Children of Morta would be a perfectly good linear dungeon crawler; it would also be a pretty good roguelike. But it genuinely manages to strike the perfect balance between the two, offering addictive, challenging and varied gameplay, as well as strong narrative, characters and world building. Besides some difficulty issues with the two-player mode and the melee characters, it’s a pretty great game. Plus the spirit you rescue at the end of the first area looks like a giant floating vagina, so what more could you want?

Headspun is still playable for the most part – the bugs just take away from some of the enjoyment. Cortex is fun to explore, and seeing the place come back to life provides a rewarding sense of progress. The FMV cutscenes, too, while rough around the edges, are engaging, and you’ll be keen to see where the narrative takes you. With its unique ideas and presentation, Headspun stands out for trying to be different, and for that it should be celebrated. It’s just disappointing that it wasn’t given that last coat of much-needed polish.

Knights and Bikes excels in its uniqueness. The hand-drawn characters are adorable and detailed. Demelza and Nessa’s dialogue is sweet and funny. The world and story that the folks over at Foam Swords have created is equal parts exciting and inherently sad. The narrative covers difficult topics in a whimsical way that will have players at times on the verge of tears and laughing out loud only moments later. Whether you play alone or with a friend, Knights and Bikes is a sensational adventure game. Everything from its characters and its narrative to its art style and sound design is an absolute delight. It was a pleasure to play, and an experience I won’t soon forget.

Lionsgate was wise to let Bloober Team loose with its Blair Witch IP. It has treated it with respect, delivering a game that truly does justice to the source material. While its centre part lets it down somewhat, and Bullet’s pathfinding could do with a bit of improvement, it’s one of the scariest horror games ever made. And your reliance on Bullet, as well as the manipulation of found video footage, adds gameplay meat to what usually ends up being little more than a walking simulator. If you’re brave enough, you should definitely enter the woods and face the Blair Witch.

Accessible, engaging, thought-provoking, and packed full of content, Catherine: Full Body is one of those rare things: a perfect game.

The Ninja Saviors – Return of the Warriors should be considered a must-have for fans of side-scrolling beat ’em ups. It has some flaws, but it’s still a standout title in the genre that remains fun to play thanks to the updates that have been made. It’s just a shame that some of its later bosses feel a bit cheap, especially when playing as certain characters. Those with patience, persistence, or indeed, skill, will overlook this issue, however, and simply have a brilliant time flooring mobs of goons.

If you can put up with the odd groan-worthy joke, Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise is a very welcome call back to puzzle games of old. It’s a great way to take your brain out for a spin without pushing it too hard. The story might not be the most developed, but it doesn’t matter; Agent A isn’t a game you play for its narrative – it’s entirely about the puzzles. And thankfully, for the most part, they deliver exactly as promised.

The horror genre is a tough nut to crack, but Man of Medan proves, once again, that Supermassive Games is truly the master of video game horror. I’m more excited than ever to see what the rest of the Dark Pictures Anthology will hold.

If you’re looking for a game to both frustrate and entertain while on the bus or on the sofa, then Hotline Miami Collection should be your first pick.

MXGP 2019 isn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. But it is a disappointing one.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey does something genuinely original with the survival genre; no matter how often I've missed a jump and splattered on the jungle floor or got blindsided by a panther I kept on playing. Every time I've been infuriated, I've come back for more. It may lack a concrete story, but you'll find yourself writing little stories in your head as you roam – the time you dodged that giant eagle, or distracted a tiger just long enough for your fellow primate to reach a tree. If Panache can squash most of the bugs, this could be a Game of the Year contender.

Thanks to the ever-changing and otherworldly nature of The Oldest House, Control has a varied range of environments that somehow feel cohesive. And while it has the usual mix of gunplay and powers, they combine to create combat that's faster-paced and more frenetic than ever before. This is Remedy at the height of its game. It's just a shame that a couple of annoyances hold Control back from being flawless.

