Sea of Solitude is a masterpiece of storytelling, art-design and thematic visualisation. While not necessarily lengthy or mechanically deep it is an astoundingly well-crafted game that should be experienced by everyone.

Although it has its flaws, Erica is still a great revival of the old FMV genre, further erasing the line between video game and movie. An inspired control scheme, an engrossing multi-branched narrative that allows for multiple replays, and top-notch acting and directing - usually the pitfalls of the classic examples of the genre - make for a thrilling interactive experience.

There may be some rough edges, but for anyone looking for some fast-paced mobile suit action and who don’t mind a repetitive grind, Daemon X Machina is a big mech with cheese that’s worth sinking your teeth into.

WWE 2K17 isn’t exactly a step forward for the franchise. At best, it’s stuck in the past and completely lacking in any of the features that made 2K’s beast incarnate a strong contender from previous encounters. And that’s the bottom line.

A quirky love story of life, death and bureaucracy, Felix the Reaper is as effortlessly charming as it is relentlessly challenging in the puzzle department.

Lost Sphear is a bit of a hard sell to people who are not fans of JRPGS and even though the writing and characters are quite stereotypical, the story has a lot of heart. The battle system and customization options make for a fun game.

It’s clearly well thought out, but in execution The Signifer doesn’t quite match up to its intriguing concept and utterly convincing setting. The latter are so strong, though, that they keep you engaged even as you grapple with clunkier gameplay aspects and an abrupt ending. Ambitious, cerebral, worth investigating.

Saviours of Uldum offers up some interesting new mechanics and cards but rather than cleaning up the dirty patches prefers to make what was already clean shine even more.

Starblood Arena has the mechanics to be a compelling online VR shooter. But the lack of any compelling content and the difficulty of finding other people to play with proves to be one too many obstacles you shouldn’t need to be facing for a game this expensive.

Nom Nom Galaxy offers some fairly interesting additions to the genre while also attempting to critique Capitalism and human excess. It can be entertaining for a while, but just doesn’t do enough to stop that ‘samey’ feeling from creeping in all too quickly.

Star Wars Battlefront II is a gorgeous, incredibly fun shooter that builds on its roots with a host of new content, welcome gameplay tweaks and a fun single-player campaign. But all of its improvements are overshadowed by the Star Destroyer of crooked business decisions and terrible progression, making it a hard sell right now.

Battleborn is by no means a perfect game. Underneath its flaws however, there is a satisfying and fun character-driven shooter to be found.

Frantics should be a fun collection of casual-friendly mini-games made in the Mario Party mould. Unfortunately, it's just criminally boring.

Visually and audibly gorgeous, Inked battles to maintain its level of quality through an awkward camera, occasional obtuse puzzles and fumbled story.

Yooka-Laylee is a nostalgic trip to the past that ignores all the innovations that came after it. There's an appeal to return to a bygone era of platforming, but it's quickly washed away with long stretches of tedious, boring gameplay, and a sense of wit that thinks it's far smarter than it really is.

While Pure Pool is a great pool simulator, the problems I had left me feeling snookered. If those issues could be ironed out, and multiplayer fixed with a proper matchmaking tool, it would honestly be a solid title to spend some time with. For now though, I’ve just resorted to keeping it in windowed mode, taking my shots now and then between the other games I play.

A short and sweet distraction, Kill It With Fire is a quirky experiment in overreacting and pest control that will hold your attention for an hour or two.

The Wizards: Enhanced Edition wrestles with the limitations of PSVR and never wins, deeply undercutting its enjoyable spellcasting with inaccurate motion tracking. These issues are only made worse by uninteresting missions and repetitive combat, making the initial splendour of this spellcasting adventure fade very quickly.

Its mediocre ideas result in nothing more than a functionality that spoils solid art. Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold could have been a unique take on the genre but unfortunately cashes out too early to make any kind of lasting impression.

Silly, colourful and filled with more comic book knowledge than an entire chain of stores dedicated to superheroes. It may be a fan service game, but it delivers on that promise all the way.

Lord of Magna has all the ingredients for a fun and different strategy RPG but its inconsistent pacing, predictable battles and lacklustre customization options hold it back from being anything more than a pretty average game.

