There’s a decent amount of depth to Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed despite its simple appearance. There’s plenty of single-player content, thanks to the hefty Story mode, but seasoned fighting game fans will notice the absence of online multiplayer. Still, there’s an enjoyable fighter here – and getting to control a giant dinosaur-shaped mech is a novelty that doesn’t quickly wear off.

It comes down to the fact that Age of Empires III has never been the best at fundamental RTS gameplay. The Definitive Edition has done a great job of bringing the title into the modern age with beautiful visuals and a new UI – but that core gameplay remains, and it falls flat especially compared to the standard set by last year’s Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition‘s intriguing campaigns are worth a look, but if you value adaptive and fluid multiplayer gameplay, stick with Age of Empires II.

Everything about it is decent but nothing more, resulting in a romp that’s enjoyable enough in short sittings but tiresome in the long run. It tries its best, but it simply fails to excite like it should.

Re:Turn – One Way Trip is filled with unexpected twists and turns, satisfying jumpscares, an eerie atmosphere and a well-written story. There are some moments of awkward dialogue, but it does very little to take away from the story. Discovering what happened to the old passengers of the train and how their experiences effect the characters is good fun. It’s also terrifying, and the perfect title to pick up this Halloween. Heck, it’s perfect for any time really. Just be sure to play with headphones on and the lights off to get the full effect of the scares.

If racing online is your thing, Monster Truck Championship probably isn’t going to fulfil your needs. If you like a single-player career mode that allows you to develop your own vehicle over time, however, you’ll get quite a kick out of it. But what really sells Monster Truck Championship is its uniqueness. Never before has the act of competing in a monster truck been so authentically represented, from thunderous circuit races to flashy freestyle events. It’s not perfect, but racing fans will have probably never played anything quite like Monster Truck Championship before.

Featuring both local and online play, Cake Bash is one of the most enjoyable party games of recent memory. Mechanically it’s solid, and there’s a wonderful variety to its Bash and Snack events. It helps that it looks great, too, and the preposterousness of the whole affair does nothing but win you over. Where else can you pummel a doughnut as a chocolate chip muffin, after all? If you’re after a sweet game to play the next time you have some friends or family around, be sure to treat yourself to Cake Bash.

FIFA 21 doesn’t have any ground-breaking new modes or revolutionary gameplay innovations, but it doesn’t need them to impress. The plentiful tweaks to gameplay and AI, along with worthwhile new features spread across all primary modes, accumulate to make FIFA 21 a must-have for football fans. And if they’re planning on picking up a next-gen console in the near-future, there’s possibly even more for them to look forward to.

You’ve got to temper your expectations for a title like The Uncertain: Light at the End. It might not be particularly innovative or revolutionary, but what it does deliver is a pleasantly surprising short adventure. It may be a little rough around the edges, but it’s graphically competent, and its excellently-designed world leaves you wishing there was more. The story pacing may be all over the place, and the abrupt ending comes too soon, but it’s enjoyable enough while it lasts.

It’s to Neighbours Back From Hell‘s credit that it still offers an original experience. Furthermore, it exudes the same sense of humour as 90s British sitcoms such as Bottom with its somewhat violent and madcap humour that’s also a bit risqué at times. It’s just a shame that the gameplay gets tiresome so quickly. If you fondly remember the original titles and fancy reacquainting yourself, you’ll probably have a good time with Neighbours Back From Hell while it lasts. Newcomers might somewhat enjoy it too. But it’s quite forgettable once it’s over.

Ben 10: Power Trip is a game squarely aimed at a younger audience, so don’t expect to find a challenging and deep experience. In our opinion, though, it absolutely nails it as a kids game. It offers an engaging story mode packed with fun and varied missions, as well as a big open world that’s ripe for exploring. Throw into the mix the well-voiced familiar characters, the range of skills offered up by Ben’s aliens and the wealth of side content, and you’ve got an excellent entry point into the genre of open-world adventures.

As far as karting games go, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix is one of the better entries in the genre. If you’ve played the first, you’ll appreciate the extra work that’s gone into making this a bigger and better sequel. Extra characters, improved visuals and a whole host of extra content are all very welcome. It’s just a shame that there’s still no real personality coming through from any of its included franchises. Still, if you want to play a fun racing game, solo or with friends, you can do a lot worse.

Inertial Drift is a satisfying arcade racer. Its scant multiplayer features mean that it’s best suited for those who like to play by themselves, but at least they’ll find a lot to get stuck into. And even better, its budget price means it won’t break the bank. If you like getting cars sideways and aren’t afraid of trying a new way of doing so, Inertial Drift is well worth investing in.

It takes the tried and tested Let’s Sing formula and swamps it with a bevvy of popular Queen tracks. So, if you love Queen, and you enjoy a good sing-song, you’ll love Let’s Sing Queen. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t, why are you even considering it? You do have to question whether this Queen-centric entry in the Let’s Sing series was necessary though – it probably could have just been a DLC pack for Let’s Sing 2020 or the upcoming 2021. Regardless, it’s a well put together package even though there aren’t any surprises. And it’s sure to liven up any party.

Like most tactical RPGs, there’s a lot to keep track of in Warsaw. If you’re new to the genre, it can be overwhelming; the game does have adjustable difficulty levels, but lowering the difficulty doesn’t change all that players have to pay attention to as they play. The story is well-written, but combat gets quickly repetitive as it contains no bosses, special events or anything to differentiate one battle from another. If you’re looking for a challenging tactics-based game, Warsaw is well worth a go. It’s just a shame that the excellent world-building takes something of a back seat.

