It’s basic puzzling action that has been done time and time again, so it’s perhaps even more disappointing when you take all of its flaws into account. An absolutely atrocious user interface which looks like it has been adopted from a cheap smartphone game slows the experience to a crawl, while the panels you must place throughout the levels take forever to drag and drop. What's more, unintuitive controls make it tough to work out what you’re selecting on-screen in the first place. It turns a title which should be all about pacey movement into something which operates at a snail’s pace, worsened further by the short two-hour run time.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's inconsistent quality holds it back from being a great Dragon Ball game, but ultimately, its high points do outweigh its problems -- especially if you're a fan. This is quite easily the most accurate retelling of Dragon Ball Z in a video game, and it's packed full of additional character moments and thoughtful little details. That said, it's difficult not to feel as though the game could have used more time in development or a bigger budget. CyberConnect2's admiration of the source material shines through, but at times, it's hard to ignore all of the corners that have quite clearly been cut. Kakarot's good fun and a decent way to spend 40 anime-soaked hours, but it could have been something more.

Overall, the title is ridiculously restricted, and while there are different endings encouraging multiple playthroughs, you’ll have seen all that it has to offer in hours. The sprites are chunky and the environments pleasant, and there’s some earworm audio to add to the overall presentation, but you’re unlikely to find yourself dreaming of this once you’ve seen the credits roll a couple of times.

The world setting of the Dusk Trilogy is one of the bleakest of all the Atelier games but that doesn’t mean that it’s a depressing story. The enthusiastic and endearing alchemists persevere through this dark world to create a warm uplifting tale that’s sure to put a smile on your face. All three games will see you exploring, crafting, and battling monsters but there are plenty of differences between each game that keep things really engaging and a real pleasure to play though.

The strongest asset at the game’s disposal is its breadth of bite-sized content. A surprisingly solid number of ships with distinct variance complement a whole mess of game modes, including a few local multiplayer options. Most of the game modes take under a minute when you first start, and as you adapt to the game’s rhythms, you’ll start going upwards of five minutes. But ultimately, what you walk away with is a game that delivers enjoyment in small, concise doses at an exceedingly low price point. You probably won’t be thinking about it later this year once all of the big games have released, but it’s still worth a bit of your time.

The ultra-smooth movement and responsive controls make for a deliciously slick gameplay experience. You've plenty of ways to enjoy it as well, with several modes for up to four local players, including competitive variants that are decent fun with friends. Precision platforming isn't for everyone, but it's executed very well with Flat Heroes. If you've ever enjoyed the likes of Super Meat Boy or N++, it's worth giving this stylish action title a try.

AO Tennis 2 is a winner, raising the baseline for all tennis titles on PS4. There are still minor quirks to its gameplay, but it’s well-presented and fun, making its enriched Career mode dangerously addictive. Flourishes such as a basic morality system add identity to the package, while a strong focus on user generated content lessens the impact on missing licenses. While the game doesn’t have the budget to go toe-to-toe with the top sports title FIFA 20 and NBA 2K20, this is an overall polished package that comes recommended to tennis fans – and we’ve been waiting a while to write that sentence.

The set pieces are thrilling, and the music fits brilliantly at driving the gameplay, one example being the energetic tune for Mission 5's snow bike chase. There's even an out of the blue 3D scaling section in Mission 4, which feels like playing Space Harrier in a tunnel. The genre demands epic boss battles and Blazing Chrome delivers, as the final sixth mission stands out as one big, fantastically designed boss level.

Borderlands 3: Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot is more of what fans love. Sublime shooting mechanics and inventive loot form the backbone of an assault on Handsome Jack's riches, making for a speedy riot that touches on everything wonderful about the looter shooter. This is Borderlands 3 condensed into eight hours of blistering action, and with an engaging narrative to boot, it makes for an experience that fans would be foolish to skip.

Overall, this is an intelligent, neatly packaged puzzler worth checking out.

Wattam is a pure, adorable joy. Keita Takahashi's signature idiosyncrasies shine through in this playful game about friendship and finding pleasure in the simple things. Interacting with the wacky cast of characters is great fun, and there's almost no pressure to march on with the story if you'd rather do your own thing. It's a shame the technical side of things lets the experience down somewhat, but when the game is at its ludicrous best, you probably won't care.

