation and characterisation -- shines throughout. Which makes the addition of MOBA-like elements less of an experiment, than it is a different and fun approach. And just like the action-RPG direction of the second outing, Dawn of War III once again has made us eagerly anticipate what’s next for the series.

Crisp visuals and smooth performance paired with tried-and-true gameplay and a controller that feels and behaves unlike anything that has come before - Astro’s Playroom is well worth spending some of those first PS5 moments with. The speaker, the motion controls (when limited to simple motions only), the impressive HD rumble, the adaptive triggers, it’s all here and impressive. Playing off the in-game visuals and surround sound coming through your headset or speaker setup it’s as much a proof of concept as it is a fine 3D platformer and a celebration of all things PlayStation. It leaves you wanting, and pining for a full-sized Astro adventure too. One built from the ground-up for Sony’s new console and groundbreaking new controller.

Gorn can be completed in roughly two and a half hours. That runtime is padded out with an Endless Mode and chasing weapon unlocks by appeasing certain in-arena objectives. What I really wanted to see was the asymmetrical Party Mode multiplayer that's in the PC version. The basic gist: mates on controllers can team up and try to do you in using gladiator avatars who all handle like drunk Octodads. Fingers crossed this shows up in an update. For the respectable asking price, I don't think the above situation is a deal-breaker. If you were to go out on a (severed) limb for a speculative purchase, I think you'd find Gorn represents the nicest and red-iest slice of PSVR we've seen in some time.

If you've been playing Rift since launch, whether to purchase this expansion or not doesn't even require thought. It's the content/feature pack you were promised and on that note it delivers in spades. New players, however, may find what's on offer to be woefully dated alongside a player population significantly diminished next (and due to) to the more recent competition in the market.

There are puzzles, but never in a way to stop you on your journey forward. Like the music, there’s a pull or need to keep going. It’s what one might dismiss as art first, game second. Shape of the World is, well, neither. Instead it is a transportive journey that feels like a great ambient electronica album come to life. Brief and wonderful, and something to savour.

Despite some art direction issues and the lack of a tutorial system, dedicated players will have some fun here.

With most of the action taking place in castles, forests, caves, factories, mountains, swamps and numerous other locations, there are very few dungeons to be found at all within the game. Which overall speaks volumes for potential expectations one may have with the game, and in failing to meet them could be an unfair catalyst in dismissing what is a fun, polished, and streamlined action RPG experience that deserves your attention.

Turf War is where Splatoon 2 shines, and the same goes for the co-op Salmon Run mode. The single-player stuff is here, and quite solid, but is secondary to the core online experience. The most difficult part of Hero Mode usually comes down to finding each of the stages in the overworld, and then trying to collect all the hidden pieces within that unlock new stuff. For the most part, it serves as a great training ground for Turf War, with interesting boss encounters and charming character design and art direction. As a Nintendo Switch exclusive Splatoon 2 joins an already stellar first-party line-up for a console that is still only a few months old.

Until Dawn proves to be both visually and narratively compelling.

Whether you're a wild mustang wanderer in free roam or a hardcore PvPer, RDO delivers pretty amazing fun. I'd be remiss, however, if I didn't mention that it's still a “mostly what you make of it” online experience. New content comes in dribs and drabs. And when you look over yonder at GTA V (where players are getting casinos and all sorts of cool things) it's clear that RDO needs better and more frequent support. Hopefully Rockstar can be spurred into that action, because what's already here is well worth saddling up for.

Even with a lacklustre Zombies experience, Call of Duty: Vanguard is Sledgehammer Games’ best Call of Duty to date. The studio is finally hitting its stride in getting its vision of the series to where it should be. The campaign is a rip-roaring five hours of fascinating character stories mixed with memorable locales, while the new additions to the admittedly by-the-numbers multiplayer are more than welcome. While it may not change the formula in any meaningful way, what you’ve got here is a great Call of Duty game.

