Fortunately by being just generally being more challenging for both stealth and action gamers Knife of Dunwall is a decent piece of DLC no matter how it’s sliced. There may be only two real missions over five levels but there’s so much packed in those levels that I spend a good few days exploring them, and was left fully satisfied.

As delightful and clever as Reus is, the intensity of the play when you find yourself juggling multiple projects unfortunately lets it down, as it doesn't feel built to support such action.

The Calm Before The Storm is probably a better title. The third episode of Telltale’s second season of Batman isn’t big on action, massive shocks, or set-pieces, but it is big on character development, interaction, making choices, and probably making the wrong ones. Fractured Mask isn’t the most eventful episode, but it’s still fun, all the characters are clashing wonderfully, and it’s fun waiting for the hammer to fall and your choices to bite you hard. Which will probably happen in Episode 4. We can’t wait.

Everything is competently implemented without excelling in any individual direction, but the combination and sheer variety of content and fan service has to be commended, and for once it's nice to play through a kids game that doesn't just shoehorn the cinematic action sequences into an average procession of linear levels.

Cronos: The New Dawn is a remnant of the legacy of survival horror. It takes whispers from two titans of the genre and blends them with its own ideas. It would have benefited hugely from ruthless editing in areas, but remains a masterclass in world building and a perfect balance of tension and release.

A fantastic show of force from the long-standing Team Ninja, but one that feels like it didn’t truly understand the mass appeal of the genre. Spruced up with the group’s signature style, Nioh only falters with its less captivating world. We can appreciate the heritage, but it won’t grab everyone.

Everything is competently implemented without excelling in any individual direction, but the combination and sheer variety of content and fan service has to be commended, and for once it's nice to play through a kids game that doesn't just shoehorn the cinematic action sequences into an average procession of linear levels.

While A World Betrayed is not as expansive as Mandate of Heaven’s prequel expansion, it adds two new factions that play completely different from any other in the game so far. If you love 3K and could use a more novel experience on your next playthrough, definitely give A World Betrayed a try.

Everything is competently implemented without excelling in any individual direction, but the combination and sheer variety of content and fan service has to be commended, and for once it's nice to play through a kids game that doesn't just shoehorn the cinematic action sequences into an average procession of linear levels.

Aptly named, Blur tries to unclear the line between kart and sim, but in the process may leave many racing enthusiasts of both sorts uncomfortable.

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.

Episode 4 is another terrific addition to Agent 47’s latest. After a less spectacular stay in Marrakesh and a fairly limited detour in the Summer Bonus Episode, Bangkok provides another terrific level for further murderous possibilities, and one I can’t wait to revisit as more targets make their unfortunate lodgings at the resort.

Dark Scavenger takes an iteration of the RPG genre that is generally thought of as obsolete and breathes fresh life into it. While there's room for improvement, it does what it does very well, and is packed to the brim with colourful characters and desperate situations.

Jurassic World Evolution may not be the best theme park management game, but it’s the most exciting dinosaur management game. And that’s enough for us.

Deathloop turns both succeeding and failing into learning experiences and never makes you miss the lack of a quicksave option. It’s a mean feat that sets it apart from other games, and one of several reasons why it should be on the list of any immersive sim fans out there. It might not be Arkane’s best game and Blackreef may struggle clearly defining a personality for itself, but it’s certainly no stranger to great moments.

A fantastic game of exploration and survival. You can occasionally feel lost in its open-world that lacks any real signposting, but the simple joy of digging and crafting means you’ll keep playing to discover the naturally-occurring progress.

The strength of Frogwares previous works is retained within more ambitious, freeform packaging. Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One can be abrasive, both in gameplay terms and in its depiction of an iconic character, but it offers such rich and rewarding depth to its detective drama that it’s much easier to accept.

It isn't the greatest, but it keeps making strides to reclaim its former glory.

For a game that can take mere moments to complete, there's an impressive amount of depth to Sniper Challenge.

