If you’re a huge Sword Art Online fan, or are simply after an expansive JRPG to sink your teeth into, you will get some enjoyment out of Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris. It requires some patience and persistence, however, and you’ll still be far from impressed by it. Poor performance hampers its gameplay, while long and frequent load times in conjunction with poor pacing often make it feel like a slog. So many times, especially during the first chapter of the game, you’ll be itching for some action only to be hit with an hour or more of story scenes. Eventually, you might be tempted to just drop it and play something that treats your time more respectfully.

Devout Neptunia fans keen for another outlandish escapade to lose themselves in will no doubt get some enjoyment out of Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters. There’s little here for anyone else, though. Far better RPGs exist on PS5, and even as Neptunia games go this is a bit of a disappointment thanks largely to its ho-hum combat system. So, perhaps give it a miss unless you really must spend more time in Gamindustri.

Blueprint Tycoon just isn’t particularly fun. Without a way to lose, there’s no real challenge… It all just feels like a long, somewhat tedious, tutorial.

There’s a good game in Motor Strike: Immortal Legends somewhere. The problem is the enjoyable parts of the game – mainly being its combat, gets stifled by little variation and repetition. Whilst playing with friends is a fun distraction, it doesn’t make up for the other problems the game has.

In any way you look at it, the story of Syberia 3 cannot be described as anything other than heart-breaking. Not only for the player or the characters themselves – if ever they were capable of realising the technical mess they were a part of – but for developer Microids. So long have they been working on this game with an ambitious attitude hoping to satisfy long-time Syberia fans after an excruciating 13 year wait. There is a great adventure game here just begging to be broken out, however for now as Syberia 3 stands, Kate Walker’s story is one best left washed ashore.

Portal Knights deserves credit for attempting to blend two distinct genres… it just does so little to distinguish itself, resulting in an unrewarding title that doesn’t draw you in.

The foundations are here for a refreshing and unique experience, but they need building upon and refining. Devout monster truck fans are likely to get some fun out of it, but everyone else is better off either avoiding it or picking it up with a discount. Monster Jam Steel Titans isn’t the worst racing game available right now, but it’s still very much trailing behind the competition.

It’s a shame that Trulon: The Shadow Engine lacks a lot of polish, because at its core, it’s a pretty enjoyable experience.

If you’re a huge fan of twin-stick space shooters, Curved Space will do enough to hold your attention for a while. Its unique features don’t amount to much, however, leaving you with a rather mundane entry into an already crowded genre. Simply put, there are much better arcade shooters out there to spend your time and money on.

UnderDread has a few things that make it enjoyable, but more things that make it tedious. Whether Bigzur are experiencing such issues because of the crossover between iOS and PC, I don’t know. Even if it was released on another platform, I think they jumped the gun a bit on this one. Had I reviewed this game as an Early Access product I would have been more understanding about the negatives, but as it is a fully released, purchasable game, I’ve had to give my opinion without a safety net, and it is a damned shame.

In a world plagued by stripped-back indie experiences grasping to evoke an element of nostalgia, I can at least praise I and Me for attempting something wholly original for the puzzle/platforming genre. But what could have been a mighty stride forward disappointingly feels more like a half step.

It should be fun playing a game that puts players in control of Raziel and Kain one more time, but this 2D action adventure wastes the opportunity. Legacy of Kain: Ascendance has an intriguing story which is accompanied by good voice acting and a solid soundtrack, but its gameplay is repetitive and often downright messy.

Inspired by Turtles in Time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants certainly plays like a blast from the past. After Shredder's Revenge, you'll likely find its gameplay too basic, however, and it fails to impress in other ways, too.

If, like me, you love The Surge 2 and are after some additional content to draw you back into the game, you’ll enjoy your time with its Kraken expansion but will be very disappointed with its short running time.

There are some brilliant retro collections available, but unfortunately Super Technos World: River City & Technos Arcade Classics isn't one of them. There are essentially only nine games here thanks to two being available in Japanese only and another two being different versions of the same game, and while there's some fun to be had, a lack of museum content and other features just makes for a disappointing package overall.

