Gun Commando is a neat idea, but it falls apart in the final stages. The nostalgic presentation is a strong lure, but the sloppy controls and relentless difficulty let it down. It may be an accurate representation of the genre that it's attempting to celebrate, but times have changed.

While there is a lot of potential on the surface, Ratloop may have wanted to sit on this egg a bit longer before it hatched.

Exhausted Man is not really a game that'll wake you up at all. It begins feeling very samey fast and, outside of planning where to place items before a level each time, there's not much of a strategy to be had. While it has a unique play style, there are plenty of other everyday-life indie games we think should be played before this.

Derrick the Deathfin is a real heartbreaker. It's agonisingly obvious that Different Tuna tried really hard to make something special, and as a player you're rooting for them – but the base gameplay just isn't good enough to keep you hooked. If the graphics grab you, then the price is low enough to make this a worthwhile gamble, just don't dive in with any unrealistic expectations.

Ridge Racer is devoid of content and modes as standard. It plays well, handles as you'd want it to and is as fun an arcade racer as ever, but there's just not enough here to hold interest for more than a few hours – unless you want to wait for all the downloadable content to arrive and reluctantly tip more money into it.

We Happy Few isn’t bad per se, but it’s a very near miss, as the game comes right up to the brink of collapsing in upon itself from its many missteps. The game offers such an intriguing backdrop for its world, and really grand art, that whenever it's more focused and non-procedural, it’s a grand old time. These spikes of enjoyment are however far too infrequent given the scale and running time of the title, often times leaving you floundering amid strong art direction and music without a real desire to actually play what’s on offer.

There's a kernel of an idea buried within The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing that has potential. The son of a legendary vampire killer continuing where his father left off is at the very least a vaguely compelling starting point, and the action RPG genre could certainly benefit from some more humorous titles to serve as palette cleansers between all the hell and death and misery. Van Helsing's lighthearted tone certainly helps it to stand out from most games in the genre, but neither the battle system or the narrative are interesting enough to make it worth persevering with the other.

There's a solid sidescroller in here, but Game Freak's taken it in the wrong direction.

The sprite work is undoubtedly impressive, and the audio is as hyperactive as you’d expect. But this is a wafer-thin experience, with only the draw of a better score to pull you back for a second playthrough. As a piddly, rose-tinted reminder of the retro shooters of old, there’s very little to truly dislike here – but it’s important you know what it consists of before parting with your cold hard cash.

Despite solid gameplay mechanics, Germinator is let down tremendously by poor presentation and a tacky, annoying art style. It’s a game better suited to the burgeoning mobile market, making the asking price seem a little too steep for what you’re getting – especially since there’s no cross-buy option.

It successfully straddles the line between accessibility and authenticity, but presentation issues let it down. Still, if you’re eager to experience the basic thrills of bagging a buck without needing to bathe yourself in real animal urine, this may just about be worth the punt.

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School may not be the king of fear and terror anymore, but it could still be a worthwhile experience for horror fanatics. This blast from the past certainly brings with it a lot of baggage such as the clunky puzzles and glitchy AI, but it has enough intrigue to it that we’re still left pondering its story and themes long after the credits rolled. White Day is most definitely not a remake for everyone, but those wanting to take a trip down memory lane may leave somewhat satisfied.

Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a definite improvement on its predecessor — but that's not saying much. The return of set maps and straightforward objectives is welcome, and in typical Empires fashion, there's so much potential for interesting player-driven storylines. There is an addictive hack-and-slash loop at work here, and it's tempered by some decent tactical tweaks. But to fully enjoy it, you've got to wade through a mire of shockingly ugly visuals and boring map design.

Given time, ANTHEM could slowly start to bloom into a much more cohesive experience, but the worry is that it won't be given a chance. There's a good game in here somewhere, but only the flashy, satisfying combat stands out amongst a background mess of shockingly bad design decisions and woefully undercooked systems. ANTHEM feels unfinished and, frankly, undeserving of your time when there are much better live titles currently available on PS4. Check back in a year from now, and we might be onto something.

