By right, this shlocky 30-year-old franchise should be a shambling wreck, given gaming’s speed of reinvention and its tendency to eat itself. But like the T-virus that never dies, somehow Requiem keeps Resident Evil alive, its cells absorbing the old body and rejuvenating it into something just as terrifying.

Like many polished big-budget games made to a formula, Ghost of Yokei is missing just a little bit of soul.

The by-the-numbers gameplay is not what you will remember most about Indika – even though the frustration of some insta-fail platforming sections does take a while to fade from the memory. Instead, what lingers is the communion of uncomfortable conversations, harrowing figments and darkly comic asides as a nun wrestles with the big questions of life and doesn’t like the answers.

Unlike Eternal, Dark Ages keeps your feet planted on the ground, forgoing complex platforming amid level design that is chiefly of single-storey construction. That’s not to say there isn’t a vastness and scale at play but it’s apparent mostly in the disappointing sequences where the Slayer takes control of a giant robot and a metal dragon at various points. Sadly, Id fails to do anything interesting with these avatars, a curious development that counts as the game’s key failing. The campaign may also be stretched to flabbiness by its 22 levels as compensation for the absence of multiplayer. But that visceral combat still drives Dark Ages to riveting effect, its one-two punch of shield plus guns teasing players to master Doom anew.

Eternal Strands offers minimal handholding and opens a vast world to explore, so you’re often left fumbling around in empty spaces to discover the path to your next quest. But even this padding just leaves you yearning for the next exhilarating encounter you know will be around the corner.

Though a little rough and ready round the edges, Atomfall’s nuclear fiction is an interesting fusion of ideas, albeit one that isn’t going to blow you away.

Herdling succeeds on the level of a wistful voyage, the idea that to travel hopefully is better than to arrive. Yet its gameplay elements are undermined by the awkward controls of the herd, who turn uncooperative at odd moments. Puzzles provide scant challenge compared to the Far games, and stealth sequences involving a giant angry owl outstay their welcome. This shepherding lark is not quite the dream job it first looks.

If Fitness Boxing 3 gets you moving even a little bit more than usual, perhaps that’s job done. But you might just as well look up a few boxercise videos on YouTube and save your money for a new pair of trainers.

As likeably silly as it is, To a T feels like an extended episode of Sesame Street that drags on too long between the good bits. Takahashi has again delivered a singularly unusual design but one that lacks the gameplay loop that Katamari wielded so compulsively.

Probably the harshest judgment you could hurl at Operation Galuga is its lack of true reinvention. Maybe it was never on the agenda – and Rogue Corps showed deviation from the template could be disastrous. But despite a graphical makeover and some light tinkering, squint and you might well be playing one of the many Contra versions from the 80s and 90s.

WoW can rest easy knowing Throne and Liberty won’t steal its crown any time soon. But NCSoft’s RPG has a light touch that has clearly taken many lessons from its inspirations, brought some new ideas to the table and won’t constantly nag you to open your wallet.

The evocative presentation carries Nutmeg! a long way, particularly for gamers of a certain age. So add an extra star to the rating above if you’re a child of the 80s.

My initial impression was that this periodic monotony was intended to function as a meta-commentary on your job as a dogsbody. But my overriding feeling might just be classed as boredom. You get the sense that a more tightly wound plot with expanded gameplay to hook the player could have turned the Halibut’s tale into a story that could really reel you in.

Stranded Kids doesn’t have a lot of longevity built into this compact collection of islands for players who focus on completing the challenges instead of noodling about.

This remaster has its moments, blending spoofery and comedic violence, but this 18-year-old now feels a little immature.

It captures the futility of war in its endless cycles and the overwhelming feeling that you won’t be able to save everyone who crosses your operating table.

It acts fast but substitutes speed for intelligence and as much as it would like to be the new Titanfall, it doesn’t quite have the moves.

The high presentation standard set by Hogwarts Legacy has been maintained here, with customisable characters flying around on broomsticks at locations familiar from the books. Earn enough currency from in-game activities (no microtransactions here, thankfully) and you can unlock heroes or villains such as Harry, Ron and Draco. In contrast with Legacy, however, Quidditch Champions is very finite, with only a few competitions built in and nothing to do outside of the matches. The core of the game feels like barely controlled pandemonium that is often difficult to read and some positions just aren’t as engaging to play as others.

The detailed art style looks gorgeous in handheld mode but forces the Switch to struggle noticeably on a big screen when it’s pushing more pixels. Shackled by the tedious storytelling and tame dialogue, Mario and Luigi feel like the relatives you should visit more but who are frequently annoying when you meet them.

As a multiplayer co-op game, it fares marginally better but it’s hard to shake the sense that you’re witnessing a lot of sound and fury that signifies little. With a handful of notable exceptions, the mission quests blur into one another with their bullet-sponge enemies and dearth of game-changing upgrades in the skill trees...This hollowness at the core marks Suicide Squad down as a missed opportunity given Rocksteady’s pedigree and the vibrant personality on show in the down time between the lack-lustre shootouts.

A steady drumbeat of patches has eliminated the worst excesses of the underlying code. But it will still take a long uphill march for Asobo to crest the summit of its ambitions. For now, this flight is just struggling to get off the ground.

That’s not to say this 2024 do-over is unworthy of one playthrough, especially now a month after release that many bugs have been ironed out. It has entertaining moments of visual splendour jostling against creeping dread but ultimately is a glimpse of unfulfilled potential.

This one-man show has demonstrated a hugely imaginative game world, full of depth to be explored. But it’s too easy to see behind the curtain – and indeed to rip the curtain rail down altogether. The logic of the characters’ behaviour can fall apart at the slightest push, leaving your detective with more answers than questions.

By aiming for authenticity and committing to character growth by repetition, Deliverance II walks a dangerous tightrope. Its uncompromising nature won’t be videogamey enough for many players and wilfully renders some components such as combat unappealing.

Reforged is a puzzle in itself. It’s like the pleasure you get from visiting an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time and who’s never looked so well. But it will also leave you wondering whether you’ve outgrown them after so many years.

If nothing else, it whets the appetite for next year’s big Onimusha revival, so perhaps that’s job done after all.

Star Wars buffs will find much to relish here as Outlaws shines a bright light on fresh parts of the galaxies untouched by the relentless flow of TV spin-offs. But this attention to detail may be lost on players seeking a power fantasy akin to 2023’s Star Wars Jedi Survivor, or a more inventive take on Ubisoft’s overworked open-world blueprint.

It has constructed a fascinatingly hostile and deliberately unstable environment. But the lack of strong characterisation, the clumsy interface and the sheer anarchy of the world are obstacles to truly enjoying being in the zone.