Drop Duchy's mix of gameplay elements work together well but there's quite a steep learning curve if you want to really get everything out of the game.

As a visual novel, Kamikaze Lassplanes doesn't grab me. Once I got past the absurd premise of transforming women into planes that you would pilot, the remainder feels safe within the genre. There's a war going on but there's enough downtime to make you forget until the next shooter section comes into view. I do think the shoot-em-up stages are genuinely decent. Whilst it lacks variety in weapons, the core shooting feels good and the stage design isn't too devious. Unfortunately, it's not turning this into a game I'd recommend.

The Confinement does accomplish what it sets out to do. The movement is consistent and sharp, although the camera movement feels overly sensitive. Even with it reduced to it's most basic level, I have enough to swivel myself into the right positions. The levels are short and easy to understand which does lead to a game that can fly by. The story barely impedes the pacing but I can't say it offered me much intrigue either. It's a fun enough jaunt I feel like it's missing more variety in level design or biomes just to make it feel like more of a journey.

Let Them Come: Onslaught does a fine job with the somewhat oversubscribed Survivors-like genre. Good presentation, addictive gameplay. It's not the best example of the genre but it's a pretty decent one.

Beyond Words takes the classic Scrabble formula and pushes it through a Balatro-esque roguelike structure and it does a decent job with that concept, even if it can drag on a bit and success relies on luck some of the time.

There's a lot of Superheroes for your money in MARVEL MaXimum Collection. They're not all bangers but having thirteen titles to dig through is a lot. The usual quality of life features persist, as do some cheats which will help players get through the more challenging entries. The online play for the arcade titles is welcome, although performance hasn't been great at release. I'm always going to yearn for more archival content but, what they have here has been well preserved.

Crimson Desert is the very definition of a cult classic. It shows lofty ambitions whilst Pearl Abyss are effectively going with what they know. There's some exemplary exploration and world design on display but the quest design feels incredibly basic. It's always bringing some new mechanic or system into view but that dilutes the game's focus. I've had some fun with it but it's been heavily clouded by an incredibly slow start, awkward controls and some truly awful bosses.

Grind Survivors looks and plays pretty good but after a while it just starts to feel like a grind and when that's literally the whole point, you can't help but ask why they've focused so much on that aspect.

Against some odds, Marathon is a compelling extraction shooter that offers some really satisfying combat. I do think having only one contract at a time slows progression down but there's plenty of other meters to work towards. Solo play has a tension to it which I really enjoy, although the game seems to be built more around squads. With just a few maps available at launch, I only hope that the game evolves and grows over time. I love the aesthetic and, generally speaking, it's doing quite a few things right.

Hidden Cats in Spooky Village ramps up the scare factor with buckets of gore and disturbing imagery. Nah, we’re kidding, it’s the same cute cats in folk horror locations and is a solid addition to the hidden cat pantheon that Silesia and Nukearts are excelling at. Some cats can be tough to find due to being really tiny but generally it’s not a huge problem across twelve generous levels.

Devil Jam is one of the better auto-battling roguelites that we've seen on PSN and it has a bit more personality than most of them too. It's just a little bit too repetitive for its own good.

Toxic Commando feels just like World War Z and that ship sailed a while ago for us. It's an adequate shooter but just lacks excitement. And originality. It's got none of that.

As the final entry to the series, Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered does its best to polish up a game that doesn't always hit the mark. The voice acting remains fantastic and is delivered with all the gravitas I'd come to expect. The pacing can be hit by Raziel's constant need to monologue but the helpful breadcrumb trail should prevent players from getting lost. Above all, it's a nicely put together package with a wealth of cut content and extras.

Vampire Therapist manages to be a thoughtful delve into psychiatry whilst still remaining manageable for newcomers. Sam is a likeable character and the rest of the cast have plenty of energy to bring to the table. I do wish the locales were more varied and two mini-games don't carry any real consequence. The heart of the game is the conversations with clients and they are very well written. It's worth recommending for that insight alone and the peek behind the curtain.

