On the whole, those who manage to gel with Anarcute’s unique gameplay despite its haphazard combat and repetitive nature will find a reasonably enjoyable game to work through. For many though, I’d wager there’s a real risk that frustration and boredom may hamper the experience.

As easy as it is to rip into such an unpolished indie title, I still want to express that I have great respect for the effort from Jamie, but it just doesn’t amount to much unfortunately.

God, I want another Chrono Trigger so much and I Am Setsuna comes as close as any attempt possibly could, but, of course, it’s only an echo.

With a high replayability factor, hours of entertainment and an intriguing concept, it’s certainly a game that draws you in more and more the further you dive into it.

Into the Belly of the Beast is quite a hard game to explain and is something that is best discovered through playing – and I thoroughly recommend that you do.

Furi isn’t exactly perfect, but with its unique visual and audio design, there’s plenty to like.

The mechanics and gameplay are well thought out, it’s easy for newcomers to get into and old fans will, probably, be more than happy with the plethora of additions and tweaks over the previous games in the series. Unfortunately, though, to me it still feels like I’m watching some guy on a bike ride.

Disappointingly, despite the name, Sky to Fly does seem to prefer a leisurely jog to actually sprinting. Even with a fully upgraded air-ship, the gut feeling that you are stuck in second gear never subsides.

Fans of the original PSN version searching to re-visit the good old days will find a lot to enjoy here, as will RTS players itching for something a bit simpler but still addictive.

The Last Door Season 2 was exactly what I expected it would be. It’s scary, the story is amazing and weird, the music is beautiful, and overall, it was just a wonderful series.

It’s fun because it is good. It’s fast, sharp, intuitive, and an absolute blast. For the price and the replay value, it’s a steal.

Pick up Tumblestone if you love matching puzzles games but are bored of the same old thing. And don’t forget, you get to play as a sausage so it automatically gets extra points.

With Song of the Deep, Insomniac Games have truly surprised and impressed, and hopefully they will continue expanding their portfolio with similarly leftfield titles in the future.

As it stands however, there’s still a genuinely high amount of enjoyment to be had, but frustration will likely soon mount for most players once they reach the hazard levels and putting challenges. If you miss Burnout‘s Crash Junction mode though, and are looking for something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Three Fields’ debut into the independent game market is still an impressive attempt that warrants your attention.

While The Warriors maintains a great atmosphere through a reconstructed moody New York, it is ultimately very dated. The combat remains fun and accessible, yet never as intuitive as other fighting mechanics that came after it.

Despite the intense final battles, each level is nothing but a gift to its players.

If you enjoyed Dynamite Fishing: World Games on mobile then no doubt you will like it here, although I would argue it’s better suited to the former.

Funk of Titans feels like a free game you’d download from the app store to kill a few hours and then delete the same day.

All in all, fans of the long running series should certainly check JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven out as they’ll certainly find it to be a rewarding experience despite its flaws, but those looking for a more involved brawler with a wealth of features should look elsewhere.

Marrakesh can stand very proud next to Sapienza. While it doesn’t quite reach the same heights, it is a very accomplished mission, built into a magnificent sandbox.

If you can forget about the annoying flaws in some of the puzzles and accept that you’re going to have to do a lot of backtracking, Adventures of Mana should certainly be a title every Vita owner considers adding to their library.

As it stands, Stories of Bethem: Full Moon is a rather average adventure game that plays it a little too safe.

Despite its flaws, I had a lot of fun with Pharaonic. The beautiful world and reaction-based combat are genuinely enjoyable. However, the lack of enemy diversity, the tedious backtracking and the questionable checkpoint locations seem like design missteps.

If you’re a fan of Star Wars, there is clearly enough care and reverence here to get some enjoyment as well. Just don’t expect much of any challenge beyond some of the puzzles and don’t expect sophisticated humour, either.

For the moment though, Ice Lakes is a recommendable game, but only to fans of ice fishing, wherever the hell all of you are.

There’s a solid experience to be had underneath it all if you really, really want to find it, but unfortunately I feel that most people won’t have the patience nor inclination to bother. There are plenty more titles out there offering a much better experience of what Van Helsing attempts.

