The game is a lighthearted blast. Causing trouble as a goose is devilishly fun, even if the novelty may wear off once you've seen and done everything. It's so uniquely endearing, though, that it'll live surprisingly long in the memory. Enjoyable at any age or ability, Untitled Goose Game is worth a gander.

Bringing a friend along can make one or two fights feel a bit too trivial, but then it’s worth having someone with you to appreciate the stunning vistas Ashen manages to capture. From superb shots of the sea to underground caves illuminated by the crackling fire of your torch, uncovering a new area is an utter pleasure. It might be a year late, but Ashen still manages to carve out its own space for greatness.

Shenmue III is a game lost in time, but that’s probably the greatest compliment you can pay this long-awaited sequel. Newcomers will be utterly bemused by its slice of life-style idiosyncrasies, but for franchise fans this is the faithful follow-up that they’ve been waiting almost two decades for. This is a weird and wonderful game; it defies contemporary convention in favour of its own decades-old direction. The industry may have moved on, but even 18 years later, Ryo Hazuki still somehow feels relevant.

Fight'N Rage borrows heavily from classics like Streets of Rage and Final Fight, but its combat does a great job of building on the basics without making things too complex. Your fighters have combos, special moves, sprints, evasive hops, aerial attacks, throws, and even parries if you learn to exploit enemy attack patterns. You can definitely button mash your way through much of the game -- on easy and normal, at least -- but pulling off a perfect series of blows and watching your unfortunate foe explode into a pile of bones is seriously satisfying.

That it's a simpler co-op title than its peers is a double-edged sword. It's an incredibly accessible game, but the necessity to cooperate isn't as strong, and it may not hold your attention as much because there's less going on. Still, it's almost impossible to hate this easy-going effort.

Blair Witch's strongest aspect -- its eerie woodland setting -- is perfect for a focused, streamlined, horror experience. Unfortunately, that's not what this game is, and the superfluous, gimmicky gameplay mechanics that are thrown at you with reckless abandon only serve to make the game less effective as a whole. A disappointing story, frustrating level design, and precious few genuine scares leaves us hoping that this is one franchise that gets lost in the woods.

Add to this the various bugs we encountered during play, and Lost Ember becomes a fairly hard sell. We got stuck on geometry a couple of times, and had to reset the game more than once. At one point, some animals failed to spawn, which meant we couldn't progress without reloading the checkpoint. These rough edges don't help a game that's already a little threadbare. Unless you're curious about the narrative, we'd beware of the dog in this case.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey has a huge gene pool of potential, but endless repetition and clunky controls need to be removed from its DNA. For die-hard survival and exploration fans there is a worthwhile experience here, but for everyone else this is a game that’s so repetitive it’ll drive you bananas.

The game pitches itself as FMV horror, and while the experience does incorporate those two elements the more you play, it never amounts to anything more than cheap jump scares and creepy episodes of breaking the fourth wall. It's effective enough the first time, but diminishing returns weaken the tactic dramatically. The same can't be said for some of the horrific voice acting, however, which is cringeworthily terrible on almost all fronts. Although, Simulacra offers just enough of an intriguing, narrative reason to put up with it all.

By making a point of keeping things simple, Arise: A Simple Story excels in all the right places. Basic 3D platforming is elevated by the introduction of time manipulation, transforming the beauty of its locations into an interactable piece of art. And when its visual design is already this stunning, it makes for an experience that delights every sense imaginable.

All in all, you can cleave your way through Story of a Gladiator in just a handful of hours, but it's reasonably rewarding while it lasts. Enter the arena with tempered expectations, and you'll find a basic but moreish brawler.

Nomada Studio's picturesque adventure has made it to PlayStation 4 almost perfectly intact. The game shines at an unwavering 60 frames per second, and it looks superb on a standard console -- let alone PS4 Pro. We did notice some very occasional audio stuttering, however, which is a shame given the otherwise immaculate presentation. That aside, GRIS holds together as an attractive, if somewhat shallow, platformer that you'll want to hang on your wall.

One of its biggest problems is presentation. It's visually poor across the board, and sound is arguably worse; egregious voice lines play out over bland music and lacklustre engine tones. Handling isn't too bad, however. Once you grow accustomed to the slightly odd control scheme, the fun begins to trickle through as you drive across each multi-path circuit. Unfortunately, too many other problems get in the way. Rubber-banding is off the charts, it's hard to see which pick-ups are which, and car-to-car combat with big weapons isn't as fun as it should be.

Stolen Pets is a very short game, so to say much more about it would be to spoil things. There's not too much replayability either, beyond finding each location's hidden coins, but these are pretty easy to spot. That it's over so quickly would be a problem if it wasn't so darn adorable. Joyous, imaginative, and full of personality, this is sure to bring a smile to all who play it.