The game is a lighthearted blast. Causing trouble as a goose is devilishly fun, even if the novelty may wear off once you've seen and done everything. It's so uniquely endearing, though, that it'll live surprisingly long in the memory. Enjoyable at any age or ability, Untitled Goose Game is worth a gander.

Bringing a friend along can make one or two fights feel a bit too trivial, but then it’s worth having someone with you to appreciate the stunning vistas Ashen manages to capture. From superb shots of the sea to underground caves illuminated by the crackling fire of your torch, uncovering a new area is an utter pleasure. It might be a year late, but Ashen still manages to carve out its own space for greatness.

Shenmue III is a game lost in time, but that’s probably the greatest compliment you can pay this long-awaited sequel. Newcomers will be utterly bemused by its slice of life-style idiosyncrasies, but for franchise fans this is the faithful follow-up that they’ve been waiting almost two decades for. This is a weird and wonderful game; it defies contemporary convention in favour of its own decades-old direction. The industry may have moved on, but even 18 years later, Ryo Hazuki still somehow feels relevant.

Fight'N Rage borrows heavily from classics like Streets of Rage and Final Fight, but its combat does a great job of building on the basics without making things too complex. Your fighters have combos, special moves, sprints, evasive hops, aerial attacks, throws, and even parries if you learn to exploit enemy attack patterns. You can definitely button mash your way through much of the game -- on easy and normal, at least -- but pulling off a perfect series of blows and watching your unfortunate foe explode into a pile of bones is seriously satisfying.

That it's a simpler co-op title than its peers is a double-edged sword. It's an incredibly accessible game, but the necessity to cooperate isn't as strong, and it may not hold your attention as much because there's less going on. Still, it's almost impossible to hate this easy-going effort.

Blair Witch's strongest aspect -- its eerie woodland setting -- is perfect for a focused, streamlined, horror experience. Unfortunately, that's not what this game is, and the superfluous, gimmicky gameplay mechanics that are thrown at you with reckless abandon only serve to make the game less effective as a whole. A disappointing story, frustrating level design, and precious few genuine scares leaves us hoping that this is one franchise that gets lost in the woods.

Add to this the various bugs we encountered during play, and Lost Ember becomes a fairly hard sell. We got stuck on geometry a couple of times, and had to reset the game more than once. At one point, some animals failed to spawn, which meant we couldn't progress without reloading the checkpoint. These rough edges don't help a game that's already a little threadbare. Unless you're curious about the narrative, we'd beware of the dog in this case.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey has a huge gene pool of potential, but endless repetition and clunky controls need to be removed from its DNA. For die-hard survival and exploration fans there is a worthwhile experience here, but for everyone else this is a game that’s so repetitive it’ll drive you bananas.

The game pitches itself as FMV horror, and while the experience does incorporate those two elements the more you play, it never amounts to anything more than cheap jump scares and creepy episodes of breaking the fourth wall. It's effective enough the first time, but diminishing returns weaken the tactic dramatically. The same can't be said for some of the horrific voice acting, however, which is cringeworthily terrible on almost all fronts. Although, Simulacra offers just enough of an intriguing, narrative reason to put up with it all.

By making a point of keeping things simple, Arise: A Simple Story excels in all the right places. Basic 3D platforming is elevated by the introduction of time manipulation, transforming the beauty of its locations into an interactable piece of art. And when its visual design is already this stunning, it makes for an experience that delights every sense imaginable.

All in all, you can cleave your way through Story of a Gladiator in just a handful of hours, but it's reasonably rewarding while it lasts. Enter the arena with tempered expectations, and you'll find a basic but moreish brawler.

Nomada Studio's picturesque adventure has made it to PlayStation 4 almost perfectly intact. The game shines at an unwavering 60 frames per second, and it looks superb on a standard console -- let alone PS4 Pro. We did notice some very occasional audio stuttering, however, which is a shame given the otherwise immaculate presentation. That aside, GRIS holds together as an attractive, if somewhat shallow, platformer that you'll want to hang on your wall.

One of its biggest problems is presentation. It's visually poor across the board, and sound is arguably worse; egregious voice lines play out over bland music and lacklustre engine tones. Handling isn't too bad, however. Once you grow accustomed to the slightly odd control scheme, the fun begins to trickle through as you drive across each multi-path circuit. Unfortunately, too many other problems get in the way. Rubber-banding is off the charts, it's hard to see which pick-ups are which, and car-to-car combat with big weapons isn't as fun as it should be.