Disco Simulator's approach to management is incredibly simple. Whilst you can tinker with a few facets, the two resources that matter can be easily acquired. Turning a profit requires little effort and reputation does tend to be handed to you. What remains is a game with very few stakes and, as such, I wasn't encouraged to change my gameplan. That led to something that felt tedious pretty quick.

Ship’s Cat is a game of two halves, the first being what you might expect, the second being something else altogether. The fact this is cobbled together by a solo dev and ends up being as impressive as it is, is quite something. Yes, the bugs halt progress a little, but with a patch already submitted to Sony, the prospects for Ship’s Cat are good going forward.

In a genre that is full of Vampire Survivors clones, Centipede Gun offers something a little different and while it can feel a little underdeveloped, we did enjoy it while it lasted.

Hidden Cats in Christmas, while subject to an unfortunate delay slipping to February is another solid hidden cat game. The formula keeps on getting refined by Nukearts, but we fear we’re getting a little fatigued with hidden cat games on the whole. This is still good though and it’s good value.

Lovish's compact levels and responsive controls certainly scratch an itch. Whilst the 8-bit aesthetics aren't new, the execution is well done. The pace is kept up really well and the variety is strong. It's a shame the lives don't manifest into an actual failure state but there's enough danger in the levels to consider already. The story shows some heart, although it is thin. Despite that, it's a game full of ideas and ingenuity.

Romeo is a Dead Man has the style and swagger of a much better game. The combat is nothing you've not seen before, the level design is uninspired, dated and often frustrating, and the story isn't as funny or clever as it thinks it is. But, still, there's fun to be had and the game can be compelling. It just needs to get out of its own way more often than not.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master doesn't quite go the whole hog with an homage to Japanese tuner culture. The handling feels solid, even if there is a lack of feedback. The selection of cars is pretty strong and the world is decently sized. The story is something that passed me by but the manga presentation does give it some flavour. If anything, it also shows up the rest of the gameplay by reverting a more familiar, but polished look. That said, it's bright and delivers a fun open-world racer.

I think Dark Auction does pull some punches. Whilst it aims to ask difficult questions about a post-war generation, it approaches it softly or prefers to avoid the bigger picture. It can feel like a backdrop when the whole cast have familial ties to a failed dictatorship. Despite that, the investigative nature of each auction is well done and it's presented in a smart, stylish way. Digging into the past of the other bidders is a methodical process that can be rewarding.

A fair amount of content for a fair price. That's all you can ask for with a DLC and it's nice to see World War Z still getting content six years after its release.

Fighting Force is still fun, in a dated and clunky kind of way. Fighting Force 2 is still awful, in every way.

Cats Around Us: Giant Cat is another Silesia hidden cat game, but rather slim pickings. Fleshed out a little bit by the jigsaw puzzles you have to do to unlock three out of four levels, but this is generally a weaker entry into the sneaky feline pantheon.

Tonally, BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW doesn't quite land. I'm always wary about bullying storylines and they can pull punches that make the abuse seem a little hokey. Anne is not the most reliable narrator so it can be hard to trust her words. The social media aspect is decently attempted but the inclusion of a real influencer can make the ending feel very contradictory. It's a visually stunning game but it lacks a cohesion from chapter to chapter and the chase scenes can lead to some early frustration.

Street Racer Collection packages four ports from the much travelled Street Racer series. For the most part, it does a solid job of conveying how the game tried to compete and change things up in a developing genre. In terms of the game selection, having two 16-bit efforts leads to a lot of content duplication and the controls aren't uniform across them. The DOS and portable versions at least feel like separate games and offer a glimpse into a series progressing over time. I had fun with it and you do get plenty of options to tinker with the experience.

Dark Atlas: Infernum has most of it's horror implied rather than seen. Whilst I do enjoy the implications, the game itself lacks a connection to the world at large. Natalia is a suitably distressed mother but the English voice acting is a touch overdone. Crucially, the checkpoints aren't best placed and, if you take intended experience of having monsters accompany you, that may lead to a lot of repetition.