Astro's Playroom is the perfect way to start your PlayStation 5 experience. It's a fun little platformer with lashings of PlayStation nostalgia which introduces you to all the fantastic new features of the DualSense controller.

Giant Squid starts the new generation strong with The Pathless. A short, sweet, and simple adventure that marries contemplative exploration, with uniquely satisfying movement mechanics that function in both a visually stunning open world and the setpiece boss encounters. While the experience may be too easy for some, this game is worthy of attention in the crowded launch line up. Not only as a great title, but a shining example of what indie developers can bring to next generation gaming.

Jade's Ascension is weak both in terms of presentation and gameplay and adds nothing to an already populated genre. If it was technically reliable that'd be something but the game feels unfinished even beyond the incredibly limited scope of its design.

This is one experience that is very much 'for the fans'. While Liftoff: Drone Racing has some accessibility, the real meat of the experience will be enjoyed exclusively by those with passion and investment in the sport. Aside from ropey visuals, physics, and music, Liftoff appears to provide a decent recreation of Drone flight, with plenty of customisation for those that delight in depth.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is another open world game from Ubisoft and if you've played one before then you know what that means. There are some changes from the last Assassin's Creed game but nothing major enough to make it any better or worse. I like exploring an open world, ticking off quests and filling the map so if you're like me you'll have fun. Just know that this is, again, a huge time investment.

Unturned is a sandbox zombie survival game that presents as if it was made in a day but does more depth and detail than you might imagine. Ultimately though it's just a bit too slow, empty and pointless to really ever be engaging. It's pretty expensive too considering it is free on the PC.

What Handball 21 does well is represent the top of the European table of the sport. Unfortunately, the gameplay and animation can't hold up to the challenge. As a newcomer, I struggled to get to grips with what is a very tactical sport. I find space hard to manufacture and, whilst defensive duties are better handled, the goalkeepers provide a real lottery. I can't complain much about the modes on offer but the clumsy gameplay dampened my enthusiasm. Some training modes could've helped but I found this game tough to penetrate.

Faeria is a great CCG battler in the grand tradition of Magic and Hearthstone, and just like those it's dependent on how many hours you plough into it in terms of what it gives back. Make no mistake, Faeria wants to be the reason you turn on your PS4. Perhaps the timing of its release is the little off with the imminent PS5 release, but it's no less addictive. We expect we'll continue to dip in regardless.

Golf With Your Friends is a mixed bag. To run with the golf analogy, some clubs are great, others are going to leave you gasping in exasperation. It's better with friends, but sadly the moribund online means this is a local only affair. The three new courses are generally good barring Volcano.

Vera Blanc: Full Moon is a clunky visual novel with easy puzzles and a forgettable plot. It's not terrible, but neither is it easy to recommend.

Hardcore pinball players and those who remember playing the originals will get something from this pack but these tables seem a lot less fair than Zen's own ones and that makes this compilation a lot more frustrating than it should be.

Pacer delivers a fairly accomplished attempt at a futuristic racer. Whilst I do wish the campaign had some difficulty options, the racing has a good aesthetic and handles responsively. The ease at which you can switch load-outs is a lovely touch and the presentation manages to realise a very corporate super-future. I do wonder if the online options are enough to keep veterans interested but what R8 studios have achieved here is admirable.

Dirt 5's condensed career feels light on variation but the carnival presentation and slick pacing helps stave off some of the tedium. Whilst there's plenty of vehicles, they don't all feel like winners. The course creation does give you something else to pursue after career is over. I've had fun racing around the well-designed courses but I can't help feel this is compromised and a little narrow in scope. If an arcade racer is what you're after, this works nicely.

If I would recommend Undead Darlings: No Cure for Love to anyone, they'd have to be onboard with a very slow dungeon crawler. Whilst I do like the writing and some of the relationship building, it requires a fair amount of tedium to get to. Systems seem in place to lead your party into a hasty retreat when weapons break, inventory fills or a boss becomes too steep to beat. Outside of that, I find a game that's charmingly presented with some really nice touches. It's a shame the combat becomes such a time commitment.

