MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a big, brash, bulky return to the spotlight for the mainline MechWarrior franchise that delivers on its promise of a more sim-like experience than many of its contemporaries. While it can be frustrating to get caught up in economic repair micromanagement, most of your enmity will be blown away when the robots start to rumble.

Disco manages to represent feelings I’ve only ever had when I’ve been drunk when shivers especially channels unusual, almost out-of-body mental experiences that we’ve all had at one point that relies heavily on the quality of the writing. Disco Elysium is not only the best game of this year in my opinion, but undoubtedly one of the best games of the decade.

Alphaman is a whole lot of fun, plus it's challenging. Even though replayability might be limited, at least we can look forward to more levels in the future. I'll say this and then I need to recharge my flux capacitor and get back to 2019: Alphaman is a good game and lots of fun!

Life is Strange 2 is very much what the player makes of it. As you move through the world, trying your best to educate Daniel, you are creating a future to be realised, often painful and bittersweet, but also wonderful.

Ski Jumping Pro VR is a good first attempt at virtual reality from Yippee Entertainment overall. It’s an enjoyable, albeit flawed experience with motion controls difficulties and repetition issues, so long playthroughs aren’t advisable. However, anyone looking for a skiing experience on their VR headset will find a suitable candidate here, one that successfully recreates the sport and comes recommended.

There’s little doubt that seasoned foragers will find the survival aspects easier to manage but for those people, there are more satisfying experiences on offer elsewhere with survival components as the main selling point. Despite a story that was beginning to heat up, The Wild Eight ultimately leaves you feeling cold.

Shenmue III is a love letter to its fans, showing an uncompromising commitment to Yu Suzuki’s original vision and giving Ryo new life 18 years on. Though its old-school gameplay may prove off-putting to new players, Ys Net has brought us a fun adventure with an engaging story that’ll hold your attention. Whilst there are some rough edges in need of polishing, Shenmue III is a great experience overall and comes recommended.

This game is mildly different from the previous FM game and that’s because it is very difficult to improve something that is already great. If you love the game of soccer, go out and get a copy of Football Manager 2020. It’s that good.

As you’d hope it would in a fast-paced game like this, combat is fluid and fun. As you play you’ll unlock access to new characters that come with unique perks, new upgrades, and new weapons that will become available for selection/purchase in subsequent playthroughs. You’ll also be able to pick up equipment and resources that drop from enemies and bosses, but you can only take two weapons with you at a time.

There isn’t much to say with Type Knight, as the game simply doesn’t have much on offer. What Chaikadev have offered is a short but sweet adventure; one where you’ll need to be quick with a keyboard to survive and it proves entertaining with custom mode. With its low price, it’s hard to go wrong if you’re looking for a quick fix but it’s not an experience that’ll keep you coming back.

When the game was released for the major consoles last year, I was annoyed. As a PC user, I was still waiting for Rockstar to release the original Red Dead Redemption on PC. Well, that never happened, and a year after the console versions were released, I was beginning to think that Red Dead Redemption 2 would suffer the same fate. But I’m happy to say that it has finally arrived, and it is a glorious cinematic gaming experience that was well worth the wait.

Overall, Planet Zoo is a decent zoo simulator that gives the impression of being easy and light-hearted, but goes a little bit too deep into micromanaging and bogs the gameplay down much of the time. Slower pacing, clearer instructions and some randomized landscapes for your own zoos would work wonders and make the game more enjoyable to younger gamers as well. Future updates will probably address some of these issues and also fix the tutorials that sometimes miss that you have already done what you were asked to do and fail to move to the next step.

I think this expansion is for Rise of Industry’s current fanbase and those who are already committed to these patterns of gameplay and unfortunately not for those who enjoy the premises of futurism and dystopianism like myself. That’s why I find it hard to be too overly critical of this expansion and what it has brought to its existing community, as it will doubtless be pleasing to those who are far more invested in tycoon style simulators when it gives them the reason to play more of that which they already enjoy. After all, the DLC stands at a fairly inexpensive investment of £8 which for the soundtrack alone is already enough compensation! Play it again, Johnny.

The fun, humorous storyline, some great dialogue and theatrical accents of the diverse characters, beautifully varied locations and the same great gunplay that Borderlands is renowned for, means that Borderlands 3 becomes another must have title in the series.

This is not a game that I’d recommend for someone that wants a quick way to jump in and create something over a weekend, but, by all accounts, it’s an awesome tool for those that understand the program will give back as much as you’re willing to put in.

For a game designed to introduce people to the genre, Little Big Workshop mostly succeeds. It proves more complicated in places than you’d expect for a beginner friendly title and the smaller scope of the game does constrict its potential. But what we have here is a solid introduction to the simulation genre - one that’s a lot of fun and proves to be quite addictive. It’s a labour of love from Mirage Games and an experience that comes highly recommended.

