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.

Lethal League’s certainly a game that’s seen plenty of consideration and refinement through its lengthy development. The finished product is a deceptively deep effort that can sometimes become a victim of its own velocity. For the budget price tag you can’t really complain for a compact, likeable scrap. Just beware that the fun of competition might wane sooner than you’d like.

Seasons after Fall has definite artistic merit even if this comes at the expense of gameplay. The animation and graphics are truly wonderful to look at, and the voice work and music tie everything together but, the repetition in the puzzles and copious amounts of backtracking means, it is not as fun to play as it is to look at.

Prey is another win for Arkane Studios and Bethesda. It may not have much to do with the original or the promising cancelled sequel, but it is a fine attempt at keeping the name alive. Sadly, the difficulty can be a barrier to enjoyment and often places you in situations where you are ill equipped to survive. Some may adore the challenge, others may find themselves too frustrated to continue. Otherwise Prey is a worthy followup, even if it isn’t what could have been.

The mobile roots of Bloons TD 5 are many and varied. However it is cheap and well enough constructed that there is fun to be had, and if you’re looking for a tower defense game this is one of the better ones on the system.

NBA Playgrounds is fun, frantic and friendly. The scoring system can seem a little unbalanced and there are some curious omissions that stick out in an otherwise well-realised product. It’s thin on modes and online multiplayer seems somewhat half-baked but it feels fundamentally enjoyable. There’s a nice sense of progression as you acquire new cards and improve existing ones. If you fancy a new jam, this will provide.

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.

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.

Akiba’s Beat is a disappointing follow up to what was a flawed but entertaining game. The majority of gameplay involves walking to a location to button through some dialogue or progressing through tedious and repetitious dungeons. What content is here is stretched to breaking point as you’re asked to do the same thing over and over. If you enjoyed the characters from the last game you may find some joy here but others may struggle through the fifty hour playtime.

I’m fully prepared to accept that this may well be another gamer’s classic. Sure, I’m underwhelmed and would much rather Atari stopped being pricks and would just let Minter unleash TxK onto PSVR but Polybius is currently doing very well in the reviews. So, maybe it’s just me and this game might end up being the classic you’re hoping it is. But from where I’m sitting this is a bit of a mess and just too simplistic compared to my favourite Llamasoft games.

The PS4 is host to so many twin-stick shooters and Tango Fiesta does very little to stand out from them. The controls and action aren’t particularly slick and the graphics are very weak but the game isn’t a total dud. Stick with the story mode and you may enjoy the action as your upgrades start to kick in.

World to the West is a charming adventure game with an interesting character swapping dynamic. The gentle pace of the adventuring and the environmental puzzles make this an easy game to like. Whilst not without some small niggles these are easy to look past and they aren’t game ruining.

BUTCHER pays a visceral tribute to DOOM on a 2D plane. The gameplay can be a bit shallow, the difficulty can result in repetition, but if you enjoy the speed run scene then this could have some legs.

Human: Fall Flat has some good moments but it is let down by its own premise. Wonky controls become a nagging frustration and there is little reward for playing alone. Add a second player and things get more interesting. This is best picked up if you are a budding streamer or fancy some couch coop. Otherwise, like the title suggests, it just falls flat.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a fantastically memorable experience, one which only the interactive medium of videos games could provide. Yes its short, and yes it has limited interaction, but if you’re looking for a novel and consistently surprising game then this is for you.

Outlast 2’s backwoods territory has a real passion behind it’s visuals and sound but the skew towards the chase quickly strikes me as overbearing. The story tropes sit with a tale that’s been told before and, whilst the antagonists are memorable, their relentless nature adds frustration rather than genuine fear. Stealth remains enjoyable but it seems pushed to the periphery. This game will polarise, depending on your priorities.

The Legend of Dark Witch is a cheap and cheerful platform shooter with a wafer thin plot and a punishing difficulty. I doubt if it would hold anyone’s attention for long but, for a quick blast, it is perfectly serviceable.

GNOG is an incredibly well presented VR experience with the audio and visuals combining perfectly. It’s easy to get into and enjoyable for the entirety of its short length, though it’s lacking a little in the gameplay department.

Statik offers an immersive experience with some very tricky puzzles. It’s not particularly long but its lack of hand holding makes it all the more rewarding when you make progress.

Cosmic Star Heroine is a great game that succeeds in its goal of providing an old school JRPG experience on pretty much every level. The battle system is an interesting and enjoyable one and the ability to save anywhere and retry instantly from deaths is very welcome. I can’t recommend it enough.

Zheros has a heart to its varied, bright visuals and depth to its combat which, sadly seems underutilised. Whilst there’s a plethora of combos to bust out, a preference to mash will easily see the job done. Platforming frustrations and the repetition of combat wears down a decent brawler that can’t quite realise its potential.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is a bit of a mess technically, and the open-world aspects aren’t fleshed out or particularly necessary but, and it’s a big but, if you can get past that, there’s a satisfying and tactical shooter here that sniping fans can really enjoy.

Syberia 3 is a mess of a game with appalling performance issues, terrible graphics and a lacklustre story. Whilst a weak story and poor graphics could be excused, particularly given the clever puzzles, the terrible performance issues all but ruin this game. I couldn’t even recommend this for fans of the first two games as it will just tarnish your memory, you’d be better off just reading a summary of the plot.

Eventide: Slavic Fable is another solid entry into the light adventuring genre which Artifex Mundi have made their own.The puzzles veer more towards logic puzzles rather than hidden object ones which should be borne in mind. Although there may be nothing too challenging here this is a game which is as much about the story being told as it is the limited gameplay.

Bandit Six: Combined Arms offers two relatively plain and simple VR action games. Neither will rock your world in terms of gameplay or graphics though and technical problems have marred our experience of the game also.

Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is an action RPG with a split personality. There is a joy in the simple and easy adventuring aspect here, but the difficult and deep beat-em up inspired combat is a startling step change. Whilst it looks lovely these visuals will only get you so far, and before long the forgettable plot and generic quests stop this from being a truly memorable game.

VR Invaders offers a fun, if short lived VR shooter experience. The shooting feels good and the enemy variety keeps things interesting, but the lack of online leaderboards combined with the limited content means it won’t keep you occupied for long.

Late Shift is an interesting mix of game and movie that seems caught between two stalls. Whilst the movie is shot nicely and the plot is enjoyable, operating Matt as a blank canvas stifles some of the acting on offer. It’s an intriguing idea that doesn’t impact as it should. If nothing else, this is an admirable, ambitious curiosity that may pave the way for something better.