All in all, Crazy Strike Bowling EX is what it is: a zany arcade bowling game that eschews realism and depth in favour of simple mechanics, colourful characters and some wacky ideas.

Violent, vulgar and crude, Carmageddon: Max Damage is downright offensive and all the better for it. And with a highly entertaining gameplay loop that gives you a great degree of freedom, it’s a blast from the past that occasionally puts a foot wrong but is easily forgiven.

Breached is a game that tries to make its story cryptic enough to keep the player interested in replaying it, but its gameplay is too shallow and dull to make replaying seem worthwhile.

For the most part it’s wonderfully well-realised: it has a compelling and moving story that really drives the game forward, along with engaging and thought-provoking gameplay from start to finish.

The relaxing atmosphere and music makes this a title worth playing for a more laid back gaming session, but if you like something a bit more challenging and action-packed, then Professional Farmer 2017 is probably not for you.

It has good intentions and elements of suitable design, but it’s mostly fluff.

Long time fans of This War of Mine will definitely love the challenging and heartwarming moments that this DLC adds to the main game and newcomers, after a little practice, should come to enjoy it as well.

The open-world mission system, the way you can buy ship schematics to try and change up your layouts and tactics, the way it lets you determine whether or not you want to split up mission-critical cargo into more manageable (and defensible) chunks, the seamless inclusion of multiplayer contracts and trading and the fact that it feels quite unlike anything else out there really pushes it into a whole other dimension. One with space pirates and awesome guns.

One of Lost Sea‘s strongest points, the soundtrack is thematic, and keeps you pushing forward through each island in the chain to reach the boss.

It may be lacking any real horror, but Resident Evil 5 boasts solid gameplay, a huge amount of quality content and commendable production values, making it one of the better releases in the long-running series. In a nutshell then, whether you’ve previously played the game or not, Resident Evil 5 on the Xbox One is a bargain that shouldn’t be ignored.

Aside from some glaring camera issues and the odd technical blemish, Heart&Slash presents exactly what the title suggests: a lot of slashing, and a lot of heart.

It’s hard to overlook the terribly outdated and buggy graphics, and the fact that the clunky presentation feels hardly optimised for consoles. Whilst gameplay can be enjoyable at times, it soon grows repetitive and tiresome, and the flawed day/night cycle means you’ll spend a great deal of time with nothing to do other than twiddle your thumbs.

Still, putting aside the few minor technical issues, the voodoo theme and the wealth of content on offer manages to be the game’s real strong suit. There is plenty of fun to be had with Full Mojo Rampage – even moreso with friends!

I absolutely recommend picking up K Station if you love a good mystery and you love solving puzzles.

Whilst it’s commendable that there are technomancy skills as well as three fighting styles at your disposal… the fact that the combat is so clunky and frequently unbalanced means that it’s best to just settle on one at the outset and stick with it.

You can see why this was voted the best mobile game of 2015; it really is that good, and on console it’s better than ever before!

As a piece of commerce, it is incredibly brief and depending on how you value one over the other, when you decide to experience this masterpiece is up to you. However, make no mistake, Inside is a game I recommend that everyone play.

Graphically, Digger Dan DX is nothing to write home about. It looks nice enough but was definitely designed with the 2DS in mind. The audio is pretty lacklustre too; there’s certainly nothing memorable, so headphones won’t really be required here. The important part as always though is the gameplay, and Digger Dan does mostly get this right.

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.

On the whole, Umbrella Corps is very much a missed opportunity. Light on content, unbalanced, and rough around the edges, it has some good ideas but they are drowned by its issues, making for an experience that is rarely fulfilling.

It’s safe to say that Prison Architect isn’t a game for everyone; if you’re not a fan of building and management simulation games, then there’s little that will sway your opinion. For those that do enjoy them however, Prison Architect is one of the best.

At around three hours’ running time, there’s not a whole lot of game on offer, but if you enjoy a puzzle platformer and liked the style of Limbo, Monochroma is definitely worth a visit.

If you absolutely loved the original Drawful in the first Jackbox Party Pack, then Drawful 2 makes sense: more prompts for all-new gameplay and the option to create your own games is a worthy upgrade. However, if you’re new to Drawful and the world of Jackbox altogether, then I’d hasten you instead buy the Party Pack for more variety.

