Incredibly bland gameplay and some overly frustrating chase sequences make Silent Hill: The Short Message a chore to play much of the time. While there are some intriguing full-motion cutscenes and heavy story details, they're not worth pushing through the dull sequences in between to experience them. Silent Hill: The Short Message is completely free, though, so all it's asking for is 90 minutes of your time to see if you enjoy it more than us.

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.

A sporadically fun co-op brawler, South Park: Snow Day is a step back for the franchise. Card collecting and gag-filled combat will keep fans entertained, but there are plenty of better ways to have good times with weapons.

Unless you're going to play with others, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City isn't worth your time. Single player is infected with poor artificial intelligence, lack of useful feedback and abusive enemies. Rope in a couple of friends - or open your game up for anybody to join - and ORC improves, still beholden to many of its problems but better for the replacement of its inadequate AI with human players to help deal with its viruses.

Destiny is grindy, but it has an immensely satisfying gameplay loop and a rich story. Outriders doesn’t have the best plot or visuals, but each class has a wide variety of powers that synergise brilliantly, meaning each build is unique to how you want to play and combat is worthwhile for its own sake. The First Descendant has the stand-out Colossi battles, but everything leading up to them is so mind-numbingly tedious that they don’t justify the time or monetary investment you’d need to spend to enjoy them. It’s the gaming equivalent of playing with a fidget spinner while on a Discord call — something to keep your hands occupied while you catch up. It’s a game designed to get you to pay to skip it, not play it, so what’s the point of it?

Mighty No. 9 appears to be caught in two minds about whether it wants to make a Mega Man-style game for novices or veterans, and that indecision unfortunately prevents it from being anything close to mighty. Combine the release's well-meaning but misguided attempts at accessibility with sub-par graphics, puzzles, and an insane difficulty spike towards the end, and you end up with a title that's not very mega at all.

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.

While its competitor MLB: The Show swings for the fences, R.B.I. Baseball 16 is happy to bunt this year round – and that's okay. The controls are easy to pick up, the games are short and sweet, and the simplicity of it all is what makes this year's edition appealing to casuals. Still, its lack of innovation and modes mean that the title gets to second base – but not much further.

Manual Samuel is a short but interesting title, however its gameplay gets very repetitive and infuriating quickly with the constant blinking and breathing. The game's controversial approach to humour also dampens the experience and makes it difficult to enjoy the best bits without feeling guilty for laughing at something you feel like you really shouldn't.

There is, however, one saving grace: the writing is exceptional. Sam and Max’s bevy of pop culture references and dark jokes are a near constant presence, and most lines hit their mark. The script is sharp and remarkably funny. Even with the frustrations of the game’s technical shortcomings, we couldn’t help but laugh at many of the quips, getting a good hearty chuckle at least a dozen times across the three hour adventure. The characters and the insane world they exist in stand the test of time, and it’s a lone bright spot in an otherwise frustrating endeavour.

Beyond Eyes is an incredibly admirable game. Its aim of simulating the experience of being blind is buoyed by a clever central conceit, and genuinely breathtaking presentation. Unfortunately, an exceedingly frustrating pace combined with a lackluster story means that the title ultimately buckles under the weight of its own ambition.

Balan Wonderworld stands out as easily one of the worst 3D platformers in the past decade. There was no good reason for Square Enix and Yuji Naka to salvage this train wreck and it's an embarrassment that this game was allowed to be released at all in its current state. When the game’s only redeeming qualities are some good music and neat DualSense features, something clearly went wrong here. There is no doubt that Balan Wonderworld should've remained locked up in the game design vault it was conceived in twenty years ago.

Fuel Overdose is enjoyable in small chunks, but chronic camera issues let it down. The title simply tries to do too much, and it lacks focus as result. With a little more refinement, this could have been an original and compelling release – but in its current guise, it feels like a missed opportunity instead.

Knock Knock isn't quite a nightmare, but with a little more focus, it could have been a dream to play.

Stuck with a novelty look and feel that would attract younger players – who won't actually have a chance at many of the questions – this is one for battle hardened quizzers with short attention spans only.

Another miss for the Rings franchise, then. There are bursts of quality here, and the potential for fun when playing with others. However, it ultimately fails as an adaptation and a survival game.

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is an absolute mess from start to finish. The puzzles that stand in the way of your progress are almost universally illogical leading to an experience that frustrates throughout. This would perhaps – at a push – be worth persevering with if the story were engaging enough, but the tale told here is so silly that it could have been generated by pulling plot twists out of a hat. Throw in a creepy vibe, crummy production values, and dodgy controls, and you're left with an unmitigated disasterpiece that you should avoid like it's got the coronavirus.

In a perfect world, remasters and enhanced editions would be reserved for games that fall into one of two categories: classics and underappreciated gems. Unfortunately, Risen 3: Titan Lords - Enhanced Edition is neither.

KOI is a game that knows how to push your buttons. It draws you in with its beautiful soundscape and enchanting premise, but then takes you through an often shallow experience with some frustrating moments that discord with its otherwise serene exterior. It's a game which seems far more suited to mobile play than console, where longer play sessions highlight its lack of depth. It has moments of beauty, and comments on larger, prominent ecological issues – but ultimately feels like a missed opportunity.

I Am Bread is a quirky title that can be a lot of bun at times, and it will certainly fill a hole before a much more substantial meal comes along. However, the title's control, camera, and performance issues do put a dampener on things, so unless you absolutely love silly experiences of this ilk, we'd recommend keeping your dough in your wallet and putting it towards something a little less stale.

The disappointing car handling, aimless AI, and basic visuals all come together to make a real clunker, which even with its few interesting aspects, doesn't come close to being classed as roadworthy.

There's no reason to recommend Shadwen to anybody other than prospective game developers looking for a lesson in what not to do.

Spartacus Legends lacks the production values required to attain top billing, but its solid fighting mechanics and rewarding RPG elements ensure that it's worth a punt. With no entry price, there are definitely worse ways to spend your time than bathing in the blood of your enemies for the sake of fame and glory – just don't expect a spectacle fit for the emperor himself.

Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom is never inherently bad, but it’s far too basic to compete in a genre that’s brimming with better options.

Mark McMorris Infinite Air gets the fundamentals roughly right and has quite a bit of customisation, but that's about all there is to it. It's a blank, newly laid sheet of snow – fresh and clean, but nothing exciting comes of it.

AO International Tennis went wide with its first service, and double faults at second attempt. Turgid, unrealistic gameplay is emphasised by the title’s shot targeting mechanic, which largely restricts you to the spot and relieves you of the freedom that you’d have on a real court. The few official player models are of a good quality and the customisation options are a welcome touch, but the PS4’s first tennis title is a disappointment – it wouldn’t even make the qualifiers let alone win a Grand Slam.

A brief, but memorable experience is at the core of Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot. Downright stunning environments serve as a backdrop to exploring the streets of 80s infused France. Between the solid performance level and the fluid controls, this is Bethesda’s best excursion into virtual reality. Given how well the title succeeds at pretty much everything it sets out to do, we hope that this is step one to a fully fledged Wolfenstein VR title down the road.

Sadly, while a handful of the 20 games on offer in Start the Party! Save the World are highly entertaining, given that this is meant to be a family package that can entertain all ages and indeed start the party, Supermassive Games needs to work harder to give PS3 the Move-enabled party game it truly deserves next time.