Ord. gives you a noun and a couple of verbs and lets your imagination do the rest and, surprisingly, it kind of works but such minimalist gameplay and presentation presents the game with limitations that restrain it too severely.

Galacide's mix of shoot 'em up and puzzle mechanics works very well. The only problem is that it's just a bit short on content.

Double Pug Switch is a fine auto-runner with some fun mechanics. We just hope for your sake you get further than the brick wall we found ourselves hitting.

Damsel is a score chasing, timed, tough platformer with lots of mechanics. Some are good, some not so much, but the nicely animated but difficult to read visuals and level design make what should be a fast paced experience into one that doesn't flow.

Two Parsecs from Earth is a fairly considered, focused platformer with some precise controls. At times, it's not as responsive as you want but the cold sting of death becomes a mere minor inconvenience. Whilst the levels are smartly designed, it does lead to some exact and rigid challenges that hone in more on trial and error. At times, I felt constrained and it's hard for me to get a good flow going. It has a colourful aesthetic but there's very few moments of character here.

If you're going to take on a 1981 arcade classic with modern day (almost) cutting edge hardware then you'd better come correct. But if you ignore what made that game a classic and add game mechanics that make things worse, then that's a little embarrassing. Terra Bomber may pander to the fond memories of Scramble fans but ultimately it'll alienate them most of all.

Neighbours Back From Hell is a remake that no-one asked for but ended up being a pleasant surprise. An accessible puzzler with engaging stealth elements that likes a laugh and doesn't drag on. That's how we like them.

Foregone is a more linear take on the Metroidvania formula, with plenty of loot and skills to unlock along the way. Once you have all those skills it becomes a lot of fun to run, jump and dash through the attractive environments, defeating enemies with your range of weapons and skills as you go.

9 Monkeys of Shaolin plays well, but plays it that bit too safe. Its almost generic, lacking any real character of its own. It's alright though, better suited to short play sessions rather than hours of extended gameplay.

Cross•Krush is a cute puzzler that does everything right but would be massively improved by adding things it doesn't do. It'll make for a great hour or so of puzzling fun but after that there's nothing here to encourage sustained play.

Torchlight III continues the series' cheap and cheerful take on the action RPG stylings of the Diablo series but comes up short on its combat, looting and storytelling. There's fun to be had here, especially in co-op, but nothing about the game stands out apart from some pretty, but messy, visuals.

Warsaw makes its way from PC to PS4 pretty much intact. The controls take a bit of getting used to and the load times are slightly too long but the challenging, tactical combat and uncommon setting translates without issue.

Cake Bash is a delightful party game with a good variety of minigames and unlockables. Couch based as well PSN multiplayer is a given, this deserves to be played by many.

Street Racer Underground somehow takes the concept of street racing and makes it entirely uninteresting. This game is badly conceived and the implementation is even worse.

Monster Truck Championship might not be especially big or clever but the career mode does deliver some fun. There's some nuance to the handling and freestyle events make use of a great trick system. The presentation shows some bright spots with some colourful arenas but the personality really comes from some of the cosmetic options. It can feel a little short-lived but my time behind the wheel has been enjoyable.

Space Crew is a spaceship management sim with a mean difficulty streak and frustrating combat. A few issues prevent this from being a truly satisfying experience, instead it lapses into annoyance. You might love it, but only in the way you would a ginger stepchild.

Skatemasta Tcheco looks, plays and feels like the sort of game that NES magazines would have given very average scores to back in the '80s, so in 2020 this kind of throwaway nonsense really doesn't make any sense at the end of the PS4's lifespan.

Panzer Dragoon: Remake brings a Sega Saturn classic back to life. The visuals are decently updated but the price is a little high for an hour long game. Still, more of this please!

