Blast ‘Em Bunnies might be simple – no, it is simple – but it’s simple in the right way, and that’s something to be impressed with all by itself.

Nights of Azure 2 is a really lovely game, and I don’t really play it for the combat anyway. Rooted in various theatrical styles that give it an aesthetic and tone that I find so appealing, it’s not the kind of game that could ever hope to find mainstream acceptance, but that’s not unusual for Gust JRPGs. The things that it does well: the characterisation, the melodramatic - but not in a pejorative sense - storytelling and the general artfulness of it all, are the reasons I played the last one, and this new one doesn't disappoint with any of that.

Hand of Fate 2 will be most rewarding to those who like a lot of risk with their reward. It’s also a game for those who want to stray off the beaten path when it comes to the idea of role-playing.

The Alliance Alive invokes the finest elements of the JRPG genre, modernizes them, and innovates where necessary. Its gripping fantasy plot can be worshiped for its emotional center or parsed for statements on equality, order, and free will. Whether or not you enjoyed The Legend of Legacy, this one stands as an authentic classic that captures the majesty of a Super Nintendo/PlayStation era masterpiece while also gazing forward.

This is a meaty game, and for people that enjoy good anime plotlines and fun characters, it's essential.

It's a rare example of where the randomisation of the roguelike structure doesn't feel like a lazy excuse to ignore level design. Rather, it provides a canvas to allow some of the cleanest and engaging tactical action that we've seen in quite some time play out.

Although I do feel the main mission is too short, it feels like a stand-alone experience that will connect to something much greater in the future. My only gripes with Ground Zeroes, a prequel, is its length, so you can only imagine the game changer The Phantom Pain will be.

Combat feels faster and more fluid than most other similar games.

Setting aside, enemies are less inventive than the ones found in Old Iron King.

Basically, Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament, is an older game and suffers from a poor localisation, but there’s a heart and soul in it that is so earnest and honest that it’s very easy to forgive the game its transgressions. Whether it’s the mixing of fantasy, spiritual philosophy and some of the most ancient recorded history, or the engaging combat system and stunning art direction it’s easy to get lost in this adventure, and full credit to EastAsiaSoft for giving us a second chance to play it.

Combat and other exploration elements play a bit like Pikmin – you’ll be able to pull a small group of followers around with you, and when you direct them they’ll charge straight forward to attack, dig, chop or similar. The puzzle elements aren’t quite as strong as they are in Nintendo’s franchise, but as basically the only alternative to this kind of game out there, the different tone and sheer creativity on display make it well worth a look.

Putting aside my disappointment at the lack of AI competition, Transport Fever 2 is every bit as good on console as it is on PC. And since it’s a very, very good game, you’ve got no excuse to skip it for the second time.

The real reason for this release is that the “sequel” fandisc, Norn9 Last Era is currently being prepped for release later this year, and Aksys realises that the best way to get people to buy that is to have played the original. It’s mildly cynical, but at the same time, for something this niche. understandable. There are certain visual novels that I think I would have rather seen on Switch first (Hakuouki springs to mind), but nonetheless, this is a really exceptional page-turner sci-fi tale that boasts some great characters. Don’t let it miss you a second time.

Meanwhile, PES is the football game for people who love the elegance, grace, and flow of the sport. PES has always been good at that, and this year's edition, while only making subtle tweaks to the on-field engine, has done so so effectively that it has become the definitive take on the sport.

I didn’t quite love Ni No Kuni 2 quite as much as its predecessor, because I wasn’t quite as connected to it. The game’s choice of themes and approach to storytelling didn’t quite tap into the same emotions. But it is without a doubt a better game. With the addition of city building and strategy battle elements, Ni No Kuni 2 is a deeper and more varied experience than most JRPGs out there, and certainly among the most beautiful and artful games that you’ll ever see.

BattleBlock Theater feels like it was designed for the child that still lives inside me. It’s juvenile, colourful, and silly. But more importantly, it achieves everything it set out to do, with a near masterful level of execution. The addictive multiplayer and excellent level creation tools are just the icing on the cake.

I enjoyed the more robust attention to telling a story and while this means that the levels are more structured, From Software deserves a great deal of credit for clever level design that makes great use of Wolf's prosthetic arm and his great sense of mobility. It will be interesting to see if Sekiro has the same longevity and rabid fan devotion as the Souls games, but I can fully appreciate From Software taking some chances and doing something quite different as well.

