Skate City is alright. There are better skating games out there for sure but if you're looking for a mellow take on the genre, this'll do for a while.

Ad Infinitum's message is a worn trope but I still enjoyed how it was delivered. There's some great creature and area design on offer within the trenches. It's a pity the family home offers something more mundane. The lack of combat results in a game feeling linear and littered with simple puzzles. The voice actors carry a decent story but the visual performance can suffer under some heavy loads. It results in an admirable effort that lacks a solid landing.

Grow Up shares the same relaxing pace and exploration as its predecessor, Grow Home. With its satisfying upgrade system, enjoyable puzzles and pleasant game world, Grow Up is a nice way to spend a few hours and will no doubt appeal to fans of Grow Home even if this time you have to pay for it.

Small worries aside, Wuppo's character and style has managed to disarm me with some cheeky writing and a surprisingly dense world. The pace does bog down in two particular parts but I was intrigued enough to persevere. Combat is engaging and exploration is usually rewarding. This is a staggering effort from such a small team and their passion shows. This is very, very well crafted.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is rough around the edges but offers an adventure worth taking for those who prefer a more realistic, slower pace to their open world RPG.

Disco Dodgeball Remix manages to add some longevity to a game that originally ran short on time. The player progression and the variety of modes help stave off potential boredom. The game's playful colour and style remains compelling after three years. Whilst the online does seem to be hampered by the urgency to get you playing, there's a lot to keep you occupied and it's mostly enjoyable.

As a remaster, Hitman HD Enhanced Collection does deliver the best looking edition of these games to consoles but there's a sense the price is hard to justify. If either of these titles are missing from your Hitman collection, it's worth a look. I've had fun and found myself nostalgic re-examining these two titles. I can't deny it's a difficult package to recommend to veterans unless they really, really want to see a sharper image.

Offering an odd mix between an MMO and a more standard RPG Sword Art Online is game of two sides. It tells a decent story and offers decent combat but sometimes feels like these two sides are competing with each other.

Technical problems aside, Absolver is a great fighting game. If that's enough for you then although the campaign is over relatively quickly the multiplayer and customisation could keep you going for a long time.

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.

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.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One puts the detective into an open world setting whilst giving him plenty of murders and side cases to investigate. There is the odd bit of action here and there but those who like to explore, examine and deduce will get the most out of this adventure.

After spending thirty years in the dark, Clockwork Aquario finally gets released to the public, thanks to ININ games. With solid spritework, excellent music and a satisfying game loop, this is a solid nineties arcade platformer. However, the limited game length and offering may leave a fair amount to be desired. This is one of those that love game preservation and classic Sega titles while others may find this game forgettable compared to their other thirty year old favourites.

Cris Tales is an enjoyable, shorter than average JRPG with some interesting time travel mechanics. The visuals are fantastically stylised and the characters are likeable but the time travel mechanics don't quite go far enough to make it stand out.

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.

Aeterna Noctis is a very tough metroidvania with incredibly intricate platforming sections. The fair checkpoints even out the challenge a little but plenty of design decisions work against the player in ways that are harder to overcome than the difficulty.

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.

Rogue Stormers offers plenty of challenge for those that want it. The responsive controls and varied weaponry allow for unique gameplay moments and will certainly keep players returning. I can’t help but feel the grind wears me down on this, although a person with greater skill and reflexes will get some joy out of this. Sometimes luck just won’t be on your side as you scour the levels for much-needed health although the persistent rewards guarantee progress. If you fancy a Contra clone with some strategic elements, this might be for you but progress feels too gradual for my tastes.

Voyage is a nice excursion across a gloriously hand painted landscape that only occasionally lapses into incomprehensible "what the hell do I do next" territory. Excellent music too. That it's developed by two brothers is staggering.

If you're going to copy the Vampire Survivors formula, remember what made it so good. The Spell Brigade somewhat misses that point.

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]

Future Unfolding is not going to be a game for everyone, lacking as it does many of the aspects of traditional gameplay, interaction is limited to the press of a single button and the story is vague and easily ignored. But if you’re looking for a unique game, a game which defies easy categorisation and a game which celebrates the joy of exploration this could be for you.

Fans of off-road and muddy racing, and gamers who just like arcade-style motorbike action, are well catered for with this very competent motorsports title. A year's worth of patches have answered many of the issues from the 2018 release and we like seeing all of the DLC included on the disc too.

Edna & Harvey - The Breakout: Anniversary Edition is a remaster of a 2008 game with a fresh new look, but very much a PC point and click adventure of the era. A few bugs don't help any.

Legend Bowl is well meaning enough with a fair stab at the Madden games of yore. Just don’t mention the kicking mechanics. They’re awfully implemented and will lead to you being on the back foot in matches rather more often than you’d like. The extensive franchise mode and pixelised gridiron are fun enough, but our frustration at the kicking meant we found Legend Bowl whiffed wide right rather than being on target.

A great fit for the Lego game template released ahead of the new film. One of the better Lego games in recent memory that shows what can be done when the source material is right.

Biomutant remains a slow burner. It took a while to get its hooks into us, but it sure did. It's not startlingly original and is a bit overburdened by its sheer scope, but we don't feel shortchanged by our forty plus hours playing it. Start a new save on PS5 if you want to get a clean sweep of trophies though.

As a complete package, AO Tennis 2 builds on the first game quite well. The customisation allows for licensing to be circumvented whilst the on-court action is tactical, if a little clunky. It lacks a fluidity and the assisted movement can be unreliable, but there's definite steps taken in the right direction. Presentation lacks some punch but the career mode does offer plenty of reasons to come back. It's a fine effort, if a little compromised.