PixelJunk Monsters 2 is a brave sequel that attempts to fix something that isn't broken, and has ended up taking away more than it adds. The 3D graphics are gorgeous, but the game is less readable as a result, and maintaining all your towers is more difficult when you can't see them all at once. However, the root of what makes these games special shines through, and when you're slaying enemies in a perfectly executed run, the flaws fade away, and you're left with a delightfully satisfying tower defence title that almost anyone can enjoy.

There's a generous amount of content, which at 20 hours is four times the completion size of the original. Since this retro remake is a game of three thirds, it'd be a disservice if followers of the original lost faith from initial impressions of the unsightly side-scrolling action, and an overly gabby god game. Yet, fans won't be on cloud nine if a lack of support towards Actraiser Renaissance discourages Square Enix from being devoted to ActRaiser as a promising series.

Dawn of Ragnarok does enough to satisfy by the time that the credits roll, but if you're burnt out on Assassin's Creed Valhalla, there isn't much here that'll reignite your interest. The mythological angle is well played, the fantastical setting is cool, and Odin makes for an intriguing lead, but after a year of DLC and updates, Valhalla's gameplay loop is wearing a bit thin.

The game's best design choice is how its variety of playable characters significantly alters the gameplay mechanics. Cotton Fantasy's Producer, Shinya Nagatomo, told Issue 231 of Retro Gamer magazine that "It's an all-star game with not only characters from other games, but also new systems from other Success games". This means controlling Ria incorporates the risk/reward Buzz System from Psyvariar, and you can unlock playing as the final boss character, Tacoot, with wand flinging abilities. It's these deeper systems, and unlockable stages that make Cotton Fantasy an intricate cute-'em-up that core shoot-'em-up fans will relish mastering and replaying.

Budget Cuts has thrilling stealth gameplay that'll have your heart pumping as you dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge your way past robotic pursuers. With a solid length campaign, headset haptics, and an intriguing story, you'll want to see this one through to the end. Although some major hand tracking issues and jagged visuals cut the immersion, we'd still recommend you optimise your time and give this one a shot.

Shadow Heritage is another fine addition to Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It's an improvement over the previous episode thanks to more engaging quests and better character interactions, but for a game that likes to remind us that player choice is a key part of the experience, the forced ending of Episode 2 is undeniably disappointing. Still, we're looking forward to seeing how it all wraps up in the third and final instalment.

A dearth of tutorials and a lack of consistent narrative can hamper the early stages of Surviving Mars. But have patience and this city builder emerges as an entertaining and addictive experience with tons of replay value and a dark streak of humour.

The game is a looker too, with gorgeous green and blue tones brightening areas beyond the beaming sun. And while the adventure is over in just a few hours, a fair few different areas keep the brain engaged as the visuals mix things up. Our only real criticism would be the scene transitions, which cause the game to freeze in place for a second. It happens often enough to ruin the immersion somewhat. That aside, Hoa is a lovely little game that pretty much anyone of any age can enjoy. It's not trying to do something new, but rather whisk you off on a short, beautiful adventure full of positivity.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian succeeds through the strength of the sum of its parts. Its story and dialogue are a bit obtrusive at points, but the simple loop of fashioning items to flog them to forge even better ones is compelling. With strategic turn-based combat and breezy presentation, this is an overall enjoyable RPG time sink – even if its character designs and anime tropes may immediately turn some players away.

Unfortunately the game falters somewhat at the end, with multiple conclusions that don't feel particularly fulfilling. However, overall the journey is a worthwhile one. Citizen Sleeper hooks you with its elegant presentation, thoughtful narrative, and memorable characters, and despite one or two small missteps, it's an engrossing, atmospheric experience worth a roll of the dice.

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors is a niche release for sure, but it's also a solid RPG experience which is ideally suited to the Vita. If you've got Sony's handheld device and an open mind regarding how female fighters should be motivated, then this is a slice of good quality JPRG that can provide many hours of battling pleasure. Just take our advice and try not to play it in public.