Biomutant juggles a ton of balls at any given time, and while it might not be able to keep all of them in the air, it's still an ambitious open-world adventure that's hard to not fall in love with. Maybe it's coming at the right time as well, as its generally laid-back approach to storytelling, wonderfully silly crafting, and deep character customization more than makes up for the rough combat that could do with some more polish.

Horror-adventure Close to the Sun pairs an emotionally-engaging narrative with arguably one of the most stunning and memorable game worlds of 2019. Pity about the frustrating gameplay choices and story decisions that ramp up in the final third of the game. They cast a shadow over the accomplishments that preceded them.

Boring narrative aside, Sniper Elite Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is superb at delivering its bread and ballistics gameplay. Focused purely on the art of the kill, CI Games has crafted numerous detailed sandboxes to become the ultimate long-distance predator inside of, resulting in a game that forges ahead and doubles down on its own unique brand of hold-your-breath gunplay. Pure cathartic and exhilarating action with every squeeze of the trigger.

While it's great to have a climactic final battle with Sauron, the rest of the game feels like a watered down version of the original. Add to that some weak storytelling and lack of character development and it ends up feeling like an ill conceived DLC prequel.

It’s definitely fun in short bursts, and is perfectly suited to the Switch with its casual, light-hearted multiplayer. That said, it’s just not especially engaging or memorable. As far as rhythm games go, this one going to be a bit like Marmite. As a rhythm game. it’s not nearly as quirky or interesting as something like Rhythm Heaven - and as a sports game, it can’t top Wii Sports. As a combination of both, it’s unique - but the sum isn’t as good as its parts.

A flawed game at times, but an equalling captivating one in others. It’s repetitive gameplay loops and standard mechanics hide an engrossing tale grounded by top of the class performances. It’s a tale that pays off in closing, if only just barely.

While the attempts to inject a bit of life into the series with a semi open-world mode and a track editor are laudable, the game itself is just too familiar. Newcomers might appreciate what the MXGP 2019 has to offer, but anyone who’s played any previous game in the series will just feel like they’ve seen it all before.

My Hero One’s Justice may be a faithful and stylish adaptation of the hit anime series, but all the fancy graphics in the world can’t do justice to a game whose kryptonite is a severe lack of real substance.

Solstice Chronicles M.I.A is a competent shooter, with its dynamic threat level leading to tense, frightening moments. The constant dread forces an engaging and tactical risk vs reward style of play - but the often awkward controls and derivative story let it down.

Funcom has delivered an above-average open world survival game that lives up to the mythos created by Robert E Howard. It fits in perfectly with the rest of the lore. However, while it is a fun game, it lacks a lot of polish, but if you can look beyond the flawed exterior, Conan Exiles will deliver hours of enjoyment.

While the game is fun and quirky, it's far better suited to its original home on handhelds. On the PS4, it simply doesn't hold up as a fully fledged game. However, for that price, it certainly is worthwhile if you're looking for something fun to play while waiting for all your other PS4 games' patches and updates.

Lords of the Fallen provides players with a solid experience and fun combat system, but it never provides enough reason to care about anything else.It's a shame as the game does have a lot of potential. With a little more polish and tweaks done to the story and balance, Lords of the Fallen could be a great title. Right now though, it isn't.

MediEvil is a loveable, charming romp through a classic action game that unfortunately suffers because of overly stiff controls and combat that often feels imprecise and impractical.

Overall, Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a superb return for the series, and while it will undoubtedly frustrate most players with its archaic and downright atrocious control scheme, it makes up for its shortcomings with a fun and intuitive combat system, a scary and obscure story and stunning sound and art direction

Beautifully Noir, White Night offers some excellent experiences mixed with punishing frustration. A dark and compelling survival horror, it is certainly worthwhile as long as you can overcome the anxiety and irritations.

Worms Revolution Extreme itself, actually, feels rather superfluous and unnecessarily, save for that it’s the first foray for the series on to the Vita. If you really need to play more Worms, Revolution Extreme is a fine way to do that, but there’s an overwhelming sense you’re paying for something you’ve bought numerous times over the past twenty years.

There’s also a co-op mode by the name of Overwatch, which allows one player to spot target for the other and works well over the larger maps. It’s just a pity that there are only two such maps available, resulting in a tight-fisted experience.

