Marvel Midnight Suns is, by and large, an unfulfilling superhero title that is only as endurable as it is courtesy of how great Firaxis are at what they do. There’s a lot of heroes and just as many hollow hellos between them that makes me wish all of the story’s character drama was checked at the door for more of what Midnight Suns does well.

As a spin-off, Gears Tactics has strong core gameplay, but unfortunately, surrounding areas in the design hold it back from being greater. A lack of a base management system or side economy to support the main gameplay makes the gameplay feel a little less rounded and relies heavily on the narrative to keep things from getting stale. The tactical gameplay is excellent, however, its biggest fault is that it left me wanting more.

Streets of Rage 4 is a solid tribute to the genre it arguably helped shape, but this feels like more of the same with a fresh coat of paint rather than an all-out reinvention. What’s on offer here is reminiscent and nostalgic, and still a great time, but it ultimately lacks the oomph to elevate it beyond the games that came before it.

Metro Exodus shows some heart, and it's clear the developers have poured a lot into this third chapter of Artyom's story. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that keep the game from hitting the standard set by its predecessors. Pacing is hamstrung by the ambitious misfire of an 'open-world', while performance issues and glitches mar much of Exodus.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore features some much-needed quality of life improvements, as well as a strong opening and novel combat. But, ultimately, tedious dungeon design and unrefined boss battles that plagued the original remain and prevent Encore from being the improvement it could be.

Catherine: Full Body is a marked improvement over the original Catherine, offering more ways to play for those who want to experience an engaging yet slightly problematic story.

Despite its insanely clever dungeon designs, Dungeons of Hinterberg feels kind of like a hodgepodge of ideas plucked from other games that ultimately did them better. Though there might be things I didn’t enjoy as much, I’d gladly play tourist and stamp my passport on a return journey to Hinterberg any time.

Metro Exodus shows some heart, and it's clear the developers have poured a lot into this third chapter of Artyom's story. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that keep the game from hitting the standard set by its predecessors. Pacing is hamstrung by the ambitious misfire of an 'open-world', while performance issues and glitches mar much of Exodus.

As a spin-off, Gears Tactics has strong core gameplay, but unfortunately surrounding areas in the design hold it back from being greater. A lack of a base management system or side economy to support the main gameplay makes the gameplay feel a little less rounded, and relies heavily on the narrative to keep things from getting stale. The tactical gameplay is excellent, however, its biggest fault is that it left me wanting more.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes feels tailor made for the relatively small cross-section of people who are both hardcore fans of Musou and Fire Emblem. That isn't to say you won't enjoy this if you liked Three Houses, there's a lot that Three Hopes has to offer on a first playthrough, just be ready for the repetition to set in if you want to see it all through to the end.

On its own merits, Sonic Generations does its best to bring the best of both Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic together in a fun and creative adventure that’s sure to please Sonic fans all around. However, it tries too hard to fit itself into the same mould while attempting to keep true to the 3D Shadow experience, ultimately falling short of the lofty heights it aims for. Die hard fans might enjoy, but more casual players may find themselves overwhelmed by the sense of speed.

While returning to its roots in some ways, Pokemon Sword and Shield feels stuck in a transitional phase – where Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee felt like a tech demo for what could be done on the Switch, these games feel like a mix of thoughts from the last generation that weren’t completely utilised. Having said that, Pokemon Sword and Shield offers a tried and true Pokemon experience that fulfilled expectations and gave nostalgic glimpses into why the series has maintained a presence for so long.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a good fit on Switch, though some noticeable technical issues highlight the sacrifices made in order to get it on the hybrid system. That said, what’s here is a great South Park adventure — one fans of the show should certainly check out if they haven’t already.

While returning to its roots in some ways, Pokemon Sword and Shield feels stuck in a transitional phase – where Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee felt like a tech demo for what could be done on the Switch, these games feel like a mix of thoughts from the last generation that weren’t completely utilised. Having said that, Pokemon Sword and Shield offers a tried and true Pokemon experience that fulfilled expectations and gave nostalgic glimpses into why the series has maintained a presence for so long.