The overall experience at the centre of all Skylanders: Imaginators' toys and loot chests is so charming and feature-rich that kids will enjoy it and adults won't begrudge playing it alongside them.

Smoke and Sacrifice is a good addition to the survival genre, from its compelling storyline to its amazing design that engrosses you in a bleak world run over by monsters. The only thing Smoke and Sacrifice seems to falter in is its clunky and outdated combat and daunting crafting system. A beautiful aspect that distinguishes the game from other survival games is the narrative that focuses on motherhood. If you like titles such as Don’t Starve, then this is a decent alternative.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a game that embraces its craziness.

#BLUD's not without its drawbacks. Quest objectives can seem vague, the combat takes a while to really get going, and its dungeon design teeters into tedious territory at times. But fun boss fights, a good sense of humour, and an absolutely killer art style can make you forget all about the missteps.

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.

Detroit: Become Human is vintage Quantic Dream, delivering a multifaceted choose-your-own-adventure that’s both ambitious and somewhat of an acquired taste. It’s clear that remarkable attention has been poured into the title's vision of the near-future, which makes it harder to suspend disbelief over some of its smaller narrative oversights. The game huffs-and-puffs, but never really brings anything new to its core theme of androids awakening to human emotions – and yet despite its relative familiarity, it’s an impressively replayable interactive story with a frightening number of variables of which there’s nothing else quite like.

Minor tweaks to the swing mechanic improve the rhythm of play but don't do enough to reinvigorate the series.

Neon Abyss is a fun, fast-paced twist on the rogue-like genre with a solid core gameplay loop. Although it brings new ideas to the table in the form of collectible eggs, and it has a good variety of weapons, enemies and synergies, it's not without its drawbacks. Performance issues, the lack of the genre's typical dodge button, and the chaotic room design all prevent Neon Abyss from being a must buy title.

Wheel World is a delightfully tactile indie title, and a real celebration of cycling. It feels fantastic to play and it's lovely to look at, but it's held back by a finicky finale and poor performance on PS5. We're hoping that a couple of meaningful post-release patches will address our complaints, because at its core, Wheel World is joyous.

The monetisation will put plenty of players off, but the free-to-play format means anyone can jump in and enjoy the sheer absurdity of some of its track designs. This is a bite-sized game, intended to be played in short bursts, so if you’ve been pining for something silly, simple, and completely over-the-top, there really aren’t many better options on PS5. Sometimes all a game needs to be is fun, and Asphalt Legends Unite is exactly that.

While the accessible controls and cute presentation are inviting to all types of players, the action itself can get a little fiddly. It's very easy to get stuck in doorways carrying a bed, for instance, or have objects fall into awkward positions amid the chaos. It's not too big an issue but it does frustrate when you waste precious seconds getting snagged on walls. For moving experts, there are optional objectives and gold times to aim for. Completing the extra tasks rewards you with coins that unlock even trickier challenges in an arcade, extending the life of quite a short game. It doesn't quite hit the same heights as its peers, but it's hard to deny its simple pleasures.

The lack of a tutorial, a stunted story mode, and the inclusion of a poorly judged free-to-play component drains some of the colour from the experience, but as soon as you land that special heart attack, you'll quickly forget all about its shortcomings.

Complemented by a beautiful watercolour and cel-shaded art style, and cloaked in an aura of innocence, this is an enjoyable adventure, but it's let down by some occassionally mundane gameplay, frame rate issues, and voice dub faults.

Mothergunship is more than the sum of its disparate parts, and definitely deserves your time. It’s a big silly mix of destruction, synths, and sci-fi and a lot of fun to play through.

The game is very straightforward and only a couple of hours or so in duration, which is all the time it needs, really. It's a joyous little thing while it lasts, but smartly ends before it runs out of new things to show you.

