While Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice is a solid point-and-click game, the game alienates new players, and massive control issues ultimately sour a decent experience. Newcomers should steer clear of this entry if they have any interest in the series, but for core Leisure Suit Larry fans, it might be worth checking out this otherwise solid entry on another platform.

There's so much exploding clothing in this game that you'd be forgiven for thinking it's another instalment in the Senran Kagura series. Fortunately (or, depending on your opinion, unfortunately) it's just the unbelievably fragile armour of enduring Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection protagonist, Sir Arthur.

Knockout City is a brilliant multiplayer brawler. Its well-balanced, skill-based gameplay is a joy, providing players with surprising depth just beneath the surface. While the number of maps and modes on day one is fairly small, the fun factor means this doesn't really matter, and updates will bring extra content to the game post-launch anyway. With a ton of customisation options, rewarding progression, and constantly engaging matches, this is knockout by name, knockout by nature.

The RPG elements mean you'll nearly always be making some forward momentum. Finding treasure, sinking ships, and completing missions rewards you with XP, and you can upgrade and customise various parts of your boat to ensure your vessel is ship-shape. What's more, each town has its own side missions to tackle, and a market where you can trade goods in a shifting economy. These parts of the game are its strengths, but working through somewhat confusing menus and engaging in predictable battles take the wind out of its sails.

Rust Console Edition is punishing and a real test of your resolve. The game’s persistent online world – which continues to exist even when you’re offline – paired with its rewarding survival loop make it hard to get out of your head, however. The ephemeral nature of your progress means it’s oddly unique, and the human interactions you’ll encounter along the way give the title limitless replayability and unpredictability. Yes, it looks like garbage and is clearly in need of a patch or 10,000 – but even now, as we write this, we can’t help but wonder whether someone’s blown the door off our base and is rifling through our belongings.

Biomutant could have been something special, but the ambitious project fails to capitalise on what it does differently. Trapped in the clutches of an open world from a generation past, its own ideas are thwarted by an overload of other mechanics and overwhelming menus. By trying to do so much, Biomutant skipped the part where it built a solid basis to work from. While there's still potential here, Experiment 101's first attempt hasn't realised it.

While the levels make no logical sense in true retro shooter fashion, they do make game sense, all having clearly defined layouts that expertly navigate you through some truly massive environments. One standout is an entire level that takes place within a canyon, with a foreboding level of verticality. The design knows just which cues to provide you, and actually finding where to go is no more challenging than with any other modern game. While many of the environments rely heavily on white tiled walls, as you progress further outside, more colour breathes life into the world, a most welcome change.

Just Die Already is an enjoyably mean-spirited game that would cross the line into hateful if it wasn’t so gleeful in its disrespect for elders. Less Octodad, more octogenarian, a surplus of the usual physics sandbox glitches don’t detract from fun that's as densely packed as the very coffins you're dodging.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster offers something a bit different here in 2021. By today's standards it's a very hardcore, old school RPG; an adventure that's both unwelcoming and uniquely intriguing — even engrossing once you're invested. But it's also a cult classic that deserves more than this barebones remaster, which does very little to enhance the overall experience — especially for its price tag at release.

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.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids is one of the series' best expansions. In its beautiful but sombre open world depiction of Ireland, it provides an intriguing story that combines history and folklore to great effect. A range of new weapons and armour sets help sweeten the deal, while more engaging combat scenarios keep you on your toes. If you're already a fan of Valhalla, this Emerald Isle adventure is very hard to fault.

Not everyone will warm up to Subnautica: Below Zero, but it’s an unquestionably rewarding release once you begin to get a foothold into the frigid foray. The game’s constantly tantalising you with new, exciting equipment, and its otherworldly ocean is an immersive environment in which to spend your time. A lack of landmarks mean that it can be a little too easy to get lost, and the story is light and largely uninteresting – but if the act of building an underwater base appeals to you, then this PS5 sequel unquestionably has strong foundations.

Aesthetically, the game looks really pretty and is totally evocative of its 1930s setting. The game is plagued with hammy dialogue that makes it feel totally campy and like an old B-movie, but not altogether terrible when coupled with the Lovecraftian influence it draws on. Call of the Sea is a mostly fun puzzle game that falls short on the mystery it tries to have you unveil. While it looks aesthetically pleasing and ticks a lot of boxes for its period setting, the story is lacklustre and predictable.

Terminator: Resistance Enhanced is a decent looking PS3 game that’s 10 years too late. It adds little value to the disappointing original release, and will only please hardcore fans of the movies.

Wreckfest just fully embraces what it is, and you have to respect it. Bugbear's brash, fender-bending racer has been unleashed on PlayStation 5 as part of May's PlayStation Plus lineup, and it's still very much the chaotic, crash-happy, Destruction Derby-esque experience people love. In the jump to new hardware, the game definitely benefits in a few areas, though some enhancements are better than others.