I would have preferred to play this on my iPad, where the portability and form factor makes it more ideal for long stretches of reading text, but nonetheless this is a refreshing, intelligent, and rich experience on the PlayStation 3, and I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone who appreciates games as something more than brainless action skill testers.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is very much a love letter to the RPGs of yesteryear, and it's a proof of how enjoyable those games can still be.

Lached Up Games gets more confident and ambitious with every title. The 15-20 hours that Help! I’m Turning Into A Mermaid! takes to run through make you wish that the developer had a bigger budget to work with, but you’ll be glad that games like this somehow get made in the first place.

There’s nothing particularly flashy or exciting about Sympathy Kiss. As a slice-of-life narrative, being mundane is kind of the point. With that said it is incredibly well-written and designed, and while the protagonist may or may not match up with your own vision of how to behave in the workplace, the situations she deals with are often very relatable. Thanks to some exceptionally gorgeous art, solid storytelling, and some fun little systems that remind us that life isn’t meant to be all about work, it also ends up being a game of relevance today, and a reminder that the equilibrium between work and play (let alone romance) has become seriously messed up.

It's hard to stay mad at Chocobo GP, though, even when you're hit with what feels like an endless barrage of magic. The game's just too bright and cheerful. Obviously, your mileage is going to depend on whether you're a fan of Chocobo. Not just Final Fantasy, but also this specific series of cute mascot characters. If you are, though, you couldn't ask for a more loving treatment. The expansive roster, the adorable presentation, and the quality kart racing mechanics will combine to give you something that you just might prefer over Mario Kart. The latter might be a bigger and tighter racing experience, but Chocobo GP has a killer weapon up its sleeve that makes all the difference: Chocobo.

The score you’ll see right below here is more reflective of where I think the game will end up than where it is right now, but Big Ant’s earned the benefit of the doubt and until they fail to deliver, I’ll continue to give it to them.

Explicit narrative aside, I found Stranger of Sword City to be a real winner of a dungeon crawler.

Thematically, I find a lot more to appreciate about Dark Souls 2 than Bloodborne, it must be said.

Operation Abyss is a thematically unique dungeon crawler, with some great systems underpinning it, and some of the best level design in the genre to date. And for all that, it's a real, genuine triumph.

Masquerada is a rare gem of a game in which everything about it comes together just perfectly to give plays a consistent and cohesive experience. Sure it’s possible to rue its relatively short running time (at 20 hours, this is a short RPG), particularly when the lore is so deep that you’ll want to dig deeper into it all. And, yes, it’s a hyper-linear game at a time where “good game design” apparently means “arbitrary open world.” But these “faults” drive home the point and purpose of the game, and as a narrative experience, Masquerada is truly wonderful.

Freedom Wars is one of the smarter and shaper takes on the Monster Hunter formula. While Capcom’s series is certainly more refined and well-produced, there’s enough intelligence and sound enough concept and philosophy within Freedom Wars that helps to elevate it. It might only ever be a “cult classic,” but then again they say the same about David Lynch films. Sometimes a “cult classic” is just an intelligent art work that dares go against the grain a little.

Just as I have a special reverence for Demon's Souls, even as I recognise Dark Souls was able to refine and improve on "the formula", I recognise that Nioh 2 is the better game, while also missing spirit and originality, which has gone by the wayside. That said, Nioh 2 is still going to be better than just about everything else that will be released in 2020. Brilliantly creative monster and level design come together with subtle - but important - improvements to the complex-but-rewarding mechanics. This is something that only people with patience and perseverance should sign up for, however this is also a rare case where the rewards truly exceed the demands made of players.

For a homage to a game from the 80's, faithfully recreating a gameplay system that was invented 40 years ago, Bishoujo Battle Cyber Panic! feels like a modern, funky game. The anime aesthetic is gorgeous and current, although perhaps a little too safe given that Azur Lane: Crosswave borrows from the same aesthetic while upping the fan service ante significantly. However, Cyber Panic! also has plenty of replay value and an excellent leaderboard system for such a minimal price. Most compelling of all, though, is the fact that the game is an uncomplicated and well-done take on Qix. Qix the kind of game that doesn't need developers to mess around with it, and to the great credit of Bishoujo Battle Cyber Panic!'s developer, they've let the base game stand for itself.

