Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown is more of the same, and for fans of SEGA’s long-running fighting franchise, that should be enough. For those shy of online encounters, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown doesn’t offer much by way of single-player content.

MotoGP 21 is a fine racer that’s realistic to a fault at times. It’s not beginner friendly and you’ll certainly need to be a part of the two-wheeled racing community to appreciate this niche, but it’s good fun all the same. A bit of practice and patience will do newcomers well, while veteran speedsters will feel at home with the familiar tracks, riders, and machines.

Golf Club Wasteland doesn’t reinvent the golf puzzle genre, at least not with its gameplay. It makes its mark by being surprisingly deep with its background story and moving tales of survival, loss, and regret. Deep stuff for a golf game, right?

Mixing platforming and puzzle solving with a clever multi-dimension mechanic that allows you to instantly jump from one world to another, World Splitter is a decent puzzle game that I enjoyed spending time with.

The Falconeer is weird and wonderful with its surprisingly good sci-fi/high fantasy story and lore-ridden world. Despite its unusual and “out there” premise, it falls into the familiar and doesn’t do anything new with its gameplay. There’s a world worth seeing in The Falconeer and it really is an artistic piece by a passionate artist, but it feels like a piece of a larger picture.

The Colonists is a good strategy and management game that’s let down by being a bit too complicated for its own good, and for committing the sin of putting combat where it really isn’t needed. The cutesy robots and the colourful graphics belie a very deep experience that requires meticulous planning and the patience of a saint to appreciate.

Tohu is a unique and satisfying puzzle game, with an art style that is sure to draw lots of praise. Some great puzzles and a brilliant soundtrack all create a good game, but some clunky controls and a frustrating hint system prevent it from becoming a great one.

If you’ve ever fantasised about blasting spiders to kingdom come, Kill It With Fire has your back, and for the most part, this FPS-come-spider-slaying-sim is a fun experience, even if it is a little on the short side.

Tribes of Midgard’s biggest problem is tied to its core gameplay loop – time. There’s just never enough of it. The game has a world full of goodies and gear to loot, but you’ll be lucky to see half of it, and even less if you’re a solo player. There are still good times to be had and the loop is fun and rewarding – just make sure you take a few mates with you.

Journey of the Broken Circle is a sweet, thought-provoking adventure that’s well worth the journey. Despite a few missteps with some contradictory controls and a short run time, Circle has grown on me and I’ll be rolling back into this one until the final trophy pops. It’s just a shame that there’s not much more to enjoy.

RiMS Racing is a solid foundation for RaceWard Studio to work on. The racing is by the numbers and its campaign mode is very familiar, but the depth of its simulation and customisation sets it apart. It’s rough around the edges but it’s a solid enough entry in the bike racing genre.

Monster Truck Championship offers a fresh way to smash some big-wheeled trucks around – and it’s good fun. It’s also a big upgrade over the last-gen versions; 60FPS and up to 4K resolution really puts the last-gen edition to shame. There’s a lengthy career mode to work through with some nice options to tweak the game to your liking, as well as multiplayer if you want to test out your trucking skills online.

If you enjoy simple, calming platformers, Minute of Islands should be right up your street as Mario it is not. What it does, it does well, but in trying to be deep and meaningful it all feels a little bit short and shallow. Gorgeous to look at and quick to play, this is maybe one for the art critics and those who like their games with something to say – even if I missed what exactly that was.

Skate City isn’t the next great skating game, unfortunately. It falls over itself far too often with its awkward controls. There’s also a serious lack of content with just three maps to play in. While the challenges are rewarding and feed into the progression, some are overly difficult to pull off or too vague to understand. There’s a good game within Skate City and I’m sure some will find it.

An entertaining party brawler that’s better with others and once you start mastering a character. It can be quite hectic, so it does require a bit of patience or at least a willingness to go to the dark side of button mashing.

Song of Horror has the potential to be a great game for fans of dark, gothic horrors. There’s a great story to be told and the ominous atmosphere, randomly generated scares, and some genius puzzles will keep you coming back time and again – providing you can overlook the janky controls, camera, and some technical issues.

Alex Kidd is a tough platformer that lacks a lot of the user-friendly features we have all grown accustomed to. Back in my day, games used to be tough – or so Alex Kidd would have you believe anyway. For such a difficult game that is pretty linear, it is surprising that so many of us hold Alex in such high regard, and it is largely why I would only recommend this one to fans of the original.

Creed Champions isn’t the next big boxing game (what is?) but it’s a decent enough arcade brawler. It’s light on content, repetitive, and the montage mini-games are pointless, but the actual fighting is fun enough and if you can get a player two to join you, it can be good fun.

Rust: Console Edition will see its player base split into two. You’ll either spend your time dying repeatedly, or you’ll get good enough to become the villain of the server.

Papa’s Quiz is a standard quiz game with a few modest twists and a couple of weird hosts to set it apart from the rest.

The game explores interesting concepts but never really felt like it achieved its true potential. Instead, you are left with awkward gameplay and an unsatisfying narrative.

Winds & Leaves is a really laid back VR experience that is home to some striking imagery. Unfortunately, it’s a little too simple for its own good and how much you get out of your hike across the dustland fairytale will depend on how well you can connect with the game.

Hood: Outlaws & Legends has moments of brilliance but they are few and far between, and totally dependant on who you’re playing with. The game also suffers in the content department. Unless unlocking digital trinkets and garments is your idea of a good time, there’s not much else aside from the one game mode and four playable characters, meaning you’ll have seen most of what Hood has within a few hours of play.

Override 2: Super Mech League skirts the lines between good and bad without ever settling on either side. The online play is a nice touch to make the Leagues actually feel like there’s something at stake if you can actually find anybody to play with.

King of Seas takes grinding too far in this simple but enjoyable sea-faring RPG. If you don’t mind spending hours chipping away at mundane tasks to make progress, more power to you. The naval gameplay is good but not enough to warrant the dozens of hours the game demands, and the story is, sadly, locked behind these painful barriers.

If you’re a fan of the TV series, there’s little reason to play truant from this one as Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing will keep you entertained with its fast-paced races, gorgeous cutscenes, and a delightful cast of characters.

Bus Simulator 21 expands on its predecessor with a new map, new functions, and new ways to play. But at its core, it’s the same OK experience that we’ve been playing since the middle of the decade and it feels even more dated than ever.

The biggest crime in Rustler is that the game is very funny but not very fun. The writing is a highlight but with tacked-on RPG elements, poor combat, and a world that’s just a little bit boring, Rustler is hard to recommend.