It may have the blandest visuals on the block and its multiplayer offerings are currently in shambles, but Gravel is still brimming with attitude and excellence. No-frills racing to the extreme, Gravel is a nostalgic road trip that excites, thrills and charms when its given a chance to rev its engine.

It’s by no means a great game, but The LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame does more than enough to avoid accusations of being an egregious cash-in. The simple co-op platforming coupled with the invigorated combat system deliver a game that’s a mindless bit of fun.

Marvel’s Avengers is both a fantastic story and a dead-average grind for meaningless loot. When everything comes together, it’s a brilliant power fantasy with heart and a true passion for its source material. Those moments are fleeting though, held back by a range of technical issues, shockingly sloppy design, and no solid idea of what kind of game it really wants to be. Some assembly, definitely required.

Call of Cthulu is a deeply disappointing game, because those opening hours showed such promise. If developer Cyanide had just stuck to the bits that work – the investigation – we’d have ended up with a better game. Instead of descending into madness, it descends into tedium.

Rage 2 tries to do so many things in such a small timeframe that it forgets to do anything original or inventive with its many unfocused components. Its combat alleviates these issues in short spurts, but it's not enough to weave a cohesive thread through this confused trip through a familiar wasteland.

Thief is a game, that despite all its good intentions, will alienate long-time fans. And the cookie-cutter generic gameplay won’t do much to attract new fans either, as this franchise once again slips into the forgotten darkness of the night.

Fans might get a kick out of this self-aware spinoff, but its referential meta-jokes ultimately fall flat. Worse though is that it’s just not very much fun to play. It’s repetitive to the point of being tiresome, and not even its occasionally enjoyable boss battles save Travis Strikes Again from being dull and dreary.

Champions of Anteria is a dull, repetitive, and inconsistent attempt to make a RTS/MOBA hybrid. The strategy sections of the game feel undercooked to the point of being inconsequential to the rest of the game, while the broken AI and repetitive gameplay of the tactical RPG sections offer little that other games aren’t doing better. Champions of Anteria feels like a game made by someone who doesn’t really understand what people like about strategy games or MOBA’s, and at a $30 price, I can’t see recommending it to anyone.

With a bit more polish, and less of a lingering sense of obligation to hold on to the licence, MXGP could grow to become a premier racing sim, but right now it’s muddy at best.

While CounterSpy is an excellent game in theory, it simply falls short. Featuring some cool ideas, it is a rather quick indie stealth game that doesn't live up to expectations.

Miitopia is a quirky and entertaining RPG-lite in very short bursts, but unfortunately the game doesn’t have all that much to offer outside of a few goofs. The lack of substantial player involvement leaves it feeling too automated and the experience grows stale, fast.

A solid and dedicated start right out of the gate, Monster Energy Supercross struggles to maintain its momentum across the entire race as technical issues and a bland road to Supercross glory hamper its progress.

TT Isle of Man: Ride On The Edge is a definitive race around a legendary and lethal track, one that captures the thrill and joy of two-wheeled power unleashed with a satisfying and strapping sense of speed. A pity then, that the rest of the supporting architecture doesn’t measure up.

Fitness Boxing 2 isn’t a bad way to keep your body energised, but the few improvements it has loaded into its gloves can’t hide its flawed punching technique or its disappointing lack of beats to bounce around to between uppercuts.

2K’s fifth WWE game has all the style and none of the substance of WWE games of old. All show and no actual in-ring talent, everything new in WWE 2K18 is quickly superseded by an uneven graphics engine and a career mode that’s certified G for Grody.

Suffice to say, there’s plenty to do here. It’s a pricy expansion, but it’s well worth it if you’re a fan of not only the game, but the great outdoors as well.

There’s fun to be had here, if you’re able to play it with others. Alone, Nine Parchments is a dull slog. Play with others, and it becomes an electrifying slice of pandemonium.

Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer looks and sounds like the game that fans were expecting; unfortunately it lacks the depth and addictiveness to keep you interested. Even with its cast of adorable characters and excellent soundtrack, the gameplay becomes stale really fast and you’ll find yourself grasping at what little the game has to offer in order to find something to hold your attention.