I applaud Bithell Games’ efforts to make a classic card game something more. There’s no denying its presentation is compelling, even if the story may feel rather unnecessary. But regardless of how you feel about the over-the-top dramatics, there’s an excellent game at the core of The Solitaire Conspiracy. Its Countdown and Skirmish modes are something that players will find themselves going back to time and again – if only for a welcome change from Freecell or Spider Solitaire.

A dearth of online multiplayer modes is about the only real blemish on RIDE 4’s rap sheet; if serious online competition is your thing, this may not be the game for you. If getting stuck into a chunky single-player career floats your boat, however, then you’ll be more than pleased with it. RIDE 4 is the best-looking bike-based racing game yet, and the visuals are backed-up by handling and physics that have been noticeably fine-tuned. This is about as good as it gets for those who like donning virtual leather and tearing up a track on just two wheels, providing they’re not too fussed about human competition.

So, Star Wars: Squadrons is yet another sign that EA can do good – actually, scratch that – great things with the Star Wars licence. It’s not the biggest game in the world but its price reflects that. And besides, with a core so strong, it doesn’t really matter. Once you’re done with Star Wars: Squadrons‘ truly enjoyable single-player campaign, there’s tens of hours of fun to be had in multiplayer if you’ve ever wanted to jump into the cockpit of a Y-Wing, A-Wing, TIE Interceptor and more.

There’s a lot holding Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time back from being the leading platforming experience it could be. Its lack of accessibility is a real issue, and it’s still plagued with problems that existed in the original Crash games, like awkward camera angles and imprecise jumping. But it is a beautiful-looking game, and fans of the series will undoubtedly get a serious kick out of being back in control of Crash – even if they will need god-like patience for some of the game’s more trying sections. Its extra content is a let-down though, and the full RRP for a game that most players will be done with in around eight hours leaves a big question mark over whether Crash Bandicoot 4 is a worthwhile purchase.

Clever puzzles, a decent story and beautiful pixel graphics make up Alwa’s Legacy‘s strengths. But there’s little here that makes it stand out from a sea of more superior games in the genre. If you enjoy classic Metroidvania-style platforming, Alwa’s Legacy is worth a play – but don’t expect an experience that will blow you away.

Perhaps Nexomon: Extinction will always live in the shadows of the Pokémon series, but it has enough of its own personality to stand on its own two feet. Its world is beautiful, its story is humorous and captivating, and its budget price makes it an absolute steal. When you’re done with the Kanto and Galar regions and everything in between, you might find the world of Nexomon surprisingly charming.

If you’ve played Ori and the Blind Forest and found it enjoyable, you really need to play Ori and the Will of the Wisps. And if you haven’t yet played either, seriously consider picking both up. This sequel is the better of the two, but they’re both brilliant games that are particularly enjoyable on Switch thanks to its portability. Though a word of warning: if you’re an emotional person, they’ll probably make you cry. But it’s testament to just how well put together these games are that they can instil such feelings.

Ultimately, The Walking Dead: Onslaught feels like a VR version of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, 2013’s mediocre first person shooter, also a Daryl-centric experience. There’s fun to be had if you experience it in small bites, but it’s so grind-heavy, repetitive and limited in scope that even if you’re a die-hard fan of the show, it’s barely worth sinking your teeth into.

Even with its faults, Mafia: Definitive Edition is a fantastic remake of the original game. Its story is as engrossing as ever, tempting you to play just one more chapter before hitting that quit button. And while the gameplay isn’t perfect, it’s solid enough to keep you entertained. However, it’s a shame that more hasn’t been made of the game’s open world, as so much care has obviously been put into making it. Still if you’re after a story-driven single-player game to sink a decent amount of time into, you can’t go wrong with Mafia: Definitive Edition, especially considering its somewhat budget price. It’s simply an offer you can’t refuse.

As far as platform games go, there are much better titles out there than Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia. It’s let down by uninspired visuals, and a combat system that just isn’t fun. If you’re a fan of the Dreamworks series, then you might get a bit more joy out of it, but for everyone else it’s a rather humdrum platformer. It works, but that’s about it.

There’s a lot of layers to Port Royale 4. Its gameplay is impressively deep, and to truly succeed at it, you need to excel at multitasking and strategising. Like any sim game, it’s not something that just anybody is going to enjoy. But if you are a fan of deep simulation games, there’s a lot to love here. Building up a trading empire isn’t easy but when you crack it, it sure feels good.

A decent collection. It doesn’t try to impress with extra features or fancy padding; it simply puts three games from the past in a simple collection for old fans to enjoy. But without even the slightest of tweaks aside from a resolution boost, Super Mario 64 is painful to play. Sunshine and Galaxy, on the other hand, are a joy to revisit, but they’re still a pretty hard sell when the superior-in-every-way Super Mario Odyssey is much more readily available.

Is Serious Sam 4 the best game in the series yet? Quite possibly. I still prefer the Egyptian setting of Serious Sam: The First Encounter, but the action found in Serious Sam 4 is unrivalled. Trudging through city streets in the early hours of the game can be uninspiring at times, but it’s never dull. And once Serious Sam 4 opens up it becomes an absolute riot on a scale never-before witnessed. In fact, Serious Sam 4 is the first game to give me some next-gen feels. If you like blasting hordes of aliens in the face while listening to witty one-liners, this is an absolute must-have.

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.