I’d be doing everyone a disservice if I sat here and said that Emerald Beyond was for everyone. It isn’t. It isn’t even close to everyone. It’s a JRPG made for the most hardcore, veteran JRPG fans. Specifically, it has been designed for a very specific kind of JRPG fan who, firstly, loves things that are genuinely different. Secondly, its for JRPG fans that like complex, textured and nuanced combat systems that reward people who are willing to tinker and learn them, and punish those who don’t. For a niche within a niche within a niche, SaGa Emerald Beyond is the kind of game that the new, “improved” blockbuster Square Enix hates, but if this really is the end of this series, at least it’s gone out having delivered the full promise of what SaGa has always stood for.

This War Of Mine plays well, is challenging, and is a very good game. It just also happens to be a very good piece of art.

Even in comparison to some of the previous Hyperdimension games, which seemed quite determined to mix in some serious messaging amoung the silliness, this latest title simply cuts itself free, and the writers clearly relished that freedom. For all that I was left thoroughly entertained throughout.

All my fears around whether or not Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly were completely unfounded. The game is warm, grounded in realism despite its fantasy world, with an amazing soundtrack and great drinks to learn about. It is a great compliment to a chilly, rainy day. The characters all have unique personalities so they sometimes clash, but they always figure it out in the end. It’s a wonderful, feel-good visual novel; I can honestly say I hope there is more to come. I’m sure there are more stories to tell. I’m 100 per cent sure the game did its original creator, who has since passed on, proud.

Gnomes is one of those games that is just clever, and if there’s any justice in the world it will have a similar trajectory ahead of it that Vampire Survivors did. It’s immediately accessible, both devilishly challenging and rewarding, and almost impossible to put down.

So, while Yo-Kai Watch is pitched firmly at children, I found it to be utterly delightful, absorbing, and lengthy. I'm about 60 hours in, at the end of the main quest, but still have enough side quests to keep me going for a while.

Your enjoyment of NightCry is going to depend a lot on your perspective, which is why I suspect this is going to be one of the most divisive horror games since Deadly Premonition. To judge NightCry at face value would be to grossly overlook all the work that Nude Maker has done to create an authentic Clock Tower-style, classic stalker horror experience for the modern day. You’re going to have to look past the game’s often ugly exterior to see the beauty behind every design choice, every camera angle and every mindblowing plot twist, and you’re going to need to be a horror fan who isn’t spoiled on the modern trends of jump scares and instant gratification.

Yes, White Day is an older game, but as far as the horror genre goes, and how it's evolved into something I place little value in, that’s actually a benefit. Given how few people have even known what this game is to date, the extra exposure that it will get from a re-release will mean that, hopefully, a new legion of fans will discover it, because it does deserve that. It’s a masterpiece in building tension and in the way that it plays within the classical approach to horror, without relying on jump scares and endless bloodshed.

Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is by no means a mainstream horror game, is the point that I’m making through this review. However, it is incredible. In the context of the broader Project Zero series, it’s going to be fondly remembered. It’s hard to look past Project Zero 2 as the masterpiece of the series, but the intensity of the atmosphere and strength of the narrative in this one means that this one isn’t far behind. More importantly, however, is that in 2023 this is one of those surprisingly rare attempts at a Japanese horror game, as opposed to a horror game made by Japanese developers. They’re different things, and this game is not only an excellent piece of entertainment, but it is also an enormously useful resource for anyone that wants to understand the aesthetics of horror outside of the western mainstream.

An amazingly done port. Graphics alone could be cause for some to leave the consoles behind in order to view this world the way that it really should be, but for others, it could be the start to the series that you’ve been waiting for as it makes itself easy to slide into and is now available on the PC.

I appreciate Yeo for being willing to put himself out there, put the art ahead of the commercial best practices, and craft something that is eccentric, nuanced, and even profound. Fading Afternoon isn’t an “entertaining” game in the traditional sense, but it’s a powerful one that will leave you reflective and pensive by the time you put it down. The games industry needs more people like Yeo.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate was excellent on PlayStation Vita, and it remains excellent on Nintendo Switch. There are a lot of roguelikes available on this console at this point, but there's something about the classical elegance and adherence to genre tradition that makes Shiren the Wanderer appealing. It's a little like how some people still love the sound and experience of vinyl records, really. You're not going to be blown away by innovation with this game, but you may well find yourself in love with its sincerity and near-perfect refinement.

