The game presents a formidable challenge, and most players should begin at the easiest difficulty level, where the laser bullets fall like a shower rather than hail, and you have a modest stock of lives that replenish between each of the game’s seven lingering stages. It is, at times, repetitious, and Cygni’s novel systems will no doubt prove divisive among the genre’s dedicated and often conservative followers. But for those who approach with an open mind and dextrous fingers, it remains a thrilling vision.

BPM is a brash, earwormy delight, aimed at the heads of Doom fans and lapsed Guitar Heroes alike.

Rivals is crammed with Stan Lee superheroes, but its message – about the total and utter Funko-Pop-ification of games – is as bleak as a Charles Burns graphic novel.

It’s also a shame that we see none of the main game’s focus on player creativity. Between each level you’re returned to your training camp where you can buy new items and practise with fresh weapons, and it would have been a nice touch to be able to build your own little castle there. But as a retro-tinged hack-and-slash jaunt with plenty of Mojang character and humour, Minecraft Dungeons is a hugely diverting treat that’ll provide hours of fun for locked-down families.

There's a certain sense of familiarity to it all, but there are enough new notes to keep the faithful glued.

This is a distinctive, appealing example of the JRPG genre that also nails the essence of the One Piece universe. Fans from both worlds will adore it, and I found it to be a perfect appetiser as I await The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom later this year.

It’s hard to make the case that its knife fights and shootouts are anything more than functional, and its missions feel slightly too straightforward to befit a franchise once known for its sublime changes of pace. But even with those caveats in mind, it’s still absolutely worth playing for the richness of its setting, and the infectious enthusiasm it has for its grim subject matter.

There's no doubt that [it] is far and away the best PlayStation 4 launch title. It feels fresh and innovative throughout – after playing it, we checked out Call of Duty: Ghosts on the PS4, which felt one-dimensional and strangely old-fashioned – looks stunning and through its beautifully fettled multiplayer side, offers infinite replay value. It towers above previous versions of Killzone in terms of quality and taking a much more interesting approach.

If you have young children and want to share with them the thrill of driving across a wild, fantastical landscape, crashing into stuff and getting constant positive feedback, this would be a smart investment. It is a game with a lot of heart, made by developers who clearly understand how to make kids smile while they play.

It’s a landscape worth visiting, nonetheless. Okomotive’s games are the antithesis of open world blockbusters – see that mountain? You can’t go there – and their geography is all the more sublime for being non-traversable. Rather than routine video game empowerment, Changing Tides offers mindful deprivation in a ravaged world where even the concept of a haven must move with the flow.

The new DLC contains a couple of mechanical flaws, its story feels undercooked at times and, because this is a Bethesda game, it is by no means bug-free. But if you already own a copy of Skyrim, buying Dawnguard isn't so much a good decision to make as it is a no-brainer.

Stalker 2 is a strange, brave and sometimes broken paean to resistance in the face of overwhelming odds. It is utterly uncompromising in its vision, often to a fault, and envelopes you in its dark spell of science, violence and chaos. Certainly, if you loved Dragon’s Dogma 2, which similarly edged towards self-parody with its offbeat systems, eccentric characters and overall jankiness, you will cope fine with this game’s technical and narrative inconsistencies. Indeed, like the stalkers that inhabit its damaged world, you may shrug, improvise, and carry on. If you thought developers weren’t making vast, outlandish, utterly singular open-world games any more, you were wrong: they are. And some of them have been through hell to do it.

When everything is in place, this might turn out to be the best first-person shooter around. It’s frustrating that we’ll have to wait until at least March 2019 for that to happen.

It's not their best film-themed moment, but Lego Pirates of the Caribbean is still a hugely enjoyable, family-pleasing diversion.

Not everyone is looking for a game like Outriders, and if wooden dialogue and sci-fi cliches – it’s all commanders with eye patches and mad scientists – are not your thing, there’s no shame in that. But if you’re the type of player who reached a flow state in Doom Eternal, or speaks wistfully of Diablo, or perhaps remembers the rhythmic gunnery of Bizarre Creations’ The Club, Outriders will speak to you.

Like the sport itself, it is modest, yet dignified.

There’s much to enjoy in this sequel to the trailblazing female-led narrative game, but inconsistent characterisation lets it down.

This kind of bubble-popping was brilliant fun in the Bust-a-Move and Puzzle Bobble games, and King has done a much better job second time round in translating it to modern touchscreens. No squinting required.

With the sweetness and delight associated with Disney absent, this new platform game is a strangely cynical waste of potential.

Arcade Paradise comes across as a little confused, sometimes: if the premise of the game is that you’re running an arcade in your father’s laundromat in secret, for instance, then why is your dad the one paying you bonuses for those daily gaming challenges? It has the feel of a game that changed shape a few times over the course of its development. Nonetheless, it is more than a collection of average arcade game tributes. Intentionally or not, it captures something of the ennui of young adulthood and 90s Gen X disillusionment with menial work – and how video games have always been a colourful escape from the boredom of everyday life.

Dead Island 2 will amuse you for days with its stylish vision of a zombified LA, but it’s also limited in scope, and with skill systems that feel shallow and impersonal it won’t hang around long enough to achieve superstardom. The fact is, Dead Island 2 is one of 2014’s best zombie beat-’em-ups – it’s just a pity we’re in 2023.

Comfort would increasingly slip into boredom as I watched the timers on my machines creep down. More than once I left my PC to make a cup of tea, letting the game run and the timers tick by themselves. I could feel the game’s pacing jarring with my own tempo of play, but, despite that, I’m constantly drawn back to Portia. This kind of relaxing escapism is exactly what’s needed when the real world feels like such an endless mess.

If The Crush House had simply been a smart and funny photography and cinematography game, I would have been satisfied and pleased – but it offers the player far more than that. Underneath the snappy text and playful design, it has a weird heart, too. It’s worth noting that the review build still had moments of glitchiness – however the strength of the idea and execution far outweighs any of the technical struggles. This in itself is remarkable: The Crush House is so much fun that even the slightly broken parts didn’t make me want to turn it off. It’s a fantastic way to spend the last few chill nights of summer – and the seasons coming up, too.

Its only drawback is a somewhat unhelpful camera – a typical failing for platform games – although it seems to be at its worst in the earlier stages. Overall, though, Epic Mickey proves satisfyingly original, fun and absorbing – it's a pleasant, and at times interestingly twisted world in which to immerse yourself.

At its core, Rugby Challenge is what rugby fans have been waiting for; this is a game made by rugby fans for rugby fans. RWC 2011 is a decent, knockaround sports game but genuine rugby fans will find Rugby Challenge a far more worthwhile investment.

What the game loses by not having had a Rare/Nintendo-sized QA department to smooth its rough edges it compensates for with a princely pile of ideas, and a lovely control scheme that only improves with elaboration.

Rage 2 suffers the same fate as many other open-world games. It tries to lure the player in with the size of its world, then needs to conjure an abundance of content to fill it. But, when you mix up every colour, you always end up with brown, and the impact of Rage 2’s scintillating shooter action is dulled as a result.

Its look and feel when you actually play a match is more akin to what you would expect to find on the Xbox 360 or PS3. Which is mightily impressive – the only compromises that PES makes in order to fit onto the 3DS affect the least important aspects of the game.