Stolen Pets is a very short game, so to say much more about it would be to spoil things. There's not too much replayability either, beyond finding each location's hidden coins, but these are pretty easy to spot. That it's over so quickly would be a problem if it wasn't so darn adorable. Joyous, imaginative, and full of personality, this is sure to bring a smile to all who play it.

Stepping into the TARDIS is a cool moment, and there are lots of references and encounters that fans will love throughout the short runtime. Unfortunately, that's about as much substance as you'll find. The puzzles themselves are pretty easy, and the environments you find yourself in are underwhelming. Long load times break the flow between each location, movement is slow, and it's not very engaging to play at all. If you're a real Doctor Who aficionado, you may find some enjoyment here, but otherwise, this is a waste of your precious time.

Put simply, Sparklite is best enjoyed as a single player experience, and to that end, it excels.

Civilization VI is an excellent strategy game that offers numerous ways to play, and all of them are viable options. You can lead a peaceful nation or a war-mongering empire and still have an engrossing and rewarding experience like few others on PS4. Excessive load times, grating music, and some occasionally irksome controls are the only real downsides to what is otherwise the system's best strategy game, and a title that strategy fans can scarcely afford to skip.

Even if you’re not familiar with Blacksad’s previous adventures, fans of games like L.A. Noire or any of the Telltale adventures will find something to like about Blacksad: Under the Skin. It’s a real shame, then, that the game is so buggy on release. Numerous technical issues really spoil what would otherwise be a very entertaining whodunit.

Flight is far too fiddly to be much fun, and all the game's activities are extremely simple. Playing the game on Hard puts a timer on certain things and makes combat less straightforward, but the only real difficulty you'll find is in keeping your bee under control. Perhaps the best part of the game is that flora and fauna are added to a glossary as you find them, providing you with some information on each, and you can add 3D models of them to the hive if you've accrued enough Knowledge Points. As a game, Bee Simulator isn't all that enjoyable, but its heart is in the right place.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is one of the very best games of 2019. Its engaging gameplay loops may have been lifted from other titles, but it's during combat where the game really shines with enjoyable lightsaber duels and numerous abilities that keep things fresh. Backed by a narrative that will bring delight to the Star Wars faithful, its wonderful main plot and referential nature makes the title an essential playthrough for anyone in tune with the force.

Though the environments offer intriguing ethereal backdrops to fire from, they're a bit busier than we’d like. Once in a while you’ll lose track of the notes because the environments may briefly draw your attention from the song. In fact, apart from a disorienting moment where the game briefly freezes upon completing every song, this is the game’s only flaw. The difficulty ramps up well, shooting notes is rewarding and satisfying, and you’ll find yourself wanting to go back again and again.

Golem is a game had a shot at being good if it launched alongside the PSVR. Fast-forward a couple years and impressive virtual reality titles are fairly common. This, depressingly, is not one of those. By the time we took the headset off, we were left with not just a feeling of disappointment, but also one of anger. Anger at the promise it once held. Anger that, despite its flaws, it did some things really well. Anger that it simply wasn’t good.

Every so often, a video game will come along that seemingly defies all preconceived logic and common sense. That can be a good thing, or it can go the way of The Quiet Man. Unfortunately, Last Labyrinth is a PlayStation VR title that very much belongs in the latter category. Its core mechanic is sound enough, if a little stale by this point, but it's the decisions made around the edges that turn this into one of the most baffling experiences we've had inside a virtual reality headset.

Despite feeling out of date in one too many key areas, Terminator: Resistance manages to serve up a campaign just about worthy enough for those looking to switch their brain off and enjoy some mindless action. Its efforts to heighten the importance of relationships and interactions go a long way to differentiating the experience but held back by technical deficiencies, the vision isn’t quite fully realised.

Need for Speed Heat is the best entry in the franchise for quite some time, but it's still not quite where it needs to be. The day vs. night gameplay is a compelling loop, and it's a big step in the right direction for the series in general. It's a solid effort with fun handling and lots of customisation options. It's a shame the open world lacks personality, and the police are perhaps a little too hardball, but there's still plenty to like. At the tail end of this generation, Need for Speed is back to being good -- let's hope it can be great in future.