It does take a little while for the game to really warm up; the opening hours aim to establish quite a lot quite quickly, but once you're past all that, there's a pretty solid adventure to enjoy. Some aspects may leave a funny aftertaste; loading interrupts the game between areas, which makes getting around feel a bit clunky. The presentation is a little rough too, with several fiddly menus and blocky characters that don't quite hit the mark. However, the witty writing and crazy story, paired with simple but effective gameplay, makes for an enjoyable adventure for your inner foodie.

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition still holds the portable Warriors crown, then, but the soul of a great PS4 musou title can still be found alive and well here.

Planets Under Attack is an accessible, well-rounded strategy game that almost anyone can enjoy. Hiding considerable depth under its colourful exterior, the title does a great job of easing you into the rhythm of the genre. Despite some off-balance gameplay and presentation issues, this is another solid addition to the PSN's bulging catalogue.

NBA Playgrounds is a good modern take on the old-school arcade basketball game genre. It brings enough new ideas to the court to keep things feeling fresh, but at heart, it still retains the charm and accessibility that made NBA Jam such a beloved franchise. There are a few kicks with the shooting mechanics and rebounding is less than ideal, but the gameplay is strong enough in other areas to ensure it's still an overall slam dunk.

Toy Trains delivers a satisfying experience that'll appeal to players of all ages. If you're after a nostalgic and relaxing VR title, you could do far worse than choo-choo-choose this pleasant little game.

Papo & Yo is not a technically perfect game, and is perhaps a little short for the asking price, but it covers a topic that is rarely discussed in the world of video games thoughtfully with an inventive style that provokes an emotional response at several points.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz is packed to the rafters with great content, but lengthy load times and clunky menus break its flow. The original game remains the best in the series, but this is still well worth a roll.

The Lunar games embody everything that's nostalgic about 90s JRPGs, from the fun characters and colourful fantasy worlds, to the glorious spritework and catchy music. That said, Lunar's underlying grind can make it difficult to stomach here in 2025 — especially when the Lunar Remastered Collection doesn't do enough to mitigate the series' most tedious aspects. It's great to experience these games again — a fully deserved revival — but it's a real shame that the collection isn't flush with more helpful features.

Farming Simulator 22 massively expands upon the management aspect of past games, giving greater importance to your crops once you’ve harvested them. Building supply chains is immensely rewarding, even if it can take what feels like an eternity to get your business up and running the way you want to. Interesting new crops, like grapes and olives, add gameplay variety to the tried and tested loop, while an abundance of licensed machinery gives you a wealth of vehicles and tools to work with. It’s the best entry in Giants Software’s series yet, but like a popular British yeast extract, you’ll either love it or hate it.

The charm, style, and sophistication by which it mixes up so many different styles successfully is a testament both to RIVE's great design and also some of the most beloved games of years gone by.

It’s a stunning package, filled to the brim with content both new and old, and barring the handful of small issues, it's a brilliant way to revisit one of the most iconic shooters in video games.

There’s no doubting that Control is a good experience, but it’s not one that’ll go down in the history books. Its explorative and combat-focused gameplay is a major highlight thanks to abilities that give you the chance to get creative, but the unreliable framerate that goes with it puts a stop to the enjoyment far too frequently. This is most definitely worth playing, but that’s about as far as any substantial praise can go.

Smart As offers an enjoyable mental workout, which is complemented by some outstanding connectivity features. It's a shame that so much of its content has to be unlocked, but what's included is fun and thoughtfully designed.

Digimon Survive's uniquely dark take on the standard Digimon storyline is enough to carry a title that's sometimes poorly paced and basic in its approach to gameplay. A visual novel with RPG elements bolted on, it's difficult not to feel as though the creature taming and combat aspects of Survive could have been bigger and better. But ultimately, a mix of endearing characters and eye-opening plot points make this another worthwhile adventure in the digital world.