Stepping into the TARDIS is a cool moment, and there are lots of references and encounters that fans will love throughout the short runtime. Unfortunately, that's about as much substance as you'll find. The puzzles themselves are pretty easy, and the environments you find yourself in are underwhelming. Long load times break the flow between each location, movement is slow, and it's not very engaging to play at all. If you're a real Doctor Who aficionado, you may find some enjoyment here, but otherwise, this is a waste of your precious time.

Put simply, Sparklite is best enjoyed as a single player experience, and to that end, it excels.

Civilization VI is an excellent strategy game that offers numerous ways to play, and all of them are viable options. You can lead a peaceful nation or a war-mongering empire and still have an engrossing and rewarding experience like few others on PS4. Excessive load times, grating music, and some occasionally irksome controls are the only real downsides to what is otherwise the system's best strategy game, and a title that strategy fans can scarcely afford to skip.

Even if you’re not familiar with Blacksad’s previous adventures, fans of games like L.A. Noire or any of the Telltale adventures will find something to like about Blacksad: Under the Skin. It’s a real shame, then, that the game is so buggy on release. Numerous technical issues really spoil what would otherwise be a very entertaining whodunit.

Flight is far too fiddly to be much fun, and all the game's activities are extremely simple. Playing the game on Hard puts a timer on certain things and makes combat less straightforward, but the only real difficulty you'll find is in keeping your bee under control. Perhaps the best part of the game is that flora and fauna are added to a glossary as you find them, providing you with some information on each, and you can add 3D models of them to the hive if you've accrued enough Knowledge Points. As a game, Bee Simulator isn't all that enjoyable, but its heart is in the right place.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is one of the very best games of 2019. Its engaging gameplay loops may have been lifted from other titles, but it's during combat where the game really shines with enjoyable lightsaber duels and numerous abilities that keep things fresh. Backed by a narrative that will bring delight to the Star Wars faithful, its wonderful main plot and referential nature makes the title an essential playthrough for anyone in tune with the force.

Though the environments offer intriguing ethereal backdrops to fire from, they're a bit busier than we’d like. Once in a while you’ll lose track of the notes because the environments may briefly draw your attention from the song. In fact, apart from a disorienting moment where the game briefly freezes upon completing every song, this is the game’s only flaw. The difficulty ramps up well, shooting notes is rewarding and satisfying, and you’ll find yourself wanting to go back again and again.

Golem is a game had a shot at being good if it launched alongside the PSVR. Fast-forward a couple years and impressive virtual reality titles are fairly common. This, depressingly, is not one of those. By the time we took the headset off, we were left with not just a feeling of disappointment, but also one of anger. Anger at the promise it once held. Anger that, despite its flaws, it did some things really well. Anger that it simply wasn’t good.

Every so often, a video game will come along that seemingly defies all preconceived logic and common sense. That can be a good thing, or it can go the way of The Quiet Man. Unfortunately, Last Labyrinth is a PlayStation VR title that very much belongs in the latter category. Its core mechanic is sound enough, if a little stale by this point, but it's the decisions made around the edges that turn this into one of the most baffling experiences we've had inside a virtual reality headset.

Despite feeling out of date in one too many key areas, Terminator: Resistance manages to serve up a campaign just about worthy enough for those looking to switch their brain off and enjoy some mindless action. Its efforts to heighten the importance of relationships and interactions go a long way to differentiating the experience but held back by technical deficiencies, the vision isn’t quite fully realised.

Need for Speed Heat is the best entry in the franchise for quite some time, but it's still not quite where it needs to be. The day vs. night gameplay is a compelling loop, and it's a big step in the right direction for the series in general. It's a solid effort with fun handling and lots of customisation options. It's a shame the open world lacks personality, and the police are perhaps a little too hardball, but there's still plenty to like. At the tail end of this generation, Need for Speed is back to being good -- let's hope it can be great in future.

Some may struggle with enemies that feel like they respawn a little too often, but this is by no means as tough as Dark Souls. Valfaris doesn’t do anything noteworthily new, but the hectic, intense, satisfying experience it offers shouldn’t pass you by.

The game ends up feeling uninspired, and probably won't hold your attention for long, no matter how quickly you hurtle around its twisting tracks. With WipEout Omega Collection and other superior contemporaries available, it's very difficult to recommend this.

When it comes to action, Yakuza 4's a blast. Each playable character has their own unique fighting style, with Akiyama's lightning fast kicks and Saejima's brute strength being particularly satisfying. And in typical series fashion, there are some top tier boss fights on offer alongside a load of addictive minigames -- including in-depth hostess club management.