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.

The game's at its best when you're being forced to adapt, but it has a bad habit of introducing scenarios that feel like they require trial and error. For example, some enemy spawns are near impossible to see coming on a first run, and while you're never truly out of options, taking a few bad hits can cripple your chances -- especially in later levels.

While the title does streamline some tasks, its controls are still counter-intuitive on the DualShock 4, adopting a rub-your-head-pat-your-belly approach that’s almost impossible to adapt to. There are lots of jobs to complete and different cities to unlock, but the visuals are tired – like an upscaled PlayStation 2 release – and the overall loop isn’t as addictive as its immediate peers.

Curiously, not everyone can be absorbed on your first attempt, and so you’ll need to collect brains and invest cash in order to unlock the more powerful hosts. This obviously adds to the release’s replayability, but when paired with its punishing difficulty, the formula begins to grate. Local co-op doesn’t really ease the repetition, although your pals will certainly appreciate the pop culture references.

The sprite work is undoubtedly impressive, and the audio is as hyperactive as you’d expect. But this is a wafer-thin experience, with only the draw of a better score to pull you back for a second playthrough. As a piddly, rose-tinted reminder of the retro shooters of old, there’s very little to truly dislike here – but it’s important you know what it consists of before parting with your cold hard cash.

Streets of Rage 4 makes a valiant attempt to drag the old-school franchise into the modern age. We've ended up with a beautiful beat-'em-up that's perhaps a little too loyal to the original games, but is ultimately a blast to play, especially with others. The appeal might wear off after a little while due to repetitive gameplay, but it's a huge amount of fun while it lasts.

Daymare: 1998 is a low budget release with an ambition that outpaces its production values, but it's still a good attempt. There are stumbling blocks – hit detection, boss fights, animations – but the lighting is good, the soundtrack is great, and the exploration is satisfying.

Deliver Us the Moon is a short but exciting adventure set in the beautiful depths of space. With the fate of humanity in your hands you’ll feel determined to see things through to the end. There’s a good variety of puzzles you’ll need to solve, and while none of them are particularly difficult, the real pleasure is in seeing what new wonders the game has in store for you in each area.

Telling Lies is one of the best experiences to make use of FMV on PS4, telling a fascinating narrative that'll have you guessing what revelation will come your way next. What's more, the star-studded cast of characters does an excellent job of bringing the script to life, but it is held back by a perplexing rewind function. Had it been implemented better, the game would be on the cusp of greatness. Although, in its current state, Telling Lies is still a very safe recommendation for fans of the genre.

SnowRunner’s glacial pace won’t appeal to everyone, but this unique haulage simulation manages to transform everyday terrain into an enemy you need to tame. This is a game that’s less about the destination and all about the journey you take; in that sense it’s unmatched, and wildly rewarding in a way that few other open worlders are.

Sakura Wars is an entertaining fusion of dating sim elements and button mashing action, but it's held back by tired anime tropes and some disappointingly underdeveloped characters. The overarching story may be painfully predictable, but there's still waifu-chasing fun to be had here, and the combat is enough to keep the otherwise relaxed pacing in check.

Predator: Hunting Grounds wouldn't look too out of place amongst the tacked-on multiplayer modes of the PS3 generation. It offers a handful of hours packed with enjoyment but quickly comes apart at the seams as you realise how lacking in content it really is. While playing as the Predator and a good amount of customisation may be its saving graces, this is an experience you can safely skip.

MotoGP 20 is unquestionably a good, solid racing game made by a passionate team. When you're weaving through a track at breakneck speeds, slowly mastering the tough but engaging handling, it can be great fun. The problem is an unapproachable first few hours; little to no guidance will easily put some new players off. However, if you can get past that initial bump in the road, there's a robust and challenging racer waiting to be conquered.

While the accessible controls and cute presentation are inviting to all types of players, the action itself can get a little fiddly. It's very easy to get stuck in doorways carrying a bed, for instance, or have objects fall into awkward positions amid the chaos. It's not too big an issue but it does frustrate when you waste precious seconds getting snagged on walls. For moving experts, there are optional objectives and gold times to aim for. Completing the extra tasks rewards you with coins that unlock even trickier challenges in an arcade, extending the life of quite a short game. It doesn't quite hit the same heights as its peers, but it's hard to deny its simple pleasures.

It may be a full 3D remake of a classic action RPG, but Trials of Mana sticks rigidly to the structure of the original game. As a result, its storytelling and characters are one-note and largely forgettable -- hampered further by awkward cutscenes and dodgy English voice acting -- but its nicely paced gameplay feels surprisingly fresh in a time when modern RPGs have a tendency to drag on for hundreds of hours. What's more, its simple but smooth and effective combat system makes for some moreish action. All in all, Trials of Mana is a delightful throwback.

