There are games that deliver horror that’s confronting and often gory, but The Count Lucanor excelled at showing a different side of fear that other studios should take cues from.

Beyond those useless side quests, there’s almost nothing to actually do in Revenant Saga.

So, you need to be patient and committed to get much out of ELEX, but give it a chance, and there’s a soul in there that should grow on anyone who enjoys their RPGs. The distinctive setting, wonderful world and quest design, and scope of the narrative are all genuinely admirable, and play to Piranha Byte’s strengths as, along with Cyanide, the most prominent and creative B-grade RPG developer out there.

Get past the crashes and the tonal inconsistency, and Always Sometimes Monsters has a moving and thought-provoking story to tell. It’s rough and unpleasant, but empathetic and human at the same time. It’s a game about surviving under a capitalist system that doesn’t care about you, and about what happens when people fall through the cracks.

Numantia has really impressed me in the way that it has inspired me to learn more about the conflict it depicts, and it has done a really good job of accurately recreating the surprisingly varied range of battles, locations, and twists and turns that occurred through the war.

It’s the humour and presentation that makes No More Heroes VR worthwhile in the end.

I’d usually count myself a completionist who’s only goal is to earn every single achievement possible, but Super Mario Odyssey showed me that there’s so much more to it than collecting things. Maybe I’ll revisit the wonder of the Cascade Kingdom and ride a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I could even play fetch with a shiba inu amongst the sand dunes, or bust out Mario’s infamous swimsuit and test my skills against an ornery octopus thirsty for revenge. The best part of getting to the game’s ending is the fact that it’s a journey of your own creation, and if you reflect on the game as a whole, it’s really a linear quest that somehow feels more freeing than the largest open-world game.

This is the best game in the Assassin’s Creed series. That extra year of development time has really helped Ubisoft find its creative centre again, and craft something that feels both fresh and energised. I could take or leave the shifts in gameplay to make this more like the loot-grind RPG-likes that dominate blockbuster game development now, but when Ubisoft is playing so beautifully within a fascinating period of history, all I care about is how utterly engrossed I am with the storytelling.

Like a lot of of titles in this genre, Ark: Survival Evolved has a steep learning curve and requires quite the time - and possibly financial - investment. But once you get into the rhythm of it, the endless need to survive, set against the simple satisfaction of slowly building up your capacity to do so, makes this a game that could well turn into a hobby for you, all in itself.

Megaton Rainfall is more of an experience than a game and one I soon won't forget. It's short, and simple, but asks a good question of the player while also giving him or her plenty of action. It's better with VR, but worth a look in for just about everyone.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a quality JRPG throwback. It's grindy and can be difficulty, but for people looking for a more casual experience the lower difficulty settings are a good introduction to the genre as a whole. With plenty of lore and heritage behind the game to further build it out, it's a fresh new franchise and a good proof that western developers can emulate the JRPG style when they want to.

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.

Telling a horror story this effectively with so few words takes a mastery of the genre that very, very few possess.

There's quite a few levels to work through in Jydge, so you'll get your money's worth. There's probably no reason to go for both this and Neon Chrome, though. There's just not enough variety in how the games play (or indeed their visual design) to sustain them across two titles. I like the idea of spinning this setting into a franchise, as there's potential there, but giving another genre a crack would be a good idea at this point.

It's not an original game by any means, though it also doesn't do anything wrong. I'd be surprised if this game was still finding new fans at this stage, but it's not a bad one to have on the Nintendo Switch for playing on the go either.

I don't actively dislike Don't Knock Twice. I just find it painfully bland and generic... and really, it's harder to forgive that in the horror genre than almost any other.

There are bugs (because of course there are), and very long loading times, but on the plus side there is a multiplayer mode. On the downside I never managed to actually get someone to play this with me. They took one look at the single player game, with all its misfiring attempts at nostalgic glory, and begged me to play something else instead.

A game that is acutely aware of the great titles that it draws inspiration from, even it falls a little short in its well-meaning execution.

The whole experience feels so utterly soulless it’s hard to really care about any of it. It feels like a game that has been carefully pieced together with every feature, bit of narrative and gameplay moment structured out of commercial desire, rather than any love or respect for the Lord of the Rings franchise. And as far as I'm concerned, for a game that's quite explicitly a Lord of the Rings game, that's a fail.

I am, of course, a hardcore Warriors fan. Everyone knows that. I play them all. Fire Emblem Warriors is, for my mind, the best of the licensed Warriors titles.

Most of the people reading this review will not carry with them the positive burden of Ogre’s historical heritage. To them, it’ll be just another turn based strategy game, and therefore for them it’ll be harder for me to recommend Ogre over competitors offering a nicer, smoother, experience. However, if you are an old timer like yours truly, or if you simply love turn based strategy enough to never miss a chance (like yours truly), potentially also seeking a tool with which to saw the seed of strategy with friends and family, I’d say: let this Ogre trounce you.

Voltron VR Chronicle would have been far better if it was limited to being a “VR experience” rather than a VR game. An episode of Voltron like any other, but one that you watch from inside the cartoon’s world rather than through a TV.

Backed by gorgeous production values and, critically, voice acting that's able to carry the nuance this script demands, Echo is distinctive, characteristic and artful. It’s not a stretch to say it’s probably the smartest shooter that I’ve ever played, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that I’ve been waiting for from the genre.

Yo-Kai Watch continues to be a delightful mix of morality stories for children, nostalgia for what it's like to be a child in suburban Japan, humour and monster collecting. The series may well never hit the same notes of mainstream popularity as Pokemon, but the fact that Pokemon has got a very genuine competitor in this particular genre, finally, is hopefully a sign that will push both franchises forward into the future.

The social commentary in this game is pretty spot on and I got more than my own fair share of laughs, even at my own expense at times as some jokes hit close to home. The fact that this is an RPG that plays really well and has a solid and surprisingly deep battle system is just the icing on the cake.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't highlight that this game wants you to keep investing in it; the dreaded loot boxes and other monetisation models are present in the game, and are proving to be quite controversial. In fairness, the game does almost get to the point where, like in mobile free-to-play games, you'll feel an urge to spend real money just to speed progress up a little. That said, while that kind of grinding isn't really acceptable for a premium-priced game, the loot boxes are just on the side of "optional enough that you can still have a blast without investing in them.

If a polar opposite of the cynical “conveyor belt” approach to game design exists, it’s in the form of Super Hydorah and its slew of dextrously designed levels. Though it can be challenging in the wrong ways at times, it serves up a solid challenge for shoot ‘em up aficionados. On the whole, it’s a game that embraces the teachings of the genre behemoths while offering its own thoughtful tweaks.

Bad Apple Wars hit every note I've come to expect from Otomate.