Jump Force can be fun with friends when you're just looking for a quick and easy scrap, but as a celebration of all things Jump, it's a borderline embarrassment. Thanks to a truly egregious art style and comically bad story presentation, this is an accessible and often fun crossover brawler let down by its disappointingly shoddy packaging. Ultimately, it's difficult not to feel as though all of these classic manga and anime properties deserve much better than Jump Force.

Eden-Tomorrow’s noteworthy narrative drowns amongst a sea of repetitive, mediocre gameplay. It does nothing to differentiate itself within an increasingly cluttered genre, and so the experience is forgotten about before you’ve even had time to comprehend the potential of a deeper meaning.

While Metro: Exodus delivers on its promise of deep and meaningful combat situations that let you approach encounters from any angle you can think of, its technical shortcomings are simply unforgivable. Combine that with a plot that doesn’t answer its most intriguing questions and you’ve got an experience that will please at times, but will also disappoint those looking for something meaningful outside of the distribution of bullets.

Conarium is a good, plot focused and atmospheric walking sim puzzler. Though it's billed as horror, it serves to get under your skin, rather than producing any massive frights. That said, the world created is wonderfully realised and quite beautiful in its freakishness. The way that the game captures the otherworldly vibe of Lovecraft’s work, and develops such an engaging story quickly, is something to applaud. Ignoring the poor voice acting, bad character models, and the odd frustrating puzzle, if you’re looking for a disturbing, plot focused walking sim experience, or you’re just a huge Lovecraft fan, you won’t go far wrong here.

Away: Journey to the Unexpected begins as a fun and lighthearted romp with a few very unique wrinkles to its gameplay. Unfortunately, this quickly unravels and is severely hampered by poor design choices that sour what was first an enjoyable experience. These unexpected issues in the second half of the game are such a slog, and when you’re presented with a final boss battle that falls flatter than Maroon 5’s halftime show, it makes you wish you had stayed away from the game in the first place.

There are moments in The King’s Bird where it’s easy to lose yourself in the gameplay and striking visuals. Rocketing around colourful stages and indulging in the serene soundtrack is fun, but frustrating puzzle mechanics and little variance in the gameplay taint the experience.

Spike Volleyball’s gameplay loop isn’t atrocious, but poor animations and ugly visuals demonstrate the low-budget nature of the project. With glitchy online play and a rudimentary career mode, it’s extremely difficult to recommend this release – especially when you consider that it’s retailing at a price point five times greater than what it realistically deserves.

Guns feel great to shoot and Titanfall's movement system carries over to a point. It's a cohesive free-to-play title that has its heart in the right place. With a Battle Pass to come and a seemingly fair microtransaction economy to power it, Apex Legends has all the means to be a game we hear about consistently for the years to come.

God Eater 3's another frenetic action RPG where the enjoyable rhythm and flow of combat is enough to outweigh most of the negatives. Whether you're up for a lengthy session or you're just stopping by to farm some materials, the game's easy to sink your teeth into, and there's plenty to chew on should you find yourself hooked thanks to the in-depth character progression. While more could and probably should have been done to bring God Eater's visuals and cumbersome menus up to speed, there's still plenty of skilful hack and slashing on offer here.

The fact that Kingdom Hearts III even managed to release could be considered a miracle in of itself, but what’s perhaps even more surprising is that the finished product defies all expectations. As an unforgettable experience, Kingdom Hearts III is exceptional, essential, and most of all, undeniably special.

The Hong Kong Massacre's inspiration is clear, but unfortunately, it doesn't have the gameplay, the personality, or the energy to stand alongside it. The slow-mo shooting can be fun, but with tough enemies and a janky dodge manoeuvre, you'll more often than not be frustrated by death after death. With a little more polish, it could've been an entertaining romp, but as it stands, redeeming qualities are few and far between.

Life Is Strange 2 feels like it’s flying under-the-radar, which is unfortunate because this sequel has all of the hallmarks that made its predecessor a success. Episode 2: Rules is slow, but DONTNOD is still easing its new cast of characters in. There’s definitely something good brewing here, but for whatever reason we can’t shake the feeling that the developer has utterly failed to capture the imagination of Arcadia Bay’s biggest fans.

A Fisherman’s Tale is a typical puzzle-solving first-person VR experience that stands a cut above with a good-quality gimmick that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It barely stays long enough to finish saying hello, but it has the wit, charm, and novelty to make it worth the single sitting it’s asking for.

Resident Evil 2 might be one of the most accomplished remakes of the generation. A number of mechanics have been updated and introduced in order to bring the game into the modern era, but this is still very much the classic experience you remember – inventory management, limited ammunition, and all. Capcom has lovingly recreated every historic location and moment you remember from 1998, and you owe it to yourself to witness that spectacle first-hand.

