So, while the horror might be a little too much of a pastiche for its own good (it does go places sometimes, but a "haunted letter", Ring-style, is a shoddy hook in 2021), there's something very readable and enjoyable about The Letter. It's not particularly deep, but it's significantly better than amateur standard, the editing is clean, and you can just tell that this was a labour of love for the development team. It might not be an Otomate production, but this is of a standard that well exceeds most other indie visual novels.

It’s a cool little game that pokes fun at a lot of what is wrong with AAA First Person Shooters, and a lot of it is still relevant today. I'd just avoid playing through as Duke Nukem.

It's clear that the same effort that went into historical research in other Assassin's Creed games did not happen here. Rather, it's quite obvious that the team did an afternoon's research on Wikipedia and called it a day.

I really like CastleStorm, and I’m so pleased with what Zen Studios has done to make the VR version of it a meaningful upgrade.

Taken exclusively as a rhythm game, there is so much to appreciate about Metronomicon. It does bring some new tricks to a genre that often feels quite stale for ideas, and has a truly killer soundtrack. But, this was meant to be a mix of RPG and rhythm games, and Metronomicon did let me down with the former.

Blacksmith of the Sand Kingdom isn't going to turn heads or win awards, and it's not quite to the same standard of refinement as Rideon's tactics JRPGs tend to be. With that being said, it offers an enjoyable, pleasant and pleasing way of spending time in-between meatier fare, and the efficient and bubbly approach makes it very easy to pick up and play. Kemco has a habit of working with some really terrible developers, but between this and Marenian Tavern Story Kemco has found a partner that can produce the kind of cut-price JRPGs that it likes to publish while maintaining a standard that means they're still worth playing.

I might constantly rail against the industry's obsession with content, but that's because I firmly believe that artistic quality comes from any artwork being only as big as it needs to convey the full weight of its themes and ideas. Most games are far too long for that, trying to spread too little thematic depth over too much gameplay. This is a rare example of things being the other way around. There's so much potential here that the developers should have done a lot more with it. It's genuinely good fun while it lasts, and that's why I'm scoring it this high. Just don't expect to get more than an hour or two of game, with another hour or so for finding the best locations for topless photo sessions with this game's large... levels.

Monster Combine TD isn’t totally polished or totally original but it bears the markings of an eShop sleeper hit. If you’re in the mood for portable tower defence action with a comedic twist, Collavier has you covered.

The game is about as long as a movie, making it short at three or so hours in length, but I enjoyed the ride. The gameplay is a tad weak due to the puzzles being very easy to figure out, but realistically you are in this one purely for the storytelling. Also, the game has a satisfying ending which a lot of games seem to be lacking these days.

There's nothing outwardly wrong with Arcaea. The presentation is beautiful, there are some foot-tapping tracks in there, and there's certainly a generous amount of content to enjoy. It's just way too late to the party for something that isn't meaningfully different to its peers. The music's enjoyable, but not stand-out, the gameplay is too-familiar and while it does have a lot of pretty girls and that is a very nice thing, is not going to help it become a memorable, standout example of a genre that the Switch is already over-subscribed with.

With that being said, Maid of Sker is still hugely entertaining, especially for people that are aware of the literary traditions that it's tapping into. As an aesthetic, it's probably a little nuanced and subtle for its own good (let's face it, the video game sector isn't big on rewarding nuance and subtlety), but it's great and distinctive. It's just disappointing that the development team struggled so hard in their efforts to make a compelling game to go with it.

If you’re a fan of clever puzzle-platformers and have a co-op partner who is the same, then Biped is bound to bring you hours of delight. If you can quieten that whisper in your brain going “but why can’t you just jump”, then the game’s inventive puzzles and clever iterations on its mechanics will easily win you over. It’s almost sad that Next Studios doesn’t seem to be interested in sticking with this genre, or outputting something else that’s happy and co-op based in the near future: they’ve certainly proved with Biped that they’re very good at it.

