Its pleasing synth tunes and unusual gameplay are immediately alluring, but that optimism is swiftly trampled by a difficulty level that starts tricky and rapidly becomes sadistic, the overwhelming flurry of notes requiring taps so fast that the music gets lost under an ecstasy of fumbling. It’s always a pity when fresh and interesting ideas don’t quite work, but unfortunately Sonar Beat never manages to live up to its considerable promise.

The Trese Brothers have done an excellent job porting this from PC, and none of its wonderful depth and complexity has been lost in translation. Like FTL, this feels as though it was made to be played on an iPad. Whether you decide to work as a trader, explorer, glorified taxi driver, or become a pirate yourself, the sheer scale and open-endedness of Star Traders: Frontiers is never less than inspiring.

Although instantly gripping, its heavy reliance on chance and your limited agency – you only ever decide which order to play the five cards you’re randomly dealt – make it feel a little too much like gambling rather than a game of skill. With no deck building and encounters decided on die rolls, Knights Of The Card Table struggles to sustain its appeal.

The lack of challenge and the fact that you can complete the campaign for free but get roasted in multiplayer without paid upgrades are symptoms of a deep-seated mediocrity. It may be slick, but it’s a peculiarly empty experience.

A sequel that seems somewhat embarrassed of the series’ sexist past and shallow combat but fails to do anything meaningful about either.

As loving a recreation of the Mega Drive original as fans could ever hope for, but without any major evolution of the concept it has far less to offer anyone else.

A fantastically entertaining action game that combines gameplay, visuals, and audio into an irresistible orgy of violence and… improvisational jazz.

An already flawed game struggles with the limitations of joypad controls – but it’s a spirited effort and further proof that strategy titles do work on consoles.

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

A fantastic mix of explosive action and thoughtful storytelling, that results in one of the most unpredictable and ambitious action role-players of the modern era.

One of the best survival horror games of the generation, that’s frequently terrifying but also surprisingly nuanced and intelligent when it comes to its storytelling.

There are flashes of brilliance, especially when it comes to the flying, but confused storytelling, boring loot, and unsatisfying missions don’t justify the game’s massive time investment.

An unapologetically hardcore sequel that sacrifices accessibility to appease fans of Codemasters’ fledgling racing sim series.

An inspired mix of skateboarding and 2D platforming that manages to combine a surprising level of realism with some enjoyably impossible level design.

Despite improvements the debt to Portal cannot be fully repaid in this cleverly-constructed by staid first person puzzler.

The imaginative puzzles occasionally come close to replicating the genius of Portal but the bad jokes and repetitive gameplay make this a poor substitute for the real thing.

Tetris and battle royale turn out to be a perfect match with probably the best multiplayer version of the game ever made.

A crossover between the world’s most famous manga characters results in a peculiarly underdeveloped fighter, with an especially disappointing story mode.

A tragic end to Crackdown 3’s long and painful journey, with an unremarkable campaign mode and a multiplayer that is a disaster in terms of tech and design.

A direct-to-video style sequel to Far Cry 5 that’s still perfectly playable but fails to make use of its own premise in any interesting way.

The best post-apocalyptic survival game of the generation, that innovates in terms of both its varied gameplay mechanics and its incisive storytelling.

An impressive blend of old school cyberpunk and modern survival horror, that manages to overcome a bad celebrity voiceover and some distracting technical issues.

The latest Civilization VI expansion handles a difficult subject matter with great insight and in a way that improves the game and makes you think of the world beyond it.

The original Yakuza has been remade into a sequel to its own prequel, but although it’s perfectly competent it feels outdated compared to the newer entries.

BlazBlue goes out in a blaze of glory, and although it lacks new ideas it certainly isn’t short of characters, game modes, or thrilling action.

A Monster Hunter clone that does some things differently but doesn’t manage to improve on element of it is far more entertaining inspiration.

The intentions are good, but cute graphics and some clever ideas can’t stop this ‘feel-good FPS’ from being anything but a downer.

An enjoyable reminder of one of the best ever portable role-playing series, although it’s really more a greatest hits compilation than a new game.