While returning to its roots in some ways, Pokemon Sword and Shield feels stuck in a transitional phase – where Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee felt like a tech demo for what could be done on the Switch, these games feel like a mix of thoughts from the last generation that weren’t completely utilised. Having said that, Pokemon Sword and Shield offers a tried and true Pokemon experience that fulfilled expectations and gave nostalgic glimpses into why the series has maintained a presence for so long.

Metal Hellsinger’s rhythm-driven gameplay is something special, though it's marred by an uninteresting story and repetitive design.

All in all, The Quarry is an intriguing story that’s paced well and is tense from beginning to end, aside from a middle chapter that drags. I wouldn't go as far to say as much as I didn't enjoy it, because I did. In the end, it feels like such an over simplification of everything that Supermassive has achieved so far, to the point that I can’t see it as standing above their pedigree in many aspects.

On its own merits, Sonic Generations does its best to bring the best of both Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic together in a fun and creative adventure that’s sure to please Sonic fans all around. However, it tries too hard to fit itself into the same mould while attempting to keep true to the 3D Shadow experience, ultimately falling short of the lofty heights it aims for. Die hard fans might enjoy, but more casual players may find themselves overwhelmed by the sense of speed.

While Overwatch 2 is still a good time, and an improvement over the original, it feels like less of a sequel and more of an update. There's some solid changes to the foundations of Overwatch, but a noticeable lack of new content, archaic game modes, and balancing issues leave something to be desired.

Like so many other modern Pokémon games, Pokémon Legends: Z-A paints a promising picture of what the future of Pokémon could look like. It's an enjoyable return an underappreciated region in Pokémon that fans are sure to appreciate.

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is exactly as it sounds. It's the second game in the series with a very fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately, while the visual upgrade is a decent effort, it ultimately still harbours the same design quirks that made the original game so controversial. While it falls flat in the face of the games that came before and after it, it's a great grab if you're looking to experience some more Luigi's Mansion.

While it has promise, Riders Republic feels like it needs a bit more time in the oven. For fans of extreme sports, there’s certainly something to enjoy here – just don’t be surprised when a variety of issues run the experience into the ground.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War builds upon the original trilogy of games to offer a robust zombie killing experience.

KarmaZoo is a charming and cute platformer that places co-operation and togetherness at the forefront of an experience that, without a keen community, could be a fleeting one. And that’d be a shame, because both Loop and Totem serve up an undeniably fun way to stay on the universe’s right side.

Sniper Elite 5 is undeniably a better game than its predecessors. Every level is packed modestly with things to do, and the kills are endlessly enjoyable. But some antiquated design choices, a done-to-death setting, and a ho-hum story keep it from reaching its full potential. It’s a shame too, because at its core Sniper Elite 5 is one of the best Sniper experiences you can play right now, it’s just everything else that’s letting it down.

Make no mistakes, Darksiders Genesis plays and feels like a Darksiders game. It’s just not a particularly strong one. Repetitive enemy encounters, simplistic puzzle design and average platforming all stop Genesis from being as good as it could be. Co-op is a blast, as is the great dynamic between War and Strife, but it doesn’t save the experience in the end.

Black Myth: Wukong is a game stuck between wanting to be a Souls-like and a casual action game. It's a mostly enjoyable time hindered by some frustrating elements, but the love and appreciation for the source material is what shines through the most.

Replaced is spectacular in so many respects. It’s an audiovisual triumph, with best-in-class pixel art, animation, and cinematography, while its America, hardly a land of the free, feels real, dangerous, and all too familiar against today’s landscape, is a hotbed of fascinating history and complex characters. Disappointingly, combat and exploration don’t quite live up to what the game achieves in story and presentation.

Players keen to continue Peter and Miles’ story on PC should hold out a little longer and wait for some patches, as it’s hard to recommend Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PC in its current state. It's marred by a multitude of bugs that completely take away from the game’s brilliant story and excellent gameplay.