Telling Lies is one of the best experiences to make use of FMV on PS4, telling a fascinating narrative that'll have you guessing what revelation will come your way next. What's more, the star-studded cast of characters does an excellent job of bringing the script to life, but it is held back by a perplexing rewind function. Had it been implemented better, the game would be on the cusp of greatness. Although, in its current state, Telling Lies is still a very safe recommendation for fans of the genre.

At over two hours, Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 1: The Enigma is meaty instalment which picks up as strongly as the previous season left off. As a self-contained story, the Riddler’s unique brand of psychotic behaviour makes for a satisfying arc – but it’s the bigger picture involving Bruce and the deranged John Doe that promises plenty for the remainder of this series, and we’re excited to see where it goes.

If you can get past its sometimes underwhelming level design, Leo's Fortune has plenty in its favour. Its captivating storyline, beautiful art design, and satisfying controls will keep you glued to your screen – just don't expect to be there for long.

Concord is a clean and well-meaning first-person shooter, with no shady business practices to boot. Its lack of real identity is an issue, and it’s difficult to determine just how much Sony is going to get behind it long-term. However, there’s a polished and beautifully presented experience on offer here, with some interesting tactical team-building systems and sublime animations. Firewalk’s debut may not be out of this world, but it’s genuinely pretty good overall.

Pid has some truly amazing moments, but they are let down by difficulty spikes and lacklustre controls. The sections where the art style, level design, music, and gameplay slot together are fabulous, and it's worth playing the adventure to experience them for yourself – but don't expect the title to hold your attention like a burst of anti-gravitational light.

Korix is a good strategy, tower defence title for PlayStation VR with solid gameplay, bright and vibrant visuals, and outstanding motion control tracking. Unfortunately, there are some issues with guidance for new players, and only having a small online community means the multiplayer component may go underutilised. Still, this title is definitely worth picking up if you have a few friends who you want to nuke.

Cuphead might be a tough cookie, but it charms with superlative art and music. For every time you might be frustrated by a tough section, you'll be delighted by some wonderful animation or new attack. It isn't perfect; the Run and Gun levels don't live up to the bosses, and a lack of feedback can make fights feel futile. Overall, though, the game succeeds in what it sets out to do -- just be prepared for a real challenge.

Costume Quest 2 is a pretty bog standard RPG, but it’s outfitted with charm by the bucket load, and that’s its real appeal.

While a PS5 version of Resident Evil 3 could never rectify the glaring issues of the PS4 remake — cut content, very short run time — it does at least shine bright with ray tracing implementation and a native 4K resolution. Capcom was simply trying to make Resident Evil 3 look and run better on PS5, and it at least achieved that.

This is a Farewell for Life Is Strange fans, but Deck Nine once again does an outstanding job of telling a heart-wrenching tale within what is, effectively, someone else’s story.

It's not quite the bountiful booty that is One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, but Burning Blood's explosive combat is bound to leave a mark all the same.

Relicta tries to strike a balance between narrative and gameplay, but that balance ends up hurting the final experience by making the game a slog to go through and puzzles becoming infuriatingly complex in the second half. The story and excellent voice acting are a nice differentiator and the level of detail in the environments is impressive, but Relicta is a game that is hard to stick with in its second half if you don't have a guide.

All in all, Hello Kitty Island Adventure will be a must play for Sanrio fans due to its great adaption of the source material, but there's also plenty here for fans of casual gamers to enjoy. Although lacking in some areas, its still a good addition to any cosy gamer's collection.

Silent Hill HD Collection proves a good way to experience two great horror classics that embody psychic fear and buried emotional pain like no others, with gruesome settings, monstrously imaginative enemies and a thousand creepy, dark hallways.