If you like your battles tactical this is a great game to sink your teeth into. The campaign escalates nicely and does a good job of selling the desperation of your mission. I’m not sure about re-playability but it does have a skirmish mode to play around in.

Dune: Awakening finds its Voice in the strengths of the universe it adapts and the weirder elements that can’t be found elsewhere even if its early hours and melee combat need more work.

It's the perfect arcade title – quick gameplay, insta-restarts and fun multiplayer. When it's showing you failure in slow motion, you can't help but laugh. Squeezing through a gap, dodging multiple people only to showboat across the line, is a fantastic feeling.

Sanctus Reach is a well-executed Warhammer 40,000 game that should easily please turn based strategy fans and provides plenty of content for the price.

Kathy Rain is a delightful little adventure game to add to the massive pile of fun adventure games released in the last couple of months.

The difficulty of some of the puzzles could be increased, but the variety of gameplay is there and the game was enjoyable and definitely worth the price of download.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a very good and immersive title, but it suffers from technical issues and some surprisingly misguided design decisions. I was completely enthralled by the first three hours of the game, but the more I explored its systems, the more grating they became. It never stopped it from being a great title – and it occasionally recaptured that magical immersion from the first few hours – but its issues are so severe that they effectively ruined my enjoyment of what is an otherwise very good game.

You’ll get a lot of enjoyment out of Far Cry 5, but we don’t think anyone will go away thinking it’s the best Far Cry game. Because it’s not.

F1 2010 has been a long time coming, and those who enjoy the sport will find such value in this title.

As I said at the start. Motocross Madness is a whole lot of fun. It's not without its problems, and it is a bit rough around the edges, but none of that matters. It's just fun. If you can scrounge up some mates multiplayer is a great laugh too.

While there is a limit to how much replayability Culture Shock offers, with a nine buck price tag it's several hours of bang for your buck. I figure a movie costs more than that, particularly with popcorn, and no one keeps me from bringing my own candy to the computer.

F1 2010 has been a long time coming, and those who enjoy the sport will find such value in this title.

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.

It's not perfect, but F1 2010 is an excellent way of recreating those boyhood dreams of being Lewis Hamilton, and provides a solid base for Codemasters to improve on with future titles.

Bite-sized gaming at its best.

Yes, Your Grace is a fascinating game with heart. Its short length might turn away some players, but it will be perfect for anyone who loves regret filled choices or was burned badly by the Game of Thrones finale last year. If you like your games with emotional variety and anxiety, you’ll enjoy your brief time with Yes, Your Grace.

Although Strike Vector is enjoyable to play then, its current range of content hardly represents stellar value at a launch price of £18.99 - even if it is all available up front. RageQuit is promising frequent, and entirely free updates over the coming months however, so if you consider that lump sum a gamble on a lifetime membership to a subscription service then it becomes a little more palatable.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a notable new entry in the long-running FPS series with a flavor and gameplay ideas of its own, but it can feel oddly unfocused at times, plus not every change is for the better.

Despite a lack of content, it's a game that should be replayed a number of times, just so you can try different methods of attack and witness everything that it has to offer.

Star Wars Outlaws fully commits to realizing the open-world scoundrel experience many fans had been dreaming of and walks away unscathed, which is no small feat and reinforces the idea that Massive Entertainment is one of Ubisoft’s best studios at the moment. However, it needed an extra push and bolder swings to leave a big mark on the genre.

Playing this short and sweet game makes you wonder whether they couldn't construct the next title in such a way so that co-op can play a larger part, because if Dead Rising 2's co-op was anywhere near as much fun as Case West's, I doubt I'd want to play it solo more than once.

Boasts enough variety to keep it consistently entertaining, and so that you never know where you will end up.

While there is a bit of a learning curve – you're likely to spend your first few games getting instantly killed by cunning unseen enemies – it's worth persevering with. The realistic aspects to the game like bleeding, and quick death by bullet, give it a unique feel among the majority of today's shooters.

Get yourself a good team, and you're in for a lot of fun.

A very good, yet slightly enraging experience.

