Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is a curious beast. It’s more accessible and enjoyable than Mirror’s Edge, but alarmingly, there’s nothing spectacular nor overly memorable about it. Prettiness aside, it’s still short, has a sparse plot and doesn’t get you excited through its gameplay. It’s fun in spurts, but now I’m finished with the main plot and most of the character-driven side-missions, there’s no desire to go back for more.

For newcomers to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, this is the place to start — and with the Master Assassin, no less. For others, it’s probably one to miss, unless you really, really want to get back into the thick of things.

All up, NHL 24 introduces some new elements that may seem to steer the game into an arcade-like direction, those in single-player can choose to adopt or ignore them as they’d like. Fast-paced action is hampered by strange new presentation elements. Predatory pricing schemes undermine any legitimate improvements that have been made. While this is certainly one to recommend to those looking for a new experience, be warned in that you may not like what you find.

I played single-player exclusively, but that said, I struggle to see how groups will find this as enjoyable as other Dark Pictures titles. There are less big, dangerous choices to be made and far more opportunities to die because you’re not good at stealth, or stealth and management of scanning and puzzles at the same time. Fans of Supermassive will find enough here to justify a purchase, though I’m in that camp myself and finished things up hoping for a tighter experience.

You should play Stranger of Paradise for its combat and not its story. While there are nuggets available for series fans, this isn’t the pinnacle of storytelling by any means. It’s best to dive into the gore rather than the lore; fight for fun, be like Jack and focus on the Chaos. Certainly don’t expect this to be a brilliant subversion of the original Final Fantasy’s narrative.

There's something admittedly unique about Romeo is a Dead Man, but that quirkiness doesn't make up for its middle of the road design. In fact, it's not long before quirky is just there for the sake of quirkiness, not serving anything larger.

The EA NHL franchise has seen of lot of change in the last few years, both positive and negative. Despite EA throwing terms like ICE-Q at us, it finally seems like big gameplay changes from the last few years are starting to gel with one another. X-Factors plus pressure systems plus smart AI? It’s a literal gamechanger. I’ve had a blast so far and I hope that continues in weeks to come.

The gameplay is great and all, but the writers and voice actors should all get flowers for how excellently they did their jobs. Both my wife and I laughed all the way through the game. There were the obligatory ‘number 2’ and Big Butte (pronounced Big Beaut) jokes, but also some pretty funny henchmen banter, the commentators having slow breakdowns, and the frat bro vampire. The best LEGO games are always the ones where LEGO has full creative control over the characters and are able to make them say or do anything, like that LEGO City Undercover game from a few years back. You could tell how much fun the writers had thinking of the most ridiculous things they could get these characters to say.

This is the kind of game a cheap uncle buys a kid for Christmas out of the bargain bin giving little thought beyond, “little Timmy likes cars so I’ll buy him this thing.” Sadly, it will only keep kids entertained for as long as it takes them to realise the odds are stacked against them. While some real passion has gone into the transition of some much-loved toys into digital form, the challenge of Hot Wheels Unleashed is just too great for its target audience. Without significant fixes, it will do little more than frustrate all who pick it up.

I couldn’t help but feel children would be in the opposite camp, challenged by the colouring-in work they’d be presented but bewildered by phrases thrown around in a real world art school.

While it may not knock Elden Ring off its pedestal, Steelrising offers a lot for someone in need of a fix of aristocracy… and robo-murder.

The atmosphere presented by Supermassive is absolutely effective in getting you on edge; jumpy, uncertain of what’s to come next.

If the Forza Horizon games are the festival of speed, then surely DiRT 5 is the festival of fun.

Even if you put aside the sidelining of permadeath and the absence of any sense of a progression system, the underlying Watch Dogs concept has not evolved in any meaningful way. The hacking functions are relatively the same as previous editions in the series, and once you have spent a few hours in this world there isn’t much left to surprise you. There’s some fun to be had in Watch Dogs Legion, but it becomes so repetitive that by the end of the game everything feels like a chore — one I was desperately wanting to be over hours before its credits rolled.

It’s sometimes a little rough around the edges, but there are some amazing selling points when it comes to Evil Dead. It has the look, feel and sound of proceedings down pat, even down to the movement of the evil presence as it stalks Ash and his friends in the cold, dark woods...Priced at $60 AUD, it’s a little too underdeveloped to recommend as a single-player game, but Evil Dead fans who don’t mind online play will find themselves dropping hours and hours into this. Those who enjoy 4v1 games will certainly enjoy this as well.

Dramatic Labs has created something special with Resurgence, populating the Star Trek universe in very much the same way that Picard Season 3 has just done; there are also a few other parallels in there that I’ll leave for the player to discover. The resulting work has left me envigorated and enthusiastic that the developer can revisit the crew of the Resolute sooner rather than later, continuing to explore the final frontier.

The only real negative I can find for Rehydrated is in its multiplayer offering, a tacked on mode that feels soulless and unnecessary. A horde-style affair, players will mindlessly jump from one island to another, dispatching waves of robots. Combat’s the least appealing bit of single-player, so a whole multiplayer segment dedicated to it falls flat. Thankfully, the campaign will quickly wash the bad taste of MP out of your mouth.

While I called Just Dance 2017 a step in the right direction, Just Dance 2018 feels like a side step. There’s a decent selection of 40 modern, contemporary and even K-Pop songs to jive to, but a major portion of your library will disappear after three months (unless you want to pay to keep it all going). New modes are decent but come the cost of the removal of others. That all said, Just Dance 2018 is relatively inoffensive; it’s a great purchase for those who didn’t grab last year’s iteration.

It’s not without its issues, but Bound presents traditional platforming mechanics with an artistic flair that really sets it apart.

Featuring systems that focus on community engagement and competition among friends, there are some clever new ideas that haven’t been seen in games before. Still, Steep falls short where it matters most, offering you more moments of anger than adrenaline. If you have plenty of patience then this might be the game for you, though most will end up pissed off rather than going off-piste.

Job Simulator has been one of the best and most lasting experiences with the PSVR.

An amazing survival horror experience and my favourite indie game so far this year; you’ll sure as hell see this one on my list of top 5 games of 2016.

While Rogue is polished and tells a different story than one you'd normally encounter in the Assassin's Creed franchise, time hasn't done the title any favours.

This sordid state of affairs leads me to believe that Days Gone was either rushed out by Sony to fill a gap in releases and buy time for the likes of The Last of Us Part 2 or that Bend Studio, a veteran of PSP and PS Vita titles, simply cannot develop for a bona fide console.

Ultimately, NHL 23 feels like NHL 22; it's just more of the same, better in spots and worse in others.

Beyond being a fun game to play, Sand Land is a great and timely example of the work of Akira Toriyama, and a reminder just how much more he was than just the Dragonball Z guy. Sand Land is its own thing – it was actually exciting to have a demon called a slime appear, and have it NOT be the dollop-shaped slime of the Dragon Quest series. While the vehicle combat system isn’t breaking any new ground, it still goes about things in its own, slightly odd way. It’s a breath of fresh, desert air – and I think there’s a few miles left in the tank yet.

Judged as a shooter, Farpoint is as generic as they get; thankfully, Impulse Gear’s effort has other things going for it. The side-story is rewarding, even if some of it goes without resolution, and its immersive visuals alone make it a treat to play.

Because of its macabre nature, The Medium won’t be for everyone — and certainly isn’t a killer Xbox app — but it’s definitely worth a try if you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber.