While it starts out slowly, Stonefly grows into something truly special – a heady mix of beautiful graphics and fun gameplay that feels strangely relaxing to play, and entirely unique to look at.

Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection offers players an almost exact recreation of the original titles in the series, down to terrible controls and an unforgiving difficulty. While the hand-drawn portions of the game look absolutely amazing, the rest looks rather cheap, hasty, and uninspired. Worth picking up for superfans, those looking for a better Ghosts 'n Goblins experience should seek out games such as Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, or modern titles like Battle Princess Madelyn.

World’s End Club is almost a good game. Fantastic character designs, a loveable cast, and clever writing will make you want to love it, but an unsatisfying narrative and boring gameplay make it hard to get through.

An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs is unlike anything I’ve ever played, for better and for worse. The originality and creativeness of the concept shine through because they’re accompanied by incredibly strong writing. Sadly though it left me at times feeling how we all do once we’ve shopped at duty free and are waiting at our gate, quite blasé about the whole affair.

Biomutant’s positives ever so slightly outweigh its faults and with more time (and patches), it could grow into a much more entertaining game. Its unique world, extensive customisation and pool of interesting moves and tricks in battle make this game fun to play but for now, a colourful but empty world, a wealth of glitches, and dull objectives make it a tough sell.

3DClouds' simple approach has left the final product feeling lacking in King of Seas. Yes, it is sort of fun, but it's not anywhere near as fun as it could have been. It would have been a much better game if they had spent more time building out the skeleton crew that exists here.

While Velan Studios has created a competent multiplayer experience, Knockout City’s not especially thrilling. There aren’t many games that use dodgeball as a core mechanic, making it somewhat unique, but it feels afraid to take risks, creating an entertaining but ultimately safe experience. If you can gather up some friends, there’s silly enjoyment within and considering it’s got a free trial – to say nothing of Game Pass/EA Play – I’d recommend at least trying it.

Taking three of the best sci-fi RPGs of the last twenty years and putting them into one package with a variety of quality of life and visual upgrades nets out as you’d expect: the Mass Effect Legendary Edition is essential for Reaper War veterans and newcomers alike.

Ultimately, Sabec’s Calculator is an odd one. Will it change the world? No. Will your friends, family, and colleagues ridicule you for spending £8 on a digital calculator? Almost certainly. Featuring a balanced roster of characters, quick load times, minimalist visuals, and a creative sandbox structure, Calculator accomplishes everything Sabec Limited set out to do. For that, I give it high marks.

I came away from Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster with mostly positive feelings. There’s a great game here filled with exciting battles, head pumping music, and interesting themes. However, I really wish that there were simply just even more quality of life changes and modern conveniences implemented in the game. It’s fantastic that a new generation of players has better access to this title now. But in many ways, it still feels like it’s stuck in the past.

Smart combat makes you think about every move on the game’s impressively varied maps, but until Sumo adds more to do, it’s a tough one to recommend. For now, Hood is best enjoyed with friends or in small doses.

While Wrath of the Druids isn’t Assassin’s Creed at its most exciting, it’s certainly passable in a month as quiet as this. Burn a weekend burning druids and make the most of it all, before waiting to see when they'll get back to the actual plot. Seriously, I need closure on that ending, Ubisoft.

Whatever its faults, there’s really nothing much like R-Type Final 2 on the market right now. It’s unabashedly old school in its approach and delights in letting you go hog wild with its dozens of weapons. Frustration and visual crowding aside, there’s plenty to love here for space fans.

Resident Evil Village is an essential horror experience that shows off what Capcom is capable of when it doesn’t compromise its vision in any way. The developer uses subgenres like puzzle pieces, clicking them into place on a grid to reveal the bigger picture: a survival horror collage, realised with remarkable production values and a deep love for its extensive roots. Resident Evil Village will be held high by Lady Dimitrescu and her peers for years to come, to rest head and shoulders above its genre rivals.

But by stripping the Pokémon of anything that feels organic, Nintendo has effectively made its critters feel like wind-up toys, removing the romanticism and mystique that should always come through witnessing raw, unbridled nature. They took these untamed lands and tamed them before we even got there. Unfortunately, the resultant game is as exciting as you’d imagine.