Some may struggle with enemies that feel like they respawn a little too often, but this is by no means as tough as Dark Souls. Valfaris doesn’t do anything noteworthily new, but the hectic, intense, satisfying experience it offers shouldn’t pass you by.

The game ends up feeling uninspired, and probably won't hold your attention for long, no matter how quickly you hurtle around its twisting tracks. With WipEout Omega Collection and other superior contemporaries available, it's very difficult to recommend this.

When it comes to action, Yakuza 4's a blast. Each playable character has their own unique fighting style, with Akiyama's lightning fast kicks and Saejima's brute strength being particularly satisfying. And in typical series fashion, there are some top tier boss fights on offer alongside a load of addictive minigames -- including in-depth hostess club management.

This is a game that presents itself in a unique way, and trusts you to put together its compelling mystery without assistance.

Perhaps as much as anything else, we feel angry at WWE 2K20 for robbing us of precious time as we circle the swirling vortex of death. It’s completely bewildering that a game of this magnitude has been released in such a state, and whether you want to pin the blame on outgoing developers, poor management, or a rushed development cycle, there is absolutely no denying that this title needed more time in the oven. We initially wondered why 2K weren’t that keen to send us their latest WWE title, but after playing one of the highest profile flops of 2019, we’re starting to understand why.

Following years of mysterious anticipation, Death Stranding delivers on all fronts. An accomplished, fascinating set of gameplay mechanics allow you to make deliveries the way you want to, while social features let the game live on once you've put the controller down. It may become slightly tiresome as you hit the halfway mark, but the phenomenal narrative is on hand to pick things back up again and its outstanding visuals are the cherry on top. Death Stranding doesn’t raise the bar for any particular genre, it creates an entirely new one.

When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is at its best, it's easily one of this generation's best entries in the series. The campaign makes up for a so-so story with a run of brilliant missions that offer up some astonishing moments. Multiplayer treads old ground but remains highly compelling, and Gunfight is a successful addition to the list of modes. Special Ops is disappointing, with just a few missions that are all far too difficult to be fun. Overall, this is an entertaining, high-octane shooter with highs that outweigh the lows.

The collection serves as a wonderful dive into a pair of early tie-in successes. If you're a fan of the games, the films, or both, you'll find something to take away here -- it's a fully featured and fascinating trip down memory lane.

Unfortunately, the minigames – a selling point for the first two entries in the franchise – flop harder than a gorilla on a trampoline. Their ranks – down from 50 in the original to 10 of the “best” here – include snowboarding and a terrible version of Monkey Target, but not even considerable effort can salvage these irritating alternative activities. The package is rounded out with various Time Trial options and the minigame-powered Decathlon, but not even the addition of online leaderboards can make the title’s awful adaptation of Whack-a-Mole entertaining.

With plenty of comparisons to BioShock just screaming to be made, Close to the Sun has some massive expectations to hurdle right from the outset. While it can’t quite avoid feeling like a tribute act at times, it does seem to be making all the right moves in its opening chapters, tantalising you with an effective blend of atmosphere and mystery. But when it comes time to make good on that promise and seal the deal, it misses the mark with frustrating frequency. While some nicely designed environments, and a scattering of enjoyable puzzles stop this ship from sinking without a trace, Close to the Sun doesn’t manage to reach the lofty heights of ambition it’s clearly aiming for.

What a mystery it is. We won't spoil anything, but as the Obra Dinn's adventure across the sea unfolds itself, you'll slowly learn about the relationships and tribulations of all its crew members and passengers. The post-mortem storytelling is compelling, and is never quite enough for your investigation -- or your curiosity. The art style is similarly withholding, offering just enough detail but maintaining an air of unease, and it looks utterly unique to boot. Some may struggle with the visuals as it can be a little too noisy in places, but if that's our only quibble, you can deduce that this comes highly recommended.

With a charming story at its core, surprisingly satisfying combat, and loads of neat secrets to find scattered across the map, it's easy to get hooked on Cat Quest II. It's a great little RPG that never outstays its welcome, offering bite-sized but addictive adventuring.