Developer Relic also seems to be having a lot more fun with the loot this time around, as players can even equip some of their heroes with rare items that sound ridiculous but in practise turn out to be quite awesome. Like a machine gun that has a chance to call in an artillery strike.

Music-mixing is how DropMix is labelled, but mixing in the form of stitching together various loops – represented by cards – on an interactive board and a connected smart device app. The fact that it can convey the feeling of mixing and production, whilst giving anyone the chance to change and add to music without the need to worry about tempo or key, is worthy of praise. And, another feather in the already feather-stacked cap of Harmonix – creators of Amplitude, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band.

Wayward Strand is a delicate piece of work, as its title might imply. Despite the flight of fancy proposed by the very idea of an airship hospital, it's a remarkably unassuming game–not literally down-to-earth, but certainly grounded in its portrayal of lives nearing their end and one just beginning, and the common hopes, dreams and fears that connect all those lives together.

An addictive, not-too-shallow bite of strategic game play for fans of fifteen minute sessions. It could have easily been a DSi game sans 3D, but that 3D screen certainly looks a treat during the action.

Thankfully, the deep and rewarding combat more than makes up for the sometimes sexless superhero daytime soap opera and the sometimes engaging story you get to watch play out. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is at its best when it has all of the various superheroes do what they do best.

The Walking Dead has experimented on the typical Telltale formula, with a lot of success, over the course of these three episodes, and this is definitely one of the more interesting things it has done.

Levels are still challenging but there’s a general lack of surprise to the flow that is a little disappointing, in that it kind of feels that the underlying gameplay of The Division and the sorts of levels and missions you can expect to find have reached ‘peak variety’. But when that variety essentially blends the original game’s setting and enemy factions with that of The Division 2’s vibrant Washington DC - Warlords of New York presents more than enough reasons to re-visit the Big Apple.

All in all this is a sequel that builds on the original in impressive ways, and a timely reminder of why the rogue-lite genre has taken off in the way that it has.

Despite early frustration, Animal Crossing: New Horizon is not only a game I’ll be returning to but also a life worth revisiting. With time comes maturity and now that I know the rules and how to break them each visit can be a holiday or a monetary expedition to create a hoarder’s paradise. Animal Crossing: New Horizons lets you do what you want, at your own pace, as long as you’ve got the Bells to pay for it.

West of Dead isn’t without its standoff moments of frustration, but a squint of the eye and a sweat-bead zero-flinch will see you standing tall post-Purgatory call out. Honestly, I just want to see more of it at this stage, maybe in less repetitive form, but as a continually-fleshed out new IP and one that keeps its creative skull-fire burning.

Each major story adds to the world, the setting, the mystery. Throw in PC visuals that are easily some of the most impressive you’re likely to see this year or next, it’s the one part of the experience that lives up to the futuristic setting and promise seen in the many pre-release gameplay slices and trailers. But again, there’s a disconnect that creeps up every now and then. Immersion that breaks whenever you come across a bug or you can see the seams due to missing AI or missing features. No doubt Cyberpunk 2077 will be a better game on all platforms in three months time, and then three months after that. For now, it’s breathtaking on PC - for all the right, and wrong, reasons.

It’s very much the spiritual successor it purports to be -- with forward thinking design and elements that flow in a way that reminds you of the timeless nature of the fluid, stylish combat of old. The lack of co-op is something you feel, but in terms of cinematic spectacle this is the Master Chief carrying the flag once more for Xbox. Albeit in that new-school form of being able to jump in and, well, play anywhere.

In no way treated as an intro sequence, the expanded Metroidvania style second half of the game inadvertently overshadows those opening hours of brilliant platforming and action. But even so, The Messenger features an understanding of design, from the 8-bit to the 16-bit to the modern era, that make it more than a throwback.

Interesting combat aside, what resonates and exhilarates about Lost in Random is its story first and foremost. The adventure that Even embarks on is one to savour and one that lives up to the wonderful art direction and visual design. The characters, the dialogue, the discoveries, the animation, the voice acting, the music, the presentation -- it all comes together wonderfully. A game well worth taking a chance and rolling the dice on.