If you've been waiting for an MMO on Xbox One, this is an easy recommendation. It's not particularly deep or intricate, but there's enough content to keep you busy for a long while. The frame rates are a significant problem, but probably won't deter anyone from playing the game.

Michonne as a character and excellent action sequences keep this second episode together, though barely. Hopefully Telltale have something much bigger and better planned for the conclusion of this miniseries.

The sixth time is the charm, as WRC 6 finally nails the winning formula for a properly decent rally game that emphasises accessible fun over unforgiving precision. It’s not perfect, but it’s easily the best use of the official FIA World Rally Championship in many a year.

Overall, TBXD makes a reasonable shooter with some quite clever tactical stuff thrown in. The interface for Combat Focus is great; the combat itself grows stale quickly and the squad never feels as cohesive and essential as it did previously. It’s almost as if the game was scrapped halfway through and then rushed through production.

As an exercise in nostalgia, or an introduction to one of the most seminal fighting games, Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers is great. Its new modes, characters, and features are ultimately disappointing though, making the definitive edition of Street Fighter II less meaningful than it should be.

DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power succeeds in not feeling like a simple cash-grab. Much like its source material, it has genuine heart, plenty of activities to take part in, and a cast of characters who are simply adorable. Some of its more social open-world gameplay may feel a touch slapdash, but its colourful and explosive action more than makes up for it by being a blast of addictive and easy-to-grasp fun.

Ride has some genuinely good moments going into the corner, but it fails to remember that it needs to hit the throttle in order to power on through ahead of the pack. Competent, but hardly excellent.

If you love choose-your-own-adventure games, Hidden Agenda is compelling enough to make for an evening’s entertainment, especially given its price – but it feels more a glimpse of what could be enabled by mobile-connected games in the future, than a showcase of them at the moment.

It's quite simple. If you loved the first game, you'll appreciate the changes, like a more structured take on base building and community management. There are fantastic systems, hampered by repetitive and shallow gameplay that ultimately feels pointless. State of Decay 2's scale and lower price don't quite make up for its lack of polish.

With sumptuous hand-crafted visuals and a throwback LucasArts approach to puzzle-adventure gaming, Trüberbook is a treat for genre fans. Well, in part anyway. It’s a pity that all the goodwill the game generates is drained by an unsatisfying story that doesn’t bother to answer even half of the questions it’s raised.

If you appreciated the streamlined vehicle approach introduced in Mario Party 9, and have yet to bored silly by mini-games you’ll probably enjoy the vast amount of content that on offer here. It’s hard, however, to shake the feeling that we’ve seen, and played this all too many times before.

Not the best of reboots, but certainly not the worst, the latest Need For Speed plays it safe with a reborn franchise that is focused on finding the lust for momentum that it had lost in previous installments. A solid start, even if it doesn't finish ahead of the pack.

Is Vikings: Wolves of Midgard the kind of game that you can have a run at and finish in around the 12-15 hours it’ll take to finish its campaign? Absolutely. Just don’t expect it to be able to keep a grip on you once the end credits have thawed out.

It's hard to deny that it is a fun thing to play with family and friends – even if the formula is in dire need of a shake-up. Its focus on having fun over meticulously learning dance steps makes its a great game for all ages, though it's “if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it" approaches wearing a bit thin.

Mr Shifty makes an incredibly strong first impression with its unique teleporting twist on top-down brawling action. But it’s a game that overstays its welcome, with a dry well of ideas that struggle to evolve past their basic premise.

It has its flaws and combat can get boring, but compared to many of the other F2P games out there, Destiny of Spirits stands on its own as a decent example of F2P done right.

Someday You’ll Return is an occasionally pretty game with a splash of interesting ideas and visuals that are unfortunately let down by shoddy performance, abysmal storytelling and an overall lack of care placed into its presentation.

It’s beautiful, it’s charming and its insights are given greater punch by exceptional voice acting. Yet, despite ticking so many boxes, The Magnificent Trufflepigs never manages to find the sweet spot of player satisfaction due to some odd, clashing design choices.

There’s a terrific experience to be had in The Outer Worlds, but blurry visuals, subpar resolutions and haphazard functionality make it an adventure that’s done justice on any platform but the Nintendo Switch.

There’s a lot of love in the game for veterans, but when it came to roping in some new blood with this standalone, the ball was dropped.

