Ninpo Blast combines ninjas and shoot 'em ups to make a game that's oddly unexciting.

If Epic Dumpster Bear: Dumpster Fire Redux could match its humour with more competent presentation and gameplay then it would be fantastic. However, this is not the case and while the game is definitely played for laughs, these soon run out when mundanity sets in.

I've said all I can about Takorita Meets Fries. My biggest fear is to be shown a game I can struggle to talk about. This culinary non-adventure has so little on the table that it's hard to recommend. It certainly feels geared towards a younger audience but even children have higher expectations. The incredibly brief narrative leaves me completely unsatisfied and the impressive presentation can't really save it.

Despite the initial promise of an interesting story with a comedic quirk, The Protocol falls flat on nearly every fundamental level. The gameplay is tedious, the comedy doesn’t land and for all of the title’s good ideas; the game fails to live up to or capitalise on any of them.

Zenith isn’t that good and that’s a real shame because on the face of it, things looked promising. The trouble is that the comedy falls flat at every turn and the role-playing elements are so light they’re practically non-existant. Had the developers focused more on gameplay and less on jokes, we might be onto something. Comedy isn’t easy in games and Zenith is exhibit A in the case of how to bad things can get. All is not lost though. The developers have created a functional product and after some more QA testing could have had a fairly average game. I do hope this is a stepping stone onto greater things for them. Don’t believe the reviews giving it zeroes and ones but certainly don’t be fooled into thinking this is anything special either.

Inessential. That's how I'd describe Destroy All Humans!: Clone Carnage. It feels like a placeholder between games to keep the fans simmering over and I'm not even sure they would be satisfied. Online lobbies are already deserted so your chances of any joy might have to stay local. Even when I found a match, the lack of content means I'm struggling for reasons to stick around. It looks nice but some of the maps feel fairly empty.

Super Destronaut: Land Wars is a very basic FPS with a nice neo-retro aesthetic but is let down by a serious lack of challenge.

Space Hulk: Deathwing accurately looks and feels like a Warhammer 40k licensed game. Unfortunately, for what it has in atmosphere and looks it just isn’t that great to play. Instead, the game is a slow and laborious slog mixed with laborious combat that rarely feels satisfying.

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.

There's a fun game buried away inside Spuds Unearthed's needlessly complicated exterior but even when you figure out what's going on, a chronic lack of challenge kills the game before it ever really gets going.

Neptune Flux is a short and not so sweet package. While it has decent storytelling and a premise that interests, for an open world title it simply feels too claustrophobic. There is some fun to discovering deep sea detritus and the puzzles surrounding them, but unfortunately whether it is because of the murky visuals or the extremely short playtime, there is just not much to see here.

We love twin-stick shooters and we love tower defense games. Unfortunately, Road Defense: Outsiders doesn't execute either aspect particularly well.

It's not that Bubsy is terrible, it's that it never ever tries to be anything other than average. For this kind of price, we expect so much more.

While RobotRiot doesn't have any glaring issues, there's a lack of creativity and excitement that would have even been in a problem in the '90s era that it emulates. In 2017 on a PS4 Pro, this just isn't enough.

Gangs of Sherwood is a hollow effort that, despite the decent visuals, struggles to raise a compliment out of me. For a game so short, it runs out of variety quickly. The lock-on might be a struggle but combat is so without risk it barely matters. Perhaps a robust cast of characters could've saved it but even they overlap in abilities and movesets. I've played worse but those worse games have arguably had a lot more to say.

Dyna Bomb evokes memories of old console and computer games but is reasonably unique. Unfortunately it looks and feels like what it is, a cheap and cheerful port of a 2016 budget PC game.

For everything Hammerwatch II does well, there's a downside. In a series that is now a decade old, this is the worst game in it and it suffers from issues that the studio should have resolved long ago. Maybe it just isn't a good fit for consoles or maybe the developers technical skill doesn't match their ambition but whatever it is, we feel pretty let down by this one.

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.

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.

Beyond the Ice Palace II is a throwback in the worst possible way. A sequel to a 1988 Amiga game that should never have been greenlit, not to mention the terrible job Storybird did with it. The checkpointing is miserly, the platforming uninspiring and the post-release patch that deleted our save and removed what little enthusiasm we had for the game were nails in the already rickety coffin. Bury and forget.

Ace of Seafood isn’t a great game, but it is sort of ok. There is enough absurd action here to ensure the game doesn’t get boring, and it is particularly interesting to watch. However the low quality graphics and poor controls mean that more often than not this is a game which isn’t all that enjoyable to actually play.

Rabisco+ is a wolf in sheeps clothing, it's cute looks belay its unforgiving nature. Ultimately the challenge and twitchy controls overwhelm any real fun you might have otherwise. The very fact that we can’t be doing with playing again for the PS5 platinum speaks volumes.

This cheap and cheerful BMX game has a solid enough engine but there's no real game hanging off of it. A serious lack of content lets this one down.

Insomnis is a horror-themed, puzzle-based walking simulator but unfortunately it really only nails the walking bit. With no real scares, a lack of engaging puzzles and no real technical proficiency, this is just an average indie game that doesn't really make a case for its own existence.

The Order of the Snake Scale is a small and cheap effort that struggles to serve up mystery or tension. Whilst the music can be atmospheric, most areas are lifeless and combat is sparse. It's an adventure game but the steps you take to progress the story feel strangely disconnected. The tank controls lead to an awkward fumble and the first-person view, whilst making it easier to navigate, is an ugly thing to look at. It's playable but far from cohesive.

Road of Death mixes twin-stick shooting with classic survival horror mechanics but none of it is done well enough. There's a degree of challenge that's mildly interesting for an hour or so but beyond that, the game just isn't any fun to play.

Thunderbolt Collection is an interesting curio for shoot 'em up collectors. There's definitely some value in owning two hard to get mid-'90s console shooters but the games weren't celebrated back then and that's for good reason: they're just not all that good. But as a package, you have to admire QuByte's efforts to bring these games to a new audience.

Crystal Rift on PSVR is about as basic as it gets. The low fidelity visuals, questionable soundtrack and asset choices tarnish what could have been a decent dungeon crawler. Without the VR headset it is even less enjoyable due to poor viewing angles and stiff movement. This just makes Crystal Rift very hard to recommend, even at its lower price point.