Head Over Heels: Deluxe also runs like a charm on the Steam Deck, and if you’d told 14-year-old me that I could spend a weekend lying on a sofa playing Head Over Heels, he frankly never would have moved ever again. Maybe it’s a good thing that the Deluxe Remake has taken so long to appear.

The characters are whacky and wild, the crimes confounding, all in the best ways. However, before you play, a note: it will become habit to yell "Objection!" when you disagree with anything.

Inertial Drift is gorgeous. More than just a racing game, it’s a set of systems for player expression, putting them right in the shoes of a hotshot rookie on the warpath to becoming a drifting master. Although the controls are complex on paper, they’re easy to pick up and feel natural within minutes. Especially for those who love the idea of racing games but are burnt out on the methodical, perfectionist nature of modern racing sims, Inertial Drift is a wonderful throwback to an exciting, stylish era.

The audio and visual presentation are awesome and The Walking Dead seasons 1 and 2 are favourite narratives of mine, so immediately this table appealed to me. Smart table design makes this table a good deal of fun, if perhaps just a shade more cramped than I would have liked.

While Death End re;Quest 2 didn't have quite the same impact on me as the original, that's only because things are never as surprising the second time around. I still found this game to be an intensely engaging blend of a brutal kind of horror, classical turn-based JRPG, and fan service. It's a mix that I would never have thought could work prior to this series, but Idea Factory has proven otherwise, and done so incredibly effectively. I wish I could delve more deeply into the themes in this review, because there's a lot to talk about with this particular dark mystery and I'm looking forward to discussing it at greater length with people down the track, but just be aware going in that there are layers of nuance to this game that it will never get the credit it deserves for.

What this all amounts to is an expansion that doesn’t push Final Fantasy XIV in bold new directions because, quite frankly, it doesn’t need to. Stormblood takes everything that makes the game good and doubles down on it, expanding the world of Hydaelyn and filling it with more to see, do, and experience. Minor issues with its story and storytelling notwithstanding, this is everything I could want from a Final Fantasy XIV expansion.

The reliance on imagination and familiarity with Japanese horror influences present in Corpse Party aren’t going to resonate universally, but some of that horror defies cultural barriers and speaks to the human condition.

While New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a repackage of (mostly) existing stuff, with a couple of minor additions designed largely around making the gameplay more accessible for newcomers, and is clearly a filler release on Nintendo's part to capitalise on the post-Christmas lull and appetite for new stuff to play, it's hard to deny its value.

If Velvet’s party of anti-heroes were written by lesser writers, the thirst for revenge would have tired us out far too early; revenge is a state of mind of heightened emotion and impact, and over the course of a full-length JRPG the passion and anger would have boiled over far too soon. But, thanks to brilliant characterisation and the ability to throw some genuine humour and moments of softness into the mix, the team at Bandai Namco has been able to deliver one of the most refreshingly nuanced quests that we’ve seen in this series, and for the first time in a very long time, I haven’t been able to put a Tales game down.

There aren’t too many truly authentic games set in Australia, made by Australians, telling Australian stories. Broken Roads is one, and it is one of the most different and interesting games you’ll play this year on that basis alone. Yes there are more refined RPGs out there, but none of those will take you on a crash course through Australian mannerisms while delivering a compelling narrative of human resilience, community, weakness and savagery.

Someone I know summed up the game perfectly: this seems like the kind of game Tina Belcher (a character in Bob's Burgers) would write. And I am fully here for it. I am head-over-heels for six weapons, something I never thought I would say. The narrative, the gameplay, the music, the animation – it's all wonderful. Any complaint I have lies in the fact I am greedy and want more. Thankfully, more is on the way!

Anyone expecting Stray to be an action-packed stealth game – as the promotional material tried to argue it is - might be disappointed as the game is more about the journey and the narrative than it is about skulking. What Stray does well is expressing a journey featuring a less-than-common protagonist, and while other games have covered similar themes it’s that unique perspective, from much closer to ground level, and the visual stimulating scenes that makes it ground well worth padding over again.

This is a game which taught me to love the feeling of being lost, and I’m sure it’s one I will return to for a long time.

