To be fair, the physics are impressive, requiring you to find a rhythm as you hit the undulations in the mud. And there’s a lot to get busy with, including a reasonable if ultimately ignorable track editor. But the reality is that unless you’re already deeply engrossed in supercross as a sport, there’s very little here that’s going to give you the aftereffects of a Monster Energy-induced high.

There’s no doubt NBA 2K24 is the best presented sports game on the market, and it’s also arguably the most complete, with a dizzying selection of modes and features to accommodate all playstyles and tastes. But an insidious overreliance on microtransactions and player retention yet again detracts from the MyCAREER mode, which to its credit feels much more focused this year. There’s still a lot to like about this game, and depending on which modes you enjoy, you may never have to interact with the nefarious aspects at all. But it does sour what is otherwise an enjoyable game.

Move Fitness may come across as rather limited in some ways, and doesn't quite match its Move competition, but there's a good selection of exercises that are highly enjoyable for the most part, particularly the boxing and ball-throwing elements.

Push past this, and you'll find a cleverly designed set of challenges that shine best in co-op. While things can quickly spiral if you're careless, completing objectives feels like a real triumph, and each mission scales things up, providing new ideas along the way. Once you have your head wrapped around it, Heavenly Bodies offers up wonderfully tactile puzzles, and the DualSense is really put through its paces. The game is rather short, but it does give you more to do after beating each mission. We should also mention there are three levels of control available, with the easiest allowing you to "swim" through the air (or lack of). While we do think there's a good time to be had here, be aware you'll need some patience to find the fun.

Crimsonland is exactly one video game: a perfectly competent twin-stick shooter, and nothing else. Unfortunately, the title’s quests feel a bit half-baked, and the whole thing could do with a facelift.

Thief Town is a great effort from Glass Knuckle Games, with fun, simple multiplayer that has more depth than you might think. If there was a little more to see and do, this would be much easier to recommend, but it will be a little too sparse for some. For others, though, this will be a great little title to put on when friends come over, and that feels like where Thief Town belongs.

VRFC is not a good representation of football, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Like the table-top variety, it doesn’t need to be accurate to be entertaining, and once you embrace the insanity there’s fun to be had. VRFC is flawed and disconnected, but also spontaneous, amusing, challenging, and fun. At this budget price, we can think of worse ways to spend a weekend.

Rain World has massive world that can be pretty easy to get lost in and enables some real survival adrenaline rushes. Unfortunately, these positive aspects – alongside its exquisite art direction – are at odds with some of the less satisfying aspects: the slightly awkward controls, the overwhelming feeling of almost too much freedom, and the fairly constant threat of losing large chunks of progress take away from the experience. The end result is complicated: it's a game we bounced off quite a lot but one we still greatly appreciate. The game does something new with the genre and it does it well for the most part, making the game worth at the very least giving a look.

Design gripes aside, Nexomon is a decent Pokémon clone. It's a bit rough around the edges, but if you're hankering for a cheap and cheerful creature-based RPG, it's not a bad pick.

Once it gets going and the tricks begin to unlock, Mad Riders is extremely fast and quite fun. There are several niggles that drag this racer down, though, such as the slow introduction of stunts and the harsh quickness of some respawns which directly opposes the multi-pathed style of the courses, and it never really does enough out of the ordinary to live up to its title.

Despite the gameplay and level design being pretty middling, we still think this game is worth a spin. It’s all about the atmosphere, and the organism itself, both of which are rousing successes and worth the price of entry alone.

Constant C is enjoyable enough, but it never really ventures beyond that.

Tiny Metal is a fun military-themed, turn-based strategy game. It manages to put your brain in gear with the troops' different strengths and weaknesses creating interestingly close battles. However without a multiplayer mode, some translation issues, and a text-heavy story the game falls short of being a must buy.

Considering the potential Watch Dogs Legion was packing prior to launch, the final release can only be chalked up as an anticlimax. Its "play as anyone" concept doesn't lend itself well to the sort of experience Ubisoft has crafted with seriously lacklustre character options and a narrative that went down the drain as a result. While longtime fans may find its recycled gameplay loop just enough of a reason to keep playing, those enamoured with the possibility of playing as anyone and everyone will wish they never bothered. Watch Dogs Legion is the dullest of the lot.