Little Big Workshop's many bugs undermine what is otherwise an addictive business sim.

As a complete package, Ride 4 finally manages to deliver with a rounded selection of bikes and tracks. The career mode feels substantial and, whilst the AI can feel a little tricky, the game gives you plenty of room to upgrade your wheels and power past. It's a little rough in spots with some tests adhering to a zero tolerance but the actual riding, on and offline feels fun and challenging.

Going Under is a fantastic roguelike dungeon crawler with a keen satirical edge and addictive gameplay. Very good indeed.

Monstrum has a rough start and it does not do well to educate new players. There's a real lack of explanation when it comes to enemy behaviours and objectives. Once I'd come to terms with it, I found a game that was surprisingly fair and accomplished in the art of building tension. It's not a great game to look at but there's fantastic sound design at work that does build apprehension well. As basic as it is, there's a decent thrill here, however short it lasts.

Costume Kingdom is Pokémon crossed with Costume Quest but not as good as either. A straightforward platinum trophy and the fact you can beat the game without defeating the cheesy final boss, such as it is, is a bonus. More trick than treat anyway.

Birthday of Midnight is an atmospheric take on golf that offers some intuitive gameplay and nice presentation but is too similar to its predecessor make a case for recommending it to anyone other than fans of the series or gamers looking for a very quick platinum trophy.

Dog Duty is a simple real time tactics game. There are controller and UI issues on PS4 and the 'tactics' element is lacking but if you're looking for a lighter experience this'll keep you busy for a couple of evenings.

Minoria is a good Castlevania game with some difficulty spikes that may trouble some. It's generally a great experience. Burn the witch!

Crysis Remastered is a fine redux of a 2007 game. A little clunky mechanically but otherwise a fun romp.

Jet Set Knights is a modern take on the old 2D one-screen platformer genre and throws a few ideas at it. Some of those ideas work, some need fleshing out but overall this is a game that is cheap, playable and enjoyable.

Exp Parasite is a challenging platformer with plenty of mechanical variety. Unfortunately the bosses are a weak point and there are some major bugs that need to be endured on top of the difficulty in order to reach the end and complete all those level goals.

Tamarin is a cute monkey with a gun. It's as jarring as it sounds. Not helped by a wayward camera and some awful checkpointing, this isn't quite the Jet Force Gemini spiritual successor it could be. More like Git Force Gemini.

If Spellbreak gets continued support it could be a contender but for now this fairly limited F2P battle royale game isn't bad.

With a name like eFootball PES 2021 Season Update, I was expecting last season's game with updated leagues and kits. Cosmetically, it's exactly that but the action on the pitch has seen some interesting changes. The matches are a touch more physical and new animations show that some work has gone into the engine. It plays differently from last year and is compelling to learn. Away from the pitch, things feel largely stationary and it's clear that's where the compromises lie. I enjoy it but it's clear this falls short of feeling like a fully-fledged sequel.

Tennis World Tour 2 is a great example of how not to make a tennis game. Virtua Tennis on a Dreamcast VMU gives a more satisfying experience. It fails wholesale to learn the lessons of the game it's a sequel to and isn't much fun to play. At least there's no microtransactions.

Necomunda: Underhive Wars has a great verticality to its level design and a varied approach to the campaign. Despite the rather dour environments, the action does have some weight to it that can keep players engaged. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel convenient or streamlined and the learning process can feel steep. Battles require a serious time investment and it isn't helped by a dawdling AI that sometimes wont make the smartest decisions. Those with the patience might enjoy its tactical elements but I found myself somewhat daunted by it.