If you haven't played many tower defence games in the past, this one is the best place to start, since it'll be the only tower defence game you need after that. Q-Games produces some of the most distinctive, charming, and beautiful games out there, and PixelJunk Monsters is the team's best work to date.

There will be essays written on Disco Elysium. This is one of those games that will be studied in universities as Citizen Kane is studied in film and D. H. Lawrence's work is all-but unavoidable if you study literature. It's not necessarily the most outright entertaining thing the medium has ever produced, but it's an important work that explores the boundaries and potential of video games, while also having the nuance and layers it needs to challenge players to think beyond the joy they get from pressing buttons. Even if you have to play the Switch port, as inferior as it is, you should make sure that you play Disco Elysium on something.

Mario + Rabbids could have been so much worse than this, but somehow Ubisoft’s really done something special with it. And, as one of the rare cases where Nintendo has loaned its most precious property out to a third party, Ubisoft has done something that, I hope, Nintendo itself will be proud of.

Corpse Factory isn’t about the presentation, though. This is a visual novel with a transgressive and provocative story to weave, and it does so with some of the deftest writing we’ve seen in the genre. We really do need to see more visual novels come out of Australia and, more generally speaking, games that are genuinely willing to break taboo subjects and really challenge the player.

Rare Replay's technical challenges on a handful of games stand as the only aspect that detracts from an otherwise outstanding collection of titles. With titles reaching back as far as 1983 and as recent as 2008, this is one diverse collection that promises a lot of fun around a variety of genres. Thirty games. Thirty bucks. It's pretty tough to top a collection like this.

What I love about this game - and its iOS port - is that it has done such a great job of capturing and respecting the essence of Japan.

There's not much else to say beyond what was in my review of this game on PlayStation 4. The Switch port is a high quality, highly functional version of the base game, and while there are some totally expected visual downgrades, this is offset by the fact that you can now play Railway Empire on the go without having to lug your laptop around. When it comes to the kind of experience a simulator offers, the portable form factor really is is the ideal way to go.

The irony of the name "Desktop Dungeons" is that the game is infinitely more suited to the iPad.

Criticisms aside, Football Manager Touch 2021 is impossible to put down. The bugs and crashes don't matter. The presentation doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter that this game is so dangerously close to crossing the line to become actual work that I wouldn't be surprised if the developers actually collect people's play data to pass on to the real-world managers to give them ideas for their actual decision-making. Football Manager is emergent narrative brilliance, and Touch 21 doesn't let us down there by any means.

The tiniest of oddities and issues keep me from loving Edo Blossoms quite as much as I love Kyoto Winds. But then, the latter is a game I would have played a half dozen times by now, if not more. Being a slightly weaker sequel to that by the tiniest of margins still means that Edo Blossoms is one of the best visual novels out there.

There are not many games in this world that I can say actually made me grow as a person, but A Normal Lost Phone is definitely one of those titles.

While I was very late to the Borderlands party, this "HD Remaster" of the two later games in the series have converted me to the franchise. If the FPS genre moves this way en masse (and we are seeing that happen with the likes of Destiny), then I might just be converted to the whole genre yet.

For people who didn't play through the DLC on the Wii U version, or want a portable version of Hyrule Warriors that doesn't feel like a one massive compromise after another, Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition is essential.

As far as pure entertainment goes, it's hard to look past Sushi Striker. The manic energy and silly sense of humour combine with match-3 gameplay that is far more nuanced than is the norm for the genre, and while I could take a hard pass on the way it appropriates some of the more irritating features of the free-to-play trends that dominate puzzle games, for the most part Sushi Striker is an end-to-end delight that probably didn't deserve to be localised at all, but I'm glad it has been.

I hadn't played the analogue board game of Root before this digital adaptation, but I'm going to buy a copy for the Christmas party circuit now. While it's not too complex, there's plenty of depth to Root's systems, and the careful balancing between them, despite their very different play styles and objectives, makes for a strategically chaotic, but massively entertaining experience. This is a masterful bit of game design, recreated with love for the play anywhere Nintendo Switch experience.

It’s immersive and exciting, and for each battle you really feel like a commander in charge of an army fighting for your country against an enemy which threatens your freedom. Witching Hour Studios have a resounding success on its hands, and no fan of strategy should pass this one up.