Super Mario Party has successfully stripped back a lot of the bloat that the last few iterations had introduced to return it back to the simple, fun and classic game that it was intended to be. At the same time, the game cleverly uses a number of key Nintendo Switch features making it a must own for Nintendo Switch owners that are longing for a game to play with friends and family.

Super Crazy Rhythm Castle makes a bold attempt at fusing basic rhythm gameplay with the kinds of asymmetrical co-operative chaos of something like Overcooked, wrapping it up in a deeply funny and genuinely inventive campaign. Sadly it undermines the fun at every turn with wild difficulty spikes, anaemic gameplay customisation and a frustrating lack of explanation of its own mechanics. There's something good here, it's just thoroughly underdeveloped.

When Twelve Minutes hits, it hits hard. But I feel there’s, at times, such a disconnect between what it wants to do and say that it’s hard to reconcile its moving parts into anything I’d consider truly great. Performances waver as often as they wow, and that’s a result of a very ambitious game. Narratively speaking, it’s got the hallmarks of a Nolan film, and just like any good Nolan film, you’re going to boil the kettle and postulate into the midnight hours.

While still an apt Souls-like experience, Rise of the Ronin struggles to find its identity amongst Team Ninja's catalogue. It feels like it's being pulled in different directions, and starts to collapse under its own ambition in the third act. In saying this, the DNA of Nioh and Wo Long is palpable here, and I have no doubt that fans of Team Ninja will enjoy this first foray into open world design despite its shortcomings.

Figment 2: Creed Valley feels like Bastion met Psychonauts. It’s an adorable action game set within the four walls of a troubled mind, delivering a colourful albeit shallow journey to enlightenment.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: HD Remaster is an oddly self-aware remaster that does its best to make itself approachable for everyone by remedying most of its flaws. The new difficulty, new skill inheritance options and fully voiced dialogue all help to make the game feel modern and approachable for new audiences. It’s just a shame that, for a HD remaster, it’s not as visually impressive as it could be.

RAD is a great little roguelike that differentiates itself from others with its unique setting and visual appeal. It’s really what you’d expect from a roguelike in terms of gameplay (and is solid in that regard), but everything it does to differentiate itself is largely superficial.

Stray Gods might be a well-written, narrative-driven murder mystery that drags us to Olympus and back again, but it fails to deliver anything remotely close to an earworm after hours of forgettable melodies. Though Bailey and Baker do enough to earn their flowers, the production itself does little to land Stray Gods a place among the musical pantheon.

Fae Farm throws a ton of great ideas into its melting pot of cosy life simming and tense adventuring, and while its various ingredients don't always mix together as well as they should it's got enough unique hooks and wholesome vibes to make it worth a look in for genre fans.

I wouldn't exactly go so far as to call it 'awesome', it's more of an okay adventure set within an engrossing world that continues to go from strength to strength. As someone who values a game's plot, I was able to forgive some of Captain Spirit's inadequacies while I expect others might not be as magnanimous. I can say that the episode itself and its uplifting cliffhanger have left me wanting more of the indomitable Chris and his Captain Spirit.

Mixing the best parts of Left 4 Dead and adventure epics like Indiana Jones and Uncharted, Strange Brigade is better than it has any right to be. Enjoyable solo or with mates, the puzzles and the open level design gives the game replayability, but the pacing and the derivative art direction stop it from being immensely compelling.

Star Wars Outlaws marks an impressive step forward for depictions of the galaxy in video games but fails to provide players with a compelling reason to explore it.

Amid its chaotic titular mode, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is as nail-biting as it was a decade ago. With a new lick of paint and the full suite of DLC included, it is a definitive version of a game that — at its best — sits between a combat and arcade racer, pitting Racer against Cop. Aside from these highlight moments, its a touch barebones and doesn't stack up against what else is available today.