I ended up having a lot of fun with Dex, though playing it through at the same time that I was reviewing The Technomancer was a bit unfortunate for it. In belonging to the same narrative genre as a game that will be right up there with my favourites this year, Dex’s pulpy and limited narrative was disappointing. Thankfully, as an RPG/platformer, it still largely works, and will certainly help you kill off a rainy weekend or two.

I feel audiences will be alienated by the overwhelming focus on dying and starting over, but take out the death and what remains is a simple, lifeless game about cubes.

Frontline: Road to Moscow won’t win any prizes for originality, and it’s not quite in the same league as genre heavyweights such as Battle Academy or Unity of Command.

But, again, I found the soul of Langrisser to be well and truly in the right place, and while I don’t believe it is a classic game, I also don’t believe for a moment that it deserves the commentary it has been getting to date.

So while SD Gundam G Generation Cross Days may not be for everyone, I would definitely recommend it to fans of the series and fans of turned based tactics. With all of the series and side stories available to play, not to mention the sheer number of available units, there is more than enough to keep you busy for a long while... and this is just the start. This one has a season pass, and the promise of adding even more suggests that this game may well become a hobby in its own right.

There’s room for improvement, and it’ll be interesting to see how that takes shape, given that they’ve said the plan is not for annual sports game style releases, but instead iterative development over many years. Maybe adding in a cage match, smoothing out some of the games’ slightly rougher animations, even if they are hand-drawn, and adding commentary would be good for a start. Yes, I know, I’m asking for them to add in even more DLC, but it seems like that’s what they actively want to do here, and it might just be the right approach for the challenger brand.

If you happened to play Sniper Elite V2, you already have a good idea of how Sniper Elite III plays - but this latest iteration does everything a bit better. With less than a dozen maps, relatively lacklustre story and questionable enemy AI, Sniper Elite III is a flawed but enjoyable game nonetheless.

Immortal Redneck is a blast of a game in a genre that we don’t see enough of. It’s not the first roguelike FPS that we’ve seen on PlayStation 4, and I wouldn’t say it’s the best, either. It does, however, have an exceptional aesthetic, clever level design, clean action, a decent difficulty curve, and plenty of longevity. A very worthy action game indeed.

Aside from being an imperfect port, Concordia is an excellent digital board game for Eurogame veterans. That's a fairly small niche on Switch and I do think most people will be happy with Wingspan, but if you do like your board games to be smart and engaging, this is one that you don't want to overlook.

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.

The actual run time of the DLC is short, too. Too short. Perhaps because the puzzles and level structure of Sunken King provided more trial and error and time spent experimenting with the layout, it took me longer to work through that one. So, while this expansion is still fun, it's the least worthwhile addition to the Souls experience to date.

I didn't think I would like this at first but the game soon grabbed me and pulled me into a wonderful story and well thought out characters.

You know what you’re getting from it, but by the end of it, if you play enough games in this genre, you will probably be itching to play something a little more creative.

The band of people interested in Princess Maker Go!Go! Princess would have to be very narrow, but it does provide a sound board game experience, backed up with some lovely art and a charming theme. It's also worth noting that the publisher is bringing one of the Princess Maker titles to Switch in English, and while I suspect they would have been better off reversing the order of these two releases, I imagine they will compliment one another very nicely. The Switch has proven to be impressively robust when it comes to digital board games, but the anime trappings of this one help it to stand apart.

Even with some of the issues that mean it might only be for JRPG fans – especially the dungeon crawling monotony, this is, nonetheless, yet another feather for the JRPG cap for the Nintendo 3DS, and represents yet another reason to settle in with your 3DS for dozens of hours of fantasy fun.

Horror is a very natural fit for the technology, but some awkward juxtapositions between Here They Lie’s art direction and theming, and the critical lack of physical feedback after providing such a sensory overload in other ways, is perhaps an argument that the best horror experiences we’ll see on VR will be the “walking simulators” that focus on psychological fear rather than physical threats.