Resident Evil 3’s remake might not be as surprising as REmake 2, but it is still a fun ride. If you loved the way REmake 2 used the survival horror formula, that same formula continues here with a cool multiplayer mode to boot. If you can forgive some tedious boss fights, a somewhat lacking Nemesis, and some monetization in Resistance, it’s got what we love about Resident Evil as a franchise.

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.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an excellent sequel and the funniest game this year, but it’s simply not as good as The Stick Of Truth. Even ignoring how unique the first game was at the time, the storyline was more epic, the locations more varied, the jokes jaw-dislocatingly good in that game. This one is great, always funny and usually pretty disturbing in that South Park way, but the superhero storyline kind of peaks with Professor Chaos and that’s not even halfway through the game. Fortunately at least the combat is far better and never less than entertaining, and fights can get really inventive and very tactical. If The Stick Of Truth was an all-time classic episode of South Park, The Fractured But Whole is merely a very good one. Still, this is the one with Tweek x Craig, which is always excellent news. Hopefully Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Ubisoft will get it right again in 2020 with South Park: This Time They’re Playing Star Wars.

Nevertheless, if you’re able to look beyond the simplistic graphics to the fantastic game underneath then this one is a real treasure.

Before playing Chronicle: Runescape Legends I had absolutely no interest in the game at all but now that I’ve tried it, I definitely want to continue playing. The game feels completely different to Hearthstone and that’s what makes it feel so refreshing.

"Reality 2.0" still stands as my personal favorite, but Bright Side of the Moon is a great way to end.

While there are a number of omissions in Fallout 4 VR; working scopes, manual reloading and holding two handed weapons correctly to name a few, this game is the most complete experience that I’ve played on the Vive so far. No other VR games offer an experience of this depth or length and while you will have to make a number of adjustments before jumping in, I think it’s worth it. Fallout 4 VR is the best version of Fallout 4 and as more mods are released, I can only see it getting better. It’s by no means perfect and it’s very noticeable that this game has been adapted, rather than being built with VR in mind, but the end result is still something I can confidently recommend. If you’re a fan of Fallout 4 and own a HTC Vive, you won’t want to miss this!

If you're more intrigued by jetpacks, rocket boosts, wall-running and the thrill of flying off a ramp as you make your way to levels end as fast as you ruddy well can, Cloudbuilt is heartily recommended.

A lean and mean addition to the Serious Sam family that experiments with a few new toys, and offers more of the same Serious Sam goodness we’ve been accustomed to. It has the odd instance of unnecessary padding via one too many gunfights, but overall keeps a breezy, brutal pace.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is the closest we’ve yet come to an authentic Ghostbusters experience. Undoubtedly better with friends, it’s still a genuine thrill to play alone - especially if you’re the ghost.

A solid and enjoyable platformer, and one of the best Metroidvanias available for Xbox Live Arcade. Fans of the genre will note the repetitive strain later into the experience, but anyone else is bound to have a blast throughout.

The team behind Combat Mission: Black Sea knew exactly what they wanted to make, and made exactly that product. The result is a wargaming module that appeals greatly to people who like this exact kind of game, but doesn’t do much to lure in or be kind to people who might want to dip their toe into wargaming. It is, in essence, grognard game design distilled. If you’re new to the genre and want to pick up Black Sea after reading this, I recommend being patient and keeping an open mind. It’s a different beast to mainstream games, but is immensely rewarding with time. If you are a wargamer interested in modern combat, I recommend Black Sea heartily.

Total War: Attila is the return to form that the series desperately needed.

Overall if you've got the rig and a game controller plugged in then DmC: Devil May Cry is great start to a new direction for the series, and hopefully one that will get to keep exploring this new, grittier Dante.

Smoke & Mirrors isn’t quite as good as the superb Faith and is a little shorter, which is a kick in the flying monkey nuts after how long it took to turn up, but it’s still an excellent and enjoyable adventure full of intrigue, surprise and emotion.