There are some issues in the way of variety with enemies, and some missed opportunities for serious survival-horror scares, but on the whole it's still one of the stronger Resi releases we've seen in a while. Definitely worth more than a look in.

The game is at odds with itself for not being as inventive as it should be, but being so good because of all invention that's come before it. Mario, in this sense, is his own worst enemy.

Satirical and self-referential, short and sweet, Twisted Pixel has provided a multitude of six-shooting fun, and their quirky creation tucks itself nicely into several age-groups. The Gunstringer is one of the most inventive and chaotic titles for the Kinect to-date.

Crossing Souls is a little scrappy, rough around the edges. But at its core it tells a great story. An adventure filled with twists and turns and well-earned moments of introspection and emotion. The fact that it nails this part of its inspiration, that being the Spielberg-like vision of the 1980s, make it a success. Adventure, action, and friendship drive the experience, which make its short comings far less visible than its bedrooms filled with posters for films like Ghostbusters. In the end we love that Crossing Souls isn’t merely a compendium of references to things like Back to the Future and Poltergeist. There’s definite substance below the shiny neon ‘80s surface.

I haven't enjoyed the game this much in years. They have managed to do what 12 months ago I wouldn't have thought was possible, they've put the fun back into World of Warcraft.

There are memorable flashes of brilliance when playing the multiplayer modes, and you come up against another player. And through sheer skill and understanding of the combat, you’re able to gain the upper hand in a heated and intense exchange of metal.

In the end Cloudpunk is as long as its narrative, with little more than collectibles to find through exploration. Mostly there to present videogame elements like vehicle upgrades or trinkets to place around your small apartment. The story though is memorable, and often as dense and layered as the jutting buildings that make-up Nivalis. An aesthetic joy throughout, and a cyberpunk tale well worth delivering to your desktop.

Overall production values are great with all dialogue having accompanying voice acting and when talking to NPCs you’re often presented with several dialogue choices - many of which expand the world’s lore and current events. With several quality of life and mechanic upgrades from SpellForce 3, Soul Harvest is an enjoyable experience that scratches both the RPG and RTS itch. A blend that still feels unique to this series, and one that continues to impress all these years later.

The X off-shoot of the Mega Man franchise improved on the formula laid out in the 8-bit era to create some of the best 2D action games of the ‘90s, where art and animation grew in leaps and bounds alongside mechanics and wonderful level design. In many ways this is Mega Man at its finest, and outside of the fact that most of the eight games play the same, this Legacy Collection is a fine reminder of why the X series is held in such high regard.

It may not be as wholly engaging or enticing in its storytelling as previous F.E.A.R. outings, but I'm still keen to jump back on the action cloud of a game that's infused with a horror lining.

When you realise there are dozens of addictive hours to enjoy, State of Decay proves itself a tempting purchase for zombie lovers and fans of survival-horror alike.

From a technical standpoint, Dead Rising 3 is not the pinnacle of how a next-gen game should look (or perform), but from an expanded gameplay perspective, and one of pure fun, it’s my favourite launch title among the lot.

To come back to our earlier appalling (but inevitable) metaphor, Kid Icarus Uprising definitely soars a little close to the sun, but manages to get away with only slightly singed wings.

As has been the case for a while, the really interesting new stuff doesn't pop up until the endgame, which makes the journey to the credits very enjoyable, but also somewhat perfunctory.

Ultimately, it's hard to get into these games the way we did when its predecessors hit a year and a half ago, but that doesn't mean that we're not going to keep going until we've exhausted ourselves again.

Shadows of the Damned will not change games, or gaming. But it will make you laugh and will keep you engaged for some time. It's a solid 10-hour experience for anyone versed in the genre, and if you're into upgrading and collecting, you could squeeze a bit more out of it.

