With the foundations of Arcade Paradise well and truly intact and even some subtle improvements to the game’s economy, the VR experience elevates many aspects of the base game. However, with some difficulty in its controls, some jarring flat screen moments and a few bugs this isn’t quite the new way to play.

Running free as Chesley in Farewell North is a liberating and visually beautiful time. With a heartfelt, emotionally investing story about grief and loss, stunning visuals and a soaring score, Farewell North overcomes its more straightforward mechanics and helps us appreciate the little things. Like playing fetch with your canine best friend, you’ll be wanting to come back for more, no matter the weather or occasionally rough edges.

While not bound for the embrace of death owing to its unique party system and visual flair, Deathbound struggles to stave off the reaper’s scythe thanks to technical issues, poorly told stories and unbalanced though otherwise competent gameplay. It may scratch the Soulslike itch for some, but whether you’d reanimate the souls of the damned for a longer crusade, only the Lady of Death knows.

Empty Shell is a not-so-empty hell of a game that uses tropes of survival horror and roguelites in a distinct way. The stark presentation and despondent atmosphere of the game make for a great setting in this mish-mash of genres that is well worth checking out if you like your horrors lo-fi and full of bullets.

A vertical sci-fi shoot-em-up with sublime atmospheric graphics and some incredible encounters, Cygni is ultimately let down by its lack of identity and a sharp difficulty spike straight from the launch pad. Shunting power between shields and weapons makes for a fun mechanic, but unless you’re a shmup aficionado, it’s a hard package to recommend.

There are butts, there is a minimal amount of boxing and there’s an abundance of bare scarcity to Bare Butt Boxing. What it attempts in slapstick presentation and cartoon fun, it slips straight onto its butt with, thanks to barely passable gameplay, stifling cosmetic progression and a lack of anything to help it standout. Bare Butt Boxing might bare all, but perhaps it should cover back up.

A shooter that echoes the old school with modern sensibilities, Deadlink will scratch that roguelike itch if you let it. A little lacking in variety, hopefully time and TLC will prove us wrong on that front.

Considering the resurgence of the Turtles franchise of late. It’s disappointing to see the brand reduced to this. If Fisher-price produced a game titled ‘My First Beat-em-up, this his would probably bit it. Stick to the pixel perfection of Shredders revenge for your Turtle Time.

The Garden Path is a slice of life gardening sim that allows players sit back and enjoy the view. Whilst the art style, real time mechanics and dedication to the craft feel impressive to experience, the stop-start pace can hinder your enjoyment in its tracks. The Garden Path is perfect for anyone who needs a low commitment experience of the simulation genre, but perhaps not for those who want to get lost for hours.

If you like the Trails and Ys games, Tokyo Xanadu is Persona as if made by Falcom. That might be right up your street. On a good day, it means fun combat and likable characters, but on a bad day, it’s a painfully generic story peppered with some of the dullest corridor-crawling in the genre.

Lacking the intensity of a full orchestra, Disaster Band delivers an altogether brief and mildly entertaining rhythm game. Slapstick presentation, horrifically amusing instruments and ample fart noise for failure will provide a good laugh with friends or family, but there’s little to keep this musical party jamming for a very long.

Despite the console-centric flaw of navigating menus and unforgiving opening hours, Darkest Dungeon II is a brutally brilliant turn-based RPG roguelike. From the flawless presentation to the complex systems, the game leaves so much room for near-endless opportunities to tinker with – Darkest Dungeon II is a challenge you can’t help but accept.

With a mechanically flawless flat screen experience, an EDM soundtrack that is packed with bangers and chaotic visuals that emulate the style of your favourite arcade machines, Spin Rhythm XD is a great experience. The VR aspect isn’t as brilliant and the game doesn’t offer much else from the base gameplay but it’s hard not to recommend for rhythm game fans.

Another crazy entry to Devolver’s catalogue, Anger Foot fits right in like a well-worn shoe. It’s violent, it’s daft, it’s challenging and like most others in the stable, it’s so instantly one-more-go-again that it becomes addictive. Lace them up and go kick it. Hard.