While it’s a joy to take on familiar teams, the game’s reliance on familiarity with the series makes the story mode unnecessarily difficult – either you execute a famous play, or chances are you won’t score at all. This effectively bars players unfamiliar with the Captain Tsubasa saga from enjoying Rise Of New Champions. This is a game that gets exciting only when it leaves rudimentary football controls behind, which is less often than you’d think. If you’re not a fan already, this amounts to another game where players only distinguishable by haircut run after a ball. [Issue#180, p.74]

Tamiku borrows heavily from a few arcade classics but manages to do its own thing and that is admirable but this simple platformer is over pretty quickly. Not bad for the price but not a game that'll last in the memory.

Inertial Drift is very much inspired by the anime / manga with the very similar name, but falls down a little in execution. The difficulty in story mode feels out of sync with other modes. Not that you can adjust difficulty. Maybe you'll dig it, but we didn't particularly.

Wintermoor Tactics Club is a shorter, gentler strategy game with likeable characters and an enjoyable story.

I know not to expect the world from a yearly sports title but NBA 2K21 feels like a backward step. As good as the passing and defence remains, the shooting has an unreliability the series just hasn't delivered before. Practice makes better but it doesn't seem to make perfect. The rest of the package remains fairly sound with great presentation and a swathe of modes to digest. Unfortunately, my time on the court felt compromised whenever I approached the net.

A Hero and a Garden is a charming tale about responsibility and friendship. The narrative is well told with some interesting characters to chat to. The gameplay keeps things fairly simple and at least gives you something to focus and interact with. There's nothing too complex and the gardening doesn't consume too much time. I like it but it's a short and sweet effort that doesn't really entice me to play it again.

Hotshot Racing (formerly known as Racing Apex) is a great arcade inspired racer that harks back to classic blue sky Sega arcade racing games. What it lacks in depth it more than makes up for in sheer fun. Split screen multiplayer and extra modes serve to make this a more than worthwhile purchase. Get on it.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons has a few short moments of brilliance, with clever season manipulation mechanics that are used to good effect. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience is let down by poor graphical choices, consistent choppiness and a general lack of polish in almost every aspect.

Wasteland 3 is quite buggy in its current state but the gameplay and systems still manage to shine through. With a little more polish this'll be regarded as a classic in the future. Even as it is now it's an incredibly enjoyable experience.

The stuff you want from a THPS 1 and 2 remaster is all here and most of the things you don't want are mercifully missing but after beating the campaign once, the challenge system doesn't really encourage us to keep going. However, this as a remaster of two of the best games ever made and it does a great job.

One of the best RPGs of the previous console generation, Kingdoms of Amalur, is back and as good as ever. Don't let its previous commercial failure fool you, this is a very solid RPG with a ton of story and it has the best combat system in the genre.

WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship manages to build upon its predecessor in some smart ways. The handling remains sharp and focused whilst options are there to dumb it down or tune it up in a manner you see fit. The stages remain the star of the show with the new rallies adding variety to an already diverse calendar. It’s all rendered in an engine that still handles detail and lighting very well. With the new clubs mode and forthcoming free updates, this should be well supported and keep rally fans challenged.

Kandagawa Jet Girls is a good jetski racing game. We’re not really the target audience for the overtly sexualised schoolgirls though, but if you are you’re well catered for. Add 10% if it rings your bell. Anyone else, hit start and get straight to racing.

Subject 2923 adds a whole new area to Remnant: From the Ashes in its own mini-campaign. With that comes new environments, events, enemies, bosses, loot and story which is all you could ask for really at such a respectable price. If you just want more content then this DLC adds exactly that.

Cinders has a charm to it that I've rarely found in the visual novels I've played. The writing manages to contextualise and add to a familiar story whilst allowing the main character to branch in interesting ways. It's a shame the story doesn't break completely from the source material but there's some intriguing ideas on display, here. The detailed, animated backgrounds help create a lively setting and the music maintains an airy feel. It's a striking effort that largely succeeds.

