Whether you’re looking for a casual, classically inspired fix of arcade action, or a hardcore, brutal scrolling shooter you’ll find the possibility of both with Raiden V: Director’s Cut. It’s a shame that lack of innovation and some strange design choices hinder it. However, it still remains an enjoyable experience for long-term fans of this almost three decade old franchise, or newcomers alike.

As Media.Vision’s first crack at the series, Summon Night 6 is a surprisingly solid entry in the series. While we were unable to get our hands on any of the physical packaging that Gaijinworks is known for, their localisation efforts shine through clearly. While strategy RPGs may be harder to come by these days, Summon Night 6 is a thirst quenching oasis for any genre-loving desert travellers.

I’d go as far to say that Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure is one of the better Disney games of recent years – Infinity aside. The recreations of the Pixar franchises are just beautiful, and although each level may be short, they’re all certainly sweet. I’d highly recommend it for younger players, and if you’re a Pixar fan, regardless of your age, it’s a no-brainer.

It would be easy to dismiss Spintires: MudRunner as a niche title but in truth it’s surprisingly accessible. It can drag sometimes and if you think patience is a dirty word, steer clear. But for the most part it’s an engaging, messy time sink that’s well worth getting stuck into.

What Darkwood does best, though, is give you a feeling of complete helplessness. The atmosphere, the darkness, the eerie soundtrack, and the design of the monsters you encounter are what make Darkwood one of the most memorable survival horror games I’ve played in recent times. Even after preparing as best you can, you’ll still always feel as though you could’ve done more. Death is always inevitable, but you’ll definitely be ready to jump right back in to try again.

Playing through Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon is a strange balance of joy and determination — long periods of boredom tend to surround shorter pockets of enjoyment.

In many ways, Gran Turismo Sport feels like a tech demo. Visually, it pushes the bar, with car models that are as good the real thing and environments better than ever before. And the lighting; holy hell, the lighting. It is glorious. In terms of content though, it’s lacking.

Jackbox Party Pack 4 isn’t completely disappointing – there’s still enough here to warrant a few giggles and it’ll pass an hour or two with a few friends, but it’s not the best that Jackbox has to offer. Go for Party Pack 2 or 3 instead.

I very much enjoyed my time with AER Memories of Old. It’s not perfect; it’s a little on the short side, its puzzles are a bit lacklustre, and it has an overt religious message — although if anything, that it adds to the world that AER creates. It’s beautifully designed, and if you stop often enough to take in your surroundings, you’ll find a very strong, moving narrative. If nothing else, though, it’s just so much fun to fly around.

While The Fractured But Whole is bigger than its predecessor and its combat more strategic, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly disappointed by it. The Stick of Truth was phenomenal, while The Fractured But Whole is simply great.

If you’ve played episode one of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, you’re almost certainly already invested into its story, and so picking up episode two is a no-brainer. You won’t be disappointed, though. It’s another fantastically told tale of teenage drama, family and friendship, and developer Deck Nine has once again proved itself worthy of delivering a package that more than lives up to Dontnod’s original vision.

In many ways, Midnight Shadows is the definitive Yomawari experience for anyone seeking a slightly fresher take on a survival horror game.

If you’re at all lacking in patience then Chaos;Child isn’t the game for you. At its core, it’s a smart murder mystery with a cast of engaging, sympathetic characters, enough shocking, unpredictable twists and a story that will take you to some very dark places. But tackling the game can be like wading through treacle; almost as if the game doesn’t trust you to “get” it unless it explains everything in explicit, unnecessary, faintly patronising detail.

While its visuals have unquestionably been brought up to speed, the gameplay remains deeply mired in the past. At release, Rogue Trooper’s third-person shooter action was no doubt exciting and engaging, but the years have not been kind to it, and no amount of spit and polish can cover up that fact. Dull, repetitive and rough around the edges.

Much bigger than I ever expected, and a joy to play from beginning to end. It’s a fantastic throwback to the days of 2D platformers in which character was just as important as a sky high difficulty curve. You’ll die, die and then die again, but you’ll only ever lose a minute or so of progress, keeping you going back for more.

If wrestling is your thing, WWE 2K18 does just enough to make it worthy of your attention, but you’ll always be left thinking that it could be so much more.

Jydge has been found guilty of conspicuous padding and needless repetition, and my sentence will see it placed in a comfy resort prison with all the other decent games when it could have walked free this very day as one of the good ones. Let this serve as a warning to all other perpetrators who would seek to increase value through nothing more than a shallow investment of time.

Those difficulty spikes are just too unforgiving, and there’s only so many times you can be completely obliterated by the same set of enemies before you have to throw in the towel.

Despite my issues with the game though, my time with Elex isn’t over just yet. I do enjoy the world and the concept, so I am willing to see what else the game has to offer in this respect. It’s just unfortunate that the game’s combat and presentation haven’t received as much attention. Elex needed much more time in the oven to be the game its promising previews made it seem to be, and with the dearth of games available this winter, I can’t recommend it to anyone but the most hardcore fans of the genre.

The Evil Within 2 is good old-fashioned survival horror with a little bit of an open-world bent, and it works beautifully. It’s tense, it’s scary, it’s exciting, it’s absorbing – it’s everything I hoped it would be and more.

Even for those who’ve dug into the Bitterblack Sanctum and defeated the Daimon, other secrets seem to always be lurking somewhere else. If you haven’t found the time to try out Dragon’s Dogma yet, there’s no better time than the present.

With a wealth of new environments and a decent storyline to boot, Middle-earth: Shadow of War doesn’t feel like a forced entry but a great expansion on the original concept. It’s rather funny, too.

The lengthy loading times wouldn’t be as problematic if they were easier to avoid.

For fans of otome games, Bad Apple Wars may feel like a love-it-or-hate-it experience that will mostly depend on how much you’re able to put up with. If you’re able to find aspects of the characters you like, its romance subplots will probably pay off. Yet, even if you can’t, there’s an interesting enough plot that will make its few hours long of a campaign feel justified.

Twin Robots is over in a couple of hours, and its lack of personality means that it’s unlikely to stay in your memory for much longer than the time spent playing it. Given that the PlayStation Vita version also lacks the local multiplayer functionality that the other versions offer, what you have here is an inferior version of a game that is, on all accounts, undeniably lacklustre.

All that said, I found the main protagonist extremely likeable, and the way you can navigate her through these scenes by using a set of deceptively deep gameplay mechanics made the game a pleasant experience.

It’s a shame that less than tight platforming controls and major framerate issues hinder Hob overall. There is a fantastic game here that will just have to settle for being a really good one.

The excitement it provides is still some way away from that of the Burnout series’ crash junctions, but in their absence it goes some distance to fill the void. With more content, a slew of gameplay enhancements and noticeably improved visuals, Xbox One owners may have had to wait for Danger Zone, but it’s definitely been worth it.