Help Will Come Tomorrow feels unwieldy and at odds with its approachable resource gathering mechanics. It's setting may convince some into a purchase, but for those after a new take on the genre, this experience fails to satisfy.

This is a game made to be played many times, with you building your skill with the controls and your knowledge of the stages, but both these things feel slightly clumsy. Still, there's absolutely fun to be had here, with some sequences that truly do feel great to play, and collectable gameplay modifiers that let you go totally bananas.

The main map is small and relatively basic, but the combat can at least be satisfying once you get the big guns. The developer does just enough to vary up the rules in modes such as Combo Breaker, where you’re tasked with keeping your multiplier alive. But this is a shallow, shallow experience overall that will only hold your attention for an hour or two at most.

For a game being sold on its eclectic cast of characters, Random Heroes: Gold Edition really doesn’t do anywhere near enough with its heroes. This is a 16-bit style side-scrolling shooter where you take control of, well, pretty much anyone. There’s a cyborg, a clown, a truck driver, a man in a suit… You pretty much get the idea.

You’ve already played a game like Rush Rover, but that doesn’t mean this little timewaster should be ignored. A dualstick roguelike, the shooter borrows liberally from various recent releases, delivering a wholly unoriginal yet generally well-executed experience. Playing as a mining machine, your role is to clean up randomly generated environments populated by rogue robots.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 struggles to outdo its fantastic predecessor, but it's still great fun to smash through hordes of enemies alongside such a colourful cast of characters. The game's delightful and diverse roster really is its greatest strength, and thanks to an emphasis on building combos, the combat system can be surprisingly rewarding, despite its repetitive nature. The pretty standard story mode will leave non-fans completely lost, but those who enjoy the action will find a near endless supply of it in the title's other offerings.

Biped is very short -- you and a friend could easily finish this off inside two or three hours. It means that every stage brings fresh ideas to the fore, but it's over before you know it. There are ways to extend your playtime; you could track down all the coins, which you can cash in for cosmetic items, or try your hand at the harder modes that unlock as you finish each stage. It's all good fun while it lasts, with some genuinely clever design, but you can wrap it up pretty fast. If you want something quick and fuss free to play with a pal, though, Biped is a charming little game worth trying.

Unfortunately, neither mode really does a good job of giving you a real reason to progress deeper. The combat, though weighty and satisfying, gets monotonous fairly quickly. The motivation to explore is almost entirely up to you, as the game really doesn’t see fit to tell you much. Yes, the environments are gorgeous, but Below winds up having the opposite problem of many games, in that there isn’t enough hand-holding. We found ourselves constantly craving more information, only for Below to not provide it.

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is an absolute mess from start to finish. The puzzles that stand in the way of your progress are almost universally illogical leading to an experience that frustrates throughout. This would perhaps – at a push – be worth persevering with if the story were engaging enough, but the tale told here is so silly that it could have been generated by pulling plot twists out of a hat. Throw in a creepy vibe, crummy production values, and dodgy controls, and you're left with an unmitigated disasterpiece that you should avoid like it's got the coronavirus.

Measured against the immense expectations that surround it, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a great game that will inevitably disappoint some fans. That said, playing through the Midgar storyline 23 years later is giddily surreal, and the game does a fantastic job of expanding the existing plot, while also pushing a surprising amount of fresh ideas. Some frustratingly poor level design hampers the fun at times, and visually the game is all over the place, but when it's at its best, Remake is brilliant, and it's elevated to even greater heights by an excellent combat system. It may not be the perfect remake that we've all been dreaming of these past five years, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable, nostalgia-driven ride that understands the magic of Final Fantasy VII.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is a welcome trip down memory lane. It may have ditched the revolutionary multiplayer offering and Spec Ops mode, but what has been brought into the modern era manages to stand on its own two feet. It still suffers from design choices of old, but this is an intense, enjoyable single player campaign that's more than worth your time.

As well as delving into the main levels, there's a small hub that's worth exploring if you want to get the most from the story. You can find a couple of NPCs to talk to about their experiences and the state of the game's world, while you can hear the nervous chatter of people holed up indoors. You can also upgrade your character here and practice your electro-ball swing. The whole game feels fairly modest, but it punches above its weight to deliver something very different.

Where the game really shines is in its entertaining writing and story-telling. While there are plenty of dark and sombre story points, your lovable companions will constantly lift the mood with light-hearted banter or their tales of folklore told around the warmth of a campfire.