Although the gameplay feels a little on the shallow side, Wandersong is a disarmingly joyful game. Singing your way through this cutesy adventure may not offer much of a challenge, but mixed in with a varied cast of characters and a sweet story, it's definitely a hard game to hate.

Vane is exhausting, ponderous, bewildering, endlessly frustrating, needlessly obtuse, narratively unsatisfying, mechanically clumsy, and technically shoddy, all shot through a camera so ill-equipped to deal with the rudimentary task of showing you what's happening on screen that you might as well pop a blindfold on and try using The Force.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a top entry in the long-running series that sees a return to the PS2 glory days. The war opera story is enjoyably charming, despite a rather flat cast of characters, while the gameplay is, crucially, as dramatic and slick as it's ever been. Online multiplayer and PSVR are both implemented well, and serve as great companion pieces to the main campaign. Whether you’re a diehard fan or coming to this game fresh, Skies Unknown is a joy, and a series highlight.

Smoke and Sacrifice is a good addition to the survival genre, from its compelling storyline to its amazing design that engrosses you in a bleak world run over by monsters. The only thing Smoke and Sacrifice seems to falter in is its clunky and outdated combat and daunting crafting system. A beautiful aspect that distinguishes the game from other survival games is the narrative that focuses on motherhood. If you like titles such as Don’t Starve, then this is a decent alternative.

Shadow Heritage is another fine addition to Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It's an improvement over the previous episode thanks to more engaging quests and better character interactions, but for a game that likes to remind us that player choice is a key part of the experience, the forced ending of Episode 2 is undeniably disappointing. Still, we're looking forward to seeing how it all wraps up in the third and final instalment.

YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, sadly, never shines as brightly as it does during its opening hours. There's enjoyment to be had here, sure, especially for anyone with love for the '90s – but all of the references to Chrono Trigger and Pogs in the world can't balance out the pleasure-less battle system and overly complicated levelling up mechanics.

While a few major tweaks and additions bring it into the modern era, this is still very much the Onimusha: Warlords you remember from 2001. That’s not a bad thing, though, because 18 years on, it’s still able to muster up a thrilling campaign with all manner of horrors to slice and dice. Recommended for both newcomers and veterans alike, Onimusha: Warlords is a welcome distraction that takes us back to a simpler time. Now, let’s make that reboot a reality Capcom.

Megalith is a run-of-the-mill MOBA that, despite its VR novelty, does nothing to distinguish itself. It’s cool to be placed in the shoes of larger-than-life titans, but the game’s single mode is middling at best. There’s still enjoyment to be had with its varied albeit limited cast of characters, but better MOBA’s have had difficulties maintaining a consistent player base mere months after release. If you add the VR requirement to that unfortunate fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to have the opportunity to play Megalith with someone in a month or two, but that’s assuming you’d even want to.

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition brings one of, if not the best Tales game to PS4, and that alone will no doubt be enough to persuade fans of the series. But really, ten years after its original release, Vesperia deserves more credit than that. It's a borderline classic Japanese RPG, and one that still holds up in 2019 thanks to a great cast of characters and some finely poised action.

Kingdom Two Crowns is a well presented, brilliantly simple strategy game that makes some smart changes to allow more players to get involved. Co-op is handled well, and the straightforward gameplay means almost anyone can try their hand at building their very own kingdom. However, the limited interaction and slow pace might put off some. If you're looking for a relaxed strategy title to lose yourself in, Two Crowns should serve you well.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Silver Lining wraps up the City That Never Sleeps storyline, but the hints towards a sequel make for a strange ending. A handful of new things to do will keep Spidey fans satisfied, and each side activity rewards you with some neat narrative details. It's a pretty by the numbers add-on, and if you enjoyed the rest of Insomniac's superhero title, there's no reason you won't like this. We'd have preferred a little more oomph for the DLC's finale, but the silver lining is that the implications for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 are definitely interesting.

It’s been great to look back on some of the older games in the Atelier series; you can really see where some of the later games got their inspiration from. If you’ve never got round to playing this trilogy before then now is the perfect time to pick these up and experience a beautiful, heart-warming JRPG series – just in time for the fourth game in 2019.

There’s clearly a lot of effort been invested into bringing Borderlands 2 to PSVR, and that’s appreciated. The gameplay does feel dated these days – and the lack of DLC and co-op is a real shame – but there’s still fun to be had with the loot-shootin’ loop, and Pandora scales well to virtual reality. The PS Move control scheme is cumbersome but the game plays fine with a DualShock 4 in hand, and an array of comfort options mean that you can tailor the experience to your exact needs.

Nippon Marathon is a curious multiplayer game that unfortunately falls prey to its own over the top nature. Some might enjoy the off-piste humour and Japanese influences, but it sadly limits the game's appeal, and at the end of the day, the presentation leaves a lot to be desired. The frantic gameplay feels too clumsy and disjointed to remain fun for very long. The janky nature of the game is part of the joke, but the joke isn't particularly funny in this case, and others have told it much better than this.