MediEvil's PS4 makeover sees the classic brought back to life, and it's an extremely faithful remake that fans will love. However, many of the old issues return as well, such as a dodgy camera and stiff gameplay. Sir Dan die-hards will be able to forgive these leftover problems, as this is otherwise a solid remake overflowing with character. If you've any nostalgia for this retro Sony title, or are looking for something spooky to play this Halloween, MediEvil has never been better -- just be wary of the skeletons in its closet.

The Outer Worlds is a role-playing triumph. With its sights set squarely on player choice, Obsidian delivers a brilliantly crafted sci-fi adventure that's packed with witty writing, great characters, and a fantastic degree of freedom. Add solid combat and rewarding exploration to the mix, and you've got the recipe for an RPG that begs to replayed time and time again. An essential purchase for fans of the genre.

Trails of Cold Steel III is the best game in the series so far. You're going to have to play the first two titles to get the full picture, but you'll be rewarded with one of the most enjoyable RPG sagas in modern gaming. This latest entry strikes a near perfect balance between story and gameplay, all while juggling an ever-growing cast of great characters and an in-depth, hugely rewarding battle system. Cold Steel III is JRPG joy from start to finish, and it sits alongside the likes of Persona 5 and Dragon Quest XI as one of the PS4's finest.

Pig Eat Ball is solid fun. With tweaks to the multiplayer, it could be a fantastic party game too.

It’s a moreish experience, buoyed by outstanding controller response and a compelling reward loop. Occasional framerate hiccups threaten to wrestle control out of your hands, but instances of this are generally uncommon. This is a very different kind of two-wheeled platforming to the recent Trials Rising, but it scratches the same kind of itch – arguably more effectively, too.

Everything from the art style to the storyline is fairly simple, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Even though we ran into the occasional bug (nothing that couldn’t be fixed by rebooting), this is a fun game if you just want to relax with something nice and easy.

If you’re looking for a fun, colourful team shooter with plenty to see and do, Battle for Neighborville could be just the ticket. If you weren’t swayed by the prior Garden Warfare titles, you’ll likely want to pass on this, but for the sheer silliness of its characters and the world they exist in, it’s well worth sinking your teeth (or vines) into. You may never want to leave Neighborville.

The visuals – which lean on block colours and cartoon characters – can be a bit flat, and the controls can be cumbersome when carrying out more complicated tasks. However, there’s a great business management experience here; the gameplay may seem shallow at first blush, but plunge a little deeper and you’ll find plenty of depth. Considering that this is an underrepresented genre on console, may we recommend you consider it as a complement to Two Point Hospital this Christmas, as you remember Theme Park’s infamous slogan: “Big business is big fun.”

To its credit, there’s so much off-the-wall content here that you’ll be willing to push through its drier segments just to see what oddity the developer has in store next. Whether it’s reviewing ramen recipes or watching on dumbfounded as the title tosses out a completely unconnected FMV sequence, this is a real rollercoaster of ridiculousness that needs to be seen to be believed. But it’s a three or four hour experience which lasts more than double that, and no amount of Boneface designed bossfights are going to prevent you from getting bored at points.

By keeping simplicity at its core, Monkey King: Hero Is Back offers an entertaining if somewhat mindless distraction to the blockbuster titles releasing around it. Sure, it’s a little bit too short, the narrative isn’t particularly gripping, and it looks like an early PS3 game, but that all falls by the wayside in the heat of battle. Thanks to fun brawling mechanics, Monkey King: Hero Is Back does just enough to deserve your attention.

It's not perfect; load times are lengthy, text is painfully small, and there are some unusual graphical glitches here and there. However, Children of Morta is overall a great success, and manages to forge a unique identity.

The Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Pack offers incredible value for money, with hundreds of hours of role-playing game action spread across two main games and various expansions. While players unfamiliar with the series may find the presentation or the sometimes finicky navigation unappealing, the narrative remains compelling, the characters engaging, and the combat challenging. More than that, it's the first opportunity for console gamers to play two of the greatest RPGs of all time, and it shouldn't be skipped.

There's fun to be had in either mode, but the game's ideas are squashed by some poor design. Combat is accessible but stiff; animations are likely to lead you into danger. Some random abilities are clearly better than others -- a shovel can dig up stat gems, meaning you can buff yourself as much as you want. Then there's the small matter of online matchmaking, which at the time of writing, doesn't work at all. Local play works, but this is a game where split-screen makes it much harder to play effectively. If ReadySet Heroes can be updated to overcome some of these problems, it has potential. There's imagination on show here, but right now, it's not something we can recommend.