However, even with an ending that takes way too much to achieve with very little pay off, Asemblance still manages to be a very intriguing and atmospheric sci-fi story.

Approach it like a story-driven RPG, expecting to be absorbed by an epic tale and a cast of likeable characters, and you may be left underwhelmed by what’s on offer despite the solid gameplay. If you put in the time and effort however, creating a group of mercenaries that you strive to develop further by engaging in the well developed turn-based battle system both online and off, then Grand Kingdom will prove to be a graciously rewarding experience.

Planar Conquest… probably isn’t going to sit well with you unless you’ve already amassed a serious number of hours into these types of games before.

So, if you weren’t sure about the “musical adventure” genre, you should be now. There may not be too much competition, but Wailing Heights definitely belongs there as one of the genre’s greatest.

Pac-Man, Galaga and Dig Dug are classics for a reason and I can’t help but recommend this collection to everyone.

Kirby: Planet Robobot sets a new gold standard in a franchise already renowned for excellent platforming.

Mighty No. 9 had an incredible amount of potential. The pedigree of talent behind the project justifies fans’ expectations for a platformer that is full of personality and high-quality action. This game has neither of those things; sure, it works, but the game feels completely lifeless. Characters lack the charm and depth that they need to be memorable, and the story is underdeveloped and plain.

Zero Time Dilemma is a must-play for any fans of the franchise, or indeed for any puzzle game fan.

The palatable fantasy-based story, gorgeous hand-painted still locations and good balance of fun, albeit easy, puzzle types may not be everybody’s cup of tea but those willing to give it a taste may find themselves being pleasantly surprised.

This aside, the fun you can have means it’s worth investing a little time to save Neon Chrome, especially if you’re a Dead Nation fan and if you can see past the issues I’ve mentioned, though the current £11.99 price tag may be a little steep.

In the end, if you’ve got the patience to deal with Deadlight: Director’s Cut’s problems you’ll find a decent game, but you should certainly exercise caution before jumping in.

Testing a new ship and learning the best situations to use each weapon and ability feels thoroughly satisfying, especially when playing against human opponents. All the while, Dead Star still manages to feel tense and exciting, and the strong community suggests that it will continue to be a worthy addition to your gaming library.

As you’ve probably already gathered, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is quite a disappointment, although that’s not to say that it can’t be highly enjoyable at times.

Crazy Pixel Streaker offers a fair amount of variety and content for a simple, but surprisingly difficult co-operative brawling experience. There’s depth, but it’s shallow, and replayability suffers due to the deliberate difficulty; but ultimately, in short bursts there’s great fun to be had.

The best feature of Sssnakes however is the price: this game can be purchased for just a penny short of two quid!

The pixel art is strong, wiry, and grainy. The FM Synth soundtrack creates an effect like watching an 80s action movie on a dusty VHS cassette. The cherry on top is fast-paced dodge-and-destroy gameplay against a rogues gallery of killer robots.

Infuriating as it is, Rogue Stormers is fun and innovative and I very much enjoyed playing it.

The wonderful setting, the amusingly unique characters, and the excellent turn-based combat kept me hooked.

If you’ve ever dreamed of exploring a new world on your own and experiencing all of the mystery and terror that experience implies, The Solus Project is pure wish fulfillment of the highest quality.

For its budget price the Dead Island: Definitive Collection offers two solid open world experiences that have never looked or played better on console as well as a retro-styled novelty that can be enjoyed in short bursts. It’s just a shame that the changes made to both Dead Island and Riptide are only visual, as both have gameplay aspects that could do with a little more polish.

The Descendant: Episode two – “Into the Storm” was a great addition to this series, and although episode three’s release date hasn’t been announced yet, I’ll be waiting patiently for it.

Trials of the Blood Dragon may have come out of nowhere, but it does a hell of a lot to command your attention.

It’s a silly game about having fun – and pooping – and as long as you keep that in mind, you can’t go far wrong.

If you can handle the gyroscope, you’re in for a quality thrill ride through the Lylat System, difficult but rewarding.