Despite bringing a few new mechanics to the table, Far Cry 5: Hours of Darkness is a lesser experience when compared to the base game in every possible way. Its story is almost non-existent, the open world is completely generic, and with a fair few features from the original experience missing, it all feels like a step back. The core of what makes this a Far Cry game is still present, but you were probably already tired of that long ago.

More of the same. All of the content feels recycled from a main game you're probably already burnt out on anyway. It doesn't help that the few new bits – suits and an enemy type – feel lazy and uninspired. The only reason to grab this DLC is for more of the story, which is as well done as ever, if a bit short – clocking in at around three hours max. If you're patient, grab it in a future sale just so you can see what happens next.

If you're a JRPG fan and can see past its dull dungeon design and grindy friendship system, then there is still fun to be had here, but you'll have to push through layers of tediousness to get to it. The Caligula Effect is a game with plenty of good ideas, but sadly, they're just not executed very well. It feels like developer Aquria has tried to implement so many ambitious concepts, but it doesn't actually take the time to flesh them out, and instead, repetition has been used to fill in the gaps.

After capturing our attention with a strong concept and an intriguing open world, Homefront: The Revolution struggles with the basics: weapons feel unsatisfying to use, side quests are repetitive, characters are under-developed, and the online multiplayer represents a step back for the series. Sadly, for all of its ambition, there's just not much here worth fighting for.

F1 Race Stars tries its best to adapt the F1 license into a fun and quirky racer, but it ultimately fails to deliver a charming take on the typically serious sport. As with other titles in the genre, the game really shines as a way to pass the time with your friends, but the frustrating, luck-based gameplay effectively cancels out all of the things that the release does right. Younger fans of Formula 1 will love seeing their favourite drivers rendered as cartoon caricatures, but when it comes to race day, gamers of all ages will be left frustrated by the title's complete disregard for skill.

It's a frustratingly average title that does nothing particularly well nor insultingly bad. The Chant is just very okay, which is probably the most boring route it could take.

We generally love the marriage between story and gameplay that Supermassive Games creates, but without the many advancements of The Dark Pictures Anthology, The Casting of Frank Stone feels far too simple. With an uninteresting narrative to boot, the first effort to expand the Dead by Daylight universe is a misfire.

It's by no means a bad game on the whole, but it opts to float idly on the side of numbingly average rather than attempt to stand out in any way. Well, unless you're making music videos.

Deadfall Adventures: Heart of Atlantis has got its heart in the right place, but in trying to compete with bigger budget brands, it comes out with mud on its face.

Sniper Elite V2 Remastered isn’t a terrible game, but it feels outdated and completely outclassed in 2019. While its x-ray exterminations are still appealing, it’s just about the only factor making up this package that could turn one’s head in today’s world. Simply put, there are just so many better experiences you could have through the scope of a sniper rifle, including those sequels that make up the very franchise in question.

Momonga Pinball Adventures is a very simplistic pinball game with a very short story, pick-up and play controls, and ball physics that require a bit of tweaking. There's nothing here that stands out, but it'll still be good for keeping the children quiet for an hour or so, with it's not too taxing difficulty.

Away: Journey to the Unexpected begins as a fun and lighthearted romp with a few very unique wrinkles to its gameplay. Unfortunately, this quickly unravels and is severely hampered by poor design choices that sour what was first an enjoyable experience. These unexpected issues in the second half of the game are such a slog, and when you’re presented with a final boss battle that falls flatter than Maroon 5’s halftime show, it makes you wish you had stayed away from the game in the first place.

There is a satisfaction to be found in A-Men 2’s tense tactical puzzles, but the relentless difficulty will destroy your will to replay. This is a game designed for masochists, and while there will be a specific demographic that will undoubtedly enjoy the stiff challenge, mere mortals will just not have the stomach for it.

R.B.I. Baseball 18 doesn’t really need to exist on the PS4, which is a problem. While it’s competent enough to register a clean hit, The Show runs laps around the title in virtually every department. Yes, it’s cheaper and more accessible than Sony’s vastly superior alternative – but we still wouldn’t recommend pinch hitting San Diego’s effort for this.