It walks a precarious tightrope, where it risks disappointing both Persona and strategy fans, but most of the time this fun but shallow tactical role-player threads the needle to enjoyable effect.

A short, surreal roguelike puzzler that proves a video game doesn’t have to be 60 hours long or feature photorealistic graphics to be entertaining and thought-provoking.

There’s so much reused content it barely feels like a new game at times but the storytelling in Lost Judgment is some of the best, and most thoughtful, the Yakuza series has ever known.

The action and storytelling fails to satisfy, but the dense atmosphere and uncompromisingly bleak setting almost makes up for the gameplay failings.

Jeff Minter rides again, but in a considerably more laidback and accessible action puzzler that's very well suited to the iPhone.

Like any good firework display this fun platformer retains its charm even after the novelty runs out.

It has some unfortunate gameplay failings, but in terms of disturbing atmosphere and surprisingly serious subject matter this is one of the best horror games of the year.

An excellent slice of DLC that genuinely feels like a missing part of the main story and features some of the best moments from the whole adventure.

The obsessions with realism and old school action don’t come at the cost you might imagine, in this tense and well-designed online shooter.

There's still plenty of the old Assassin's Creed magic in parts, but this proves an unnecessary sequel and one with few genuinely welcome new ideas.

How anyone came up with the idea, let alone made it work, is baffling but this charming little mystery game is the most entertaining Pokémon spin-off in a long time.

Its mellow pace requires diligent concentration, and its 30 levels will be enough to sustain a few days’ solid puzzling.

Some unfortunate flaws unnecessarily sour the experience, but this is a welcome return for the Trials series and its unique approach to motorcycle action.

It often takes the best part of two minutes to load, but after months spent locked inside, it’s just quite nice getting a bit of unfettered fresh air, even if it is only simulated.

Repetition and overfamiliarity are always the best ways to nullify fear, but until they set in this is one of the most effectively scary video games ever made.

The usual mix of the mundane, the inspired, and the not quite fully-formed, but at least two of the five maps are minor classics.

An interesting and personal feeling set of first person histories that barely constitute a video game and yet wouldn’t really work in any other medium.

The best version of the worst Disgaea might be for fans only but it's still a great strategy role-player.

Between the gorgeous graphics, solid combat, and multiple game modes this impressive fighter isn’t necessarily just for anime fans.

An impressively ambitious attempt to open up game modding to everyone, although at the moment the action is curiously backwards.

A remake more than a reinvention, but one that retains all the simple gameplay and outrageous gore that made the original games fun.

The spirit of 90s arcade racing is reborn in a homage to everything from OutRun to Lotus Turbo Challenge, and despite a few bumps in the road it’s all just as much fun as you remember.

Fantasy enemies clearly work very well with Far Cry, but this abridged version of the main game really should be having more fun with its characters than this.

Not quite a misfire but while the action is highly entertaining this time-looping adventure squanders much of its premise on disappointingly straightforward objectives and a curiously tame portrayal of unchecked hedonism.

Pac-Man Vs. is a genuine classic that deserves a bigger audience, but the high price and limited selection of other games makes this an expensive retro indulgence.

Each garden is its own discrete puzzle, that takes tapping and experimentation to pick apart, clearing the way for your feline hero to make his way across the next hedge. Lovely hand drawn artwork and a piano soundtrack complement its mediative pace.

A polished, witty mix of golf sim, platformer, and roguelike that offers sterling value for money but can’t quite overcome an increasing sense of repetition.

A simple, economical throwback to the golden age of stealth games, with fun presentation but a notable lack of depth and variety.