As mentioned earlier, a name carries expectations. Strictly in terms of game design, Fear Effect Sedna is quite possibly the strongest the series has ever been. However, it doesn't go far enough to make up for its deficiencies in atmosphere and storytelling. As it turns out, this title is as cold and distant as its locales and isometric perspective suggest. There's very little imagery to provoke thoughts or spark the imagination, just a high body count and a lot of swear words. Even if that were enough for a Cyberpunk game, it's handled in a manner that isn't stylish or memorable. All in all, this entry is a difficult recommendation, especially for Fear Effect fans.

The PlayStation VR deserves to be thought of as a whole separate platform, and thus far that platform has been lacking in the killer games to sell it. This is the first must-have release to arrive; something truly special. Moss is an absolutely phenomenal experience; completely captivating, utterly endearing, and absolutely magical. Ghibli fans will find this closer to the works of the legendary studio than the Ni No Kuni games. Best of all, it finishes on a promise of more adventures to come and, like a bibliophile desperate for that next book, players will be left desperately wanting the next chapter in this story.

Over the years, Outlast has aged well thanks to its production design and ultra-violent spectacle. The simple act of hide-and-seek is still engaging and the adventure's length does not overstay its welcome, something that hurt the overly long sequel. Mount Massive Asylum is a memorable and grisly place and the wide cast of maniacs to meet in the core game and DLC chapter leave a lasting impression. This is a very linear horror game that is heavily scripted and is elevated thanks to the imaginative scenario. There are tons of weapon-less horror games these days and more often than not they tend to be more annoying than scary. Outlast is one of the few that just barely gets by without irritating too much. Perhaps it's because of the brevity and pacing of the game that keeps things tense and exciting so its more obvious shortcomings become much less apparent.

Metal Gear Survive is not for everyone. This is better approached as an open-world survival-horror game where building weapons from scratch, clawing at animals for food while drinking dirty water found in the world defines what it takes to survive. Including the Metal Gear name increases the external pressures around this game, as it is different to what fans of the franchise may expect. Aside from the aggravating always-online infrastructure of the game, Metal Gear Survive is a pretty good outing for those looking for a reason to battle zombies in an extremely vulnerable state. While the story is pretty meh, it is the exploration factor and sense of discovery and accomplishment, as well as feeding those hunger and thirst meters that showcase the fun and enjoyment of this experience.

It's still a somewhat barebones homage to games of the past, but Lost Sphear takes everything I Am Setsuna did right and improves upon it greatly. At the end of the day, it's a fun game with pretty visuals, an interesting battle system, enjoyable characters (that are well-acted), and a must-have for fans of classic JRPGs of the SNES era. It's also a testament to the skill of the developers at Tokyo RPG Factory, who made the game roughly a year and a half after their first outing, and will leave fans wondering what the team has in store for the future.

Designed for short bursts and with more than enough content to justify its incredibly generous price tag, Grid Mania offers a unique puzzle experience with plenty of challenge to go around. The four game modes aren't as distinct as they perhaps could or should be, but the core design is strong enough to keep each mode from feeling derivative of one another. As the difficulty gradually curves up and critical thought becomes a more frequent demand, Grad Mania establishes itself as a highly satisfying puzzler that still manages to be quite relaxing at its hardest.

What is Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame? Well, the answer is that this is a solid, challenging, and authentic example of the Supercross racing genre that fans will definitely enjoy on their PlayStation 4 systems. However, in saying that, at the same time it also feels like Milestone has sort of left this release in a rather unfulfilled form.

The story is interesting and giving the FPS nature of Battlezone: Combat Commander, it feels much more 'personal' given the unique hybrid aspect of the game. The strategy elements and the FPS parts do not stack up to modern conventions, but are sufficient enough to work. The real appeal is the fact that this is a hybrid of two very different genres and, while not perfect, considering its 20 year age, it is worth checking out of if this mixture sounds appealing, as the story is indeed fun to experience.

It's technically impressive in comparison to its bigger brothers on PC and home consoles, but JYDGE still fails to impress on iOS. It's unremarkable and repetitive, and is made even more impenetrable by an unpolished control scheme and a foggy display in the heat of battle; not to mention a particularly bland presentation and premise - spelling the name with a y certainly isn't enough to make this firmly average shooter stand out from the crowd.

