There may well be a half-decent game lurking beneath the facade of tired jokes and nods to RPG tropes and stereotypes, which Citizens of Earth then insists of portraying anyway, however it’s far too caught up in its own bravado to realise it.

For those who are already fans of the series, I’d suggest Crystal Souls is an essential purchase. For those none the wiser to Spiderweb Software’s extensive back catalogue, there’s no better time to join the fight.

Make no mistake this isn’t a full blown adventure but a ‘just go with it’ adrenaline rollercoaster ride; it has its ups and downs, with plenty of big drops for the rush, but it’ll be over soon enough. Gat out of Hell is a great round off to the Saints Row adventure as it gets wackier and wackier, with it standing as a defiant parody of how the Saints ended up in this mess.

While the fixed camera angles and the adventure-game like puzzles will shock more recent series fans it’s all still enjoyable, and the Crimson Head zombies, the great and ever-surprising design and the atmosphere ensures the remake feels like a unique entry in the series.

There is fun to be had in five minute bursts as a distraction from doing work, but then that’s what I bought the phone version for. Don’t buy it. And there’s no multiplayer either, in case you were wondering.

Dead State is a very fun zombie apocalypse RPG but it’s not quite the hoped-for second coming of Troika.

It’s an experience that truly stretched different parts of my mind in more satisfying way than Portal.

Put simply, if you’re invested in the Paperworld universe, it’s worth exploring its spooky counterpart – even if the day of the dead has long passed.

For a full-price game, though, Wahammer 40K: Armageddon feels lacklustre and slightly cheap, more of a re-skin of Panzer Corps than its own beast, and lacking the sense of grandeur that the setting requires. There’s a great turn-based 40K out there somewhere, but this isn’t it.

The reality is if you’re looking for this kind of puzzle-action isometric fix, there’s not a shortage of games out there which can offer it. So presumably Lara herself is the lure, however, like I said before the story and characters were, for me, anything but a strong point. That said, this is a decent game with enjoyable puzzle mechanics, a slick combat system and smooth luminous graphics. Just don’t expect any surprises, you’re getting exactly what you see.

A new engine and new ideas breath new life into a series that was in serious danger of turning stale.

While only the first episode, Game of Thrones is off to a fine start with Iron From Ice.

Its story may cut a strange and meek figure against the explosions and grenades and tanks of the boisterous ‘in-crowd’ parading itself around at this time of year, but it’s one nonetheless worth visiting, and one which begs for brains over brawn.

Haunted House: Cryptic Graves is an atrocity.

Inquisition is an excellent return to form after the claustrophobic, rushed Dragon Age 2, an exciting and sprawling colossus of a game that rewards the player at every turn.

Now for the age-old question: is war worth it? At £30, Ardennes Assault might be slightly overpriced, yet within lies a brilliant war sim RTS. Only the best need apply.

The Old City has a tendency to get into your head and bones after a few hours and as this is the first of a trilogy, I’m eager to see where Leviathan will take me next.

A worthy purchase certainly, but only if you’re prepared to accept Far Cry 3.5 rather than Far Cry 4.

If you have a console, get Pro Evo 2015 on that. If you’re a PC-only football fan, this is a functional if lacklustre port of a great match engine with broken online support.

Sure, the action could have been a little better, but nonetheless, this is a surprising treat.

All in all though I can’t think of a single reason you’d want to play Escape Dead Island over a thousand similar, better games on Steam. Most of them have zombies in them anyway.

It comes away respectful of its inspiration and educational as well, but won’t last long in the memory as a gaming experience.

If you can put up with the stuttering performance and some comically ridiculous bugs (my favourite was an assassination target moon-walking backwards into my confused assassin’s cavalry sabre) then there’s a decent Assassin’s Creed experience to be found in Unity.

Not essential, but a very solid expansion.

Seriously DC fans, buy LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. It’s pure DC fan-service in game form.

Regardless of its shortcomings, This War of Mine is a hugely powerful game.

It’s chaotic fun in a mould that’s largely disappeared since the advent of online gaming but has seen a revival of late with the likes of Towerfall: Ascension.

Aside from balancing the random elements of the game to make them less unfair, Crowntakers is a superbly focused effort that can be enjoyed in short bursts or gorged on for multiple hour sessions.

With some of the most nerve-shredding strategy you can engage in and a real embarrassment of riches when it comes to content, Space Hulk Ascension’s niggles aren’t nearly enough to derail it from being both the best Space Hulk title and one of the better turn-based strategy titles available right now.

If you’re a fan of RPGs, you should really check the game out; the story is engaging and the characters are fun, but it’s the charming picture-book aesthetic and unique combat system that really make the difference.

Toybox Turbos might not have the Micro Machines branding then, but when it nails everything else that those licensed games did so well in the first place, it feels churlish not to look past such superfluous things.

The best is still getting better then, but the pace of improvement might need to be addressed.

It’s just a buggy mess with some potential hidden away amongst the basic visuals and sparse structure. If you really want a police simulator then the Liberty City Police Mod for GTA IV offers a far superior experience.

Randal’s Monday gets so much right it’s depressing that it gets the crucial gameplay part wrong.