I didn’t realise that pinball would be my favourite VR game in the year of our lord 2021, but here I am, having a great time in my virtual space basement. A few tweaks for the sake of comfort would be ideal, but for now, this is pure, unadulterated, high-score chasing fun in a galaxy far, far away. (Oculus Quest 2)

Returnal is undoubtedly one of Housemarque’s best games and is a triumph for the PlayStation 5. The premise is interesting right off the bat, and the way the game feeds narrative breadcrumbs throughout the game only made me want to continue on. With the tight gameplay that the studio is known for, along with an intriguing story and blockbuster presentation, Housemarque hits all the right spots. Returnal sits as one of PlayStation’s most unique exclusives.

Blemishes aside, it’s hard to see NieR Replicant ver. 1.22 as anything other than a masterpiece. Beautiful and tragic in equal measures, it’s a feast for the senses, a true epic, and an utterly unforgettable experience.

Crash Bandicoot: On The Run is a fun, but overly simple mobile rendition of one of gaming’s greatest mascots. Overly aggressive advertising and an in-game economy that doesn’t respect players’ time sour what could have been a memorable endless runner...It’s less 'On The Run', and more endlessly waiting around.

Overall MotoGP 21 is a triumph and celebrates the fastest bike series around in all its glory. Accessible for new players and challenging for experienced ones, it’s a can’t-miss for race fans everywhere.

MLB The Show 21 doesn’t quite knock this one out of the park. Instead, it’s one of the most well-hit doubles I’ve ever seen. The foundation San Diego Studios has cultivated over the years has allowed them to almost seamlessly transfer over to the next-gen and has me excited to see where the series goes from here.

Legends of Runeterra is a digital card game that's somehow both accessible and complex in equal measure. It makes smart use of the League of Legends universe while still being approachable for newcomers, and is the rare example of free-to-play done right. If you've been looking for a card game to sink your teeth into, Legends of Runeterra is an easy recommendation.

If you’ve never played Warframe and are looking for an opportunity to jump in, then the PS5 version provides an excellent opportunity to do just that. It’s beautiful, complex, and offers a free-to-play business model that offers content in spades without prompting you for your bank details on a regular basis.

Outriders is the tonic to loot-driven games that demand players log in every day. It’s also not gating content behind DLC, seasonal updates, or just pushing for players to grind to an endgame to grind some more....It’s a shooter for those that love blowing enemies to bits, and it’s an RPG for those that want to feel powerful. There’s plenty of fun to be had on Enoch, but for maximum effect, we’d suggest bringing some friends.

Balan Wonderworld gets no standing ovation for me – not even a clap. In fact, get your tomatoes at the ready for this musical theatre flop because as much as I wanted to like Balan Wonderworld (and believe me, I really wanted to like it) this game gets more than a few boos from me. With basic platforming, the removal of a jump button, and a distinct lack of challenge, there's little to recommend here.

When you consider all of these new additions on top of the solid foundation of Monster Hunter World, what you’re left with is the best Monster Hunter game around. This game is as close to perfect as we’ve had yet, and assuming it gets a lot of post-launch support, we’re in for an incredibly exciting new era of Monster Hunter, and one that brings back some of the bombastic absurdity that World omitted.

Evil Genius 2 improves on the original in every way. There's the obvious, such as the improved tutorial, graphics, and interface. Beyond that, influencing minions is easier, it streamlines tasks, you have more control over minion capacity, there’s a fast-forward option to reduce empty time, and the crime lords themselves have much more personality, helped in no small part by the star-studded voice cast. The only drawback is on the World Stage. Quests usually involve dispatching different minion combinations, and while it does affect how you balance your lair, the lack of variety means non-story quests feel stale fairly quickly. It’s easy to overlook, though. With its fantastic ‘60s art style, swanky soundtrack, and compelling, in-depth management, Evil Genius 2 is one of the best strategy simulators around.

After a slow start, Narita Boy engages with a unified and engrossing aesthetic, along with a surprisingly varied combat system. But that system is not pushed to its limits enough, and there are some minor photosensitivity issues. That said, Studio Koba has made something truly special that shouldn’t be missed, especially if you have Game Pass.