With tight gameplay, sharp shooting, and a remarkable sense of style, Futuridium EP Deluxe is a delightful 3D shooter.

Ghost Blade HD is a brilliant entry into the shoot-'em-up genre for both newcomers and veterans alike. It strikes the tricky balance of offering a reasonable challenge to anybody who picks it up, but makes sure that the difficulty never gets out of hand. The deep gameplay and strategy allows for a variety of playstyles, and while the two-player co-op is a let down, the score attack mode will leave you coming back for more after you've bested the main game.

Measured against the immense expectations that surround it, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a great game that will inevitably disappoint some fans. That said, playing through the Midgar storyline 23 years later is giddily surreal, and the game does a fantastic job of expanding the existing plot, while also pushing a surprising amount of fresh ideas. Some frustratingly poor level design hampers the fun at times, and visually the game is all over the place, but when it's at its best, Remake is brilliant, and it's elevated to even greater heights by an excellent combat system. It may not be the perfect remake that we've all been dreaming of these past five years, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable, nostalgia-driven ride that understands the magic of Final Fantasy VII.

While Assassin's Creed Shadows is unlikely to win over those who struggled to push through Odyssey or Valhalla, this is still one of the strongest overall entries in the series — and arguably the best of the open world RPG bunch. The storytelling is largely fantastic, the main characters are deeply likeable, and the open world itself is a thing of beauty.

EA Sports UFC 4 is not a massive departure from its predecessor, but it’s a significantly better game. EA Vancouver has successfully recognised the way fans want to play, and with its array of arcade-inspired options and emphasis on Career mode, it will appeal to casual fans of the sport as well as MMA obsessives alike. While the ground game still needs work, it’s much more approachable now, and we really like the fast-paced Blitz Battles as an accompaniment to the more traditional online ranked matches. The presentation has stagnated somewhat, but combat still feels appropriately crunchy, and with rotating challenges to hold your attention, we can see ourselves sticking with this brawler for some time.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is without a doubt the most ambitious and polished sim on the PS5 – but it’s not without its faults. Slow loading, visual inconsistencies, an underwhelming sound mix, and plenty of bugs pull this otherwise exceptional experience back down to earth. But if you can accept its shortcomings and you’re open to learning about aviation, this an obscenely impressive package, with a seemingly never-ending array of activities to engage with. Digital tourists will adore its attention to detail, while aviation obsessives will simply get a kick out of sitting in the cockpits of their favourite aircraft.

The charm of tower defence games can be limited, but Anomaly 2 steps beyond this threshold to not only give devoted followers something fresh, but also provides those curious about the genre an entry point that will undoubtedly entertain anyone’s fancy for a spell.

Arc System Works has done it again. Granblue Fantasy Versus is a fantastic-feeling fighting game that's jaw-droppingly gorgeous at times. It's also incredibly accessible, promoting an impressively smooth learning curve. This is a tight, satisfying fighter that gives way to some superbly paced matches, and the dedicated RPG Mode provides additional longevity if you primarily play alone. Our only real criticism is pointed at the title's disappointingly small character roster -- an issue compounded by the fact that so much DLC is already in development. An especially sour note that takes away from an otherwise brilliant release.

Woah Dave! Is a stellar example of how simple systems can combine to create incredibly tense and satisfying gameplay. While the package doesn't contain oodles of content, high score hounds are likely to find hours of fun exploring this utterly elegant experience.

Sonic Frontiers feels like a statement from Sonic Team after years of being treated like a joke. By no means is it perfect, but this is exactly the injection of life the franchise needed after the misstep of Forces, and it's the freshest Sonic has felt since Adventure first hit the shelves. While it is wrought with minor issues, the overall package of Sonic Frontiers mostly hits the mark, with its satisfying gameplay, a storyline that will please long-time fans, and an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. It immediately places itself among the best Sonic games ever made.

FIFA 21 on PS5 is a surprisingly significant next-gen upgrade. Simply put, this is the best that virtual football has ever looked on PlayStation, and a slew of immersion-enhancing features make it the best version of FIFA in years.

The Lake House is a brilliant serving of Remedy horror goodness, acting as a cocktail of two franchise identities, to deliver something that is narratively intriguing and visually distinct. It’s a tight-knit experience packed with expanding lore and clever scares, and a keen reminder of Remedy’s pedigree. It’s an interesting link in the wider world of Remedy games too that leaves us sad to see this chapter end, but ever curious to how it will all continue.

