The only silver lining to this game is the sound track which is pretty funky. Everything else about Chickens On The Road – the game play, visuals and premise – are so paper thin and designed for a singular, distasteful purpose that despite this game costing less than a bag of Doritos, I’d find it hard to recommend to anyone other than die hard Trophy Hunters.

In this critics opinion, Tiny Hands Adventure is poor. It’s a 3D platformer that takes inspiration from the classics in the genre but doesn’t demonstrate an understanding of what made them so fun. Littered with design issues, a few technical hiccups and a narrative which is laughable (even to my 7 year old), it’s hard to recommend this game when it’s a shade of the games it attempts to emulate.

Bezier: Second Edition may hit or miss with its strange narrative, but push that aside and there’s a dazzling arcade shooter in there. Twitchy reflexes and a keen eye are needed if you’re to reach those high scores.

A series of challenging, varied boss battles are the saving graces for Teratopia, an action adventure game that’s repetitive and uninspired far too often.

Project Starship X is a well put together retro shmup with tons of style. It’s simple and hones its small selection of moves into well-handled and white knuckle sections of gameplay. However it’s also relatively short, and lacks any real depth unless you’re a score-chaser.

Monster Prom XXL is not your average dating game. The diabolic datable cast is bursting with character, the set pieces are outlandish and the endings go from the sublime to the ridiculous. That said, without a guide, the structure of the game will become annoyingly repetitive before you unlock the secret endings which are, by far and away, the best aspect of this game.

A shallow, poorly constructed and thoroughly unenjoyably third person shooter, Lizard Lady vs. The Cats is a cheap game. Costing less than a bag of Doritos, this game is proof that you get what you pay for.

A great introductory game to the turn based strategy genre for younger gamers, Eldrador Creatures puts kids at the centre of its design. It probably could and should have been more than it is and this game won’t entertain TBS veterans but if you’re looking for something to entertain the kids in what remains of the lockdown, this game is worth a shot.

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav has glimpses of ingenuity with its puzzle design, it looks great for its age and it has a satisfactory port of a point and click system on the PS4. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t pay off, often feeling disjointed along the way which isn’t helped by some uninspired vocal performances. Hopefully the sequel is better.

As a 2D beat ’em up, King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match excels in that field. If you’ve got someone for couch combat, then you’re in for a good time. There’s just little else in the way of extras to suggest this to anyone unfamiliar with the franchise.

Tank warfare has never been as mundane as it is in Tanks vs Tanks. A lack of features, lacklustre AI that makes for easy prey and little depth to the combat means this game gets boring very quickly.

Despite this version of Game Dev Story taking some time to get used too, the addictive “just one more game” loop remains unchanged. The hook of this game is as compelling as it was when the game first released. If you’re after a passive yet engaging game to play on your PS4, this game is certainly worth your time.

What Synergia lacks in play, confining its players to a single advance-dialogue action, it makes up for in engrossing characters and story. Its cyberpunk world, lore, mysteries and soundtrack will draw you in, even if the central android/human love story is problematic and its ending very abrupt.

I’m not going to lie, Valheim surprised the hell out of me. However, having now experienced what it has to offer, from its chill vibe to its focus on co-operation to its ability to chew up time like it’s going out of fashion, it’s no surprise that it has been as successful as it is. If you have a PC that can run it (and, thankfully, the requirements aren’t outrageous), you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. Game of the year so far for me. [Early Access Impressions]

Not the deepest of racing games, but then it doesn’t claim to be. Can’t Drive This has one core concept, and it does it well. It’s just a bit lacking if you have no one else to experience it with.

Despite a few niggles, Space Otter Charlie is a delightful, creative and fun game. There’s so many old school influences shining through here – a splash of family friendly Conkers humour, a structure similar to classic Zelda, traversal that feels like a modern day take on the Spectrum classic Jet Pac – that this game reminds me of the ‘good ol’ days’. If you’re in the mood for an old school action platformer game that benefits from modern day games design, this is the one.

A unique and complex gem, Spacebase Startopia is an engaging and constantly interesting take on the management genre. The Sims in space is selling it very short, because it is much much more. On console however, it’s intricacy and scope are its undoing, causing severe slowdown, frame-rate issues and regular crashes. Its campaign is a fun set of tests, but free mode (just running your station without parameters) is easy to get completely engrossed in.

A low effort and badly optimised affair, Danger Scavenger offers little in the genre of games it’s trying to tap into. Leave it on the scrap pile and dig up some gold elsewhere.

Ultimately, while 8Doors: Arum’s Afterlife Adventure is a competent enough addition to the Metroidvania genre, with a decent story and acceptable gameplay, it doesn’t do enough with its potential to rub shoulders with the giants of the field. If you’re mad for these types of games, you can do much worse. However, if you’re only interested in something more unique, this probably isn’t interesting enough to do the job.

If you happen to have a pre-school fan of Pocoyo in your home, this is one party you might want to RSVP too. Pocoyo Party expertly encapsulates the thematic feeling of the show to feel like a natural extension of it. It doesn’t contain a massive amount of content and a few of the mini-games aren’t as well thought out as the others but what is here is accessible and designed specifically for the fun of players aged 3-5.

Ascendshaft and Endless Shaft contains one completely broken game and one that’s utterly boring. There’s little to no depth here. No narrative to speak of. The art styles swing from incredibly bland to retina achingly horrible. There’s no soundtrack and the sound effects that are used here are flat and mundane. This duo pack feels like a pair of unfinished game jam efforts that needed time, polish and the use of more intelligent game design before ever saw the light of day. Even at its ridiculously low price, it’s hard to recommend this title to anyone.

What could have been a fun and entertaining 2D slice of action instead falls into drab, unfairly punishing territory. The Skylia Prophecy could have done its homework, rather than crib the worst parts of older, more difficult platformers.

Though it’s pretty derivative, Devil Slayer Raksasi is a notable take on the roguelike. Its directly overhead camera perspective is novel but serves really to draw you too far out of the action, and its randomly earned drops leave it straddling the line between roguelite and roguelike. The real problem is that most of its other elements have been seen before and in better games.

Stacks on Stacks (on Stacks) is an excellent example of taking a simplistic core concept and mechanics then using them in a plethora of inventive ways to create an enjoyable experience. It’s colourful and quirky yet easy to pick up and very intuitive. The Nintendo Switch feels like a natural fit for its structure, built up around short bursts of play, but the multiplayer is a little too much for the handheld consoles screen at times.

A savage monochromatic roguelike shooter with a difficulty curve reminiscent of a vertical straight line, Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition is tough to love early on. Over time though, the smart risk vs reward system rises to the surface and the slick gunplay becomes challenging rather than simply impossible. While it doesn’t match the heights of its more modern day peers, it’s still worth a look if you’ve got the time to dedicate to it.

A fun new take on the concept of “team deathmatch”, Hood: Outlaws and Legends is a blast to get into it. However, with one game mode and promised roadmap content down the line, it’s a lot to ask players to buy into on faith in later additions.

A poor physics puzzle game with a limited amount of content, Newtonian Inversion is a basic budget title reminiscent of an unfinished tech demo. Of the 16 levels it contains there’s just a single headscratcher worth thinking about. Sir Isaac Newton said “What goes up must come down”. I hope this one stays down.

A bland and uneventful horror puzzler, S.W.A.N. offers nothing new yet still manages to disappoint. A disjointed narrative, ugly visuals and monsters that seem about as uninterested in events as the protagonist is make for a forgettable game.