In the end, Aggressors is an interesting experience that should be of interest to anyone with a passion for Ancient Rome and 4X titles. It almost feels like a step between Civilization and a proper wargame, and it has the advantage of a very clear tutorial that teaches you the ropes in a quick and efficient manner. If you feel like that crossroads of casual 4X and anal wargame would be of interest to you, go ahead and give it a shot. Aggressors may just surprise you.

Whereas The Surge managed to get the basics of Dark Souls right but failed to make either the enemies or world interesting, A Walk In The Park corrects this problem (for the most part). The idea of a sci-fi Souls game was cool but setting it in a Disneyland-style theme park is clever and done pretty well. It’s very much Itchy & Scratchy Land from The Simpsons, with killer mascots and murderous jolly robot parades. Things get ridiculously tough towards the end and the game starts to forget about the fun enemies, but with this expansion Deck13 have finally made a Dark Souls alternative people might want to play. If you own The Surge, you need to take A Walk In The Park.

If you've never played Overkill before this is the definitive version of a great game. It's something that might only be played once but will be remembered fondly after that fact as a fun experience. It's hilarious, sometimes disgusting, sometimes ridiculous and almost always fun – especially when playing with a friend.

Leviathan’s simplicity is its strength – the games not that hard to make, it’s not that hard to learn, it doesn’t cost that much to acquire, yet it takes hours to master, hours to fiddle and tweak your ship and fleet loadouts.

This is as fine a[n] homage to one of Sci-fi's great franchises a[s] you can get in an MMO format.

Through a combination of streamlining what is a genuinely complicated game and using a simple but effective presentation, the developers have one of the best downloadable games PS3 has ever seen.

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

Even when you do get a sense of the rhythm of its battles, there's always something to keep you on your toes, making Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters well worth giving a shot if you're a turn-based tactics fan.

As an action-RPG, perhaps there is a better option available if you've yet to play through Darksiders, but Nier still manages to stand on its own accomplishments – as varied in mechanics and quality as they may be.

Crookz is a very enjoyable crime caper, and one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

More importantly, it's actually one of the best fighting games available on the market in its own right, so it shouldn't be overlooked by those who enjoy the genre but not the sport.

The scene of crossing a battlefield, with hundreds of lifeless bodies piled over each other, only to see a swarm of rats bursting out of a horse’s bloated corpse is just one of multiple sights that A Plague Tale: Innocence inevitably etches into your mind. Although its stealth and puzzle mechanics aren’t exactly fresh, having what’s, quite possibly, the most powerful representation of the Black Death in the medium, even if stylized, is reason enough to see Amicia and Hugo’s journey to its end.

I enjoyed exploring and the missions were always entertaining. You'll probably need at least one friend to buy the game and play some missions with you, but as superbly Funcom allow players to move their characters between servers at will (YES!) and join forces with players of a different faction (hooray!) this becomes very easy.

With plenty to see and do, not to mention some great multiplayer offerings, this is a sequel worth checking out.

PES 2012 plays an extremely entertaining brand of football, largely sweeping away the complaints of the two previous versions in the process. There are problems for sure, but it's nice to know that whichever of the football titans you choose this year, you'll get a decent result.

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

Child of Light is like a blast from the past, capturing the essence of a classic JRPG from the genre's heyday and refining it with a fresh coat of modern polish. The art design and audio is gorgeous, the combat is simple and fun, with no ultra-complicated busywork to get in the way, and the characters are charming. It's a brief visit, and one that suffers from an occasionally repetitive formula, but the beautiful art, smart battle system and endearing storytelling make it absolutely worth your time.

PES 2012 plays an extremely entertaining brand of football, largely sweeping away the complaints of the two previous versions in the process. There are problems for sure, but it's nice to know that whichever of the football titans you choose this year, you'll get a decent result.

The consistency in design and reverence for the subject matter is King Arthur's greatest strength. Too often war games of this persuasion end up as dry, hardcore affairs that only the slimmest of niche audiences can appreciate. Neocore, although biting off a little more than it can chew, has provided an experience that positively oozes with atmosphere and challenge, yet all the while catering to those that spend twelve hours a day devising battlefield plans - and the other twelve reading the Art of War.