Overall, we’d still recommend exploring the many retro compilations and emulated releases already available on the PS Store first; while this may be a more expensive option, it’s hard to beat your own personally curated collection and the advantages of running software locally. But of course not all of the titles available with Antstream Arcade can be purchased natively, and it’s neat having access to everything under one umbrella – especially when the cost of a lifetime subscription is relatively good value considering just how much you get. Just do keep in mind that your cloud streaming experience will vary, and even in a perfect environment, will still exhibit shortcomings compared to a native solution.

Little Red Lie is a difficult game to recommend without qualification. It’s uncomfortable, confronting, and just about the furthest thing away from a rollicking good time imaginable. And yet, if you’re willing to go on its journey, sharp writing and a laser thematic focus will force you to re-examine some of the reasons you lie, and some of the things you lie about.

Destiny of Spirits is less inviting than a longform Biblical analysis at first, but the game gradually gets its hooks into you once you traverse its steep learning curve.

While the platforming is largely very good, the game does have its drawbacks. The camera doesn't always give you the best view, and fights can be frustrating with imprecise projectiles and a lack of combative options. The boss battles in particular can be irksome things. Even with its flaws, however, this is a game offering lots of personality and refreshing, clean platforming fun.

Final Vendetta wears its heart on its biceps: it’s a burly and brutal beat-‘em-up that serves as a love-letter to the 16-bit greats from a bygone era. Ass whoopins have never felt quite this good.

Streets of Rage 4 makes a valiant attempt to drag the old-school franchise into the modern age. We've ended up with a beautiful beat-'em-up that's perhaps a little too loyal to the original games, but is ultimately a blast to play, especially with others. The appeal might wear off after a little while due to repetitive gameplay, but it's a huge amount of fun while it lasts.

Undisputed doesn’t pull its punches, and it’s a tidy first attempt. While the game lacks the polish of a true champion, there’s the meat of something special here. Career mode has all the elements of a great, but it’s a bit dry in its current guise and could use a little more spectacle and variety. Meanwhile, the actual core boxing feels fantastic, but repetitive commentary and a lack of in-ring drama let it down. This is a release that’s not quite ready to contend for a belt yet, but it’s not a million miles off.

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.

Ultimate, er, ultimately transforms Warriors Orochi 4 into a much more complete package. That said, it's a shame that many of these improvements come courtesy of paid DLC -- pretty expensive DLC at that. For newcomers, Warriors Orochi 4 now gets a recommendation. For existing fans, you'll have to weigh up whether the additions are enough to pull you back in.

Baseball Riot is a bright, colourful, physics puzzle game that will appeal to a wide audience with its simplistic gameplay, pick-up-and-play controls, and low price tag. It's very obvious similarities to Tennis in the Face prevent it from hitting a home run, but it comfortably makes it to third base.

Fated: The Silent Oath is a brief but worthwhile reason to turn your PlayStation VR headset on. While walking simulators in virtual reality are already becoming dime a dozen, Fated actually backs this up with good voice work, characters that are very easy to care about, and a strong, laser-focused art direction.

Tales of Symphonia deserves your attention. If you can stomach JRPGs at all, you owe it to yourself to check it out. The biggest disappointment in this compilation is the sequel, so we recommend picking up the first game cheaper from the PlayStation Store.

The Spectrum Retreat is a pleasant surprise. The colour coded puzzles are intelligently designed and present a decent challenge, while the Penrose hotel is an absorbing backdrop that creates an unsettling atmosphere. While it's a shame more isn't made of this setting, the game's storytelling, design, and puzzle solving is a compelling mix, and for less than a tenner, provides a unique experience across its six-hour runtime.

Shadow of the Ninja Reborn is a worthy addition to the collection of any arcade or retro enthusiast. Even more than three decades later, mobility techniques and ninja gear combine to make it a compelling game, provided you're up to the challenge.

A unique, enjoyable game that could have done with just a dash more substance to go with all that style.

Stilted platforming and a short story don't prevent the deep, satisfying combat and multifaceted levels from being worth experiencing more than once. And when you're done, the very first game awaits in all its glory for you to discover – maybe for the first time.

