Birthdays the Beginnings is more of a passive experience than a game and some people will love it for it. Others, like me, may find the vague instructions and the lack of interaction a bit tedious and a put off. It’s certainly an interesting curio but will absolutely not be to everyone’s tastes.

ArtPulse isn't really an art tool for VR like the name implies but more of an audio/visual experiment meant for short bursts. The tools don't have enough flexibility for you to get truly creative and my time with it was short lived but I'm sure some people will get some joy playing about with what is here.

I feel The Dragoness: Command of the Flame falters with its pacing. It does well to explain its systems but the bread and butter battles take place on dull playing fields. With missions being on the lengthy side, the repetition did start to wear thin and the basic presentation didn't raise my eyebrows. The roguelike elements do throw some variety in the mix but it's countered with hero progression being reset after each mission. It is a functional tactical RPG but it lacks a little excitement.

Iro Hero is a very challenging shoot 'em up that uses Ikaruga's colour switching gimmick but offers very few ideas of its own and doesn't do a very good job of explaining its intricacies.

Stunt Flyer is an unimpressive port of a 2011 Pilotwings homage that lacks the charm and excitement of the original but, once you relax into it, it can be oddly compelling.

Demon’s Crystals is a twin-stick shooter that does little to stand out from the crowd. It has a degree of confidence and charm but the gameplay is so thin that it makes the game impossible to recommend.

Bite the Bullet gets the basics right when it comes to run and gun gameplay but despite being an interesting idea the eating mechanic feels unnecessary, the levels are overly complicated and long and there are far too many bugs and other issues.

Kill the Bad Guy is a fun concept for a puzzle game but doesn’t fulfill its potential. Unreliable AI and physics make planning foolproof traps a matter of patience and trial and error which quickly becomes tedious.

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.

Habroxia is a cross-buy shoot 'em up that has a couple of good ideas but is hampered by being too easy and visually bland. There's definitely some fun to be had while it lasts but that isn't very long at all.

An interesting take on the usual arcade shoot 'em up but ultimately one that isn't as satisfying or rewarding as it should be.

The Legend of Cyber Cowboy is a Westworldian take on The Binding of Isaac, except it's just that bit too rough around the edges for our liking. The RNG can leave you marooned on a level with no decent weapons, which eroded our goodwill rather quicker than we’d have liked. Not having the ability to save progress is the worst part.

Two Hundred Ways is the sequel to One Hundred Ways. It's a port of a PC puzzle game that needn't be on consoles at all. Slow paced gameplay and badly mapped controls make us wish for a PS5 compatible mouse for this game alone. Also a mere seven trophies compared to thirty seven on Xbox makes us wonder why we got the shitty stick on PS4. Not quite Wii-level shovelware, but it feels that way.

Train Valley is an easy-to-pick-up puzzler that offers up some relaxing gameplay and it's fun for a while but then it starts to get a bit repetitive and the fun wears off considerably. It's okay though and if you limit gameplay to shorter sessions over a longer time, it'll be improved by taking breaks from it.

Back in 2002, The Thing was a rough around the edges way to continue John Carpenter's brilliant film but in 2024 it just looks and feels so dated that no amount of remastering can fix it.

Iron Snout is an enjoyable one-screen beat 'em up that has slick controls that help you keep up with its frantic but fun action. Its mayfly like lifespan is an issue though.

Blind Men is a short, easy platinum (or two) in the form of a boys' love visual novel. Being short it's not too deep or engrossing but for the price it'll probably satisfy those interested in the content or the trophies.

Flying Bunny brings a mix of shoot ’em up action and Flappy Bird trickiness to the PS4. While it plays like a mobile game, there is some simple arcadey fun to be had before the difficulty spikes and starts taking the fun out of it.

Sword and Fairy 6 would be a fun but quite simple Chinese RPG if it wasn't for all the technical problems. The frame rate is a constant issue, making the PS2 quality visuals look even worse and impacting the controls, but there are worse game breaking bugs in here that make it impossible to recommend.

Spellspire takes the core gameplay of Letter Quest but doesn’t build on it. Everything is fine here but it’s repetitive and lacks a real challenge for large chunks of time. But word game fans will likely enjoy it just fine.

I really struggle to get into a flow state with Extinction Rifts. The ingredients are there with short and sharp levels that challenge your ability to remember and react. Unfortunately, there's just enough downtime between encounters to make maintaining a combo tricky. Aesthetically, it's got some colour but lacks style and bombast. There's a solid idea here but it's not polished or truly focused.

Mekabolt+ is a rehashed take on Mekabolt from 2019, only for some reason this time only on PS5. It's OK, but hardly the usual value proposition we've grown used to.

A short-lived, rhythm action title that somehow doesn’t feel like one. Beat Souls is one of those games that does just enough to be fine, with a decent enough gameplay loop and forty-five levels to play through. However, beyond the easy trophies, it does little to stand out as memorable or interesting enough for replay value.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find myself in a good flow with Micetopia. The potential is there for a simple, decent platformer but Rich is never fully equipped enough to feel handy in combat. Visually, it's well-made and has the occasional flourish but the gameplay doesn't offer me much excitement. Progression leads to some late-game grind and the level design does falter in giving you too much to do between checkpoints. On paper, it looks fine. In execution, it becomes clumsy and frustrating.

Ninja Shodown is a party game with a sense of fun and chaos to it but the truth is that it's just not as much fun to play as it should be.

Mages and Treasures is painfully derivative of lightUP’s prior release Milo’s Quest, amounting to not much more than a reskin. As ever, double platinum trophies for all in short order. Daft balance issues dog the early part of the game, plus melee is a mess.

Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity is overly simple to the point of providing no challenge. It’s not broken but almost every element could be improved in some obvious way to make it more interesting.

Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is a re-release of a ten year old portable title and it shows. Apart from being weak on a technical level the combat is basic, the story is lacking and the side quests are repetitive. Not a patch on the sequel, but major fans might get some joy out of it.