Phantasy Reverie Series is a relatively no-frills remaster collection. There's a couple of quality of life improvements and the games have a fresh lick of high definition paint, but if you didn't like Klonoa back in the day then you're not going to like it now. If you didn't play Klonoa at the time then you won't have the prerequisite nostalgia goggles necessary to gaze upon these games and see them for anything more than what they are — a couple of pretty good platformers and little else, and that's fine.

Hood: Outlaws & Legends should be applauded for doing something different. In a just world, this release would steal players from larger brands and establish itself as a unique online alternative – but right now, its community is small. Assuming you can find a match, the stealth-based competitive gameplay is refreshing, and while it’s not without its drawbacks, it can be seriously satisfying when you work as a team to achieve your objectives unnoticed. There’s huge potential here, Sumo Newcastle just needs to find a way to keep its playerbase engaged.

J-Stars Victory VS+ is a reasonably solid handheld brawler that houses plenty of content. Its accessible but mostly satisfying and fun gameplay suits portable play well, even if its simplistic systems will do little to keep fans of more technical fighters engaged.

Even the runtime of the game gets in on this, clocking in at just north of an hour. Granted, it is priced appropriately, but we were definitely sad to see the credits roll so soon – especially given that the title had just begun to flex its muscles mechanically. What start as very simple hidden object brain-teasers eventually progress to multi-scene puzzles, where items you collect serve more than one function. The puzzles never get hard per se, but they are immensely satisfying all the same, especially the more involved ones.

Fighting game fans can't really go wrong with King of Fighters XV — a sequel that doesn't shy away from the technical depth of its predecessors. It's obviously still early days, but it feels like SNK has improved upon King of Fighters XIV in all of the ways that matter. Better visuals, expanded mechanics, and, perhaps most importantly, smooth online netcode make for fighter that's hard to fault — even if it's lacking the cutting edge of its peers.

But the soundtrack is excellent and perfectly complements your lonely swimming, the atmosphere is thick, and the occasionally wondrous moments are suitably awesome, in the literal sense. While you spend most of your time swimming alone in the grim dark of the sea, the moments where you find a sunken wreck or a friendly octopus act as a kind of catharsis, and always feel special.

A solid game with sparks of excellence, but difficulty niggles and occasionally obtuse controls let it down.

Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi isn’t for everybody, but you may be surprised by its appeal. It’s a decent, if slightly overindulgent novel that's presented in a way that’s hard not to love. It may be a bit rough to read all the way through while sitting in front of a big plasma screen, but those with no other choice could do much worse.

Imagine Earth is good, but it never becomes great. Still, the varied missions, challenging and deep mechanics, and gorgeous visuals make it a worthwhile city builder for fans of the genre.

There's a lot to like about Saltsea Chronicles. It has a clever structure, low-pressure gameplay, and even a neat minigame to play in each location. Add on top an eye-catching style and meaningful decision-making, and you have a pleasant, ship-shape adventure.

For fans of storytelling, The Forgotten City is a solid recommendation. Freed from the shackles of Skyrim, the full game tells a captivating story elevated by clever and humorous writing. With the interesting time loop mechanic creating further situations full of comedy and intrigue, settling down across a few evenings with The Forgotten City will delight. We just wish the combat was either improved or not there at all, and the technical setbacks weren't quite so rampant.

Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord encapsulates what it feels like to be a Ghostbuster but seems to be aimed at the younger audience, and may therefore feel a little underwhelming to hardcore gamers. Having said that, it's still a fantastic addition to the wider franchise, and with updates just around the corner, things could become even more interesting.

Everybody’s Golf reaches the green at eagle pace and then proceeds to ever-so slightly duff the green. Don’t get us wrong, this is still an extremely enjoyable arcade golf game with some brilliantly original ideas, but there are some bizarre design errors which seem to weirdly imbalance the game. Pair that with an unreasonable progression system and you’re left with a title that needlessly undoes a lot of its own hard work. At the end of the day, you’re still going to extract hundreds of hours of top-notch entertainment from this title – but save for a few silly oversights it could have been essential, and that’s a damn shame.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus delivers a fun mystery-filled visual novel experience, perfect for anyone who is a fan of Danganronpa or similar titles. There are a few frustrating elements here and there, but the whole package is a mostly solid narrative-focused adventure.