BlazBlue really is gorgeous. Every character is animated in such a way that every movement they make reinforces their personalities. Every environment is a living, breathing thing that sets a meaningful scene and helps build the world around the characters. Because everything is 2D and quite flat, it’s easy to wish that all that storytelling and character building was funnelled into a more natural fit, but then again, with BlazBlue being such a successful franchise for so long now, it’s hard to argue that the developers and producers are making a mistake.

While there is some action to be had here, do not play Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut looking to score perfect headshots or cheap scares. The pace is slower and as a result the sense of horror is more palpable, memorable experience.

There's nothing else quite like Rock of Ages out there. It's a mesh of things that shouldn't work together, and that's why I suspect no one else has tried to replicate the mad genius of ACE Team's work. Yes, Rock of Ages 3 has some mild issues with pacing and the loading times could be better to suit the experimentation that is at the core of the experience, but this is also the definitive version of something that is very funny, ideal for both single-player and multiplayer parties, and, thanks to that most excellent course designer, Rock of Ages 3 is functionally endless.

Wales Interactive has quickly become the publisher of excellent FMV titles. Headspun, developed by Superstring, is no exception. It is incredibly creative in its use of live video, and is this incredible combination of FMV + point-and-click + management sim. Who knew that could possibly work without being too bloated? But it's all seamless here (okay, minus the bugs). Headspun does a wonderful job of explaining brain trauma without being a textbook, and personally is a welcome reminder that trauma can linger, but we can still recover.

As a new franchise, Fairy Fencer F is off to a heck of a start. It channels the sense of fun that the Hyperdimension Neptunia series is well known for, with cleaner and more refined production values and a touch of restraint (for the most part) to the storytelling that should see it appeal to a broader audience.

"Incredibly successful" is actually a wonderful phrase to go out on. I struggle to find an aspect of This Is The Police that I didn't find enjoyable and appropriate for the style of game as well as what was promised in trailers prior to the game's release. Taking over the role of police chief to run Freeburg would have been a great simulation/management game on its own, but then add layer upon layer of villainous folk and reasons to go over to the dark side, and the game becomes a fully immersive experience that requires great difficulty to put down.

Even when the overall challenge of living a day in Octodad’s shoes bears too much weight, the game is amusing enough to quell most of the frustration.

So I enjoyed my time with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 a great deal, but it saddens me that I ONLY enjoyed it a great deal. I honestly can’t believe that a studio of Monolith’s size and prestige would somehow miss that its narrative is rife with tonal inconsistencies, and leave me wondering whether I was playing something serious, or a shift by Nintendo and Monolith to capitalise on the recent success of Compile Heart’s Hyperdimension Neptunia.

If you’re here for the fighting however, you’re in luck. King of Fighters 98 is one of the most robust 2D fighters ever made. Game balance is impeccable, and each character has a solid amount of offensive and defensive options to make them viable. Matches are decided entirely upon skill, so this game is best experienced with a few friends who are willing to learn the strategies and get good enough to compete. You’re sure to be playing this one for a long time.

All signs point towards this being the most successful World of Warcraft expansion in years, which might just be what the franchise needed.

It's going to be hard seeing Etrian Odyssey go... but it needs to. Without that mapping component, it would lose its core and soul, and with Etrian Odyssey Nexus, we've got a near-complete realisation of everything Etrian Odyssey has stood for for so many years. This is a good place to finish what has become a beloved series for many. Perhaps there will even be another dual screen handheld down the track, but in the meantime, farewell, dear friend!

As great as it is as a single player outing, Kalimba really shines when you can bring a partner along for the ride.

Out of the Park 18 is a competent entry in a legendary franchise which offers management enthusiasts a staggering about of depth. Whether you already love baseball or you’re yet to discover what truly makes the sport great, OOTP’s robust engine and deep customisation options cater for the needs of any player. It’s a fairly steep learning curve starting out, but once OOTP hits its groove, it’s sure to captivate your attention for years (or at least until OOTP 19 rolls around).

Despite some questionable use of characters, the narrative in Batman: Arkam Knight is engrossing. The city of Gotham is appropriately sprawling with a great deal to do. Combat is smooth and fluid, even if driving the Batmobile is not, and there are several good hooks for progressing Batman's character that reward you for the time invested in the game.