An earnest effort at recreating the puzzling contraptions of an escape room mixed with an Outlast-like antagonist, Scholar’s Mate falls victim to the most insipid storytelling, boring gameplay and obtuse puzzles. While it may look the part of a horror game, the only true terror will stem from the fact you could have just gone to a real escape room, and gotten more value for your money.

Expanding on Elden Ring’s already impeccable legacy in meaningful and spectacular ways, Shadow of the Erdtree is another triumph from FromSoftware. Some of the series’ best boss battles, visually stunning vistas and a leaner yet equally deep narrative lend this expansion the right to be considered one of the best pieces of DLC money can buy.

As one of the most unique video games and individually arresting visual styles I’ve come across this year, Chaotic Era comes unstuck thanks to its abstract approach to gameplay systems, poor performance problems and a lack clear, functioning mechanics. In these times of chaos, there’s only so much obscurity that can be tolerated, before it just becomes a dysfunctional era.

SCHiM is the perfect example of pick-up-and-play puzzlers. A neat concept of shadow hopping, paired with the minimal style of Echochrome and Untitled Goose Game, SCHiM fits that genre for those after something cute and progressively challenging.

DROS has honest goals to be a unique duo platforming adventure but adding too many elements has created something varied but not lasting. The world is interesting and the characters have cool designs but anything outside of its presentation is just fine.

A rollercoaster of such highs only to be undone by flying straight off the tracks, Parkitect: Deluxe Edition has too many game-breaking issues to recommend taking a chance on. Its building gameplay, visual and sound design set it to a rip-roaring start, just so the technical performance and save-deletion issues cause this entire ported rollercoaster to derail.

Graven is another slice of the nostalgic pie that Slipgate Ironworks have been dishing out. A fantasy game crafted from the engines of old, it’s functional if you’re craving that old flavour. But its taste may not be alluring enough to new players.

Bloodhound takes inspiration from the Doom’s and Quake’s of the video game pantheon but fails to deliver anything more than lukewarm decency. The fires of hell are muted, dimly lit and unfortunately repetitive, holding back what may have been a more thrilling boomer shooter entry. A cheap and underwhelming way to spend an afternoon, Bloodhound offers something for retro shooter fans, but won’t be achieving true satanic infamy anytime soon.

Visually lacklustre, poorly designed, riddled with bugs and painfully dull, Favela Zombie Shooter is a turgid entry into a genre that’s on the cusp of yet another resurrection. Let this one shuffle quietly into the night.

A cheap clone, Difficult Climbing Game is attempting to cash in on the popularity of a much better game. Short, unfulfilling and lacking complexity, this pale imitation is best left falling down.

Trails Through Daybreak takes the series to new heights of drama without losing any of the series’ strengths or structure, and features a fun double battle system that somehow doesn’t get in the way of itself. It’s also a viable jumping-in point that hasn’t come along in a while for those looking to dip their toe into this long-running series and finding it daunting. The dawn of a new era.

Created by just a single person, Dystopika distills the essence of the visual appeal of cyberpunk worlds into a small but creative package. What’s here is simple and accessible, even if it feels a bit light in terms of content to play around with. Despite this, it’s hard to deny the inherent appeal of erecting the perfect futuristic metropolis as you kick back and take in the sights and sounds.

Upgraded graphics, fast travel, and a slew of quality-of-life upgrades that track items and improve combat flow, make Echo Generation Midnight Edition the definitive version. However, they feel like incremental gains rather than a wholesale re-evaluation, as the base game remains largely unchanged.

Still Wakes The Deep has a hauntingly well-realised setting in its North Sea oil rig, propped up by stellar sound and environmental design. Caz’s story carried some genuinely emotive moments, even if the backstory feels slightly underdeveloped and while the moment-to-moment stealth and navigation lack the depth of an ocean, they’re still deeper than the puddle many in the genre fall into. You’ll come for the nightmare, but stay for the rig.