At the current exchange rate, the WiiWare version definitely works out cheaper than this PSN release, but for any parents with only a PS3 at their disposal, Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 2 is definitely one of the strongest educational titles for children, mixing in key skills with fun exercises and a calm atmosphere that is extremely favourable for learning the process.

We’re giving Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel the benefit of the doubt. It’s flawed for sure. But the ten or twelve-hour playing time is mostly a good time thanks to the effectiveness of the titular guest house as a setting and the oppressive atmosphere it manages to conjure during your stay there.

Complex controls, a couple of poor design choices, and some iffy mechanics can make it difficult to love, but conquering the final frontier will leave you with a sense of accomplishment that's currently unrivalled on the PS4.

Time Recoil packs a lot of fun into a relatively short experience, but the lack of effort invested into the plot, visuals, and audio holds it back from sitting at the top of the genre.

Batman: The Enemy Within is some of Telltale’s best work since its previous DC Comics-themed season, and while that’s not exactly a high bar to clear these days, this is still a series well worth your time.

Fans of the otome genre will find a lot to like within Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds. It offers a rich storyline as well as presenting likeable characters within its well-built world. With personalities based on real-life historical figures, the game offers a charming, albeit brief look at an interesting area of Japanese history, as well as the chance to romance some grade-A anime boys.

There's a fair amount of depth to Star Trucker if you have the patience for it, and it's all presented with pleasant visuals and Americana stylings that lend it a fun atmosphere. There are some potentially frustrating elements and it's tougher than you might expect, but there's a fulfilling and novel game here for sim fans.

Arcade Spirits is a visual novel with a diverse set of characters to romance or befriend. It doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, but the characters are charming and the vibrant arcade setting offers a fun nostalgic feel. The storyline offers plenty of heartfelt moments that will make you really care about many of the characters and want to play through multiple times. While it’s a simple game, it’s definitely one that’s worth your time.

Lords of Shadow 2 falls short of the high bar set by its predecessor, with niggly control issues, a somewhat empty open world, and frustrating stealth sections sucking a bit of life out of the experience. Fortunately, fans of the original release will undoubtedly enjoy the exciting combat and stellar graphical design on offer here.

The game will probably only last you a couple of hours or so, but that time is filled with lots of fun moments and amusing gags. It's not something that'll stand up to many replays, but it's an entertaining curiosity while it lasts.

A massive amount of dialogue often saps the pace of an otherwise eerily tense third-person adventure, but other than that, this is a welcome addition to the franchise that's well worth experiencing if you're a fan of the maniacal Monokuma and all that he stands for.

An impressive take on the monster collecting Japanese RPG format. Collecting and levelling up the digimon may seem a little too simple for die hard genre enthusiasts, but the typing, elements, and memory limit all help to add extra layers of depth to the gameplay. The DigiFarm and the interactions with your monsters also help create a bond, making them more than just tools at your disposal - something that other similar games miss. Hacker’s Memory is an enjoyable romp overall for both Digimon fans and non-fans alike.

Madden NFL 24 is a good sports game, a playoff contender even – but you just never really get a sense this game is going to win the Super Bowl. That’s the fundamental flaw here: it’s a good effort from EA Tiburon with a lot of strong under-the-hood gameplay and presentation improvements, but the annual development cycle is preventing this series from really taking meaningful strides forward. Superstar, the reskinned Face of the Franchise, is fine for a few hours – and even Ultimate Team has improved to be more accessible overall. But cumbersome menus and a general sense of familiarity drop the ball, and prevent the release from reaching its full potential.

FIFA 24 in all but name, EA Sports FC 24 is not the bold reboot many may have hoped for when the publisher announced it was breaking away from football’s governing body. But beneath the air of familiarity is another slick soccer sim, with some smart new additions like PlayStyles and Precision Passing which help stamp a bit more personality on a previously robotic experience. Additions to Ultimate Team bring flexibility to the game’s flagship mode, while the developer has been listening to its fanbase, and is slowly iterating on oft neglected areas like Career Mode and Clubs.