Windbound presents itself as a serene experience, full of gorgeous locales and charming visuals. Underneath this nomadic glamour, hides a core of rogue-like brutality and the ever-present threat of death, with an inevitable restart to the beginning coming to those who brazenly disregard the dangers. This difficulty will divide many, but with perseverance, the game turns into an experience worth taming, with rewarding exploration, fun seafaring gameplay and a constant sense of rewarding progression.

Shing! is fresh take on an old genre. This arcade-style hack and slasher has an interesting control system and great presentation. It might not be for everyone but we really enjoyed it.

Road Bustle is a grift at best. Some chancer made this and somehow got Sony to allow it on their store.

New Super Lucky's Tale is a great 3D platformer suitable for both young and old alike. The plot is daft but you're here for the gameplay. Don't kid yourself otherwise. Collectibles are a mild chore sometimes, but not disastrously so.

Banner of the Maid is an enjoyable strategy RPG for a low price. The levels feel like they require learning at times rather than simply strategising your way through but completing a mission and its challenge is very rewarding. The 2D artwork and music is also very pleasant. Worth checking out.

Mortal Shell brings some new ideas to the Souls' formula. The Harden mechanic is excellent in its versatility and item familiarity gives you a reason to use your items. The exploration can be a struggle thanks to the convoluted layouts and reliance on stacking enemies but the boss encounters, where it's just you and the combat mechanics, are the highlight.

Pawarumi's shoot 'em up gameplay gets a lot right and its presentation is top notch but its colour-switching gimmick is less than intuitive at times and detracts a little from what has the potential to be a really great game. Thankfully though that's not enough to spoil the game and this is a game we're happy to recommend to shoot 'em up fans.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a pleasant surprise. Whilst the license isn't used to its fullest potential, the gameplay delivers a satisfying, methodical puzzler with plenty of moving parts to consider. The levels have plenty of life to them and the more complex missions really allow the characters' unique roles to shine. For something that could've felt like a cheap cash-in, Futurlab has developed something compelling and fascinating to play through.

Descenders is a speedy, addictive bike riding game with an innovative rogue-like structure and is one of this year's great hidden gems.

Darkestville Castle is an appreciative, well-paced effort that should keep fans of adventure games happy. Whilst the puzzles can involve a lot of legwork and some oddball solutions, you're encouraged in the right directions and the world isn't expansive enough to get lost in. The structure feels tight and the writing is nicely executed, despite some of the visuals underwhelming.

PGA Tour 2K21 is the start of a new era of this venerable licence made famous by countless EA games, this time with The Golf Club engine underpinning matters. It's as good a golf game as we've personally played and is even in danger of having us watch an actual tournament on TV sometime. Recommended.

Through the Darkest of Times is a deftly handled depiction of life under the Nazis and how those few brave or bloody minded enough to defy the regime did so at great risk to their own and their loved ones wellbeing. The parallels to current events make this all the more essential. More a historical dramatisation with game elements than a game in the conventional sense, but you owe it to yourself to play this.

Don't let the pixel graphics fool you, Depth of Extinction is a very good addition to the turn-based strategy genre. There are strong FTL and XCOM vibes but it has a few ideas of its own and excels where it counts.

RogueCube is a better than average Ratalaika release with fun gameplay and four player local multiplayer. There's a few flaws, but when an indie dev can turn out something with this longevity with a small team, it's a good thing. Recommended.

Octonaut does an okay job. It's a shoot 'em up with a bit of charm but not much in the way of innovation.

Jesse Makkonen does it again. Distraint 2 continues where the original game left off and keeps the moody presentation and excellent storytelling going. The gameplay doesn't quite live up to the story but when the story is this good, we're happy to let that slide and just enjoy it.

Zero Strain offers up a unique take on the top-down shoot 'em up genre and has a few good ideas. There are some niggles but they don't detract too much from this likeable and addictive shooter.

Definitely an evolution rather than a revolution for EA, UFC 4 continues to deliver the slick, brutal and intelligent combat that we're used to but we're still not sure about its ground game and would like to have seen a bit more of a celebration of the sport.