A lean offering with a promising future, developer Faultline Games has achieved that rarest of things; to separate a core feature from a game and allow it to stand on its own two feet and make it equally worthwhile to established veterans and unpractised hands alike.

It’s clear enough isn’t it, if you remember this Amiga classic and you’re well up for round two then maybe it’s worth picking up. It’s not a full priced release anyway and it seems that they’ve done a pretty good job of capturing the essence of the original but with a new lick of paint.

The Groundhog Day vibe in the end left me a wee bit disappointed.

Nonetheless Poltergeist is a very fun puzzle game, that really taxes the brain muscles occasionally but it’s all done in such a lovely way that you never want to give in.

It’s perfectly enjoyable, but for every smart innovation it seems to have lost a portion of both complexity and character. There’s potential here, but we’ll have to wait for a couple of meaty expansions to see Beyond Earth’s promise fully realised.

Costume Quest 2 has better quests and a more interesting story, and a better designed world. It’s still got the excellent writing, sound, and music that’ll keep most people happy, but it was the battle system that needed an overhaul most and it hasn’t had it.

The world and characters are forgettable and uninspired without any of that deeper lore and storytelling Dark Souls is known and loved for. But despite those criticisms Lords of the Fallen is still worth a look if you’re after challenging combat and a grisly dark medieval world to explore.

It’s far from an essential purchase, but hardcore Crusader Kings 2 fans will probably want to pick this up for the custom kingdoms alone. For everyone else I’d advise giving it a miss unless you’re very interested in the period setting.

If you like the idea of Resident Evil 4 crossed half-and-half with Silent Hill then The Evil Within is the game for you. Just be prepared to put up with 30 FPS.

I like this title quite a lot. I've sunk in a pretty hefty number of hours, and I can see myself sinking in more.

Its gorgeous visuals and in-your-face combat may wow, but their shine dulls with unfortunately little to be offered in their place to reignite that initial excitement.

If you're a huge Formula One fan the updated season content might be enough to sway you on F1 2014. For everyone else, there are better and more involving racing games out there, that are far more worthy of your time.

Yes, things look prettier. But scratch the surface to plumb the depths as the saying goes, and Sins of the Fathers Anniversary Edition’s flaws become that bit more glaring. The polished aesthetics may well be enough to sway those avid nostalgia hunters, but I can’t be sure that new players will be at all interested.

Alien Isolation is a nerve-wrecking, stomach-twisting, bowel-moving, edge-of-your-seat experience and is unlike every other game out there.

Make no mistake this is a tremendous homage to classic RPGs but that means it also comes with a few caveats.

With improvements that feel more incremental than innovative, 2K Australia have stepped up and provided a solid and long-lasting if technically safe entry in the Borderlands series and yet, it's one which stands out almost singularly on the merit of it's breathlessly entertaining cast and rowdy narrative.

Nevertheless I really enjoyed the 3-4 hours I spent investigating The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and recommend you check it out, although admittedly your own enjoyment will be tied to whether you find and solve all the puzzles first time around.

The campaign isn't up to much, the interactions between various factions are simplistic and missions occasionally feel repetitive, but the game largely nails that feeling of being a grizzled starship captain who doesn't play by the rules, making his living any way he can.

Styx is a likeable protagonist and is quite possibly the best videogame goblin of all time, but his humorous nature and sailor-like vernacular isn't enough to lift his game beyond the abyss of mediocrity it languishes in.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a strong foray into the Tolkien universe, backed up by popular combat from other major action series, with its own free-running style to boot.

Gauntlet needs fun, badly.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments is more than just an excellent detective adventure, it also absolutely nails the essence of being the pride of Baker Street and in doing so provides an exciting roadmap for where Ukrainian developer Frogwares will take the series next.

A wonderful idea, with lovely dialogue, a clever coding system, and some cute puzzles, but unfortunately it clearly couldn't be given as much time as the idea deserved.

AlthoughDoorways starts to find its feet in the concluding segments, the closing shots of the chapter feel desperately anticlimactic.

It takes a while to get going; unlike the very best titles in its genre, it doesn't present complex information to the player in a concise and understandable way, which means it can sometimes be a frustrating experience for new players.

For old, war-tested Stronghold players Crusader 2 is a triumphant evolution of the game that they've held dear for the last twelve years. For the rest of us though, there is perhaps no better time to see what all the fuss is about.

I like Wasteland 2, I really do, but I can't help but think it's not quite the masterpiece we were promised.

Battle Academy 2 won't be for everyone. It's not a very attractive game, and the presentation can sometimes leave a little to be desired.

Just keep in mind you'll need to go in with plenty of patience and a willingness to search outside the game if something obscure trips you up. If you can get past that, and you like a bit of simulation, you're going to have a lot of fun.

Even if it's just a nicer version of Lemmings at the end of the day, Flockers at least isn't trying to pull the wool over your eyes. It's baarilliant.

How does The Sims 4 measure in the grand scheme of things? It’s an excellent stepping stone for what could be moving forward, although this comes at the cost of numerous add-ons and expansions raiding our pockets.