Much of the ‘action’ in the game… hints at excitement but never pushes the boundaries to make for really thrilling gameplay.

At the end of my time with MagNets: Fully Charged, I never felt the thrill I get from the very best video games, or even pushed through the rough to find a diamond. I found a game with limited appeal, repetitive gameplay, basic mechanics, and a pointless attempt at a story. It’s never a bad game, but it’s never a good game either. I remain indifferent and somehow, that is both the best and worst thing I can say about any game.

It’s clear that love has been put into the making of Fallen Knight, what with its attractive character designs and duo of campaigns, each with their own twist. It’s just a shame that the gameplay doesn’t quite hit the mark. Once you’ve unlocked a decent range of skills you can have more fun with Lancelot and Galahad, but even then the clunky controls and awkward parry system will frustrate.

A body cam horror game, ActionCam: Supernatural Case is atmospheric enough and contains some decent puzzles and scares. It's rather simple and over way too quickly, however — and it also has terrible voice acting.

While some will no doubt find enjoyment in beating up goons in Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san!, most will find it overly repetitive and a tad too obscure. With its basic combat, small pool of enemies and often unfair bosses, there’s little here to pull Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san! out of mediocrity. Its saving grace is that it’s relatively cheap, so you won’t feel too let down by its short running time should you decide to take the plunge.

If it’s boobs you’re after, Senran Kagura: Estival Versus will provide more than your fair share, but if you’re wanting actual gameplay, it doesn’t deliver anything you won’t find better done elsewhere.

At its best, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted delivers the kind of jump scares and edge-of-your-seat tension the series is known for. But, minus a VR headset, it’s not a great way to experience Five Nights at Freddy’s, even factoring in the bonus games and the additional lore it imparts. Given that you can get the first three Five Nights games on Nintendo Switch in their original, superior incarnations, it’s hard to recommend Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted to anyone but FNAF completionists.

Credit where credit’s due: considering this is made by just four brothers, Quantum Error aims high, which is admirable. The execution is simply not there, though. This is a game that simply tries to do too much, and as a result feels messy. If you’ve got a lot of patience and really like the idea of being a firefighter caught in a horrifying situation, you might get get something out of Quantum Error. Most, though, will just encounter frustration.

With its charming 2D graphics and unique premise, My Night Job truly is a game full of character. Unfortunately though, character is not enough to make the game fun or sufficiently engaging to play in the long term.

There’s a good game in Chocobo GP somewhere, hidden between the balancing problems and microtransactions. Hopefully one day it’ll be able to emerge, free of the troubles that are bringing it down. Until then though, it’s hard to recommend. If you don’t mind forking out for the game and then a Battle Pass or two down the road you might get some enjoyment out of it, but you’ll have to be committed to the grind, and fairly patient with the gameplay. Perhaps give it a try first – a free Lite version is available so you can at least get a taste of the action without spending any money.

The game’s multiplayer mode, each player using one Joy-Con, is the game’s prime redeeming feature and is a heck of a lot of fun in its own right. But weighed down by a middling-at-best single player mode, no matter how quirky it attempts to be, Zarvot’s trying, polyhedral antics don’t justify the price of admission.

Maid of Sker isn’t a terrible game, but it is a disappointing one. It has the groundwork of something that could be wonderfully scary: a foreboding environment and a chilling soundtrack make for a formidable atmosphere. There are also some freaky setpieces that further set the tone of this horrifying world. But that’s where it ends; the rest of the horror comes from the poor game design. Hiding from a blind enemy for the 50th time is nothing but frustrating, and the decision to rely on an archaic manual save system is one which only damages the game further. Maid of Sker’s premise had potential, but sadly it’s mostly lost amongst less than stellar mechanics.

Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back has a degree of retro appeal and may even stir up fond memories if you were around for Bubsy’s first outing. But it’s so unremarkable that it never really manages to get its claws into you.