From one of the best hidden object series out there, Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery is yet another wonderful collection of whimsical locations, each brimming with personality (and, of course, objects to be found). It's perhaps more of an extension of its predecessor than something completely new, but it's a very welcome addition to the series regardless.

Bleak Faith: Forsaken invites players to a world where sci-fi meets fantasy, and while it's not the best soulslike available, its mix of rewarding exploration and solid combat makes it well worth checking out.

Some may revel in the challenge provided by Volgarr the Viking II, but most will probably find it simply unfair at times. Repetition is also a problem when the game's stages are so large. Still, it looks rather nice, and at least Undead mode allows players to brute force their way through, albeit with repercussions.

Cat Quest 3's selling point is also one of its biggest detractors, depending how you feel about the series: it's simply more of the same. It looks fantastic, and exploring its cutesy world is a joy, but the addition of sailing a ship isn't enough to make this stand out from its predecessors.

Horror fans are likely to appreciate the brilliant premise of The Mortuary Assistant, and will enjoy the fact it's genuinely creepy and unpredictable. Preparing bodies is surprisingly engaging, and there are multiple endings to discover which will keep players returning for more, but unfortunately the PS5 version is very rough around the edges.

A genuinely pleasant surprise, Creatures of Ava is an excellent adventure game for those who want something a little less demanding and stressful than the mainstream. Gathering the titular creatures is an enjoyable experience, but so is exploring this beautiful world and engaging with its mysterious and quirky denizens. Excellently written and gorgeously animated, there's a great deal to love here.

Cygni: All Guns Blazing is the best-looking shoot 'em up out there, and along with its epic soundtrack, it's a treat for the eyes and ears. But a number of issues, such as its stages being too long and the screen often being simply too busy, mean that it doesn't fulfil its potential.

Thank Goodness You're Here! is a game that's quintessentially British, inviting players to explore a Northern English town and rub shoulders with its bizarre locals. It's weird, it's clever, and it's utterly surreal at times, but it's always entertaining. It's just a shame that your visit is over so soon, but there's perhaps reason to return to it a time or two. In any case, it's an absolute delight while it lasts.

ExoCross is a solid off-road arcade racer, with impressive visuals and brilliant physics. But while it has a decent number of single-player modes to jump into, its online options are disappointing, and there's a general lack of content overall.

Filled with engaging puzzles and a story that's both compelling and deeply emotional, there's a lot to love about Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss. Some of its mechanics are a little clunky, and there's the odd technical issue, but they're worth overlooking for the mystery that awaits under the waves.

Roguelike fans who love fast-paced first-person shooter action are in for a treat with Deadlink. Its combat encounters take heavy inspiration from DOOM Eternal, and with four combat shells to choose from, along with a wide range of upgrades to acquire, there's plenty of variety to be found from one run to the next. A new time trial mode complete with global leaderboards adds even more fun into the mix.

Metroidvania fans will find lots to like when it comes to Frontier Hunter: Erza's Wheel of Fortune. Being able to instantly switch between three characters, each with their own weapons, is a blast, and crafting and customising your gear with the cores of enemies is rewarding. The only thing that really lets it down is the fact that it's rather rough around the edges.

Inspired by classic horror movies, Lakeview Cabin Collection offers up multiple episodes, each with their own characters, locations and challenges to overcome. The problem is that it's obscure to a fault, but with many fun interactions to discover along the way, some will find it entertaining.

With a beautiful world to explore, an interesting narrative and a rewarding sense of player agency, we really could have loved The Last Alchemist. But convoluted systems, tedious controls and the lack of controller support sadly make it rather cumbersome to play, sucking out much of the enjoyment to be had.

It's been a long time coming to PS5, but Monster Train has been worth the wait. This roguelike card battler is sure to win over fans of the likes of Slay the Spire, but with its own unique twists on the formula, it feels unlike any other game in the genre. Suffice to say, this is one we're going to be coming back to, time and time again.

Earth Defense Force 6 feels more like Earth Defense 5.5, what with it being so similar to its predecessor. There are some welcome tweaks to various features, however, and along with some new enemies and more missions than ever, it makes for the best entry in the series yet. We just hope the inevitable Earth Defense Force 7 is a bit more adventurous.

Beautiful and cleverly designed, Été is a game all about painting: literally paint the world around you, and create works of art for the people you meet. It's held back a little by a few technical niggles, but it's impossible to let them get in the way of how utterly joyful this game is to play.

Those with the patience to traipse back and forth and push themselves through the more frustrating sections of Conscript may well end up having a rewarding experience with it on the whole. It’s certainly got some good ideas, and is altogether rather unique. For many though, these issues are likely to prove to be too much of an obstacle; it’s never good when making headway in a game feels like a chore, after all.

Mixing puzzles, photography and a touching narrative, there's a lot to love about The Star Named EOS. Its beautiful art style shines over its 3-4 hour running time, and while the ending perhaps isn't as strong as the game's first half, we still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to any puzzle fan.

Impeccably presented, The Operator leaves you feeling like a real government agent, solving real crimes and becoming embroiled in a real conspiracy. It's not the longest experience, but we were thoroughly engrossed in every minute of it; our only real complaint is that we were left wanting more.

Whether you're a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or simply enjoy roguelikes, there's a lot to love about Splintered Fate. Aside from being well presented, its core gameplay is ever-so moreish thanks to a wide variety of upgrades being available. And thanks to local and online co-op options, you don't have to play alone.

If you like being guided from one objective to the next while playing a game, Magical Delicacy is not for you. But if figuring things out for yourself, exploring a wonderfully designed pixelated world and cooking up some unique delicacies in the kitchen all sound good to you, there's so much to love here. It's a unique blend of crafting and metroidvania, and it works incredibly well.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a unique game that brilliantly blends together action and strategy, resulting in a game that makes you think and keeps you on your toes. Add in sublime enemy design and a wonderful soundtrack, and you have a game that rubs shoulders with the best of 2024 so far.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sweep the Board! is a colourful and unpredictable digital board game that fans of the franchise will no doubt enjoy. Its minigames vary in quality, however, and the CPU getting involved when there are less than four human players can be a pain.

SCHiM looks absolutely fantastic, and its idea is innovative: you're a shadow who has become untethered from its human. But the goal of reuniting the pair is unfortunately more frustrating than it should be: while there are some enjoyable elements here, ultimately we were relieved when it was over.

Suitable for fans of Super Monkey Ball and those new to the series, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble offers more of the same ball-rolling action but with a new spin dash mechanic. In any case, while its multiplayer offerings aren't the best, the Adventure mode here is better than ever, offering a wealth of excellently designed stages to play through and master.

Anger Foot is essentially Hotline Miami played from a first-person perspective, with your foot being your most valuable asset. As fun as kicking things with a variety of effects is, however, the action gets repetitive pretty fast, the difficulty feels unfair at times, and the soundtrack may drive you up the wall.

Spin Rhythm XD is one of the most enjoyable music rhythm games we've played in a long while, being easy to pick up but having a lot of depth as you ramp up the difficulty. It's the control system that impresses us the most, though, making you feel like a DJ. It's just a shame that unless you love EDM, its track list has nothing for you.