It’s the best the game has ever looked or played, and is available at a more than reasonable price.

Even as newcomers to the Anno series, we’re finding Anno 1800 Console Edition a joy to get to grips with, and we can’t wait to see our town flourish into a thriving metropolis. We need to spend more time with it before delivering our final verdict, but all signs point to this being an excellent city building strategy game, and one that’s been exceptionally ported to consoles. With easy to learn controls, fantastic visuals and a gripping campaign, we’re having a lot of fun with it so far. [Provisional Score = 80]

So far, Black Myth: Wukong is a game that I'm really wanting to like, but sometimes it feels like it's fighting against me. I'm loving its visuals, which make exploring each environment feel somewhat magical, and I'm mostly enjoying its combat until I come up against an enemy or situation that feels somewhat unfair. Elsewhere there are other issues. And so, while I'm keen to continue playing and see the Destined One's journey to an end, I'm prepared for bumps in the road along the way. [Review in Progress]

I’m very much enjoying what I’m playing so far, with just one or two minor issues encountered along the way. It looks great, has plenty to do, and offers a surprising amount of freedom while also putting a smile on my face from time to time thanks to its humour. What more could I ask for, really? As a sequel, it may not be all that ambitious, but it takes the first game, expands upon its formula, and is much more polished from the outset. For most, that’s probably all they need to hear to know that they’ll love The Outer Worlds 2. [Review in Progress]

There isn’t really anything to be said negatively about Defiant Honor, other than, like Dragon of the North, I just want more. But Nioh is more than enough, I’m just greedy. I will be eagerly awaiting the final DLC, and the pain it will bring me. Don’t let this game slip away. Experience its ever growing brilliance.

Its 3D scanned recreation of Chernobyl’s exclusion zone looks absolutely gorgeous, too, being picturesque yet also haunting. [Review in Progress]

Between its bugs and its busywork, Outcast – A New Beginning does feel a tad dated. But it’s charmed us with its characters, combat and a world that, thanks in part to your jetpack, is a joy to roam. [Review in Progress]

If you’re a die-hard fan of the franchise, you might get a few nostalgic kicks out of Friday the 13th: The Game. But if you’re simply looking for a horror-themed multiplayer, this doesn’t hold a candle to Dead by Daylight, which itself is coming to Switch next month. Do yourself a favour, and pick that up instead.

As a gamer of over 30 years, I truly understand the impulse to bring back old-school mechanics and had they been executed well, Daydreamer: Awakened Edition would be an easy game to recommend. However, this isn’t the case and I find it to be one of the worst games I’ve played this year.

Don't let its disarming visuals fool you – Formula Legends is a pretty serious racing game at its core. The problem is, the racing on offer isn't all that fun. Add in a lack of game modes, and you're better off picking up any of the recent official Formula One games – they're more accessible and have features such as multiplayer, after all.

For all of Aqua Moto Racing Utopia’s light sense of fun and nostalgic reminiscence of past games like Wave Race 64 and Jet Moto, the act of taking to the waves is unfortunately tarnished by some frustratingly aggressive AI and a general lack of polish.

There are elements of Bard’s Gold which are worth hanging on to for future projects – the interest in secrets (such an important aspect of gameplay, and in need of revival too), the willingness to challenge players. The rest can be put to one side in the “trial and error” pile.

We’ve still got some time to spend with Mato Anomalies, but we’ve enjoyed what we’ve played of it so far. It’s not the most polished RPG, which may disappoint some, but its streamlined nature is a breath of fresh air, and it has a neat premise and some cool ideas. Fans of the likes of Persona are most likely to resonate with it, but it’s perhaps worth a look for any RPG fan looking for something new to sink their teeth into. [Provisional Score = 70]

If Overpass‘ events were a bit shorter, if you felt like you had more of a connection with your vehicle, if you didn’t get stuck so often, then it would actually be a decent game. As it stands, however, it’s rarely fun. Playing Overpass just made me angry, and I don’t like being angry. It’s like banging your head against a brick wall, repeatedly. It’s frustrating beyond belief. Why would you want to pay to introduce that feeling into your life?

I did not enjoy my time with Bookbound Brigade, but I do say that with a heavy heart. I really wanted to like the game. It has a lot of character and some nice work has gone into its visual design. But its problems are insurmountable and ultimately you’re left with a game that’s too frustrating and filled with too many issues to ever be fun to play. At least Bookbound Brigade tries some different ideas on for size. They don’t fit, but at least the developer tries. Isn’t that what counts? “It’s not the winning, but the taking part.” Sadly, nobody’s a winner playing Bookbound Brigade, and there’s nothing to celebrate by taking part, either.

Unlike its protagonist, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son shows little interest in forging its own identity. If you’re craving a return to Punxsutawney, rewatching the movie is a far more rewarding choice.

Sonic Forces may not be the worst Sonic game ever made, but it’s close, and I don’t think the speedy blue hedgehog has many more chances to impress before gamers like myself lose all hope of him returning to his former glory.

I just don’t see the point in Senran Kagura Peach Ball. If you want to play pinball, download Pinball FX3 for free and you’re all sorted. Maybe buy a table or two that take your fancy to expand your options. If you want to see some anime tiddies, open up your browser and do a google search. I mean, Senran Kagura Peach Ball isn’t awful, but I don’t see any reason why you need to spend £35.99/$39.99 on it.

Small Radios Big Televisions is the embodiment of style over substance, providing a beautiful world that warrants exploration, yet does not provide the tools or the desire to do so.

Giraffe and Annika takes around six hours to complete and, after seeing it through to its end, I wish there were more positive things to say about it. The world and its characters are cute, but you’ll be sick of Annika’s whining and the painfully repetitive fetch quests in no time. It has some merit as a starter RPG to introduce young children to the genre, but even then, there are much better adventures out there to spend your time with.

Into the Stars is a subpar and incomplete product but if you’re the kind of player who has the will to put in a steady investment of time and effort to probe its every nuance and deeper subtlety you might just get that pearl.

I’m sad to admit it, but Dead by Daylight on Nintendo Switch is a huge let-down. I love the game, and while I was excited to get to play it on a handheld format, its lagginess, framerate issues and massive graphical downgrade mean that I just can’t recommend it on Switch. If you’re still tempted to give it a try, perhaps wait a month or two and see if any patches come out to fix some of the current painful and glaring issues. Until then, the price simply isn’t worth what you get. Stick to playing it on another format; trust me, you’ll have a much better experience.

There are some good ideas in RETSNOM, but unfortunately they fall by the wayside as the tiresome visuals and dreary soundtrack wear you down to the point where you just wish it would end.

The idea of developing your own ninja is a great one, but here it relies on you engaging in action that feels borderline broken at times, sucking all the fun out of the process.

While Attack of the Earthlings is aiming to be more casual than its counterparts, its gameplay really is too simple to be interesting for more than a few minutes. This, mixed with the criminally awkward and slow animations, makes the game little more than a chore, broken up a few some decent jokes.

Ultimately, Tennis World Tour 2‘s new timing-based shot system ruins what could have been a decent or even good tennis game. It makes gameplay so unpredictable, and not in a good way. If you plan on buying Tennis World Tour 2 just to play exhibition matches as your favourite professional players, you might get some fun out of it thanks to their boosted stats making things more lenient. But career mode will be unbearable for most, requiring either an obscene amount of skill or an inhuman amount of patience. AO Tennis 2 remains the best tennis game available right now, so just stick to that.

Random but ridiculously repetitive, this deadly dull dungeon hack gives little reason to recommend it.

Unless you’re really desperate for some anime girls and mechs, you can find much better dungeon crawling experiences elsewhere.