It's a hit of nostalgia for people that remember the Test Match Cricket game of old, and it's an addictive, accessible arcade sports game that I couldn't recommend instead of Don Bradman Cricket, but I can recommend it as a good complement to that more serious sim game.

There was so much potential in Criminal Girls: Invite Only to be a transgressive, unique experience, but sadly, narrative missteps limit it from ever realising that potential. Instead what we have is a genuinely entertaining and original combat, and a minigame that, were Criminal Girls to be a higher profile release, would have been controversial indeed.

And at the end of the day, I’m not sure if I’m happy with what the game represents, but I can’t help but admit that the levels are well made and the core gameplay is immensely enjoyable.

The developers have done what is needed to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch as a highly proficient port, though they’ve done nothing of substance to update what the original release offered. Aside from the localisation, it didn’t need any updating anyway, and even considering that terrible localisation Banner of the Maid is one of the most refined, enjoyable tactics JRPGs on the console. Also, Pauline really is an excellent protagonist, and she is just that pretty. I hope it’s not the last we see of her… now that this is on Switch, let’s get her into Smash Bros next. I might even start playing that game again if she was.

Supreme Ruler 1936 gets all the basics right. It has engaging combat, a robust economic model and plenty of entertaining gameplay. Newcomers will find that there’s challenge enough in just getting on with the war, while old hands will enjoy managing the game’s many microsystems in a time of global conflict. It’s the ideal entry point for the series, and a solid, rewarding game for strategists who aren’t afraid of a challenge.

Arcade Archives is doing an exceptional job in properly preserving games that would otherwise be left to dodgy emulators or lost to time. Quester might not be the best arcade game you’ve ever played, but it is a moment in gaming history, and it’s enjoyable enough. I, for one, am glad it’s available on modern platforms.

It firmly exists within the Ys series, and just as last year brought us that magnificent remake of Dragon Quest III, here’s an old-timey classic within the action JRPG genre for the people who appreciate it. Not everything needs to be deep and meaningful, and Felghana certainly isn’t that. But it’s easy to appreciate its place within one of the longest-running and most enduring JRPG properties of all time.

Ultimately, Road to Guangdong is an inconsistent game, but its heart shines through its writing and visual design. It does feel like a personal story and I do respect how the game so honestly captures the values and emotions behind family reunions in Chinese culture. I wonder what more budget could have meant though – whether it is more dialogue to flesh out Guu Ma or to background the long stretches of driving – but what is here is already valuable, and I’m glad I got to spend time in this loving recreation of 90’s China.

I would have liked more context to the action, better realised characters, and more involved levels. And, of course, some kind of single player experience. But, for what it is, as a no-frills Overwatch clone, Paladins gets the job done. It’s a game I’ll likely be playing for quite some time to come, because it certainly scratches a very specific itch.

You could also say that too much of Pirate Warriors 4 is a retread of the three existing games, and as a result fans of One Piece and the previous titles (at this point, who else would even be looking at Pirate Warriors 4) might come away feeling like this doesn't deliver as much new stuff as they'd like. I don't think that's much of an issue, though. The new battlefields, improved combat system, and sheer action that goes on makes it every bit as much fun to run through those battles again, and One Piece has so much character and personality that the antics of Luffy and his crew never seem to get tiring. With that being said... do Gintama next, Koei. We're still waiting.

Even with SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest releasing so close to SpellForce 3, it’s worth it. The new storyline alone alongside the well crafted systems for both the RPG explorations and the RTS building of armies makes for a good time for both new and old fans alike.

What’s really hard to shake about Berserk is the feeling that Koei applied the wrong template to it. With the Nioh engine now having proven itself, I would rather Koei had held onto the IP a little longer and married Berserk’s dark narrative to Nioh’s gameplay structure.

If the RPG mechanics are your main attraction, you’ll probably be disappointed, but as an experiment in choice-driven narratives, Stories is clever, impressive, and well worth a look.