Although it doesn’t quite have the heft to go bumper-to-bumper with games like Forza Horizon or Burnout, Screamer is an incredibly sound arcade racer that, unfortunately, cocoons so much of its exhilarating, challenging gameplay in a bloated campaign that claws for any semblance of focus.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 kept me interested throughout, though its heavy focus on character moments got in the way of forming a more cohesive main plot. I’m hopeful that all of the setup that’s been done will allow Tape 2 to fully explore the mystery behind Bloom & Rage’s ‘wild’ summer of 1995.

Layers of Fear impressively goes beyond the call of duty of updating both games for modern hardware. It's a remake with significantly enhanced visuals and a strong dedication to creating an immersive atmosphere, while also introducing new content. However, it's regrettable that the newly added content feels lacking in substance and significance. Nevertheless, Layers of Fear remains the definitive way to experience the Layers of Fear series, warts and all.

It might not be for everyone, and it can feel like a bit of a slog at times, but among the excellent selection of courses, deep career mode and accessible gameplay, EA Sports PGA Tour should satiate the appetite for those wanting an enjoyable golf game.

Starlink: Battle For Atlas is a fun game that adults and children alike will enjoy. The planets are beautiful and the amount of customisations that can be made in the game is impressive. Ultimately, the missions get a little bit repetitive and the Nintendo Switch version leaves a little bit to be desired in the visuals department, but as far as Star Fox goes, this is better than most Star Fox games in recent times.

It's clear that Ghost Games has taken a touch of Paradise and applied it to Heat, resulting in a thrilling and beautiful racing game that's bursting with things to do. Though their ambition was bold, they strayed too far from comfort in putting Heat together. When measured up against its own franchise, Heat does a lot to move the series in the right direction and it's a clear, marked improvement over Payback.

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind are both well written adventure games with engaging stories. A striking visual overhaul does a great job of bringing both games into the twenty first century, without a doubt. Though this isn’t enough to do the same for the gameplay, which could have used a bit more streamlining.

While I wish I could recommend Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, there's too many odd choices and caveats here to list. While it's always been a black sheep, the identity that feeds its reputation feels lost in this remaking, and it's new content additions feel out of place and in some cases, undermine what came before it.

I can confidently say that Nightdive’s remaster is the best way to play Turok after twenty years. All the issues that most would’ve had with the original version are gone – better draw distance, a smooth framerate and smoother controls all improve a game that was in dire need of a fresh coat of paint.

It’s hard to fault the moment-to-moment gameplay of Back 4 Blood when all of its pistons are working in tandem and you’re running with a good crew. Though the effort to contemporise and grow beyond its roots is commendable, just about every other aspect of the game feels like a misfire. The campaign isn’t fun and, more offensively, it pays no regard to solo players.

While its unclear whether Soul Hackers 2 was an attempt to make a more inviting Shin Megami Tensei game for newcomers, the end result is a disappointingly streamlined RPG that both newcomers and long-time fans will inevitably bounce off of. It's a perfectly fine RPG, but so much of what makes SMT special is sorely lacking here in a palpable way.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is another good and worthwhile Souls-like with a rich setting and moreish combat. It might not capitalise on all of its potential, but it's an experience any hardcore fan of Souls will enjoy.

Ultimately, Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is a polished version of a fairly mediocre game. If you’ve got some fondness for the original I’m sure you’ll have a great time playing through this new version - but without the benefit of nostalgia it didn’t really do much for me. It’d make a perfectly fine rental, if that were still a thing!

Metro Awakening is a capable, haunting jaunt through the familiar, post-nuclear world beneath Moscow I’ve grown to love. It cleverly harnesses VR to emulate the scrappy, resourcefulness of the underground, however its combat is a bit of a slog and struggles to find the fun, leading to a somewhat disjointed campaign.

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind are both well written adventure games with engaging stories. A striking visual overhaul does a great job of bringing both games into the twenty first century, without a doubt. Though this isn’t enough to do the same for the gameplay, which could have used a bit more streamlining.

Chorus does an admirable job of trying to carve out its own identity in a genre that deserves the attention, but it just doesn't stick the landing. If you're a fan of arcade spaceship shooters and narrative adventures there's probably enough here to chew over, but there's just not much that Chorus has to offer that hasn't already been done better elsewhere. Despite being set in a gorgeous pocket of space and offering up some interesting ideas it sadly misses the mark in just about every way.

