Luckily, the more time you spend in Portia the more the world will reward you. The game is effortlessly simple, but it excels in almost everything it aims to achieve. It’s one of the most relaxing indie life-simulation games out there, and yet it still offers enough adventure and addictive crafting opportunities to keep you hooked. A totally new spin on the post-apocalyptic experience, My Time At Portia is vibrant, relaxing, and brimming with charm.

The incredibly short game length is compensated by the replay value of three varied starting characters, with two unlockable ones that weren't in the SNES game -- for example, Yaksha is available after beating single-player mode on normal difficulty. Two-player couch co-op gameplay is also new and welcomed in the remake, although you both share the Armour Gauge health meter and Battery Gauge special attack. While there are online rankings for fast stage completion, there's no online co-op.

The map-moving puzzles are only part of the appeal. A real strength of Carto is its cast of NPCs, written with real warmth and charm. The world they inhabit is also surprisingly well fleshed out, even though you can breeze through it in six or seven hours. This is a puzzle game, but it also tells a sweet, worthwhile tale about tradition and companionship. Combined with lovely visuals and chilled out music, this is a refreshing, relaxing game that's worth marking on your map.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 is an intriguing introduction to a mysterious new world. With its characters and setting at the forefront, this rose-tinted view of the mid-90s is welcoming, nostalgic, and perfectly blends this tale’s more enigmatic side. It is incredibly slow at times and it doesn’t answer an awful lot, but truth be told, we’re dying to have those questions addressed in the latter part of the story. Tape 1 has teed it up, so it’s down to Tape 2 to secure the home run.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger successfully puts the franchise back on track. At a purely mechanical level, the title may feel familiar to other first-person shooters – but its unique setting and novel storytelling methods give it the jolt of originality that it requires.

It could very well be the best psychological horror experience on the console.

There's no denying that Prodeus is derivative, but that's not necessarily a problem when the end result is this well realised. An absolute blast from start to finish.

Although some parts haven’t aged as well, most noticeably regarding its gameplay, the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is worth checking out if you enjoyed Battle Network or are looking for a new RPG series to dive into.

The updated version of Layers of Fear is incredibly impressive. In addition to offering high-quality remakes of the entire series, this version goes a step forward and creates new material with the explicit purpose of bringing all pre-existing content of the series under one umbrella. The exceptional visual overhaul, fascinating transforming environments, and great sound design ensure this horror series has done a phenomenal job of making sure it continues to be an experience worth having.

Clementine and AJ’s - and by extension, the player's - story comes to a fitting end here, as the creative efforts of Skybound and Telltale bring the story of the beloved series to its satisfying, largely open-ended conclusion. A plethora of emotional punches, varied and surprisingly engaging gameplay - even if the frame rate chugs - accompany wonderful music and impressive cinematography. Despite a couple of narrative hiccups, with one or two scenes that would have benefitted from some retooling, the conclusion to Telltale’s most beloved series is not just good, it’s satisfying.

Raidou Remastered gives one of Atlus' most experimental PS2 outings a deserved second chance. Better described as a remake, a huge list of improvements, including a superbly reworked combat system, make this a must-try for the developer's modern audience. Raidou remains a uniquely weird and compelling action RPG, and this is its definitive form.

The original release may not be as good as you remember it, but DuckTales: Remastered is an affectionate rendition that will be sure to pluck at your nostalgic heart strings. For those without a reference point, this may feel like a pretty but archaic platformer, but if you can get past the obtrusive cut-scenes, fans of the NES classic shouldn’t think twice about giving this a quack.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Silver Lining wraps up the City That Never Sleeps storyline, but the hints towards a sequel make for a strange ending. A handful of new things to do will keep Spidey fans satisfied, and each side activity rewards you with some neat narrative details. It's a pretty by the numbers add-on, and if you enjoyed the rest of Insomniac's superhero title, there's no reason you won't like this. We'd have preferred a little more oomph for the DLC's finale, but the silver lining is that the implications for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 are definitely interesting.

These games are an acquired taste, but there’s nothing quite like them, and if you can overcome some of their more awkward idiosyncrasies, you’ll be rewarded with a set of revolutionary sandboxes that impress even today.

As a result, if you're up for a puzzle game – but are normally turned off by more complex entries in the genre – then this is well worth beaming into your collection.

Episode Four: Metamorphosis' lop-sided nature means that it's individually weaker than its immediate predecessor, but when you consider its importance to the story, you'd mad to miss out. Just make sure that you get the good ending, sit back, and soak up the silliness.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the true spiritual successor to the Suikoden series, capturing what made those games magical and expanding on the premise a hundred-fold. It tells a well-written and verbose tale of courage and endurance, but adherence to some fairly brutal old-school design precepts means it won't appeal to everyone.

Observation uses the unfathomable vastness of space to wonderful effect, conjuring a palpable sense of both isolation and dread that rarely falters across the six or seven hours it'll take for you to see it though. Minor quibbles with some aspects of the storytelling and a couple of quality of life issues don't detract from what is an engrossing adventure that thrills far more frequently than it frustrates.

It may not be the next single player terror fans of its predecessors are looking for, but The Outlast Trials successfully translates the series' formula for a co-op setting. Hiding from gory psychopaths and utilising night vision is still the name of the game — now you simply do it alongside up to three friends online. Though silly enemy AI and some repetitive visual assets drag the experience down, The Outlast Trials is an example of a former single player game turned online title done right.

The 3D environments just don't have the same magic, either. Beyond a Steel Sky's visuals are basic, and its locations are all a bit sterile. And that's a shame, because at its core, this is a heartfelt and often charming video game. If you're an adventure fan, Foster's second foray into Union City is fun enough while it lasts — but it struggles to be anywhere near as memorable as the classic titles that it draws from.

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.

DC Universe Online lacks the ‘pow’ of the properties that it’s inspired by, but it’s a decent enough MMO with some solid ideas and a strong following. As a free download, it’s hard not to recommend – even if you only intend to give it a try.

The Gardens Between is almost a truly great puzzle game, but it gets hung up in a couple of small areas. Gorgeous surreal environments pair with a perfect score to create a killer atmosphere for some of the most clever puzzle mechanics - complete with impressively consistent internal logic - that we’ve seen in some time. However, the title’s relative lack of content means it can be polished off quite quickly, even if you’re not in a hurry.

Ion Fury is a shooter that phenomenally emulates what made the early FPS so wonderful. A timeless gameplay loop that effortlessly coaxes fun out of a formula so old it stretches decades into gaming’s past, the game is an incredible amount of fun. The technical problems we encountered muddy the waters, but even with those present (and a fix incoming for that game-breaking bug) we enjoyed our time with the game enough that we still recommend that anyone interested in playing it, do so.

With its hand-drawn, off-kilter visuals, Mundaun turns even the most benign objects into something sinister. The act of actually playing it may not be a pleasure, but looking at it most certainly is. When the soundtrack crescendos and the hair-raising atmosphere takes hold, there's nothing quite like the menaces of Mundaun.

Its accessibility makes it a brilliant alternative to the more technically demanding brawlers out there, and while much of what it does is unspectacular, it's a solid, satisfying title that's hard to put down when you really find your rhythm.

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.

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is a decent game, especially with friends – but it’ll never surprise you. The basic mechanics work well, but you’ll struggle to shake off the feeling that they could have been utilised so much more effectively.