Batman: The Telltale Series may stumble a bit in the opening act, but it quickly hits a comfortable stride with a promising first episode as Bruce Wayne steps out of the shadows.

Beyond the cheap titillation, Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal offers plenty of solid action and drama, all wrapped up in a gorgeous visual package that makes a tempting jumping on point for anyone who has ever wanted to hop into the long-running franchise.

Torchlight 3 will scratch any basic RPG itch for adventure, loot, and fantasy, but even with a heckin’ doggo sidekick at its side, it feels a bit too old-fashioned to stand out from the rest of the pack.

It's a cute game that is intuitive and plays well (as long as you keep it on mute). Nice retro feel, but unfortunately does not grow out of its mobile roots. Not bad...but not exactly good.

InnerSpace wears its inspirations on its sleeve, and manages to replicate the tranquil atmosphere it’s clearly aiming for. Its flight is enjoyable, with breath-taking views and colourful planets to poke around in. But it’s progression and overall narrative really buckle under the weight, making the crumbling Inverse a wasted space for this otherwise relaxing exploration title.

Anthem may look like a slick blend of action and exploration all wrapped up in some shiny armour, but beneath its surface lies a game that is riddled with bugs, shallow world-building and a paint by numbers approach to its design.

At it’s best, MotoGP 15 delivers a stellar core racing experience that is backed up by a strong use of the official MotoGP license. At it’s worst, it’s an average-looking racer that lacks that certain magic that makes the actual MotoGP so enjoyable.

Atomega may look cartoonishly simple at first glance, but there’s a wonderfully mad game of evolution at play here when you dig deep beneath its blocky surface.

Graveyard Keeper is an ambitious life simulator that boasts gorgeous art and some interesting mechanics but unfortunately fails to meet the standards of the genre due to some overly complicated tasks and poor balancing.

It's a decent enough collection of minigames, though most of its value comes in the fact that it's bundled with a Wii Remote Plus. Still, casual as it is, it's a great way for groups of friends or family to play together.

Dr. Luigi does an excellent job capturing the addictive gameplay that made Dr. Mario so memorable and fun.

If this is a celebration, then it's a muted one. I'm not sure Singstar will ever relive its glory days, but Celebration is a decent karaoke game that doesn't need extra accessories and peripherals. It's fun and infinitely better than singing along to your favourite song on the radio, pretending your hairbrush or potato peeler is a microphone.

There’s nothing here (save the 3D) that couldn’t have been done better on the 3DS’ bigger brother.

The Falconeer starts off as a fun, original take on aerial combat but quickly turns into a boring exercise in repetition that even a mysterious and interesting world can’t save.

I would only recommend this game to die-hard fans of the point-and-click genre. For the company’s first published game on Steam, I feel this was too much of a moonshot. I praise them for being ambitious and it definitely has potential, but sadly, the only element lacking is the most important thing: fun.

Refunct is a unique experience that despite the lack of content manages to communicate its themes through simple yet satisfying mechanics.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force isn't really Metroid game, then. But if you can set aside your preconceptions of what Metroid game is, you'll find a more than competent first person shooter that’s fun to play - even if it is let down by some odd design decisions and a lack of checkpoints.

In trying to re-invent a classic that was never really any good to begin with, Shadow of the Beast becomes a cautionary tale about how nostalgia is sometimes better left in the past.

No matter the element, The Crew 2 is a fantastic vehicle in which to master the ins and outs of speed. It’s just a pity that Ubisoft’s new world of varied racing disciplines feels hollow and uneven as it won’t hold your attention for very long in its current incarnation.

Neither heavenly nor hellish, Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell is an average standalone that is firmly stuck in Limbo.

This year’s version is a competent upgrade for the series. On its own, it stands tall as an excellent farm simulator, packed with features and with a level of complexity carefully hidden under its seemingly simple menus. Giants Software has managed to build on their game series and create an incredibly immersive game.

Long-time fans of the franchise will likely be disappointed by a watered-down entry that doesn’t come close to capturing the creative spirit of the original games. In fact, it doesn’t even bother. On the other hand, newcomers with no expectations should appreciate Showdown as a colourful, cute, low-effort party game that’s more diverse than most.