Mable & The Wood is no cakewalk and there are brief moments where you’ll struggle to make progress. But promise of new abilities and new areas to explore will keep you playing – and when you leap, slash and swing your way to them, you’ll never be disappointed. Mable & The Wood oozes charm from beginning to end and, even in a market that isn’t short of Metroidvanias, it more than distinguishes itself.

It’s fun playing games like Forza Motorsport and Horizon, but Wreckfest offers something that they just can’t: carnage. And that’s enough to make it a must-have.

There's a lot to like about Remnant: From the Ashes. Its character and world design is mostly excellent, and it's really atmospheric when played alone. Its core mechanics work well, too. But additional polish and tweaks are needed to really make it great.

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.

Go into Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet – Complete Edition expecting solid third-person shooter mechanics and you’ll be disappointed. You’ll be disappointed if you go into it expecting excitement and fun from the outset, too. Initially it’s a hard game to like, let alone love, but those with patience and an interest in trawling dungeons for the best loot might just find themselves sticking with it until the end. Whether or not they’ll remember the experience they had with it in years to come is questionable, however.

Dying frequently may be frustrating, but RAD‘s mutation system and trippy 80s vibe make it a unique adventure that’s well worth taking.

For the budget price that’s being asked for VASARA Collection, it’s an absolute steal.

Ion Fury is flawed, but there’s plenty of gruesome fun to be had here, more so if you’ve got fond memories of 90s shooters. If Voidpoint/3D Realms can tighten up the game for an expansion pack or a sequel, I’d definitely be up for more Bombshell. Just don’t expect this outing to blow you away all the time.

Its black and white presentation and 1930s noir-style storytelling sets it apart from the crowd, as does its unusual cast of characters – teddy bears, robots, talking fish and stuffed giraffes are just a few of who you’ll meet along the way. It’s a shame that only chapter four has achievements, however, as the previous three chapters are just as deserving of your attention. Regardless, if you dig talking bears and puzzle solving, Bear With Me deserves a place in your library.

Dicey Dungeons is a brilliant rouge-like deck-building game full of humour, hard-as-nails gameplay and plenty of replayability. The six playable characters are so different from one another that players are sure to find one that fits how they wish to play the game. Whether you want to be an aggressive warrior or a sneaky thief, there’s something for everyone.

Damsel is far from being a bad game. It looks nice, controls well, and has a decent soundtrack. But its moment-to-moment action grows tiresome when played for a considerable length of time.

Zombie Driver: Immortal Edition on Switch provides simple fun that can get a little repetitive if played for too long, yet you’ll want return to it time and time again.

Forget about the Cthulhu in its title; you don’t need to be a fan of Lovecraft to enjoy this accomplished point and clicker. Gibbous – A Cthulhu Adventure will tickle your funny bones with its dialogue and won’t leave you flummoxed when faced with its puzzles. And because of that it’s fun from beginning to end. It isn’t groundbreaking in any way, but did anyone expect it to be? It’s just yet another very good entry into a genre that remains ever popular.

There’s a lot of joy to be had uncovering Elisnore’s emotionally-loaded secrets and, providing you don’t push it too far, playing characters off against each other. Just don’t expect everyone to get a happy ending.

It’s a shame that the video game version of Pandemic is disappointing, because the board game itself is a lot of fun. There are tonnes of games that force players to compete against one another, but few require so much teamwork. Heavily focused on strategy, Pandemic encourages players to plan, discuss, maybe argue a little bit, but ultimately combine brain power to solve a big problem.

For console owners, Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a rare treat. It’s not only a 4X strategy game that they can play from the comfort of their couch, it’s a bloody good one at that. It doesn’t do the best job of getting players up to speed, but once they have everything figured out they’re in for what is perhaps the best strategy experience currently available on console. It just requires a little bit of patience and persistence to work through a confusing first few hours. After that, there’s little to disappoint those seeking to display their colony-building prowess.