But at least in terms of content, The Colonists has plenty for you to do. There's a campaign made up 14 missions — essentially tasking you with colonising different locations. Meanwhile, sandbox mode lets you choose a map, tweak various gameplay settings, and play however you like. We especially enjoyed messing around in the latter once the campaign had shown us the ropes, and taking things at our own pace.

While the Resident Evil series has been on a high for a number of years now, Resident Evil Village sets an entirely new standard. Its cast of villains is up there with the very best, memorable sequences and gameplay sections beg to be played over and over again, and a sense of constant dread created by the atmosphere and soundtrack keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even the combat is solid this time around and the lengths Capcom has gone to take advantage of the PS5 pays off with impressive Ray-Tracing. Does it better Resident Evil 4? Maybe not, but it's damn close. Real damn close. Resident Evil Village is an essential playthrough for anyone with even a passing interest in the franchise.

Aesthetically, Skate City fares well. The visuals are simple, but Snowman has nailed the grunge look that the sport is known for. The original score is excellent, and soaking up its relaxing lo-fi beats makes even the most frustrating challenges enjoyable. Unfortunately, the three courses are a tad too realistic and end up feeling interchangeable. However, the addition of a slow-mo function and a dynamic camera make capturing your tricks to craft your own videos a neat additional feature. Take the time to master it, and there's fun to be had in this city.

Ultimately, R-Type Final 2 is exactly what you’d expect a sequel to R-Type Final to be like. It certainly doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel, and some may be a little underwhelmed by the fact that it lacks any massive gameplay changes from previous instalments in the franchise. Still, that’s rather missing the point; games like this aren’t as common as they once were and getting a shmup of such quality in 2021 is truly something to celebrate.

Housemarque has delivered the PS5 promise with Returnal. All the console's bells and whistles enhance the experience, making this a real showpiece for the hardware. But more than that, the game is a force to be reckoned with; the breathless combat, super slick gameplay, and the subtle but unsettling story combine for an experience of surprising scale. Rogue-lite aspects mean it won't gel with everyone, but for those looking for a challenging, addictive arcade shooter, this comes highly recommended.

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.

While playing as someone not in the driver’s seat is a novel idea, Hitchhiker struggles to create an enjoyable gameplay experience. While the story is engaging, the game’s technical issues, inconsistent puzzle difficulty, and overall monotonous gameplay makes this a better movie than a game. If you are looking for a game that has you playing a more interactive experience, you should steer clear from Hitchhiker.

NieR Replicant remains a memorable and affecting action RPG. Elements of its PS3-era design really haven't aged well, but this remade remaster does a lot to enhance the experience. Incredibly tight and responsive gameplay, tied together with a touching tale of uniquely oddball characters, makes for an adventure that stands the test of time.

Judgment is a truly gripping detective thriller, and it plays better than ever on PS5. As a standalone adventure, it's an excellent action RPG, boasting some outstanding storytelling and a brilliant cast of characters. And as a Yakuza spinoff, it's arguably the perfect gateway into SEGA's stellar series.

If you already own the original games as well as their DLC, then the new content in Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack is unlikely to be enough to make you want to splash out again, as none of it drastically changes the original experience. However, if this is your first time playing them, then this Atelier trilogy is fairly easy to recommend. It’s quite a varied collection, and it’s great to see the developer really experiment with the series' core gameplay mechanics. All three games will send you on a very different adventure, but each of them has a great group of characters for you to fall in love with.

Initially it's quite a novel experience, despite controls feeling fairly clunky. You solve problems, earning bricks with which to create new buildings and slowly unlock new business types, which expand your options. However, after a while, it becomes more difficult to manage; if a building is really lacking appeal, a circular meter will begin to fill. If you let it fill up, the building's business will close, and will be essentially useless. The trouble comes when you have buildings that won't move, and more than one suffering this red circle. This is just an example really, but the point is that the gameplay becomes too complicated. After a while, it loses the fun factor, and becomes a frustrating balancing act with too many plates to spin.

MLB The Show 21 swings-and-misses in a few areas, with the well-intentioned Ballplayer system diminishing Road to the Show. Despite being stingier, though, Diamond Dynasty is still the best card collecting mode available, and the series’ tried and trusted gameplay has been further enhanced with the addition of Pinpoint Pitching and new fielding animations. Sony San Diego hasn’t quite hit a home run this year, but this is a strong lead-off double for baseball on PS5.

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is an exceptional achievement in role-playing. Expertly written, it's an utterly engrossing detective drama at its best, and a fantastic sense of humour keeps the whole thing grounded. Its deliberately slow and methodical pacing won't be for everyone, but once you're invested, it's incredibly hard to put down. A haunting video game, for all the right reasons.