The highest compliment that can be said about Pop-Up Pilgrims is that it is not broken. At best, this is an extremely uninteresting and dull game. It plays like some kind of first-year student project that is only slightly elevated by some competent, yet generic art assets. VR is capable of so much more, yet here is a perfect example of a gross misuse of the platform.

Samsara is a visually attractive puzzler that plays out on two planes. Trying to simultaneously navigate Zee and her shadow self to their respective doorways by manipulating the walkways with placed blocks is a tricky thing to do. With limited blocks, and endless lives, trialling different solutions and seeing what works and what doesn't is a fun and rewarding experience. There are always surprises hidden; whether it's weird deaths or getting Zee trapped between a rock and a hard place. Figuring out these puzzles is a fun little diversion, and Samsara is well worth the time to solve some puzzles.

Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a rare and enjoyable title, especially for anyone familiar with Falcom's output. The core fundamentals, such as controls and playability, aren't always ideal, and the rough frame-rate is a nuisance. The final result is a title that's buoyed by its charm and creativity. This a rambunctious collection of minor details that still manages a strong sense of coherency. However, it's tough to excuse the messy combat. The way it ties into healing and levelling is clever, but there isn't enough finesse. It's as if the system was designed by a team that hasn't yet found its footing in an ever-evolving genre. To sum it all up, this isn't a classic, but it's still worth experiencing.

Caveman Warriors is a fun, if straightforward, beat 'em up. The game's aesthetics and design pay homage to titles of old, and although it has a cartoonish exterior, underneath it is a challenging yet enjoyable brawler. Whether playing solo or with friends, the four playable characters stand apart from one another due to their unique weapons or abilities. However, the frequent deaths that can arise from the knockback are quite annoying, and the boss fights could have done more to test the player's skill. Still, this is a quirky and enjoyable release that's worth checking out.

Another example of that latest trend of videogames with "high artistic quality," Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is not something brand new, unique, and meaningful, but something boring, boring, boring that uses big words to say things that aren't that interesting. Oh, and it has Sting in it…

Quite simply, Rise and Fall is a must-buy expansion for any Civilization VI owner. The fundamental core of the experience has, of course, not been radically changed - however it didn't need to. Rather, what has been added is a refinement that encourages strategic development and thinking and gives a constant treadmill of challenges to overcome in order to create the greatest civilisation. The loyalty mechanic accompanies this all nicely by again increasing the difficulty curve by just the right amount to avoid annoyance. The disappointment about the global emergencies does not detract from the experience enough to consider Rise and Fall anything other than a triumph.

The Longest Five Minutes is an interesting take on a nostalgia trip, but by splitting the game into the individual memories it does a huge disservice to its RPG nature. If only these memories had been fleshed out, giving the main characters a little depth, some side quests, some hidden quests… anything to make it feel like the games it is monkeying, instead of being such simple little, objective-based stages. There are moments that shine, but they are marred by the numerous issues and make this Nintendo Switch release somewhat of a disappointment.

There are many games that Past Cure draws from and it's a pale imitation of them all. Less Heavy Rain and more Light Drizzle. Less Evil Within and more Crap Within. The developers were ambitious, but overambitious, and they have delivered an absolute turkey. Completely unenjoyable and comes with very few redeeming features. It's an awful, awful game.

From thrilling boss fights to elegant environments, coupled with a comprehensive control scheme and a well laid out progression system, Mulaka is a joy to play from start to finish. The unique art style, soundtrack, and the conscientious effort by the developer to stay as true to the source material of the Tarahumara means that the game is not only just immersive and fun to play, but also educational, as well. This is a must-own for those who love 3D action platformers, and even more so for those with a Nintendo Switch.

Immortal Redneck's first few hours are a delightful cage match between you and the chaos within. After a few hours, though, it feels like the same old, same old. Tension is replaced with apathy, as things feel like a hamster wheel churning out the same bits and pieces. It is best experienced for its moments, and not its whole, as those moments are exhilarating and intense. As a whole, though, it fails to retain any lasting attention, and amounts to something that is fun, but ultimately disappointing.

This new DLC, Stellaris: Apocalypse, and the major update to the base game, overhaul some serious systems, but the root problem of the title still remains. It simply is too grindy, too 'bureaucratic,' and simply takes too long to do anything interesting. The major issues that have plagued the experience are still present, so those hoping for any change to that will be disappointed, while many elements present serve to frustrate the player.

