For the most part, though, Dawn Of Ragnarök is more of the AC Valhalla you like: more boating around singing, more armour, more raids (in which I kept getting referred to as Eivor but we'll let that one go). More NPCs with UK regional accents. More sub-bosses for different areas, leading you towards a big boss. A big new weapon and new, grim ways to instakill enemies. It's not game changing but it does feel game subtly-altering, and if you had to get one Valhalla DLC it should be this one. I think the best endorsement of Dawn Of Ragnarök is that it's fun, and it made me want to play Valhalla more. Job done.

It's telling that the missing feature I desire most is not an emote or a graphics setting or a - pffft - "mandatory pass". But just some way to auto-rematch, so I don't have to tap Y at the end of every game within a 10-second countdown to re-enter the queue for another game. This is how moreish (and perfectly named) Rematch is. My biggest complaint is that I'm sick of the game asking "Do you want to play again?" Of course I do.

It’s all focused firmly towards evoking the period though, and here, Creative Assembly’s love for history absolutely bleeds through.

Mooncrash is an enormous paddling pool compared to Prey’s Olympic swimming pool. There’s none of the depth, but it’s a heck of a good time to splash around in.

It’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as remade by Eli Roth, starting with the worst possible thing that can happen and then daring itself to go further. Shock tactics so persistently silly that they become the equivalent of a flaming bag of poo on a doorstep. I will always defend the right of horror fiction to be horrible, but never excuse it for being so dull in its depravity. One of the game’s six chapters is named after the Biblical Job and by the end of the game that’s who I felt like. I’d suffered through great and terrible hardships but was no closer to understanding why.

For all of its creative solutions and ideals, Watch Dogs 2 can’t help but see California as an open carry state, and while I’ve enjoyed portions of it enormously, it doesn’t go far enough in stamping its own identity on what is, eventually, another city of crime, cars and firearms.

A game of everything, a game of nothing. Eternal, unknowable, remarkable, infuriating, Kenshi defies easy judgement. Kenshi is. I implore you to play it. [RPS Bestest Bests]

Is it currently fun? Undeniably. It’s gross, silly, and more than a little thrilling, and while the matchmaking system is a bit rubbish, there are always plenty of active servers to choose from manually, ensuring that you won’t have to spend much time looking for a game. But for that single mode to remain fresh, a frequent injection of new stuff is going to be necessary.

We Are OFK is not a traditional story that offers closure, which can be frustrating, but in many ways that is We Are OFK’s entire point – life happens to you, whether you want it to or not.

What is a fair critique is that, ultimately, none of it matters very much. As I said, the state of your ship is what keeps you going. You fight more to earn more to buy more. In this way it is a very transparent game. But also a repetitive one, and overall, a mixed bag.

So aye. Like any stew, there's a lot piled in. But the principle ingredients are filling and simple. Endless Dungeon's core design, if we want to break it right down, is made of the following stuffs: turret, door, nest, money. There is nothing in these elements, or even in the "verbs" of the game, to make it unique. Hundreds of games use the same ingredients, even aim for the same taste (lighthearted Aliens). But Amplitude's recipe here, their choice of spices, results in a uniquely pleasing dish. They sprinkle the turrets, they keep the nests chunky, they bake the money into the doors. (God, I'm hungry.) The result is an absolutely stacked dish that roguelike-likers will be very happy to gorge on. [RPS Bestest Bests]

Despite some wonky physics, Flipping Death melds its platforming and puzzle elements seamlessly enough leave fans of both genres at least satisfied (though it’s more puzzle than platform). But the unique art style and comedic punches are what ultimately enticed me to stay in Flatwood Peaks a while longer.

It’s a shame, too, that so much of the game takes place on the rusty, pitch black tug, because when the lights are on, it looks fantastic. Items and textures are impressive, and the acting is very solid. I rarely get to play interactive fiction with such strong production values, especially with all the variation and replay value on offer. I’m on board. I enjoyed this one, and if Supermassive Games continue on trend, I’m optimistic for the rest of the series.

At its best, Satellite Reign has more in common with Commandos than Syndicate. It’s a splendid construct, built to endure and to sustain repeated playthroughs in various styles, but I can’t shake the feeling that, minute by minute, a little more chaos and unpredictability would go a long way.

It’s the fast food of honored fantasy tradition, much as Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was, and this is the king-size upgrade...But by God, it’s delicious.

Homeworld 3 leaves me in the strange position where I want to play more of it, but I’ve basically had my fill of the campaign, I’ve got no interest in PvP, and War Games mode is silly difficult in single player. It’s like having a set of really nice brushes but no canvas, so to speak. I guess this is probably where mods come in - the game is supposed to be launching with built in support and tools on day one. I get that "It’ll be great with mods" doesn’t come across as a ringing endorsement, but to reiterate: Homeworld 3 is a pretty good time in a very good sci-fi setting. I can’t recommend it wholeheartedly, but I’m also hoping it finds enough of an audience that it paves the way for a more experimental sequel or expansion in the future - and if you've been longing for 21 years for a followup to Homeworld 2, I can’t see you being too disappointed.

