Tchia feels really unlike any experience we've ever had with a video game. Full of heart, but occasionally lacking direction, it's a unique experience showcasing the love the dev team has for New Caledonia. Everything about Tchia evokes a wonderful tropical vibe, full of rich history and culture, from the folklore elements of the storyline to the authentic voice acting in New Caledonia's native language, Drehu. Unfortunate bugs let it down and stop players experiencing it to its fullest, but a solid, enjoyable, and ultimately beautiful game is at its core. It's evident that a lot of love has been poured into this really exciting debut from Awaceb, and as a day one PS Plus Extra release, it's bound to bring a lot of joy to a lot of players.

Planet Zoo is, ironically, a relatively toothless park building game. It doesn't have the delicious chaos of the Jurassic World Evolution games or the thrills of building your own rollercoaster and then hoping it'll stay on the tracks in Planet Coaster. But it's a pleasant and charming game. There's an airy joy in creating a peaceful home for animals to live in, and the earnest conservationist slant of Planet Zoo is hard to fault.

After the crummy Man of Medan and the better-but-not-quite-there Little Hope, The Dark Pictures Anthology has finally started hitting its stride with House of Ashes.

An open world was the right move for a Borderlands franchise that’s on its back foot. If you can grin and bear through some bad console performance, Borderlands 4 rewards you with a whole lot more looting and shooting. Some small new additions around the edges and a solid slate of bosses and side-quests spice up this fourth numbered entry that’s still as brazen and immodest as ever.

Thankfully, the game's excellent presentation holds everything together, and at around 12 hours in length, Voice of Cards doesn't quite outstay its welcome. There are multiple endings to unlock as well, but additional playthroughs may be a tall order. Voice of Cards isn't the kind of RPG that you can rush through — its deliberately slow pace is part of the charm — but there is a slightly expanded New Game+ mode for those who fancy taking on the dragon all over again.

Expand is a great puzzle game. Navigating your square through monochromatic mazes offers a wonderfully relaxing experience that somehow manages to be calming and wrought with tension throughout. While it’s a relatively short title, its low price point and high fun factor make it a worthwhile venture. Sure, it may not have been a runaway success on its initial release, but we can only hope this title finds its audience this time around.

Take a bit of time to learn its systems, and this will grow on you like an out-of-control inferno. Just remember to have a bit of patience, or you will get burned.

For PS5, Monster Truck Championship’s improvements are technical, offering a 4K resolution upgrade and 60 frames-per-second gameplay. Unfortunately, there’s no DualSense support and previous PS4 owners don’t have a free upgrade. When backwards compatibility exists, we can’t recommend double dipping, but new players will find much to enjoy. This is the definitive edition, and if you enjoy monster truck racing, then this naturally comes recommended.

A Fisherman’s Tale is a typical puzzle-solving first-person VR experience that stands a cut above with a good-quality gimmick that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It barely stays long enough to finish saying hello, but it has the wit, charm, and novelty to make it worth the single sitting it’s asking for.

RAGE 2's on-foot action is some of the most fun we've had this generation. As a shooter it's undeniably top tier, but the combat constantly has to fight for its rightful place in the spotlight. All the bright pink paint in the apocalypse couldn't stop the game's open world from feeling lacklustre, and the vehicular stuff struggles throughout. RAGE 2 needed the chaos and insanity that its marketing campaign was so eager to push, because we've ended up with a disappointingly safe objective-based grind, in which the excellent combat is the only thing strong enough to string you along.

99Vidas is an affectionate homage to scrolling beat em ups of the 80s and 90s. It’s also a fun game to spend an afternoon with, regardless of age and skill. There’s not a lot of content and you can run through the story mode in a few hours, but local and online co-op, unlockable characters, and the promise of more levels should give it some lasting appeal.

If you’ve never played the first two titles in Sony Santa Monica’s seminal series before, then you’re probably better off sampling them on the PS3 first – but if, for whatever reason, you need to take Kratos on the go, then this Vita version represents a more than adequate gift from the Gods.

When you consider how far Train Sim World 6 has come since its original introduction, it’s staggering. But compared directly to its predecessor, this new version doesn’t change a lot. The new Riviera route is breath-taking, and we really appreciate the addition of passenger announcements and the random events that can impede your journey. But if you’re not immediately attracted to any of the new lines, we’d recommend you focus on the free Starter Pack and wait for some of the upcoming expansions, which will include all-new countries like Japan, Portugal, and Czech Republic.

If you’re an Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley fan then this is a must buy: its peaceful setting, vibrant visuals, and freedom to explore and be creative when designing and decorating will keep you entertained for hours. It’s a shame that its main story is a little on the short side but with a fairly price point, its cost certainly won’t set you back as much as a trip to Diddly Squat Farm.

Not all of the gameplay translates perfectly to the DualSense, as it’s clearly been designed around either touchscreens or mouse-and-keyboards. It’s not a big deal, though, and once you find a good lobby with a friendly group this is one of the better party games you’ll find on the PS5. It’s just finding said people can be a bit of an exercise in trial-and-error, so be aware that you will be at the mercy of the release’s unchecked community unless you have a guaranteed group of pals to play with.

While the AI will soon find you too much to handle, even at higher difficulties, the online component is where the specials really shine. The strategy of choosing when to slot your attacks in becomes paramount. It’s easy to lose the rhythm of the song if you get too cocky. As long as the game can nurture and maintain a player base there should be ample reason to keep coming back to God of Rock time and time again.

Zool was a classic back in the day, but it didn't endure as much as other genre luminaries. This remaster enhances what was great about the original title while adding some modern elements to sweeten the deal.

Hitman: Episode 3 - Marrakesh is a good addition to an already great release, and although it may not have the total freedom of Sapienza, it certainly does espionage and detail well. The constantly busy atmosphere and the variety of kills will keep dedicated assassins coming back for more. Roll on Thailand.

All in all, Judgment of Atlantis is probably Assassin's Creed Odyssey's best DLC episode. As a standalone adventure it feels the most complete, the setting is superb, and the finale does a great job of tying the Eagle Bearer's story together. While the modern day plot, complete with its awful characters, continues to be the worst part of the experience, it ultimately takes little away from the memorable adventures of Alexios or Kassandra. The Atlantis saga hasn't been perfect, but it has added some welcome weight to an already huge game.

There's replay value to be found in the Hard difficulty setting, or chasing 29 Trophies for a Platinum, as well as an unlockable New Game+ challenge. Yet, even the inclusion of an extra Infinite Mode highlights how the core gameplay becomes repetitive, plus the four main areas of Arcade Mode can be beaten in less than an hour. If the idea of exploring to save villagers reminds you fondly of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, or perhaps you remember isometric arcade brawlers like Dungeon Magic and Wizard Fire, then the nostalgia conjured up from Battle Axe mixing together two formidable old genres may still hack-and-slash its way into your heart.

It's unlikely to hold your interest forever, then, but for the short time that it does it's a splendid game.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is a great way to test the waters of Koei Tecmo's long-running historical simulation series. It can be initially overwhelming and a little unwieldy at times, but the remake offers a return to a seminal entry in the series and one of the deepest and most intricate strategy games available on PS5 and PS4 to date.

This is not necessarily an experience for everyone, but the light-hearted stripping mechanic makes it an enjoyable romp all the same, and a worthy addition to your PS4 library if you haven’t played it already.

A lack of variety and slightly shonky combat certainly mars the experience, but not enough to ruin the game's solid core mechanics.

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.