One for hardcore military history fans only.

Dead Rising 3 is a step forward for the series as it finally finds the confidence to expand its setting, which is mostly down to better hardware being available.

GoD Factory Wingmen is a game where accessibility comes easy but mastery does not.

Nevertheless despite these issues I still found myself enjoying The Journey Down: Chapter Two a lot as it is just a fun, charming adventure that gets the LucasArts spirit pretty darn right.

If you've been waiting for the finale to dive in, well go ahead and do so with the full confidence that it'll be worth it.

Shadowgate is a faithful update then, but Zojoi have squandered the opportunity to actually update the gameplay too.

Given the price tag, I have to seriously question what this game offers. It seems like the greater part of the work went into designing the rules, which can be downloaded for free. The adjustments are certainly intriguing, but there's absolutely no good reason to recommend Chess 2 as a videogame.

I realise all these caveats render a scored review somewhat meaningless, so the takeaway message is this; if you've never played Last Light, you should – it's an excellent game, and you should opt for this version. If you've already played it, however, you don't need to upgrade.

This is the finest available version of an excellent, atmospheric game. It's still not perfect, but the Redux version irons out a significant number of weaknesses, adding some of Last Light's improved mechanics while also providing a welcome layer of visual polish.

As such, if you're hankering for a truly excellent side-scrolling brawler, your money would be better spent on that instead and not this effort which seemingly places a premium on lewd college humour above anything else.

There's just so little to do, and if you don't like commenting on videos you won't see anything here but a bunch of crazy confusing videos. Lovely idea, not for me or people like me, but a community of people already love it so feel free to ignore me and give it a go.

Though there’s fun to be had in the pleasing progression of such free-to-play titles, there are so many better and more rewarding battle strategy games out there. Leave this to the mobile space and find something that the PC was made for, not for emulating a lightweight mobile port.

If you're looking for a cheap, fun tactical combat game that's simple to grasp and satisfying to master, Frontline : Road to Moscow comes highly recommended.

King's Bounty: Dark Side is absolutely not a bad game, in fact it's fun and very addictive. The trouble is that they've already released it at least three times under different subtitles and with the absolute bare minimum of tweaks.

In truth, this writer wasn’t overly excited at the prospect of playing McDROID when they first read into it – more fool me. While I still harbour reservations about its long-term appeal (a product of the genre’s repetitive nature more than anything) McDROID is an excellent tower defense romp with enough candied charm to keep you coming back.

For every piece of brilliance Guns and Robots delivers, it’s matched by an equally as confusing or lackluster one.

Despite still having a few issues Risen 3: Titan Lords is a vast improvement on Risen 2. The combat could be better but doesn't cripple the game this time, the world is more interesting and easier to get around, and there's tons of stuff to do.

Victory at Sea is not without some charm. The basic ship combat is simplistic but fun, and though controlling large-scale battles is tricky and occasionally cumbersome it can be pretty satisfying.

Road Not Taken might not always be successful in making players feel remorseful for paths avoided, but the game itself stands as one journey that at least everyone should attempt; if only to expose themselves to the game's frustrating, yet undeniably fresh idiosyncrasies.

I feel a little caught in the middle with Back to Bed. It’s a very stylish looking game with a unique surrealist bent but the puzzle mechanics don’t feel developed enough to fully engage me yet.

While the problematic menus and glaring lack of single-player content invariably creeps in, tarnishing what is otherwise an essential title, Orbital Gear remains a refreshing and deftly executed take on multiplayer gaming that more developers should consider.

In its current state I have a hard time recommending AR-K to anyone. Sure, the humour is good and the world it creates is pretty interesting, if lacking in detail, but the technical and presentation issues really hamper the first crucial moments.

While we're certainly not starving for Action RPGs these days Sacred 3 does manage to stand out.

4PM claims to be an experimental title yet it’s as by the numbers as they come.

Aside from those enjoyable new Dutch republics, however, a lot of the new mechanics in Res Publica feels like content Paradox didn't have time to slot into previous expansion Wealth of Nations, so it's a little disappointing to see it jammed into another content pack rather than simply patched in.

Gods Will Be Watching is not necessarily frustrating in its difficult, it's that it really didn't need to be.

Long term Magic fans will want to avoid Magic 2015 to avoid utter frustration, whereas newcomers should look further into the Duels of the Planeswalkers’ back catalogue for a more appropriate and fulfilling platform for inauguration.

Amid The Ruins is utterly superb and is everything I want from a Walking Dead episode.

Try it, you may very well like or even love it, but don't come crying to me if you don't. I told you so.

With more time and more polish Stained could be a perfectly decent little platformer. As it is, though, it's hard to recommend even at a stripped-down price.

This needs more work. At the very least some AI bots to give everyone who’s bought a taste of what it could be like.

Infinity Runner is a strange beast. If this was a review of an iPad version then I would probably feel more favourable towards it but here, on the PC, a game as casual and potentially frustrating due to the nature of genre, feels out of place.

Light has great ideas but fails to use them in any meaningful way or make any lasting impression - it's like the setup to a great game that never comes. Shame.