I still like Absolver a lot, probably even more than I did before launch. Thanks to the myriad possible move and combo loadouts, along with the various weapons and classes, PvP is both challenging and full of unexpected comebacks and knife-edge duels, but it just doesn’t feel like a complete experience. Bugs, server issues, a small, dull open-world and the lack of modes is definitely holding it back.

Still, there’s loads here to like. It doesn’t feel like an all-time classic, probably because the original Race Driver Grid nailed the feeling of metal and rubber clattering down San Francisco hills far more convincingly. Think of this more as the track-based sibling of Dirt 5, with everything good and bad that comparison implies. But as with that game, there are few mass-market racers better than this in the current climate, so it’s definitely worth your attention.

A rushed ending is really the game’s only let-down. A larger conspiracy, or more surprising reveal, might have given it a heftier punch. And it certainly needed a few more puzzles in the later stages, a bit more to do. But these are minor niggles in a really splendid adventure game of the sort we see too rarely. Grown up, well written, carefully paced, and genuinely interesting to explore.

Even with the stuttering though, I adored my time with Wild Hearts. This is a fierce competitor to Monster Hunter and a great starting point for newcomers to the genre. A small part of me suspects that a sequel will see the game’s ideas coalesce in a way that makes Wild Hearts essential, but even in this slightly rough form, Omega Force has created one of the finest games of the year so far.

And while it’s not as impactful as Rusty Lake Hotel, or my favourite Cube Escape, Seasons, there’s an absolute ton going on here for a crazy tiny £2.

Overall, I don’t think Atelier Ryza is the kind of game that’s going to change many minds. Though it ended up surprising me, I would argue that I’m the prime audience for it: a lifelong JRPG fan who enjoys dabbling in games with light sim mechanics.

I’ve enjoyed Yes, Your Grace. It’s a pretty game, and the story and subplots have some nice details and solid surprises. I like how you can hear distant armies chanting in the intro, torches in your bedchamber, and the hubbub of the streets from your throne room. The cheerful “Wey!” when happiness goes up is great. I’ve also much enjoyed the thought that the king is actually doing what I tell him, when I have him stand up suddenly in his throne room, declare that he likes his chandelier, then leave. But for all the time I spent making decisions, I felt let down by the ending – and the time and effort it would take to start again.

Evil Genius 2 is at its best when you're building freely, designing perilous Rube Goldberg machines. Speaking as a very large child, the cartoonish art style, theme, and even flavour text, speaks to me. I'm not so fond of the timers and the economic drain pipes that slurp up your minions like bath water. Too much of the game resides in the world map and not enough on the floor of the lair. Sandbox mode feels like a soothing ointment after going through the bee gauntlet of normal mode, and although it lacks challenge, questy threads and basic storytelling, it is far more playful, cheeky and enjoyable. If you're picking this up, that's where to go. It might feel like cheating to give yourself infinite cash, but isn't that what an Evil Genius would do?

This is an idea we’ve seen before, most recently with Quantum League, which Nic Reuben gave a favourable review but I wasn’t hot on thanks to its repetition and mediocre gunfeel. I will say Lemnis Gate is better on both counts by quite some margin, so if you got a kick out of Quantum League then hey, dig in. Fill your chrono-boots. Timey-wimey Tic Tac Toe is still an intriguing concept, and Game Pass provides a handy way to check out games that are more interesting than fun. It’s just a shame it hasn’t made me think harder about where to place my chrono-Xs.

After several months of stalling and dogged perseverance, I finally finished a 350-page book about the art and struggle of being a Japanese literary translator the other week, and not once did it get me thinking about words and language in the same way Grotto did over the course of five hours. When a game provokes these kinds of feelings in me, I don't mind so much if the choices I'm making are actually a little bit fake. Grotto stands on its own as an engaging story about the way we communicate with others and how their meaning can be polluted and morphed over time, and I reckon fans of such things will likely enjoy it even if the game-y aspects of it feel a little undercooked. If it's a meaningful, branching narrative you're after, though, then you'll be better off finding a different rabbit hole to hunker down in than Brainwash Gang's Grotto.

If you're looking for a small Final Fantasy VII-style fix that will whisk you back to 1997 again before Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion comes out later this year, Jack Move should slot into your gaming library very nicely indeed.

I absolutely can’t blame Tindalos for wanting a game with such a recognisable and beloved license to court appeal outside of genre fans, but I also think that if you’re going to make a strategy game, you should probably make it full-heartedly. 2012’s XCOM felt like a genuine revolution in turn-based tactics, but Aliens: Dark Descent too often feels like a compromise, or, more accurately, a console-mise. If you’re thinking, wow, what a snob, then, congratulations. You get to enjoy something more fully than I did, which is much better than griping about things. Dark Descent is beautiful, engaging, and absolutely drips with authentically atmospheric Aliens goo. But, again, like those face huggers, it’s also just a bit too restrictive, and I don’t think it needed to be.