In-keeping with the nature of our man-machine protagonists, there are rich customisation options available. There are some generous difficulty tweaks, alongside Iron Man and perma-death modes. Each hero unit has myriad augment slots, upon which they can attach a plethora of weapons. It pays to be armed to the teeth because arenas are often dangerous close-quarter scraps. Cognition Points are the resource that dictates movement and abilities. Starting CP can be boosted with nodes scattered across the arena, which adds a tactical edge to positioning. Critical hits prevent the Necron from using their regenerative abilities, while certain weapons offer escalating buffs that give extra damage multipliers the more you use them. These elements combine to make fights satisfyingly varied from mission to mission.

The Evil Within 2 has fine-tuned its solid mechanical base and visuals, and even crafted some big improvements to areas such as exploration and character direction. Yet it lacks creativity and diversity with its level design and bosses. The game may be more presentable and refined than its predecessor, but it's also lost some substance in the process.

RIDE 3 will be loved by fans of motorcycle sims, but likely won’t be the game to invite new audiences to the genre. The sheer number of unlockables is impressive and the extensive campaign mode is sure to give fans a lot to sink their, er, wheels into. However, some slightly sloppy visuals and the difficult to pick up gameplay will keep it reserved for that niche audience.

This episode is a light, fun romp, and its consistently goofy tone helps to craft the series' identity at long last.

Like matriarch Marguerite's dishes, bonus mode Ethan Must Die will prove an acquired taste, but the two other VHS tapes included with Banned Footage Vol. 1 are a delight. Nightmare serves up some surprisingly smart arcade action that fans missing Mercenaries will surely enjoy, while Bedroom is brilliant puzzle sequence that subverts the rules of the main game in order to create a real sense of tension without requiring any enemies at all. There's no question that had this content been incorporated into the main campaign it would have been an even stronger package overall, but as a standalone it's still easy to recommend.

Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark - Ultimate Edition is definitely the most content complete version of Curve Studios’ espionage escapade, but that doesn’t prevent it from being best suited to portable play.

Rock of Ages II: Bigger and Boulder is a fun title that just about pulls off its strange cocktail of genres. The Monty Python-like presentation is executed well and suits the game’s off-the-wall appeal, and its trio of modes and online or offline multiplayer give the game some legs beyond the story. Moreover, the gameplay offers a lot of potential for daft fun despite some sluggish boulder controls and frustrating AI balance issues. If you’re after something different, or enjoy some cathartic destruction in your games, you’ll have a ball.

Unlike The Taken King, Rise of Iron isn't an essential reincarnation of Destiny, but it is an expansion that delivers on its promise of rejuvenating Bungie's shooter – even if it does refuse to step outside of the game's well established comfort zone. A few fun story missions, a great new Raid, and a suite of fresh reasons to get back to the grind for better loot should be enough to keep the ever-present darkness at bay.

As solid as the package is, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has to be one of the safest series instalments for quite some time. Multiplayer is seriously starting to show its age with tired ideas and even duller gameplay, leaving the campaign to rescue things. Its open-ended approach allows player choice to take prominence while Zombies is just as deep as ever. A passable effort for the start of the PS5 generation, but Activision must buck up its ideas for next year.

Though the look is dull and there are a few minor annoyances, that doesn’t take away from the stellar and smart game design that makes a repeat visit to this gem a guarantee.

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.

The game ultimately has strong, important messages about loss and mental health. Add in some great music and wonderful navigation, and it becomes difficult not to recommend Afterlove EP despite its rough edges.

OlliOlli’s certainly not going to kickstart an extreme sports revival, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth your time. This fairly straightforward side-scrolling skateboarding simulation incorporates some sneaky systems that will keep you hooked until you hit the perfect heelflip and five-o, even if the odd oversight in its leaderboards system will leave you pondering the point.