Blacksea Odyssey is by no means perfect, but it does get a lot right.

Despite its shortcomings though, She Wants Me Dead is a charming platformer that offers plenty of challenge in a neat package. For the average player, there may not be enough content to warrant the asking price, but for those that enjoy beating records and completing speedruns, it’s a perfect title.

Some of the modes we’ve come to expect from fighting games such as score and time attack may be missing, but there’s no disputing that Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator deserves to be up there with the heavy-hitters in the genre.

The Descendant: Episode 1 – Aftermath is a great introduction to this sci-fi adventure series. Aside from my personal issues with the controls, its short length, and a few glitchy moments, it all pulls together to form a pretty successful start.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying this Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus as a little bit of a guilty pleasure, devouring it of its value, and moving onto your next fix; just don’t expect anything more than that. Keep in mind it’s a port of a game that was designed for handhelds, and you won’t be disappointed.

Score Rush Extended might not put a lot on the table with only two game modes, but in the end it doesn’t matter. Thanks to its ultra-colourful, fast-paced, high-octane action, this is a game you’ll find hard to put down, playing to constantly beat your old score.

In the end then, Soul Axiom on Xbox One is a missed opportunity, devoid of a soul itself.

It’s rare a story can be so powerful without the need to rely on some kind of grand narrative. It may not be the best in terms of gameplay, and at times you may wish you were just watching a movie, but the story that Fragments of Him tells is in equal measures important, beautiful, heartbreaking and uplifting. For that reason alone, it’s an experience well worth investing in.

What was delivered is more of the same in a sharp new overcoat and handsome rugged face which serve to conceal nothing of the vapidness underneath.

Maybe one day an anime brawler with drop-dead gorgeous visuals and solid fighting mechanics will materialise, but until then, only the most dedicated and patient One Piece fans will find any long-term fun with One Piece: Burning Blood.

I’m sure some WWII enthusiasts and military logisticians will appreciate the level of optimisable detail of armies and their behavior, but for a general audience, the managerial emphasis is in all the wrong places.

It’s cathartic, relaxing, and at times truly challenging, but most of all, it manages to capture your attention and remains enjoyable from start to finish.

If you fell in love with the original all those years ago however, prepare to reassess your feelings; Odin Sphere: Leiftrasir will be akin to finding your soulmate, leaving the original title to feel like the empty husk of some great person you used to know in comparison.

At just shy of £8 I find it very hard to recommend Brick Breaker, even if you are a huge fan of the genre. Grab it in a sale, but it’s not worth full price.

I’m finding it hard to recommend Anima: Gate of Memories to anyone outside of diehard fans of the IP and I don’t know a single person that falls into that category, so I can’t really recommend it to anyone.

From a presentation standpoint, Duelyst is beautiful in its relative simplicity, though a bit thematically confusing.

Overwatch may but not 100% perfect, but I haven’t had this much fun in a multiplayer shooter in about a decade.

No doubt ardent vertical shooter fans will find enough value in Raiden V to make the cost negligible, but those who just like to dabble in the genre now and then are probably best waiting for it to go on sale.

It may not be as polished or entertaining as id Software’s recent masterpiece, but Flying Wild Hog’s Hard Reset Redux still has a lot to offer, especially to those that have finished with DOOM and seek more exhilarating balls-to-the-wall action.

Overall, A Little Lily Princess offers a great experience to fans of the visual novel genre.

While it does offer a campaign mode and a similar “zombies” mode, both are completely unaware of what makes shooters fun. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t care. Like a student that has potential but continually turns in bad reports, NotCoD feels irritating to play.

I won’t pretend [Dungeons 2] blew me away, but it did surprise me how addicted I became to playing it.

All in all, VEV: Viva Ex Vivo is quite a conflicted game. It gives the impression that it wants to be quite a laid back, almost zen-like experience, yet it’s frustratingly challenging. It’s also as clear as mud when it comes to explaining itself, revelling in throwing science jargon at you to the point where it overcomplicates matters; it’s essentially quite a simple survival game.

What Scrap Garden boils down to is a simple platformer that can be fun for anyone who doesn’t take it too seriously.

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.