With plenty to see and do, not to mention some great multiplayer offerings, this is a sequel worth checking out.

While lackluster combat and simplistic puzzles would prove a damning criticism for most games of this type, Headlander’s tone and aesthetic is so fully-realized that the whole package manages to be a groovy, retro delight.

With plenty to see and do, not to mention some great multiplayer offerings, this is a sequel worth checking out.

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

The wonderful acting helps to sell the cool writing further, and although the aging engine really needs putting out of its misery it at least supports the game well. Finally on the gameplay side (remember that?) the QTEs have been much improved since Game of Thrones and there were a few good choices along the way. Now roll on Episode 2 to see if they actually matter.

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.

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.

Aware of its past yet looking towards the future, Company of Heroes 3 offers something for everyone. The dynamic map of Italy is a great experience, although it's slightly marred by passive AI, abilities that don't always work, small UI issues, and a gameplay loop that doesn't encourage the use of all available tools...Apart from the two campaigns, Company of Heroes 3 presents more options than ever before with its four factions, including the Deutsches Afrikakorps, which is an outstanding addition to the roster. Although it still relies on past strategies, the modifications to tactical battles and the addition of new units demonstrate that almost two decades after its inception, the formula that helped Relic Entertainment become a household name in the strategy genre still holds up.

Aptly named, Blur tries to unclear the line between kart and sim, but in the process may leave many racing enthusiasts of both sorts uncomfortable.

Arguably these minor upgrades could be included in a free patch but Divine Wind is an expansion worth playing for its inclusion of China and Japan.

It's easy to learn, and since levels never last too long it has the option of being played in bite-sized chunks.

In the end, Per Aspera is not the deepest colony builder, nor the most challenging. But it is still a fun game to play, in a relaxing kind of way. And when you zoom out and see your bases stretch across the surface or the planet begin to irrevocably change, it delivers a feel-good gaming moment. Narrative and a sense of scale are ultimately what set Per Aspera apart from other games in the genre. If you are looking for a laid-back terraforming experience, combined with an interesting story, try out Per Aspera. If you want a more personal or detail focussed colony building experience (one where you feel like you are overseeing the human settlement of Mars), than you're better off playing Surviving Mars.

A triumphant return for the series, albeit one slightly spoiled by a ridiculous name change and irksome DRM. Nonetheless, the game manages to be simultaneously slick and expansive, complex yet simple to learn. As I myself discovered, if you're yet to try the series, now is a good time to get involved.

For less than a fiver, it’s a bargain, if for nothing else but to experience the bizarre feeling of absolute frustration and absolute relaxation in tandem, courtesy of well-structured, taxing level design and Cody Cook’s beautiful soundtrack.

I’m confident in saying that Superhot is absolutely worth spending two hours on and, in fact, is among the best two hours any game can provide right now. Whether or not it’s worth $25 is a matter of how you value your time versus your money.

Penarium is an excellent game that delivers quality fun with or without friends.

Styx: Shards of Darkness is an incredibly fun game - provided you are ok with slowing down the pace and willing to put up with uncompromising stealth. If you are looking for an action heavy stealth experience, this isn’t really your cup of tea. However, if you’re like me (though I’m terrible at stealth on the whole) and want a great, difficult challenge, Styx: Shards of Darkness might be right up your alley.

Desperados III is like a decadent cake. It’s very rich in detail and design, and highly recommended, but that richness is for a certain palette that won’t appeal to everyone. Yes, it can depend on trial-and-error and the loading times can be unsavory. But it’s been awhile since a game plagued my thoughts like Desperados III. Getting a plan to work is a blast, and some excellent characterization prop up the mechanics nicely. Mimimi Games is a worthy successor to the Desperado franchise, and III will convert skeptics.

A great chapter and one that can easily be picked up and played through for beginners like myself without becoming bewildered by past game lore.