Rad is a great roguelike that constantly evolves to give you plenty of options the more you play, with unique mutations and a different world to explore on each playthrough.

If you’re looking for a new Metroidvania, and you like your bosses big and your violence sweary, Loopmancer is an absolute treat.

By letting you morph the environment, Semblance is a new twist on the puzzler, asking you to creatively solve its challenges. New mechanics keep things fresh throughout, but also highlight what could have been if the game were longer and its ideas developed further.

The Thaumaturge is an atmospheric adventure that oozes character and matches sleuthing and combat in an engaging, enjoyable way.

Frustrating platform elements and rote missions prevent Starlink from being as good as its promise deserves.

Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns is a relaxing and charming experience full of heart that improves upon its predecessors in a lot of ways while still remaining accessible.

Whilst the design of Morphopolis may have won it many fans already, this does seem to be very much a case of style over substance.

Freedom Finger is an enjoyable little indie that gets away Scott-free with things that might crucify a AAA title, and provides a few hours of tongue-in-cheek, utterly knowing humour at the same time.

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is perfect for fans of D'Avekki Studios. However, the short episodes can undermine the great story ideas and actor chemistry on display.

Death End re;Quest 2 tells an impressively dark story with aplomb, and if you can handle the subject matter and difficulty spikes is a must play.

Mindseize has great combat and weapon variety, but the uninspired movement abilities and a plethora of bugs make it hard to recommend among its peers.

Unknown Number: A First Person Talker is a smart and innovative title, but there're a few hiccups that could be fixed to make it better.

Trepang2 is a thrilling stealth-action supernatural shooter that allows you to focus solely on the gameplay, and it is all the better for it.

An open-world fill of exquisite explosions that, while often falling afoul of flaws, might well contain some of the most fun moments this year.

There was potential here, but Masters of Anima is ultimately a bit of a letdown.

Total War: Pharaoh lets you play your way, and throws a lot at you to deal with. Fans will lap it up once they get to grips with its new mechanics.

An excellent puzzle game with a fun sense of humour, and an important and surprising message behind it.

Song of Horror has some great ideas and is genuinely scary at times, but random deaths and awkward controls sometimes threaten to spoil the experience.

While it does show glimpses of its potential, the mixture of unnecessarily difficult gameplay and overwhelming management systems make Alder’s Blood a game solely for masochists.

Despite a few odd design choices, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is an enjoyable Metroidvania with an intriguing world, and exhilarating combat.

Disgaea D2 is a silly game, but it’s a surprisingly smart one, too. A little grind-y it may be, but it’s still impossible to deny that it remains entertaining in its story scenes and engaging in its combat.

State of Decay: Lifeline takes the original’s sense of urgency and heroism and dials it up to eleven.

There are many better indie games on the WiiU, don’t waste your paper on this one.

Need for Speed Heat puts the franchise back on the right track, but the various bugs and dull story means the series is still behind the pack.

I particularly enjoyed the nods to What the Golf? Within What the Bat? Which genuinely made me laugh. While you’ll need a bit of room to move in order to fully appreciate this one, it’s worth it for the laughs alone.

While often fun, GRIP: Combat Racing’s opening hours will put some folk off, due to some iffy balancing issues and awkward track design. Stick with it and you’ll find an entertaining, old school combat racer.

Neither original nor groundbreaking, but if you’re one of those people who want a 90s style JRPG on home systems, then I Am Setsuna is the game for you.

Despite some frustration with the camera and some platforming issues, A Hat in Time is a decent game that captures some of the magic of classic 3D platformers.