Caravan SandWitch crafts a gently beautiful apocalypse for players to explore but is bogged down by its decision to withhold exploration tools from the player. An otherwise compelling, humble sci-fi tale of family and the machines of progress is held back by a game torn between its open world and goals as a focused narrative experience.

SEGA Mega Drive Classics does a great job at modernising the classics, bringing in some games that we haven’t seen in a release like this before, but at the same time drops some true classics like Sonic 3. While a plethora of features and some slick presentation make this feel like less of a cynical cash grab than it could be, the omission of these titles and cumbersome navigation makes this collection serviceable but less than definitive.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an achievement for so many reasons. As well as being the little game that could, given the team’s real-world challenges, the game doubles down on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. way, delivering a sublimely realised sense of place with the Zone. Unfortunately, so much of the console experience is rendered so disappointingly undercooked.

Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight are fantastic ways to explore their respective soundtracks from a new perspective. However, they lack the glue that a story mode brought to the previous game in the series that could have made it feel like a cohesive whole rather than a broad but disparate list of songs and customisations.

The story plays out like a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced popcorn atrocity, the upgrade shop might as well be Travelex given how many currencies it juggles, and the performance is less than optimal. Atomic Heart is an exercise in excess. It has some clear strengths, like its first in class art direction and gunplay, however these are far outweighed by the game’s faults.

Dead Island 2 stands firmly besides its predecessor as only a marginal improvement. While there something to be recognised in the flexible skill system and satisfying dismemberment effects, Dead Island 2's lack of objective variety and uninteresting playable characters fall short of its potential. There's still some fun to be had for zombie fans, just don't expect a reinvention by any means.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is a solid beat-em-up that tops its predecessors, bringing all the colourful known and unknown facets of the Marvel universe together with gusto. But despite it’s strong art direction, potent replayability and often enjoyable combat, it still comes off as feeling rather basic.

Another Code: Recollection breathes new life into a dormant series by creating a cohesive narrative in a remake with updated visuals. While some great effort has gone into modernising the games from a presentation standpoint, some of the creative liberties taken and frustrating motion-controlled puzzles will no doubt leave fans longing for a more faithful recreation.

It’s disappointing that, through shortcomings in design and the platform’s limitations, Iron Man VR isn’t a superhero outing worthy of the story told here, nor the Tony Stark that has carried Marvel’s films into this new age of popcorn cinema.

I’ll admit that it’s been quite some time between drinks for me with platform fighting games like this, but Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a fairly good mix of nostalgia, new ideas and inoffensive fun. While it may not reach the sky-high standard of something like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate it gives 90s kids like me another way to beat up our friends while reminiscing about the good old days of racing home to watch your favourite cartoons and arguing about which of them could take the others.

SCHiM has moments where it lives up to the promise of its concept, and levels where fresh ideas and fun mechanics elevate the experience. Unfortunately, it also feels padded and simplistic for long stretches, and the narrative doesn't quite hang together. It looks great, but it's often frustrating, too.

There is a neat story to be told in this world, despite the world being mostly recycled from the last game, however if you don’t find joy in the grinding and collecting elements you’ll probably find yourself too frustrated with the pace and general gameplay to bother.

Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight are fantastic ways to explore their respective soundtracks from a new perspective. However, they lack the glue that a story mode brought to the previous game in the series that could have made it feel like a cohesive whole rather than a broad but disparate list of songs and customisations.

Monster Energy Supercross 2 is a fun supercross experience which touches on some great career options. The game will always leave you wanting just one more race, which is a great sign of an arcade motorcross game.

Were it a bit more feature complete and fine-tuned, Rematch would be undeniable in its claim for Rocket League’s long-held crown. There’s a high, albeit achievable, skill ceiling here, but intuitive controls means anybody can header, rainbow flick, or bicycle kick goals from the box’s edge in short, exhilarating, and most importantly, moreish games of soccer.