There’s truly a decent game here with its foundational systems that could be developed into a more well-rounded title. But as it stands this is a £45 game, it is neither fair nor warranted that this game is just okay. Codemaster’s had already promised ahead of its release that Grid (2019) would be receiving a bevy of further racetracks, cars and modes for its player base. Yet with a dwindling interest, this seems too little too late.

Problems aside, Police Stories is fun. It’s not terribly long- the kind of game you could bust out in a weekend if you wanted to- but its bite-sized pieces and simple controls also make it a great game to digest at a more tempered pace.

Rain of Reflections: Chapter 1 proves to be a mixed bag. It’s clear that Lionbite have put a lot of time into the story that holds your interest but this is broken up by dull, immersion-breaking gameplay. With Chapters 2 and 3 still to come, we hope that Lionbite Games will take these points into consideration. As the game stands, however, it’s hard to recommend it above the competition.

Overall, the game provides a fulfilling experience for those wishing to jump into a beautifully designed JRPG world, especially now that it is available for desktop gamers who missed out on its original release. Whilst it doesn’t push the boat out in terms of narrative or its attention to structural design, it rewards those who can appreciate a game for its endearing elements, exploring its roaming hills and bustling towns, as well as laughing alongside its friendly and good-natured companions.

Overall, there’s nothing bad to say about the game as long as your only wish from the series was for more of the same goodness as you had in Trine 1 and Trine 2. Although I feel that I’d like to have learned more about our trio of heroes - how are Amadeus’ triplets turning out, for example? - it is the gameplay, puzzles and atmosphere that drives these games forward. And Trine 4 certainly delivers in that regard! There’s a lot of fun to be had here, especially in the co-op mode, and I cannot recommend it too much.

The decision to make Hex a strategy game was a smart choice, translating John’s famous precision and actions in a way that an FPS game simply couldn’t achieve. Whilst it’s a shame that Bithell Games couldn’t get Keanu Reeves on board with his co-stars, Hex proves to be a fun experience, one which challenges players but is never unfair in its difficulty. It’s a solid adaptation of the franchise and will leave fans satisfied.

Ultimately Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is an excellent throwback to platforming glory years. Despite a few bugs and sound issues present during the earlier sections, the game is simple and stylish, a joy to play. If you are on PC, you owe it to yourself to pick it up — this is the closest you will get to a Nintendo platformer on the system. The level of love Playtonic have squeezed into this game makes Yooka-Laylee stand firmly on its own two feet.

Sword & Souls: Neverseen is a fun RPG-lite game that is simple to play, but the repetition in both the training and the combat makes the game become stale rather quickly. The added challenges to the training do help, but once you get to the highest training level, even that becomes monotonous. It is probably a game that is best played in short bursts, which lends itself to being more of a mobile game. Indeed, the simple nature of the controls, the turn-based combat mechanics, and the animated visuals all point to the same conclusion. But as a PC title, the game is fun but somewhat limited.

You could say that Heave Ho is somewhat visually unappealing, as the scenery and characters have a grainy 1920’s style cinematic look to them (albeit in colour). But this is clearly as intended and works well within the humorous nature of the game. There are birds that fly past and cover you in poop if you’re taking too long, and a llama that walks past and farts, filling the area with a dark fog. Even when players fall to their deaths, an explosion of paint covers their comrades. Heave Ho is a game that doesn’t take itself seriously, and should be played as such, particularly with a group of friends.

Remnant: From the Ashes is more than just a Dark Souls clone or a simple third-person shooter. It’s the lovechild of the many games, mixed with aspects of Gears of War, Fallout, The Division, and its own brand of weird. The number of games I’ve kept playing after my time with it for a review can probably be counted on two hands, and I’m happy that Remnant is going to be joining their ranks. Despite a shallow store, some repetitive environments, and a few occasionally frustrating glitches, this is a game well worth your time.

Warlocks 2 is a fun but flawed game, one that comes with a good amount of charm and the dialogue will certainly make you laugh. It proves to be a lot more of an enjoyable experience with others, with action elements feeling more balanced across a party of players. Overall it’s not an experience which ever truly pulls you in, and ends up leaving you wanting more. If you’re playing as a group, you could do a lot worse than Warlocks 2 but for anyone playing alone, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

The Sojourn is a great game - its puzzles are challenging, yet rarely frustrate, creating a layered experience which builds upon the central mechanics of the light and dark states. Its environments also offer you something gorgeous to look at while you’re contemplating a solution. It does less well in terms of the narrative, which is a little too simplistic in terms of its themes. Also, the puzzles/environment don’t really feel heavily related to the plot at all. But the narrative isn’t in your face, and is quite easy to disregard if you’re not interested. In the end, puzzles are what matter most in these games, and I would definitely recommend The Sojourn to any puzzler fans out there.