While Circuit Breakers attempts to revisit the glory days of the top-down twin-stick shooters, it does not purely reflect the fun and insanity of those older games. Frustration creeps in when the barrage of enemies grows completely out of control, while killing them all requires burning all the ammo and breaking down the weapon. As far as the weapon variety goes, the machine gun, shotgun, laser, and rocket launcher offer different dimensions to the combat in terms of visuals, but they still play out the same way: run, aim, and shoot. It does have four-player couch co-op, which is fun for a few hours, and that's really the only way to play this game, although the fun will quickly run out.

Despite still being mired with an unhealthy assortment of technical hiccups and a paper thin narrative that feels like a rejected Call of Duty plot line, there is still fun to be mined out of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 but it's entirely dependent on an individual's tolerance of the occasional glitch. Sure, it could have done with a lot more time in the oven, and even after a number of sizeable patches its litany of issues still make it a fairly tough recommendation, so it would be remiss not to slap a 'Buyer Beware' sticker on it. At its core, the sniping itself can be pretty satisfying, and Georgia makes for an interesting, if sparse, playground but, ultimately, this isn't really enough to carry the game over the constant threat of unexpected setbacks and, as such, it's unlikely to win over non-fans of the series when there are much slicker alternatives available.

Apex Construct is a perfect example of just how far VR games have come and shows that VR gaming isn't just a gimmick. It's clearly going to be the next step for gaming. However, it also shows some of the glaring issues still being faced with the technology. The controls are still difficult, with the system of teleporting rather immersion-breaking and the wand-style controllers still not quite fitting the bill. Regardless of its flaws, this is one of the best VR experiences currently available and a must experience.

In spite of an unfortunately stiff script and repetitive gameplay, The Final Station is still one of the most atmospheric and interesting survival titles in the genre. With a genuinely impressive ambience that revels in morbidity, each moment of gameplay is immersive and sombre. Surviving feels like an actual goal as enemies are relentless and ammunition is difficult to come by. Managing the train and keeping passengers alive is stressful, but it's stress that's rewarded and adds to the hostile aesthetic of the world. The last act does lose its way in terms of narrative, and the writing leaves much to be desired, but the moment to moment experiences are conceptually great and make for a memorable journey. The Final Station might be lacking in some departments, but what it does well, it does well.

Judging purely on the current state of Street Fighter V, with the new additions and inclusion of the season 1 and 2 characters in the Arcade Edition, it is most certainly one of the must-own fighting games on the market right now. The arcade mode is enough to warrant anyone picking up this game, even if it has arrived far too late. The FM changes are unfortunate, but the biggest peeve is that Arcade Edition itself is an extremely limited package, since everything here, barring the previous DLC characters, are free updates for owners of the original. The least Capcom could have done is put a few extra costumes and stages in there, because otherwise, the only reason to pick this up is if you don’t already have SFV and want a cheap way of buying the game and its first two character packs. SFV will have plenty more years in it, but being so tight and not turning this release into a current ultimate edition is disappointing, even if it’s not surprising.

Boring when playing solo, and just 'good' when playing with a bunch of friends, Aperion Cyberstorm is just a few steps above mediocre, but not enough to be recommended. Yes, not a single flaw truly stands out, but, sadly, none of the positives do, either.

Typoman: Revised should have been a diversion dedicated to developing diction requiring proficient platforming prowess. Instead, it is a fleeting fancy, a lexicon of letdowns and saddeningly short. Ultimately, while Typoman: Revised has a solid system to base a game around, it ends up feeling like a missed opportunity thanks to its short length, clunky platforming moments, and unintuitive puzzles, but at least has some great achievements and an engaging antonym mini-game.

The PC version of Dynasty Warriors 9 is frustrating, more for its wasted potential than anything else. The game is difficult to control on PC, and that significantly hinders a lot of the fun, fast-paced combat, which is all-too scarce at times. Additionally, while the open-world approach is a great direction for the series, it doesn't capture the epic battles that the series is known for in the same way. Maps are either too crowded, or frightfully empty. It's nice to see Omega Force taking the series in a new direction, but this entry hasn't quite found its footing.