Were it structured like a Dark Pictures game of old, Directive 8020, through its derivative but fun riff on 'The Thing', would be seen as something of a return to form. Sadly, their attempt to evolve the product has resulted in a poorly paced gameplay experience that, by the end of its run, is little more than a sadly stagnant monster closet.

I wish I could say that Sea of Solitude excels in every way a game can. Though it offers an honest, raw depiction of how unfortunately disparate life can be and the toil that goes with that, it fires few shots as an interactive experience. A rather barren world and repetitive core loops only serve to mar what is an otherwise overwhelming sensory treat.

Though it pulls a lot of the punches today’s open-world games freely throw, Mafia II is a time capsule in a lot of ways. Not only because its post-World War II Empire Bay lives and breathes only to have its face driven into the dirt by enterprising individuals fixated on the American dream, but because it’s a testament to the timeless, story-driven crime drama. The kind that became extinct once substance was forced to make way for Rockstar’s frenzied brand of mania.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora successfully brings the world of Pandora to video games in a big way. It’s lush and vibrant and without a doubt one of the most luxuriant open worlds that Ubisoft has ever created. Its gameplay, on the other hand, is lacking the spark that makes great open worlds sing. Fans of the franchise will absolutely adore exploring everything this previously unexplored side of Pandora has to offer, just don’t expect it to reinvent the wheel.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is a middling entry into a once legendary spin-off series. For every element or system the game nails, there's a confusing design decision that holds them back. While The Dark Prince is far from terrible, it doesn't reach the heights of recent entries into this storied franchise.

The VR port of Borderlands 2 (a game from 2012) falls short of what could have been a fantastic release. This is due to a lack of polish and the glaring omission of co-op.

Though the alternate history setting allows Steelrising to immediately separate itself from the bloated Souls-like genre in an aesthetic sense, its shortcomings prevent it from standing out in a way that truly matters. Some elements work well, and the accessibility options are very welcome; just don’t go in expecting Spiders to have reinvented the automaton.

Shredders, in an analogous sense, is more Session than it is Skate. It’s hard to see the odd story resonating with anybody, the generously proportioned terrains are sparsely populated and, as a package, it feels feature-poor. This is all despite it feeling super confident in its controls and systems. It’s a small slam from which the developer can dust themselves off, but it’s far from a wipeout.

Greedfall is the kind of game where you really need to be into the story to be able to look past its faults and still enjoy it. That can be an issue because while the plot is generally well written and does a good job of tying its side stories into the main thread, the overall subject matter is going to be uncomfortable for some. Its design and gameplay elements are competent but nothing amazing, nor does it really do anything that stands it apart from others in its genre. There's also a fair amount of technical issues to deal with throughout. If the story does grab you, however, it's easy to invest quite a bit of time in the game. If nothing else, Greedfall does tackle the kind of story that few games are willing to discuss.

Overall, Evil Dead: The Game offers up a rock-solid foundation upon which I hope the developers will continue to build. While I’m getting close to spending thirty hours with it, I’m still having a lot of fun and do not want to stop anytime soon. Some little niggles that will no doubt be fixed, such as certain button prompts not working immediately, are outshone by what is an otherwise robust and cross-play enabled netcode.

Battle for Bikini Bottom, despite offering a fair bit of fun, is a testament of antiquated design and, for better or worse, feels entirely like the game you remember from your childhood. There’s certainly a fun afternoon to be had ruining Plankton’s plot to rule Bikini Bottom while spotting the show’s many references with a keen eye, though ultimately Rehydrated is D.O.A.—dry on arrival.

It's hard to deny that Maneater has colossal potential – though the lack of mission variety and some simplistic combat does lend it to feeling repetitious as time goes on. Putting these flaws aside, however, Maneater deserves kudos for an undeniably unique premise and laying a solid foundation for a franchise that developer Tripwire should almost certainly pursue.

Samba de Amigo is a hoot with friends, sure to generate laughs and memorable moments. Just don’t expect an engrossing single-player rhythm game experience.