The central puzzle mechanics are still clever and there are many different ways to tackle them. Crossing a perilous chasm could be a job for Amadeus’ levitation, Zoya’s rope, or some combination of everyone’s abilities. Multiplayer is back, so you can group and navigate the Rube Goldberg environmental design as a team. Aside from some impressive boss fights, battling the prince’s shadow creatures is the games weakest aspect. Combat feels stiff and imprecise, but that feels like a mild quibble about such a consistently pleasing experience.

While the game is an exercise in trimming the fat, there are a handful of bonus modes once the story mode is over. Despite the barebones menus, these extras are quite the sweetener. One of the modes is vertical-only, which means you essentially get Galaga shoved in there as an add-on, then a mode where you have to rescue trapped astronauts. But all of these modes feel like they build up towards “Shield Maiden”, which is where the real challenge in the game lies. With low health and weak weapons, your goal is to survive, and after finishing up the main mode, this is where we found ourselves wanting to spend most of our time. Overall, Habroxia is a neat little arcade title with some cool ideas.

Despite running into one too many difficulty spikes, Indivisible successfully blends the RPG and Metroidvania genres into one stunning experience. Its plot may be simple and some characters bothersome, but the 2D platforming that bridges the gap between those narrative beats is a dream. Indivisible is a little bit too forgettable in a couple of aspects, but it makes up for that when the tough gets going.

At its best, Frostpunk provides a tense, nail-biting experience like few others in the genre. It's not about building an empire, or creating a beautiful cityscape, but simply doing what you need to do to guide your people through what at first seems like insurmountable adversity. There's a few niggling issues, but the feeling you get from surviving the campaign is one of utter, unbridled joy, and it's that feeling more than any other why we have absolutely no qualms about recommending Frostpunk to you.

The Bradwell Conspiracy wants to reach the same heights as Gone Home and What Remains of Edith Finch, but thanks to woeful performance on PlayStation 4 and clunky, unreliable mechanics, it goes in the opposite direction.

GRID is a very solid racing game that harkens back to the 2008 original in some important ways. The action-packed racing itself is great and often unpredictable, and the handling strikes that balance between arcade and sim wonderfully. However, presentation isn't really up to scratch, and it leaves the game feeling a little cheap. We can't shake the feeling that the pursuit of that GRID personality has only led to a game that's, perhaps ironically, struggling for an identity. When all is said and done, though, there's still plenty to enjoy here, and it's certainly one of PS4's better casual racing games where it counts.

Concrete Genie is a warm, joyful experience that embraces creativity in a unique way. Painting your way through Denska is effortlessly fun, and the genies that help Ash through his adventure are delightful. While this main thrust of the game is well realised, combat feels like an afterthought, as it's stashed away right at the end. This and a couple of smaller issues hold the game back from greatness, but taken as a whole, this is definitely worth playing -- and pretty as a picture, too.

As an officially licensed instalment in a beloved franchise, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is still a resounding success ten years on. But as a third-person shooter with physics-based ghost capturing, it’s a bit one-note. The atmosphere, design, and voice cast are perfect, but the combat peaks early and quickly become a bore. The main campaign is enjoyable enough that it’s worth enduring the repetition, though.

While its campaign is enjoyable in the moment, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep never manages to truly shake the fact that we already went to the Moon five years ago. For better or worse, this is just more Destiny, and that’s a positive for those enamoured with the franchise, but anyone who was hoping for a more dramatic overhaul of its core systems and mechanics will be left wanting. Bungie has huge plans for the future of Destiny 2, but Shadowkeep only delivers a small piece of that vision.

NHL 20 sees Franchise mode take a welcome step forward, while other areas have either remained the same or actually gone backwards. The new commentary makes it clear that different does not mean better, and all the slick new animations in the world can’t hide poor AI. We feel like a broken record saying this, but the NHL series is in sore need of a comprehensive revamp.