Tacoma shines where it counts, and that is with the story it tells and the feeling that each character within it feels real. Including the on-board AI called Odin. As an interactive story, getting to pause, rewind, and check out the movements and activities of different people in a digital recreation of past events works flawlessly. And it’s the sort of mechanic that feels fresh, whilst also being something that could only really exist in this form. Lasting roughly two hours or so, Tacoma also never feels laboured or padded with extraneous content. But, as it also doesn't present a story focusing on one character as the lead there’s a feeling that something is missing. Which, robs the ending of some of its emotional weight.

I played the first Gears of War, and right now, Gears 5 has barely changed the flavour of the original. And while the original might have been a revelation, Gears 5 presents as a detriment.

Players who don’t mind the long game, and have a soft spot for the turn-based tactics games of old will find a lot of value here, even beyond its charm. There’s also multiplayer and a map editor with all the tools required to upload and share those creations, which is a massive added bonus to the basic product, and at less than 5GB to download, but with how much you get out of it, it’s hard not to recommend it. Just be ready for an intensive investment in time through its swift learning curve. This fledgling developer-publisher is on the right path to making a nostalgia-based name for itself if it stays this course.

Although not the biggest or most expansive release in the franchise Thrones of Britannia surprises in its depth and commitment to building an experience specific to an era and place. From the warring houses and backstabbing and ever-changing map, to the war-hungry Vikings looking to cause one last moment of chaos. If medieval history is your thing, then this is the Total War for you.

Although Summerset closely reflects the style and formula of previous expansions, this timeless quality extends to ESO’s particular brand of online role-playing. Where the spectacular scenery and sumptuous fashion of Summerset combines with prolific and narrative heavy quests to create an outstanding adventure, and a worthy inclusion in anyone’s Tamriel wardrobe.

At the end of the day, Serious Sam: BFE isn't as much of a welcome throwback to old-school gaming staples as the original title was a decade ago. But, thankfully, that doesn't mean that it's a failure or a complete waste of time.

A great concept with the right amount of heart, that simply loses its way too often in so much broken form.

Judgment has the aura of an epic crime drama – one that feels even more interesting due to its Japanese setting. The location of Kamurocho, although mostly static is a joy to explore, and Takayuki Yagami is a wonderful protagonist that is easy to get behind. Lengthy and full of twists and turns, even though Judgment offers up the most basic of detective sequences there’s still plenty to love about the world depicted. Twisted Trio included.

We’ve been handed a mildly updated version of a little puzzle-platformer in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. And despite its bubbly and cutesy presentation, the tail end of the game is a challenging and thoughtful experience where lateral thinking and classic Nintendo game-design coalesce to really offer up a rewarding experience.

Even with the screen tearing and sporadic glitches, unimpressive graphics, generic and forgettable antagonist and over-powered abilities, I have to admit, I couldn’t get enough of Saints Row IV, once it hit stride.

For all its faults, Arkham Origins lives up to the prestige associated with its name. It’s easy to be negative about it, simply because everything it does well the previous games also pulled off splendidly, but the fact is that if the other Arkham games didn’t exist this would be the best Batman game ever by a mile.

The problem isn’t that it’s too linear, it’s just that the balance is off. The combat variety across the three main characters bleeds into the storytelling and the relationships depicted across the lengthy story and wonderfully insane cinematics. With skill progression and hidden challenge stages to discover there’s reason to go back and tackle higher difficulties or certain missions from a different perspective. But there are diminishing returns when trade-in surprising story-beats and character moments for lacklustre level design and not enough variety in the locations you do battle.

In the end the narrative isn’t quite as strong as the puzzle content found throughout, but nonetheless Q.U.B.E. 2 is an impressive entry in the test-chamber puzzle game subgenre first made popular by Valve’s Portal.

In the end playing through the story and standard 1-v-1 competitive stuff will be more than enough for some. But for completionists or Mortal Kombat super-fans then perhaps the stingy nature of ‘unlocking everything’ will take its toll.