Old Skies may not be as pioneering as Wadjet Eye’s revered 2018 adventure Unavowed (which still comes highly recommended). Secondly, the tension of any high-stakes scenes also suffers because repetitive trial and error functions as a viable if hardly inspired tactic when the logic of a solution doesn’t stand out. But by teasing out Fia’s emotional muddle amid the intricate cause and effect of time travel, it finds its own place in the history of cerebral puzzle games.

Rosa’s adventure can’t quite match that same sublime synthesis of virtual reality with relentless momentum. But there’s enough imagination on show here to keep a firm grip on your attention.

Arranger entertains the player because of its restrictions, not in spite of them. The resolution to Jemma’s every conundrum rarely lies more than a few sliding moves away, as unimaginable as that sometimes seems. But it insists you think not just outside the box, but around the corner and into the spaces beyond the edge of the screen.

The modest size of the team at Raccoon Logic becomes apparent sometimes – the awkward physics and occasionally funky enemy behaviour can hamper the gameplay mechanics. But this a goofy little treasure, a passion project for a small team bruised by their encounter with a corporate gorilla. They’re still here and Stadia is long gone. Who’s the monkey now?

You won’t enjoy the sometimes risible dialogue, nor the punishing and at times unfair randomness that can punctuate your trekking, leaving you a long way from safety without companions. In the end, though, it is that tension between chaos and cruelty that makes the game frequently compelling.

In quieter moments, you will notice the game consists of one escape room after another linked loosely by story strands. It’s also frustrating to find many objects in each space are just inanimate props, incapable of being picked up, never mind flung hither and thither. Nonetheless, Fireproof has tied its puzzles together with an engagingly barmy plot and integrated a comprehensive hint system that’s as subtle as you need it to be to keep the story moving. Ghost Town’s Irishness is almost incidental to the game but the actors’ strong voice performances contribute heartily to the authenticity of this absorbing drama.

Even if the revelations are few and far between here, Tetris Forever always has the game to fall back on – you’re never more than a couple of button presses away from losing hours to another pleasurable round of shape-shifting shenanigans.

The core of Ivalice Chronicles holds up well despite its origins being almost three decades old. The protracted conversations in which the player is merely a listener will not be to everyone’s taste but they contain enough hooks to carry you to the next taxing battle.

If you’re to judge Nioh 3 by its obvious inspiration, Team Ninja comes up a little short here. Its open world and impenetrable lore lack the invention and sheer charisma of the peerless Elden Ring. That said, the two-in-one personality gives such a distinctive flavour to the combat that some hardened From Software fans might be forced to re-consider their loyalties.

Hell is Us may not have been made with a substantial budget but by choosing a path less travelled with its unusual design, it feels more rewarding to a jaded player sick of being led by the nose in many in a blockbuster rival.

It’s the sheer force of the lead actors’ performances that will lead you through a somewhat laboured tale of a hero whose mental strife overshadows the challenge of her adversaries.

High on Life 2 falls between too many stools to be worthy of a seat at the top table. Its humour will be divisive, sure, but provides plenty of laughs. The gameplay never quite clicks despite propelling you through the story at a fair clip. But its wonkiest pillar is the technical instability of its world, which is rife with glitches that swallow characters into walls, overlap dialogue or, unforgivably, make completing a quest impossible.

Expelled! puts an interesting twist on the format of a visual novel with some crackling dialogue and a cast of engaging frenemies. The key is to pinpoint their weakness and manipulate them to your own ends. However, the repetitive nature of the day means that you often feel forced into trial and error to unpick the solution, with logic sometimes taking a back seat and deja-vu discouraging you from saving Verity from herself.

Jamboree TV lacks a bit of coherence in the overall Mario Party experience but it serves the Switch 2 well in serving up family-friendly options that show off the new machine. Don’t forget that Switch 2’s unique GameShare function lets you connect another Switch 2 or the older Switch console so that up to four players can compete – but requires only one copy of the game.

None of these game design decisions are particularly revolutionary, of course, and there is a slight sensation of sequel ennui about Outer Worlds 2. But Obsidian has assembled a deliciously moreish RPG in which the perks and skills trees just beg to be exploited for crazy combinations.

None of these criticisms should dissuade potential buyers, for Echoes is filled with the usual Zelda-series charm, humour and adventure, while the copy-and-paste mechanic introduces some smart and mischievous puzzles.

Peach’s adventure may not possess the sheer wit and flair on show in Nintendo’s most recent tour de force, Super Mario Bros Wonder, but it acts as a long-overdue promotion for a promising heroine.

Not everyone will warm to Akka Arrh’s ascending difficulty level but at a mere €20 for the mind melt of this PSVR2 version, it’s cheaper than hallucinogenic drugs and probably less risky too.

The less said about its unconvincing voice-acting the better and the plot holds few surprises. But even those foibles can be overlooked when Stellar Blade gets its hooks in and you glance at the clock only to realise it’s 3am. Damn you, you adorable mongrel.

The worst offender among your soldier pals is an overly chatty sidekick who regularly prods you over the radio to re-explore old areas. Part of Metroid’s appeal has always lain in getting lost in its creepy caverns but Retro clearly wants no newcomer to be in doubt for long about where to go next. Despite all that, Beyond emerges from development purgatory in better shape than could be expected. Some of its innovations may not gel with the core Metroid principle of a lone woman versus a planet of hostiles. Yet the classic design ensures the Samus suit never goes out of fashion.

Tempopo won’t have the same impact for adults as Unpacking but it’s a fun diversion brimming with cheer and pitched at a very reasonable €20.

Mario vs Donkey Kong 2024 has a time-worn charm polished by Nintendo’s acute attention to detail and its mid-price probably earns it a review star more than it deserves. Juxtaposed with the furious invention of recent full-priced stablemates such as Super Mario Bros Wonder or Kirby’s Forgotten Land, it’s a bit of a relic.

It's not that Resistance is impossible to resist but this war machine has been finely honed over several instalments and offers a thrilling if predictable ride.

Despite the remastering, which improves the presentation and eliminates some bugginess in the original, there’s no mistaking The Devil’s Playhouse for a modern game. But its wit and sheer absurdity mark it down as a mischievous series well worth investigating.

The heart of Bahnsen Knights, is therefore the conversational back and forth, elevated by sharp exchanges crafted by the team behind related pulpy visual novels Mothmen 1966 and Varney Lake. The allegorical plot may not take us very far but the flavoursome characterisation of this freakish group justifies the price of admission, which on most platforms is less than a tenner.

You’d never mistake Age of Imprisonment’s gameplay for the mechanical ingenuity contained in Tears of the Kingdom. But this Zelda adventure jailbreaks itself from the constricting conventions of its musou prison.

Still Wakes The Deep reminds me of John Carpenter’s equally implausible The Thing, an enjoyable schlock-horror set in the Antarctic. But if you can suspend your disbelief about this rigged rollercoaster, you’ll find layers of depth beneath the surface.

Anyone who spends a few hours digitally in Minter’s company couldn’t fail to warm to this talented eccentric and his prodigious body of work. You might not play most of the 43 games here more than once but a handful will pull you back in time after time, if only to marvel at the mad mind of Minter.