If you normally struggle with the multiple complexities of a 4x strategy game, Starships is a great introduction to the genre.

An accessible, lightweight competitive shooter. Though it's a little thin in its current state, this is a solid start for what will hopefully become a lively and dynamic game as its season pass gets underway.

It is Open World: The Game, and as such, struggles to find an identity of its own beyond its entertaining hacking hook and the inspired multiplayer. But those two elements make up a sizeable portion of the game. There are moments of genuine brilliance buried in the game that elevates it above mediocrity, but its reliance on increasingly tired design does it a disservice.

A refreshing take on the survival sandbox with a robust approach to progression and countless ways to tackle each mission. Sadly, harsh penalties, bugs, and crashes combine to make this a frustrating off-world expedition.

WWE 2K24 is a fitting tribute to the legacy of the wrestlers that came before, the talented Superstars that now thrill millions worldwide, and the future of sports entertainment in videogames, even if there is still room for improvement in the presentation and some of its game modes.

When you first boot it up it feels surprisingly robust, and there’s never a sense that it was created on the cheap to cash in. The matchmaking can certainly make or break the experience from match to match, but when the going’s good Block N Load is a smile-generating shooter.

Is Malus Darkblade done justice? As a character, yes. But while his campaign is decent, Snikch’s is one of the weaker we've seen in these Lord packs, lacking some of CA's usual focus in mechanics and theme.

It’s loaded with some of the best adventure game one liners; a gripping, winding plot that only slips up three quarters of the way through the game, and then improves drastically afterward; and a vibrant, bizarre world that, for all its weirdness, is extremely easy to get attached to. It’s just not a very impressive remaster.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Justice serves up a strong story and world but is marred by repetition and occasionally confusing level design, which holds it back from achieving its full potential as an instant VR classic.

A very workmanlike open-world game. Great to look at, competent overall, and charming when it tries something new, but formulaic when it doesn’t - which is most of the time.

A bold and fascinating story. But the story is something that’s revealed, not something that’s lived through. I was a tourist, a witness, a reader, and that left less room for being a player. Yet I expect the game to stay with me for a good long time, and its grisly, gorgeous world alone makes the trek worthwhile.

A vibrant snapshot of the Victorian era that’s bustling with character, but doesn’t explore the intriguing, seismic politics of the period.

Booned by a timelessly pretty art style and fulfilling adventure structure, Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is a beautiful, sprawling hack-and-slash soulslike let down by its overly forgiving combat.

A twin-stick shooter that looks and feels great all the way through, but doesn't do enough new to keep your attention as you invest more time in its RPG systems and world.

The main story soon falls into repetition, and its side content is bloated with busywork, but exploring and fighting your way through Tango’s eerie, detailed rendition of Shibuya is where Ghostwire: Tokyo shines.

Total War games past have expanded, changed and morphed over time and this will doubtless be similar. As it stands, Warhammer is a worthy addition to the series, particularly as a melding of two universes we’ve long wanted to see collide. And before long, as the patches roll in, it could be even more than that.

The new World Congress and climate change mirror real-life in that they're partly beyond your control, making them hard to factor into your schemes. The new civs are among the best and most novel in the game, though.

While Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus plays it too safe with its gameplay, its engrossing setting and large cast of charming characters help it stand apart in the ever-crowded Metroidvania genre.

Horizon Forbidden West is utterly gorgeous and builds on the original's intense combat, but a lack of ambition and a flat narrative hold it back as a sequel. It provides more of the first game but bigger, with a few new inclusions struggling against the tidal wave of familiarity.

None of the separate parts – the platforming, the construction, the light strategy – stand out as particularly refined or able to stand toe to toe with games that just focus on one of those things, but Q-Games has put them all together in a package that is much more than the sum of its parts, hiding its flaws under the satisfying pace and multitude of unlockable rewards and newly discovered recipes.

A solid turn-based strategy experience that explores the Space Marine power fantasy, marred by humdrum mission design.

This is a big planet and there are a lot of caves needing clearing, think of raids as housekeeping.

Just Cause 4 refines everything that made its predecessor great. It’s still one of the most generous and bombastic open world games, but its new systems don’t progress the sandbox as much as they should.

In theory, this is a massively entertaining game that introduces some unique twists to the monster-hunting formula. In practice, however, technical issues on PC continue to mar what should have been a slam-dunk hit.

The Silent Hill 2 remake is a solid, respectful reimagining of a horror classic. The sound design is perhaps even more spectacular here, but modern graphics clean up some of the grit and grime, while overextended exploration and frequent cutscenes take away from the original's claustrophobia and fear.

Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3 is an enjoyable and emotional horror puzzle game that draws to a powerful conclusion, even if bugs, difficulty spikes, and its oddly paced narrative keep it back from greatness.

A scrappy, unpolished stealth shooter that nevertheless snipes at the heartstrings through its slapstick thirst for gory kills and open-ended maps.

Limbic has turned down its opportunity for revolución in favour of reinforcing the rule of El Presidente - a safe pair of hands for colourful city-building and wry commentary on the abuse of democracy.