Days Gone is a fine addition to the evergrowing list of first-party Sony exclusives. Does it have the shine and polish comparable to Naughty Dog's best works? No, but it delivers a dense and beautiful open world that proves that there's perhaps a little bit of elbow room left for zombies in gaming, even if we're not calling them that this time around.

As an homage to Akira Kurosawa’s contributions to Japanese cinema, Trek to Yomi is an unparalleled adventure to the shores of hell and back that meticulously encapsulates and delivers an experience through his lens. It’s when you look behind its eyes that you discover the game’s soul is missing in a disappointing case where a wellspring of style and authenticity is anchored by a sad lack of substance.

I suspect that people with fondness for the original Pac-Man World, or even just this specific era of platforming games will be the ones who get the most from RePac. It's a style of game that has been out of fashion for a while, but it's simplicity could still hold some appeal. When you can get lovingly re-created versions of the standard-setting Crash Bandicoot series for the price of this though, the value proposition for a remaster of one fairly short and unremarkable game is hard to swallow. One for the fans.

God Eater 3 doesn’t particularly do anything new and amazing for the hack-and-slash RPG genre – but what it does, it does really well. Despite the drags of the narrative, and extreme gripes with button bindings (and sometimes forgetting which buttons to press), God Eater 3 manages to keep you wanting more through combat, weapon upgrades and different battle tactics.

It has an interesting premise and an atmospheric, well realised world brought to life with gusto, especially if playing in virtual reality. But despite all of this, it never truly transcends the slew of similar games that came before it and is over much too quickly.

Although it maintains the spirit of the original Super Meat Boy, Super Meat Boy 3D, as a reimagining, doesn’t quite evolve on its ideas enough to strike a chord. Rather, it reframes them, and it’s these new perspectives and angles on Meat Boy’s frenetic platforming that prove to be the biggest bother of all. It’s still fun enough for the most part; however, I struggle to look beyond the compounded frustration and needless death—in a game about dying, no less.

The Medium is, without a doubt, Bloober Team's most ambitious game in terms of scope and scale. It successfully leverages fixed camera angles and strong sound design to inspire a horror experience that's unashamedly nostalgic. Despite its successes, it never really capitalises on its unique dual reality mechanic and ultimately feels the same as the team's previous games.

While the second and third games are arguably better, Onimusha: Warlords serves as a perfect introduction to one of Capcom’s most underrated franchises. So many minor improvements have been made here to make the game very playable by modern standards, though the fixed camera angles will remain polarising with modern audiences. Regardless, Onimusha: Warlords is a brief yet rewarding experience that combines simple yet satisfying combat and ghoulish enemy designs to create something that’s still unique.

The Invincible brings Stanislaw Lem’s work to life in a faithful adaptation that plays out as if it were ripped directly from retro-futurism art of the 1950s. Starward Industries have gone to great lengths to craft an experience that is visually appealing and makes great strides to maintain Lem’s philosophical concepts while being grounded in hard science fiction. But where the game excels in some areas, it loses its way in others, falling victim to pacing issues and hollow choices, resulting in hurried endings that may leave you feeling lost in space.

Despite a dazzling art direction and one killer new hook for the Souls-adjacent combat loop, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn struggles under the weight of unnecessary RPG systems and an overarching lack of refinement to its many ideas.

In many regards, LEGO Horizon Adventures accomplishes what it set out to do: it effectively summarises the story of Horizon Zero Dawn into an approachable all-ages adventure. However, in simplifying the mechanics of Horizon Zero Dawn, they have omitted what makes Horizon and LEGO games special. The Horizon world has been lovingly reimagined in LEGO but overly basic combat and a lack of interactivity hold it back. LEGO Horizon Adventures is salvaged somewhat by a gorgeous art style, a fun retelling of the story and well-executed cooperative features, but the pieces don't quite all click into place.

When you embrace the chaos there can be a lot of fun to be had, but it's when you look deeper at the nuts and bolts it isn't a bustling sandbox you find. It's more of a litter tray, full of waste.