The Invincible has a wondrous story to tell and dazzling graphics to match, but it's held back from greatness by gameplay that struggles to ever break away from the genre structure of old. Mostly walking and talking, it never feels anything more than serviceable. Still, there's an interesting narrative to experience, and with your own decisions changing events, The Invincible should still be played by sci-fi fanatics.

It's hardly a revelatory release thus far – but this could yet be great.

Integrity and Faithlessness is a much faster game than previous Star Ocean entries, but it sacrifices narrative and contextual depth for it.

NASCAR ’14 will bump away at more casual players’ patience, but fans will have the fortitude to see each full race day through. A steep learning curve means that you’ll need to commit to get anything out of this stock racing experience, but your efforts will definitely be rewarded in time – especially if you’re a fan of real life motorsport.

My Memory of Us is an exciting and emotional trip through a dark period of human history. Its bittersweet story mixes well with its tense stealth-based gameplay, while clever puzzles flesh things out. Fittingly for a game about memories, we won't forget our time with Juggler Games' project for quite a while.

Super Motherload is a game that will appeal to casual gamers and hardcore gamers alike. Solving the puzzles and blasting your way deep into the heart of Mars is entertaining, despite it feeling somewhat repetitive at times. Throw in a few friends and the formula definitely comes alive, though, making this something of an unpolished gem.

Not everyone will warm up to Subnautica: Below Zero, but it’s an unquestionably rewarding release once you begin to get a foothold into the frigid foray. The game’s constantly tantalising you with new, exciting equipment, and its otherworldly ocean is an immersive environment in which to spend your time. A lack of landmarks mean that it can be a little too easy to get lost, and the story is light and largely uninteresting – but if the act of building an underwater base appeals to you, then this PS5 sequel unquestionably has strong foundations.

The Devil May Cry HD Collection on PS4 may essentially be a straight port of the PS3 version that released in 2012, but ultimately, that doesn’t detract from the overall experience. The original Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3 still stand strong, and while the second game is easily the weakest of the three, there's still some enjoyment to be had at the very least. If you've already played through the collection on PS3 then the value of this port is undoubtedly diminished, but for everyone else - newcomers included - this is a fine way to get acquainted with Dante.

While some may dismiss Flinthook initially, the game will sink its hooks into you if you give it a chance. The controls are sharp, the progression is satisfying, and the vibrant and unique art style will keep you smiling along the way.

One of PS4's strangest offerings, Trover Saves the Universe is a mouthy, madcap adventure with words that speak louder than its action. It's not all that long, but the promise of free DLC will extend the adventure later down the line. The option to play on the TV as well as PSVR is welcome, although it's clear the game is built with the immersive headset in mind. However you play it, the unusual landscapes, characters, and scenarios are what make this a game worth playing, but be aware of the silly and often dark humour before you take the plunge.

It's a shame that Rayman 3 HD is little more than an upscale of its initial release; it features the same models and the same wayward camera, which reduces its appeal when compared to more modern platformers. However, it still has bags of imagination and these flaws don't entirely diminish its appeal, only dent it. Rayman 3 HD is still a great platformer – it's just one that's showing its age.

When you come right down to it, NHL 16 is an improvement over last year's release in virtually every department. Unfortunately, that isn't exactly saying a lot.

Balancing issues and a backstabbing camera put a limit on the fun, but a diverse cast and surprisingly competent narrative should keep fans fighting well into the late hours – just remember to play it beneath the sheets.

Other than a few frame rate issues, the game runs smoothly most of the time, which is essential given its heavy emphasis on platforming. This and missed gameplay opportunities don't stop the game from being a cute and compelling 3D platformer. Exploring a civilisation built upon books and rulers is a delight to travel around and unwind with of an evening.

Either way, it's more Shadow of Mordor with some slight twists, and that's still as good a reason as any to go there and back again with one of 2014's most triumphant titles.