For the most part, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is an enjoyable open world excursion, provided you know what to expect -- and let's face it, you probably know exactly what to expect. Its loot and gear score systems seem more than a little tacked on, but much like many of Ubisoft's other open worlders, there's a moreish quality to Breakpoint that's difficult to deny. In co-op there's potential for a lot of fun, and the freedom that you're given in both building Nomad and tackling missions is the game's greatest strength. However, an eye-watering number of microtransactions leave a sour taste, and a parade of annoying bugs give the release a disappointingly rough feel. Robust but bloated, Breakpoint is a mishmash that has its fun moments, but its identity is MIA.

A clear improvement on the original, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a pleasant surprise. It struggles to balance difficulty, but the end result is a robust and compelling platformer. It feels much more cohesive than its older brother and, free from the need to play to nostalgia, gives the characters and the world a better identity. It isn't perfect, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for Playtonic Games.

In an era where arcade titles are few and far between, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game serves as a reminder that SEGA is still the champion of effervescent sports games. A varied selection of events, each with their own addictive gameplay mechanics, makes for an entertaining package with plenty to see and do. Pair this with a vibrant artstyle and some decent online options, and you’ve got the gold standard in athletics right here.

Fortunately, local co-op is a blast with friends. Whether playing for the first time or picking it up for old time's sake, Castle Crashers is still capable of providing simple, senseless fun.

Tropico 6 is one of PlayStation 4's best strategy games, and also one of its most unique, putting you into the shoes of a dictator rather than the standard benevolent overseer that most of these titles offer. Taking your tropical island from shacks and farms to skyscrapers and space plans is a lot fun, and there's enough variety in map design and mission objectives to mean that you'll rarely feel like you're repeating the same beats. And honestly, the music really is pretty good.

When you've just taken an entire team apart with a perfectly paced counter-attack, FIFA 20 feels as satisfying as ever. But for everything that it gets right on the pitch, this year's instalment seriously struggles to make a case for itself at launch. Ultimate Team hits new heights but it is, as always, undermined by pay to win microtransactions, and Volta is fun but it's definitely not the headline act that EA wants it to be. Meanwhile, Career Mode has seen a bunch of improvements, but a shocking number of bugs currently cripple the experience. It's a good job FIFA still plays well, because as a package, it's robust but frustratingly shoddy. Our advice? Wait for FIFA 20 to be patched before tying your laces.

Code Vein is a stylish JRPG with an interesting combat system that just falls short in a few areas. Its inspirations are clearly worn on its sleeve, but it brings enough to the table to stand out on its own. This title has promise, and we think the developer could iron it out into a worthy franchise if it’s given the chance to make future instalments.

One of the more interesting ideas the game posits is actually how it approaches trophies. A collection of “zodiac riddles” give you vague clues about what to do, and are usually weird things you would not do while playing regularly. This is a master stroke as it vastly increases the replayability of the title, which would top out at barely an hour without it. Despite its short length, this is still very much a trip worth taking.

The only real accolade you can award this run-of-the-mill release is that it’s inoffensive, but even then it’s almost offensively inoffensive – if you get what we mean. An unwieldy upgrade system, which sees you augmenting body parts to each of the four heroes, adds a bit of character to proceedings – but it’s somewhat cumbersome and confusing. You may eke some fun out of the ostentatious action playing with buddies both online and offline, but there are better games to backdrop your banter. The panda’s pretty rad, we suppose.

The Surge 2 is brimming with minor gameplay and technical issues that threaten to spoil the broth on a constant basis, but the game’s combat system and varied locations do just enough to push them to the back of your mind. When the going gets tough, the experience shines with a genius take on health regeneration and brutal, gory takedowns that are just as satisfying to perform as it is to whittle an enemy into submission. It can’t hold a candle to a From Software joint, but The Surge 2 will satisfy those chomping at the bit for the next take on the genre.

Mutazione is simple, but achieves what it sets out to do: tell an emotional story about community, family, and forgiveness among a memorable ensemble cast. It's relaxing, compelling, and unique. That it also looks and sounds magnificent is just the icing on the cake.

Utawarerumono: Zan is a decent action RPG that doesn't take too long to beat, but at full retail price, it feels like an overly expensive endeavour -- especially for existing fans of the series.

A few hours in, you'll likely find yourself scratching your head as seemingly impossible puzzles best you. This can naturally be frustrating, especially as you move so slowly, but you'll feel like a genius once everything clicks. Many stages have optional bonus challenges once you solve them, earning you collectable scrolls complete with philosophical mumbo-jumbo. The main story is more interesting, told wordlessly through a series of dioramas, but it's the puzzles themselves that will keep you playing. It's not exactly original, but The Sojourn is a solid puzzler with well designed levels and some nice ideas.