The world class presentation, excellent execution of modes and gameplay mechanics really do make NBA 2K19 the best sports game around.

Is it disappointing that units in Warhammer 40,000 are so simple in presentation? Sure, especially when you consider how monotone many of the "apocalyptic" environments are. But given the choice between a game like this an a major studio producing a Warhammer game that fails to even understand where the real appeal of Warhammer lies, I'll take a game like Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon any time.

The appeal of Democracy 4 is pretty obvious – it’s for anyone who has an ideological interest in politics and is interested in seeing how their ideology would actually play out and how they would perform as a leader. It’s not perfect, of course, and certainly not training to become a real politician. It’s also not a game for someone who only has a pragmatic interest in politics. It’s really not fun trying to envision how you would actually lead a nation versus how you would aspire to if you could be completely uninhibited in power. But it does get you thinking about political policy and ideology and, if nothing else, if you play well you end up with a screenshot proving that you could achieve what Che Guevara could not. And that *is* fun. I’ve done that. You can all call me Dee Guevara now.

There is a lot that you can potentially get out of Gear.Club 3, especially if you enjoy time trial challenges, where you’ll get a lot out of the large number of tracks and online leaderboards. Collecting all the cars and then playing around with them is a lot of fun, and ideal for pick-up-and-play sessions. It might not be a must play, but it’s one of those games that you’ll likely find yourself spending more time with than you realise.

Whimsical fantasy has always been the name of Doraemon, and in this context, both the original Story of Seasons collaboration and now this one is the perfect video game partner for the beloved manga icon. I do find it slightly strange that these games get localised, given that the anime, manga and films don’t tend to be, but perhaps Bandai Namco is counting on the warm spirit and people’s never-ending love for Story of Seasons to draw them in, rather than the iconic mascot. And if so, that makes sense, because once you peel past the Doraemon exterior, you’ll realise that this is a classic Story of Seasons title, to the point of being nostalgic, and in this case, that’s a very good thing.

SMT IV: Apocalypse is a really smart and thoughtful game on the wrong platform entirely, for what it wants to offer. It’s easy to spot the compromises to the vision that the development team needed to make to have it all fit the platform, and while it’s still an essential title, it’s difficult to sit back and not wonder just how much more it could have been.

It's not accessible, and doesn't try to be. Football Manager 2015 is there to appeal to people who are such big fans of the beautiful game that they actually care about what happens off the field, and you're not going to find a better simulation of that behind doors "action" than this game.

Farming Simulator remains an excellent experience. It’s educational, in that you’ll walk away with it with an appreciation for what farmers go through so you can eat. At the same time, once you are familiar with its systems and loops, it becomes laid back and almost meditative for the way you’ll go about what is mechanically a repetitive grind, but aesthetically and thematically a rewarding loop that keeps you both engaged and stress-free. Farming Simulator continues to appear like it should be a mess of paradoxes, yet in action, it just works.

It's not an accessible game. Of course it's not. Drive on Moscow might just be the most niche title on the PlayStation 4. But the historical accuracy and the way that the game has taken one of the most important military campaigns through World War 2, and turned it into something so fascinating, makes it very, very worthwhile.

For the patient, though, Grand Kingdom is very worthwhile stuff. As a debut, it proves that Monochrome Corporation is a talented development outfit, and this is one of the more original takes on the tactics genre that we’ve seen in recent years.

Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is an admirable effort to find a way of introducing more characters and an all-new plot-line, while also in some ways going back to the fundamentals in terms of storytelling and structure. I do wish the Idea Factory people would give up on this action combat system when the turn-based approach was less obviously affected by the budget, but the usual gorgeous fanservice art and antics of the characters kept me smiling throughout.

If you enjoyed the original title, then Project X Zone 2 should appeal because it does everything the first title did but better. If you are new to the series but a fan of some of the various franchises represented here, it is also worth a look.

I really hope the other platforms that Cris Tales has been released on have better performance, because those loading times alone take something special, and unfortunately undermine it. This is one of those rare times to me where technical issue really do mess with the experience, disrupting the carefully-structured panic and pulling players away from the breathtaking art. There's still a lot to love about Cris Tales, and the vision is beautiful and evocative. But we are in 2021 and battles in an JRPG shouldn't require a loading screen. No matter how beautiful and heartfelt they are.