While the games themselves are functional and worth a chuckle, the best experience relies on the player being familiar with the source material.

Moekuri is a hardcore tactical RPG wrapped in ultra-cute packaging. It's a bit rough around the edges, and the difficulty curve will probably alienate a lot of folks, but if you can look past those things you’ll find a lot of depth and enjoyment.

MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is a serviceable dungeon crawler that newcomers to the dungeon crawler craze can pour dozens of hours into. The appeal to genre veterans is going to be far lower due to the lack of a substantial plot and the underutilised battle system, but the game functions wonderfully as addictive comfort food.

Unapologetic in its nature as a crossover game, and I can respect that. However, as someone who only really enjoyed one of the franchises, it was a hard sell.

When Need for Speed: Heat is producing its promised fantasy, it’s a wonderful game which I’m always happy to keep coming back to. Ghost Games have improved their engine and systems to make the city and cars feel better than ever, and Heat’s core gameplay loop is designed to last. Occasionally there are the moments which require suspension of disbelief, and it’s possible for the more misguided elements to build tedium in an otherwise strong entry to the series. Heat is a marked improvement on the last few Need for Speed games, however, and I hope that further refinement will see the series better deliver on its legacy.

One of the issues that people have with some of the more recent Mario RPG titles is that they've become gimmicky and rather shallow as a consequence. Bug Fables is nowhere near as refined as Nintendo's efforts, but they also represent a back-to-basics approach to the mechanics and structure of these games. For many people that will be appealing, and Bug Fables is indeed an appealing effort by a small team. It would be great to see the team come back with something a little more refined with a second outing.

For something that looks like a college project that aspiring game developers pulled together to hook its claws into you, you really do need to give it a solid couple of hour's play first. Screenshots just don't do this one justice.

If you’re in need of a wicked spiritual expulsion, consider opting for an Extreme Exorcism. Just make sure you bring the blue hair dye.

If you’re looking to scratch that EDF itch, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 is a decent enough way to do it – but EDF 6 is considerably better and more engaging, and that does make it a harder game to recommend. It’s still fun, for sure, because EDF mostly has that pizza-like quality that even when it’s slightly bland and predictable it’s still quite good – but I can’t help but feel that a fully-fledged World Brothers sequel should perhaps have taken its LEGO-like destruction mechanic a little further, or leaned more into the abject silliness of some of your comrades.

Beyond Gotham could have stood for some more innovation, but it's impossible to deny that it's a charming game with its tried-and-true.

While you get classical fantasy with Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf, you don’t get Tolkien. The best way to think about this game is that it’s a well-written Dungeons & Dragons home adventure, make for a group of players that enjoy interacting with one another as a major component of the roleplaying, and don’t mind their characters getting hot with one another. That is enjoyable, and the way that the game turned its budgetary limitations into a unique aesthetic and mechanical structure is inspired. Seasons of the Wolf might not be a masterpiece, but Winter Wolves have been entertaining people with exactly this kind of thing for 15 years, and if the team’s work weren’t good enough, this company wouldn’t have lasted anywhere near that long.

If a player who stumbles upon this title on Steam becomes inspired to make serious educational reform after watching their students get dehumanised into tropical fruit, No Pineapple Left Behind will have all been worth it.

It's got all the right ideas in there, but it's so timid in exploring any of them that it comes across as altogether too safe to be good horror.

I left Metroid Dread feeling quite conflicted about it. On the one hand, I do think it is fundamentally well designed, and the main gameplay element - the robot stalkers - are woven into the Metroid formula beautifully. On the other hand, that Metroid formula is getting long in the tooth and Dread doesn't do nearly enough to revitalise it. Dread is fine. It's not just nearly memorable enough for a game that fans have been waiting so many years for now.

Still, the beautifully crafted world teaming with life and and almost never-ending sequence of quests is an alluring hook to keep players coming back, in the same way that it doesn't seem to matter how empty a Hollywood blockbuster is, so long as the explosions get bigger and better every time, the audiences will keep flocking back to them.