Prehistoric Dude is a short Metroidvania-style title with an easy platinum trophy thanks to Ratalaika. You'll have forgotten all about it after a good night's sleep but it's enjoyable enough whilst it lasts.

A fine mix of Takeshi’s Castle absurdity and nail-biting Battle Royale action. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is the ultimate palate cleanser, almost always fun and enjoyable over long or short bursts of gameplay. Time will tell whether this hilarious and silly game will have longevity but with new levels, costumes and features on the way, the good times are sure to keep on rolling.

Skully is a case of lovely concept but fails a little in terms of execution. A wayward camera and overly idiosyncratic movement for Skully himself mar an otherwise fun journey.

Tannenberg is a solid and tactical multiplayer shooter with a keen eye for historical accuracy. Lower budget production values aside, M2H have done an excellent job of recreating the realism of being entrenched in the Eastern Front and the constant danger of being caught in No Man's Land.

Whilst there's a surprising amount of endings to uncover in Nicole, the act of getting there feels tiresome and monotonous. There's a decently sized cast to interactive with but it's all handled at a slow pace. The stat building strangles the immediacy and the requirements needed for endings lead to a serious grind. There's some decent characterisations here but this game struggled to hold my attention.

Relicta is a beautiful physics based puzzler with sweary Indian ladies. It’s fine but prone to arbitrary puzzle solutions halting your progress altogether.

West of Dead has a lot of charm, confidence and potential but is currently a bit too flawed to recommend. However, a few patches down the line this one might end up being your huckleberry.

Cuphead finally arrives on the PS4 and it's been worth the wait. It's difficult and can be frustrating but for those with a love for boss fights and a tenacious approach to challenges this will provide a steep one. Everyone else can just watch the lovingly animated visuals.

Spitlings is a great puzzle game you need to play. So addictive and with four player co-op, both local and via PSN, fantastic to play together.

Within the realm of visual novels, Jisei: The First Case HD does deliver a refreshing change of pace. The singular focus leads to a tighter narrative with very little in the way of excess writing. The characters are well-written with plenty of intrigue although the story runs its course far too quickly. The art is well done and the voice acting does help make the cast convincing but, once the curtain falls, there's little reason to return to it.

Othercide brings some great ideas to the table to differentiate it from similar titles. Unfortunately what content is here gets repetetive quite quickly. It does have its moments, such as the boss battles, so fans of the genre should give it a try.

Lost Wing is a decent into-the-screen avoid 'em up that looks slick and cultivates a real 'just one more go' addictiveness. Minor niggles around performance and variety spoil the party a little but at this price it is easy to forgive any small failings it has.

Superliminal is a great puzzle game with soul. There’s tons to do besides the nine levels on offer, especially when you go looking for collectibles.

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break manages to add some creativity to the familiar framework. Unfortunately a frustrating, repetitive campaign stifles any real sense of progression. The level editor can feel cumbersome but persistence can lead to some interesting creations. Multiplayer and the community levels deliver the more intriguing content but that might not be enough to keep fans invested.

Ghost of Tsushima is a beautiful open world game with satisfying stealth and combat. It does little different to other games of a similar nature and the combat camera needs some tweaking but those who like exploring and savour filling in a map are in for a treat.

Fans have been clamouring for the return of Crypto for some time and Destroy All Humans for PS4 is their chance to relive the bygone PS2 era and relive those ill-tempered, extra-terrestrial antics from fifteen years ago. The remake looks great but unfortunately, THQ Nordic’s 2020 effort introduces more issues than it solves; keeping repetitive audio while adding in lengthy loading times, performance issues and poorly implemented gameplay updates. For the one small step of increased graphical fidelity, this version takes one giant leap back for overall quality.

Neversong is a delight that lends itself well to a leisurely stroll. Maybe a little too sinister for kids, so be prepared for “what’s a coma?” questions if you play it with them around.