Bound isn’t going to be an eSport, and doesn’t really care about that. Nor is Bound for people looking to unwind after a hard day’s work with passive entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with games being either of those things, but Bound is for a third audience; it’s for the people that want something thoughtful, meaningful, and intelligent.

For newcomers to the RTS genre, Cannon Brawl is a great introduction which really shows off the strengths of the genre. It really doesn’t take a lot of learning for a novice player to start making strategic decisions, and to understand basic concepts crucial to the genre such as efficiency, macromanagement and aggressive/defensive styles of play. While the strategic depth isn’t as much as other titles, the simplification results in Cannon Brawl being wickedly accessible and a blast to play for all ages.

No game, film, book or otherwise has been more effectively in capturing what the experience of exploring the universe must be. Lonely, hostile and unforgiving, Hello Game’s effort works so hard to reject the convention on how games are made that it’s easy to understand why people expecting something more traditional might come away disappointed.

Severed is the kind of game that I hope ends up on school and university “reading list.” Not because a particularly well made game (though it assuredly is), but also because it’s a masterpiece of theming and ambient storytelling. Games this evocative are rare and special indeed.

Nightmare from the Deep is like a Romance paperback at a newsagency – a cheap title that will keep you entertained for an afternoon without trying to be more than it really is.

Reigns is definitely meant for a touch screen, but the PC version plays okay. Press the left/right arrow once to view the selection and again to confirm your choice. But choose wisely, as the game reflects real life in at least one way by not providing an undo button.

Most damning, however, is that there’s nothing that actually saves Orc Slayer. There’s no real attempt to even do something interesting, different, or creative. This is a game that actively sets out to be a generic FPS with a medieval humans-vs-orcs theme. It doesn’t even try to be a good one. The developers know, surely, that the game isn’t remotely competitive with the better examples of the genre – even in the indie FPS space. That they clearly didn’t care enough about the player to try and do something even slightly different is an absolute insult, and the fact it can’t even get the basics of the genre down means that it deserves no respect from anyone.

Ultimately, it’s a little difficult to really understand what the developer was aiming for here. It seems more like it was a project from someone who was simply inspired by the entertainment value of stuff like Octodad than a game that is really looking to break out with its own identity. The potential’s there, but it’s all a little to raw for its own good.

The game itself is a quality take on the board game. It’s just unfortunate that there is such structural issues with Risk itself that it’s rapidly losing relevance, even in the board game scene.

The genre has been able to tap into this to make it the core feature, and while we’ve seen better and more creative applications of that feature in the past, Adventure Bar Labyrinth is a solid, vanilla, example of that appeal.

Overcooked does feel like a glorified mobile game, of that there’s no doubt. Short, sharp levels, a sharp challenge in trying to get perfect scores on each level, and highly sanitized, cheerful, graphics that are as inoffensive as they are carefully constructed, all ensure that the first thing you’ll think when playing is that you might as well be playing it on iPad. But the production values, coupled with the genuinely entertaining multiplayer, help to make this one of the better “casual” games you’ll play this year.

A wonderful combination of good game design and enchanting aesthetic direction.

Kerbal Space Program is a fantastic game but one that you should play on PC. I can forgive some of the control issues because of the limitations of the platform but we’ve seen other developers do intuitive controls for games designed initially for PC like Divinity: Original Sin and even Blizzard’s Diablo III. Imagine buying a great physics text book but only being able to read it while using oven mitts to turn the pages. That is Kerbal Space Program on PlayStation 4.

It really captures the majesty of ocean—the beauty of it, but also the power of it. In that sense, maybe “diving simulator” is accurate, because as stylized and fantastical as it is, it expertly captures what it is that makes diving such a rewarding activity: exploring the wonders of the sea.

This is absolutely the kind of thing that should be supported and encouraged. I would just love to see what Roach Interactive could do given the budget and time to really do justice to such an important message.

It's a short game and doesn't get everything perfect, but it's also quite unique and has a strong narrative to it. And I do love a game with a strong female lead. This is also a game that feels that it has been released a little early, and by that I mean Adr1ft badly needs to be a strong VR experience when PlayStation VR lands. Then it will truly will be a game that will stick with me for a long time to come.

God Eater: Resurrection is a very fun hunting game, though it's not perfect. It's great that there is another alternative to the Monster Hunter formula available to us, though. Between this, and Koei Tecmo's rising Toukiden franchise, it's proving to be a really good period for this little genre.

Of course, Disney Art Academy is not an adequate substitution for actual art courses, and the software is not an adequate alternative to graphics tablets and professional art solutions on PCs or Macs. But what it’s remarkably good at doing is making you feel good about your artistic talents, no matter how limited those might be, and then encouraging you to continue learning a hobby that you may just discover that you enjoy without ever considering it previously.

It combines the nostalgia of Record Keeper with a typical storyline and free-to-play features that makes it irresistible despite a lack je-ne-sais-quoi/oomph.

Although the satire doesn’t localise as well as I might have liked, the game’s not as straightforward in its perversions that a surface level analysis makes it seem, and I’ll be disappointed if there aren’t at least some people that recognise this.

Not as many people will play Shiren the Wanderer as should play it. It’s a niche franchise that is presented in such a way that will only ever appeal to a niche… and for whatever reason it’s exclusive to the PlayStation Vita, which is an intensely niche console in its own right these days. But it is also a fundamentally worthy game that boils the roguelike genre down to its most appealing gameplay loops, and is a good, pure, no frills take on an enormously addictive formula.

It’s a good game if you’re fully caught up with Gundam lore, but even casual fans might struggle to get along with this one.

10 Second Ninja X is fun, but I definitely had to limit it to smaller sized doses.

As with mobile games there are a number of optional objectives to each level that can be completed to earn stars, and those stars give completionists a reason to come back and replay levels. Unfortunately the game really lacks for personality and character, and there’s really nothing that helps this game stand out from the pack.

It’s clean and works, but it’s a game that is difficult to see people getting long-term value out of it.

There’s a reasonably robust toolset that allows people to create their own adventures, and this helps extend the long-term value of the game if you can get a group of friends together for some play sessions. But, unfortunately, there’s just not enough to Sword Coast Legends to make it the truly classic game that I wish it could be.

I think this game would have been better on Wii U, because I don’t think people pick up a handheld console for eSports, but as a free-to-play game, this is one of the better that the console enjoys.

There’s not a moment of Daydreamer that I don’t vividly remember, and in breaking down what makes a game so completely, the developer has created a conversation in how games are constructed, and why they are in the way that they are.