Shadow Warrior 3 isn’t lacking in bombastic, blood-splattered shooting or giddily puerile humour. It comes up a bit short in gameplay variety and its scattershot approach to jokes produces more than a few misses, but as a fairly relentless and compact first person shooter with its heart beating to the drum of nostalgia, it’s a pretty tasty morsel.

NHL 24 hits the ice in a much stronger way than NHL 23 did last year, due in large part to the brand new exhaust engine, which strikes a good balance between NHL 24 feeling like a hockey simulator and a fun, arcade-y video game to play with friends. The lack of any changes to Be A Pro mode is once again disappointing, and HUT is still trying to squeeze out every dollar from you, but it's an overall strong package for hockey fans to pick up.

An attractive JPRG with a hugely innovative central time manipulation mechanic, it seems as though the developers behind the game fell head over heels in love with that element of Cris Tales design at the expense of crafting a world with memorable characters, motivations, places and events. That said, Cris Tales non-linear story and neat use of time manipulation will still hold a fair amount of allure for genre newbies and stalwarts alike.

Look past its dated graphics, and players will find a game steeped in strategy and high on challenge. Despite the repetition, there’s no disputing that chaining together a huge combo to torture and kill mere mortals can be an extremely satisfying way of releasing your daily stresses.

Concord largely nails the fundamentals - it feels highly responsive, is handsomely made, has good feeling, if slower gunplay than other games, super stable servers and minor concerns aside, has a roster of mostly well balanced characters. With Concord's obviously passionate team of developers confirming that they are absolutely in it for “years to come”, I would love for Concord to still be around in one, two or three years time and even beyond that. I just don't know if gamers who have been experiencing varying amounts of genre fatigue will be generous enough to put a significant amount of time into a title that, on the starting blocks at least, seems roundly decent enough but doesn't offer anything thunderously new to upset the status quo. I know that I'll be playing Concord in the weeks and months to come, I'm just not sure a sufficient number of other folks will be joining me.

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet could have been an exceptional title in the franchise, with a little more work on its story and skills system, Its combat, exploration, and great boss battles, on the other hand, make Fatal Bullet the best Sword Art Online title to date.

Goat Simulator 3 isn’t exactly ripping up the thin rule book its predecessor scribbled out, but it recaptures the stupid anarchic joy and amplifies its influence across a bigger, better game world.

Basic in presentation, and deceptively simple on the surface, Bridge Constructor is actually a surprisingly deep and varied physics puzzle game if you’re willing to invest in it.

Fast-paced action and combat is the heart of Necromunda: Hired Gun. A great variety of skills allow you to string moves together while taken on dozens of foes at once. The world of Necromunda is a horrible dystopian underbelly of the 40K universe and it shows in Hired Gun. It's just a shame that the story, and characters are so barebones that the 40K license almost feels wasted.

JackQuest is not a bad game but it's not a great one either. We have seen it all before so there's nothing that will surprise you in any way. It has some nice Metroidvania elements and a few hidden collectables to find, and its simple battle system and easy to beat enemies means it's a decent entry level game for those new to the genre.

Deliver Us Mars, the latest Deetman brothers project, channels the same heart that started beating in Deliver Us The Moon, even if it takes a great deal more effort to get to it. You need to slog through some cumbersome and at times downright frustrating gameplay, but I promise you the premise and ending make it worth your while.

Overall, Black and White Bushido is a lot of fun, with support of up to four players local or online, this is certainly a game to bring out at parties or when friends come over for some fun.

One of the best puzzle games of 2016. Addictive, fun and clever.

Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis retains the same commitment to bringing the original game to a new generation, but unfortunately ends up remaking the same mistakes that make this epilogue such a divisive experience for players across the board. There are some memorable character moments here for players looking to spend that little bit of extra time with the team, but I finished this DLC questioning if it was truly worth the tedium of the dungeon-crawling, even if the combat is fun and the production values are still off the charts. While Atlus' dedication to bringing the old game to a new audience is commendable, I think this epilogue deserved a little bit more of a rework than it got.

The House of the Dead Remake is everything you'd expect from a revamp of an old-school 90s zombie rail shooter. It's fun, all too brief, but still provides enough entertainment solo or with a mate in tow. However, it still feels like a missed opportunity to stuff it full of some worthwhile new content.

While these aren't entirely among the finest of platformers from the 8-bit era, the Disney Afternoon Collection does make some enjoyable retro titles more accessible for newcomers, whilst offering old hands so e fresh challenges.

It's dingy and it's not without some mutations, but Directive 8020 is definitely worth exploring - just expect the mundane along the way.

FIFA World Cup 2014 has enough for both newcomers and veterans alike, but the appeal is embedded so deeply in the World Cup playoffs that that appeal won't last past the actual soccer season. It features great gameplay and a fair amount of modes at a discounted price, and the overall presentation makes other sport franchises look childish at best. Nonetheless, the strength of FIFA World Cup Brazil is in its cashing in on the World Cup itself rather than in the sport, resulting in a good start and a bad finish.

Saga Frontier Remastered is a great remaster for those who already enjoyed the original. The unique take on exploration and non-linear storytelling may throw some people off expecting a traditional RPG but those who stick with it may find the charm that so many found back in when it originally released. Simple but fun combat and a great skills system make it a joy to play and the improvements in the remaster may help bring in new fans while invigorating older fans with the inclusion of originally cut content.

Only being lacking in some technical adjustment and editing stops this title from being truly great. Nevertheless, Projection: First Light immerses you in a forgotten culture for a visual and narrative treat that will no doubt prove to be a memorable experience.

A deeply engaging fighter that resurrects the Street Fighter EX combat mechanics of yesteryear, Fighting EX Layer's lack of single-player content unfortunately make it difficult to recommend to folks who aren't rabidly engaged in its online multiplayer shenanigans, those who are however will find much to enjoy.

Chronicles of Mystara won't wow gamers with modern tastes, but it's a competent arcade port that pays due respect while introducing tasteful new features.

Chorus is a mostly good game, with excellent dogfighting and gameplay that always feels fun to pull off. It also looks gorgeous and can make for an entertaining narrative, even if it's not really breaking the mold too much with its plot. Still, it's almost tragic how poorly the game's ending lets down the rest of the solid work that made everything else about it so brilliant.

An interesting concoction of genre traits and structures makes Scars Above one of the more engaging action-adventure game attempts even if it does suffer from some combat woes.

Snooker 19 isn't perfect, with a major feature lacking and some over-powered A.I., but it's somewhat forgivable thanks to the accurate ball physics and wealth of tournaments, which makes your time at the table sinking balls extremely satisfying.

Clearly a labor of love, Ary unites puzzles, platforming and exploration into one round package. Although its technical issues are a bit off-putting at first, if you can look past them, there’s much fun to be had.

A technically accomplished and satisfyingly challenging, if content light take on competitive kayaking, Whitewater VR: Extreme Kayaking Adventure is an entertainingly frenetic counterpart to the more chilled kayaking since elsewhere in the PSVR 2's portfolio.

A decent puzzle game which is perfectly tailored to the pick-up-and-play mentality.