Train Sim World 3 is the most immersive railway simulation from Dovetail to date. For the first time since the series debuted, the game really sells the illusion that you’re on a journey – and impressively enormous routes like Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel-Würzburg help. While the release still has obvious visual flaws, the new lighting, volumetric clouds, and dynamic weather system take the presentation to the next level – and the user interface improvements should not be underestimated either. The target audience for a title like this will never be especially large, but few other franchises find a balance between simulation, virtual tourism, and zen-like relaxation quite like this one.

Live A Live is an incredibly interesting and unique JRPG experience. With lovely HD-2D graphics and numerous main characters, it’s hard not to compare it to the likes of Octopath Traveler, but it really is a completely different kettle of fish. Live A Live is a varied thrill ride that still impresses all these years later, and while the combat does struggle to live up to the rest of the adventure, the game does a fantastic job of tying all of its intriguing, individual stories together. It's a history-hopping journey we'll be thinking about for quite some time.

Each region of the game has you take on three missions before fighting the boss (you can take on the final boss region after completing just one other region if you’d like, though). Missions can range from depleting enemy ranks to escort quests, and each gives their own rewards like XP, supply drops, and ammo. However, each mission also has a secondary objective to make the rewards even greater.

CastleStorm brilliantly fuses various game genres into a single additive package. While the learning curve is a little bit high, and the controls can be quite finicky at times, smashing up castles is undeniably enjoyable.

An oddity that grows in stature the more time that you spend with it, NieR: Automata is so much more than you think it is – and it's all the better for it. Some decent writing aside, its side-quests fall into genre pitfalls and its open world can be annoying to navigate. But if you're able to look beyond its shortcomings as a game then you'll be richly rewarded. And while we can't really elaborate on why that is, you're just going to have to trust us.

The end result is a vastly improved version of what is by far the best title set in Dmitry Glukhovsky’s apocalyptic Russia – even if the voice work, in English at least, is uneven to put it kindly.

Perks like starting races in 9th place don't provide a real substitute. Furthermore, online multiplayer's omission is also disappointing, though at least there's local multiplayer for up to four players. These aren't deal breakers, though, and when the core campaign is this good, New Star GP comes recommended.

Cronos: The New Dawn is a brilliant addition to the survival horror genre. In a lot of ways it's derivative, especially when it comes to how it plays and how it feels. However, Bloober has injected enough charm, curiosities, and weirdness into it to make it not only its own thing, but something almost endearing. With impeccable visuals, an entrancing score, and a captivatingly dark time-travelling mystery, Cronos: The New Dawn is a delectable piece of sci-fi horror.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is a surprisingly strong shooter that aspires to be more than its premise should allow.

Absolum is both a brilliantly crafted beat-'em-up and a devilishly addictive roguelike. Although the overall experience does feel slightly short-lived, you'll seriously struggle to tear yourself away from the game's striking fantasy world — especially when all of its systems start to click.

Ratchet & Clank's third native PS3 adventure A Crack in Time remains the popular duo's most essential outing, but that doesn't detract from the Ratchet & Clank Trilogy's appeal. If you're eager to learn a little more about the franchise's origins, or simply want to re-visit three of the greatest PS2 titles ever crafted, then you'll be well serviced here.

It may be basic as a remaster, but Vanquish manages to hold up in the PS4's twilight year. Brimming with enjoyable, fast-paced action which is exemplified by the knee slide, one of PlatinumGames' best experiences has a new lease of life that it's going to take full advantage of. Vanquish doesn’t look the part, but it most certainly plays like it.

It's a very simple game that you can easily wrap up over a weekend, but it's a satisfying, imaginative, and endlessly pleasant adventure while it lasts.

Spelunky 2 betters its predecessor in just about every area. Push through its tough outer shell and you'll discover a fantastic platformer well worth your time. More stuffed with secrets than ever and fleshing out the formula with all kinds of new additions, this is a rich and addictive roguelike with so much to unearth.

It's easy to see why Final Fantasy VIII is considered one of the series' most divisive entries, but its story and gameplay systems remain unique 20 years after its original release. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered has its flaws -- the draw system is still a total pain in the arse -- but there's a magic and atmosphere to Squall's often mental adventure that's incredibly endearing. This is a PlayStation classic given a new lease of life, and it's still way more interesting than the majority of Japanese RPGs hitting our consoles today.

Tight controls, clever level design, and rewarding combat make Death's Door a joy to play. It's a ten-hour adventure that never outstays its welcome, and its overall quality is clear. A polished, quirky, and often challenging title that charms from start to finish.