There’s a lot of fun to be had within Identity, from a delightful narrative, engaging characters and brain-teasing puzzles. It’s a small, yet refined package that’s sure to delight those into mysteries. Quite obviously, a bit of knowledge about the Tron universe will help players — and certainly add to understanding of lore — but isn’t necessarily required.

Disintegration seems like it would have been my jam, but it proved to be the complete opposite. There’s a lot of squandered potential in both this title and the franchise itself, and I hope that V1 Interactive is able to salvage this release in the weeks to come. Some much needed focus will greatly improve the package.

The fact that DICE responded so quickly to the complaint of its beta being pay to win is a good thing; a source of hope the likes of which the Rebellion can use to secure victory. Unlike a lack of response (or urgency) after the launch of Star Wars: Battlefront, I truly hope that lessons are learned quickly and implemented before Battlefront 2‘s player base walks away in protest. Again. [Provisional Score = 6.5]

The Sinking City is a mixed bag; a riveting mystery that’s far less linear than anything Frogwares has ever done. It’s very rough around the edges however, likely to cause as much frustration as it does enjoyment. Fans of Cthulhu or Frogwares’ past titles will definitely want to go for the ride, while others might want to wait for a week or two — at that point, you’ll at least have some guides to walk you through some of its head-scratchers.

I’m not an avid snowboarder by any means, but I’ve found Shredders to be a delight, a quick and rewarding, pick-up-and-play title that I can jump into for some quick runs after bashing my head against Elden Ring for far too long. It’s full of fun, humour and generally a delight to play.

Perfect if anime is what you’re into… but otherwise, it’s not worth your time.

If Modern Warfare 3 fumbled its campaign directly after Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops 7 completely drops the ball following Black Ops 6. This tactic of rushing out direct sequels isn’t working for Call of Duty. Now all that’s left to ponder is where the franchise goes next after wearing out and devaluing its flagship Modern Warfare and Black Ops series this generation, like Marge Simpson’s tattered Chanel suit.

While true fans of the franchise might get a kick out of seeing a new take on an old story, Alone in the Dark is a tonal and functional mess that frustrates more than it entertains.

The first-person Way of the Hado mode is garbage.

I wish Hidden Agenda was more of a traditional PS4 game rather than a PlayLink gimmick. Still, with a solid (yet slightly predictable storyline; at least, the one I played through), it’s well worth a go. Supermassive is quickly becoming my favourite Sony developer.

The Venn diagram of Dead by Daylight player and Supermassive player is ultimately one that’ll decide if you should splash the cash to play. If you enjoy Dead by Daylight and the likes of Until Dawn, then this one’s a no brainer, but if you’re only in the camp of the former, it becomes a harder sell.

It’s eminently clear throughout that Slitterhead suffered a messy development. It’s an incomprehensible slog to play through and I regret spending so much of my week with it.

Avengers would have been a great story-driven title but its Games as a Service elements completely destroy it. Steer well clear, at least until Achievements and progression are fixed. To date, Square and Crystal Dynamics haven’t even bothered to officially acknowledge the issues the game is facing. For shame.

It’s an easy recommend for series fans, just don’t expect it to be the lumbering behemoth that was Payday 2… yet.

Undead’s follow up doesn’t reinvent the wheel – nor provide a fully polished experience despite a move from CryEngine to Unreal Engine 4 – but does offer a marked improvement over the original.

The concept of your character levelling down rather than up is a clever and original idea and it changes how a player needs to think about their progression (or should I say degression). Ideas like this that sit just a little outside of the box solidify the importance of independent developers in the industry — so do yourself a favour and pick it up if you’re open to a challenge.

Investigations are multi-staged, and some of the reveals are interesting if not particularly surprising. The inclusion of newer-generation Pokémon since the original title makes Ryme City feel even more alive and part of the Pokémon world, and the city is full of small details to really drive home the idea of people and Pokémon living together.

Ultimately, I completed Battletoads in 3 hours and 45 minutes and have no intention of ever going back.

While objectives are straightforward, it’s teamwork that generally lets a team down. From my playthroughs, you can almost immediately identify a team that will work at a unit – or, ideally, in a handful of coordinated ones – compared to teams with individuals that will rush to an objective with a strategy in mind. Games where individuals are blindly rushing at a group of bad guys are frustrating beyond belief, and sadly, they’re happening often at this point. [Review in progress]

The game isn’t without its issues, the load times are borderline ridiculous at times and there’s no tutorial so you’ll spend most of the first act scratching your head in confusion. All non-crime solving elements are mind-numbingly boring, but the game overall fills a niche in the gaming world that we don’t see done nearly enough in most games. When you’re bored doing laps on a circuit or shooting foes on the battlefield, take some time out and pick up The Devil’s Daughter. As a crime-solver, it does alright.

While still creating horror games with fairly visible flaws, Little Hope is a vast improvement of Man of Medan. With another — and perhaps the last — in The Dark Pictures anthology seemingly teased by the mysterious Curator in this one, I’m rather excited to see what Supermassive learns for next time around.

Saints Row finds a better tone than its predecessor, but otherwise doesn’t deliver as a reboot, with gameplay and mission structures inferior to past instalments. With the right expectations, there’s still fun to be had, but the endless bugs, glitches and just awful AI make it hard to recommend at launch.

After ploughing through the tutorials though and spending a little more time, you do start to appreciate just how detailed a game like this is.

Twin Mirror is DONTNOD's most experimental work in a long time, though it also pales in comparison to previous outings.

Is Matchmaker life-changing? No. Is it action-packed and as gripping as Breath of the Wild? Certainly not. It is, however, a fun little time-waster, full of memory puzzles, personality assessment and inclusiveness.

The entire point of Battleship is that you are face to face with your opponent and cannot see their ship layout. Relying on good sportsmanship not to peek is an unnecessary complication. In all honesty, I think this game makes more sense on a portable device or mobile phone, both for convenience and the basic logic of the game itself. Even at around $20 AUD, it doesn’t seem worth the expense for a new mode alone.

If you’re a strategy fan, you’ll enjoy this, and if you’re a Star Trek fan you’ll absolutely gobble this up. As well you should.

Easy to start, sometimes difficult to understand, and challenging to master, FBC Firebreak is nevertheless a fun little sideshow while we wait for Control 2 proper. An extraction shooter at its heart (though only to a different floor and not from the Oldest House proper), it’s a lovely juggling act that tasks you to balance shooting, puzzles, and environmental hurdles. Enjoyable alone, with friends, or randoms, Firebreak is either available at a low cost ($39.99 USD) or ‘free’ if you’ve got Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.