In refusing to dramatically innovate, Borderlands 3 continues to occupy a unique position in the RPG genre. Its blend of looting, shooting, and comedy makes for varied gameplay sequences, deep and meaningful player progression, and a couple of laughs along the way. It’s not going to convert anyone who wasn’t a fan of previous iterations, but in doing so, Borderlands 3 sticks to what it does best.

There's no denying that Yakuza 3, even in its remastered form, is rough around the edges -- especially if you're coming off the back of Yakuza 6, Kiwami 2, or Judgment -- but this is still one of the series' better instalments, and for our money, the best of the PS3 Yakuza trilogy.

At the end of the day, this is a neat experiment that fans of the film will enjoy, but overall it fails to measure up to the source material.

eFootball PES 2020 won't convince any FIFA fans over to Konami's side, but it will certainly appease those who are already enthralled with Master League and myClub. There really isn't too much to write home about this year, but when the gameplay is this enjoyable, there's hardly any reason to complain.

A curiously compelling gameplay loop makes Bus Simulator much more entertaining than it has any right to be. The presentation is poor, but the act of actually picking up passengers and taking them to A-to-B in an expanding open world is moreish, and the title has a self-aware sense of humour that’s easy to appreciate.

Rebel Cops makes some fun adjustments to an already tense formula. Its conflicts are fraught and exciting, while its meta-game is excellently woven into both the storyline and moment to moment gameplay. You should definitely kick the door down.

AI: The Somnium Files tells an often engrossing tale. It takes a couple of hours to really get going, but when it does, it blossoms into one of the most impressively executed visual novels on PS4. A range of characters, both surprisingly deep and brilliantly stupid, elevate an already intriguing and smartly paced story. It's just a shame that the dream sequences, with their frustratingly obscure puzzle solving, can really put a dampener on the experience.

It’s fair to say that Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch didn’t really need a remaster at all, but we won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, and choice is a good thing. It’s undoubtedly nice to have this standout last-generation title running so smoothly on PS4, and it’s just so tidy. After all, it’s also fair to say that this was and is a truly special game. Far more narratively focused than its sequel, this is a tentpole title for lovers of traditional Japanese role-playing games.

NBA 2K20’s absurd production values put it alongside MLB The Show 19 as the most convincing sports game on the market, and its under-the-hood gameplay improvements mean it’s the best-playing basketball simulation ever made. With a dizzying array of modes and options, including a reasonably well-written single player campaign featuring a Hollywood cast, this is a bulky package that will keep you on-court for potentially hundreds of hours. The title’s tone-deaf approach to microtransactions is the only real downside, then, and while they have been dialled back a touch, it’s still difficult to ignore their ugly presence in practically every facet of the package.

Ultimately, you’ll want to pack some paracetamol for this headache.

Stick with it long enough to see Agatha create her meaty religion, and the writing really starts to shine. This is a game in which it’s not out of place for a hamster to start talking to you, while trash TV transfixes its drooling owner. Nerdy references pepper the dialogue and hide in the lovingly crafted background art. Agatha herself is a wonderfully complicated character; we see things from her innocent and skewed perspective, for good or ill. The puzzling is relatively simplistic -- there's nothing here to match the nonsensical item combinations of the genre's luminaries. But this is a game more about story and tone than pixel hunting, and the result is a decent, bizarre experience.

The visual style is putrid, but there are some nice touches, like the inclusion of Mr. T as an avatar. Unfortunately, the gameplay generally feels unresponsive, and there’s really no room for skill beyond your ability to avoid blisters. This isn’t offensive by any means, but SEGA’s upcoming Olympics game is so much better that a visit to YO! Sushi is the closest it'll be getting to Japan.

If you’re skilled, you can speed through in a little over ten hours, though exploring every nook and cranny of the map and finding all of the collectables can take upwards of double that, especially considering there are two endings to experience. At any rate, Blasphemous is torturously fun, and one of the best the genre has to offer.

Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels is adequate in every sense of the word - it doesn't do anything impressively well nor insultingly bad. It's just okay, and while that might be enough to convince fans of the series to take a short trip underground, it's something that anyone else can safely skip.