At times the narrative is incomprehensible and the characters are uninteresting and unlikeable, but it's the mismatch of borrowed gameplay mechanics that really lets The Bureau: XCOM Declassified down. Truly embodying the spirit of the phrase 'jack of all trades, master of none', this is another unfortunate victim of rampant focus testing.

The game is solid — stable frame rate, the assets look as good as they possibly could without an overhaul, and the modernised controls are a demonstrable improvement. Hit detection is a little sluggish, but it's worth the price of entry for getting a peek at such an oddity. While saying the game lacks focus could be construed as an insult, it’s truly fascinating to see a game made with, for its time, such a high level of quality that wears so many different hats. And for that, we appreciate the opportunity to experience it in the modern era.

This is a generic brawler that feels like it was rushed to market, and is a huge disappointment considering it's a sequel to an already lacklustre game.

Simply put, there is very little to recommend in this year’s game. With fewer modes than F1 2013, and with next year’s big update mere months away, this entry finds itself very much stuck on the grid.

Throne and Liberty is an ongoing game, so the story could become more fleshed out, the mechanics you use to interact with the world could become more nuanced, and the technical issues could be fixed. But as it all stands now, it's just an okay way to dip your toe into a relatively console-friendly MMORPG that doesn't demand endless amounts of your time for you to enjoy — although there are better games to play with your precious hours. If you're looking for something deeper than that, though, you won't find it here.

There’s a good game hidden in here, but you may need a bite from a radioactive insect to see through its glaring flaws.

There are far more and much better narrative-driven experiences to be had in 2016, and so Dear Esther: Landmark Edition feels like a bit of a relic in this day and age.

Web of Wyrd is clearly created by people with a reverence for Mignola's work and impresses as an adaptation. However, as a roguelike and a brawler, it underwhelms.

Way of the Passive Fist starts out strong with an interesting concept, but that interest soon wears off thanks to poor execution. Once you've played the first chapter you've pretty much played all 10 as there is never any variation on offer. Combine this with the fundamental flaws of basing the gameplay purely around blocking and dodging and you have a recipe for a promising and unique but ultimately disappointing game.

Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge - Enhanced Edition starts out flat but does eventually get a bit better. You’ll need to trudge through a couple of hours of bland shooting galleries to get to the good stuff, though, and even then the title is largely let-down by repetitive encounters and some dated design decisions. The game takes decent advantage of PSVR2’s innovative features, but also underlines its Meta Quest 2 origins at times. And while there’s an unquestionable novelty to existing within George Lucas’ legendary universe, it feels like the license is doing a lot of the lifting for a mostly average adventure.

State of Mind offers an intriguing near-future tale that doesn’t quite deliver on its initial mystery. While it’s cast of flawed – and in some cases unlikeable characters – are interesting to get to know, the plotting ultimately lets things down by failing to get you invested in the story, and asking you to suspend your disbelief a few too many times. While the unique presentation proves to be an excellent fit for the setting, and helps distinguish it from the crowd, the price of entry will scare off anyone who isn’t actively seeking out this type of experience.

Despite its - significant - flaws, Grease Dance is enjoyable in an enthusiastic social situation, and it even squeezes in the odd fun Easter egg. Dancing may be frustrating if you're dead set on getting a good score, but the singing works rather well, and with the intended group of friends warbling and jigging along the dodgy recognition is more easily ignorable.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU tells a touching, personal story of family, grief, and loss, but it's wrapped up in a game that makes appreciating that narrative a lot harder than it should be. A Metroidvania in only the most basic of ways, its combat and platforming are spoilt by basic design and structure, as well as controller issues and frustrating one-hit kills. At its best when left to simply tell its story, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU falters once you have to start playing.

Ultimately, Ruffy and the Riverside is a game we wanted to like, but despite its attractive visual style and unique ideas, it never really comes together in a satisfying way. While there's some fun to be had running around in the semi-open world, it never evolves beyond that.