Ghostrunner 2 sets out to improve on the fast-paced foundation of the first game with a few new ideas thrown in as well. While some of these ideas are intriguing and support some of the game’s best setpieces, the overall experience is constantly bogged down by frustrating decisions made along the way. Instead of offering a greater challenge than its predecessor, the end result feels annoying for annoyance’s sake, compromising what made Ghostrunner stand out in the first place.

Lords of the Fallen gets off to a great start with creative ideas, a truly disturbing atmosphere, and exhilarating combat. Unfortunately, several missteps ensure that the only things that are falling here are your expectations.

Party Animals offers a fun time with friends thanks to its visually distinct art style and party antics. While it is a fun multiplayer brawler, over time its fun does start to lose its luster as you engage in the same battles with friends.

In spite of its creative use of the PSVR2’s eye-tracking feature, Firewall Ultra’s immersion-breaking control scheme, poor matchmaking, and questionable progression-based unlocks lead to an exercise in futility.

To the naked eye, Madden 24 is discernible to the last few entries in the series due to its lack of innovation in its game modes and presentation. The late John Madden once said, “Winning is a great deodorant.” Right about now, the Madden franchise is starting to stink up the joint.

Immortals of Aveum fails to succeed at telling a captivating, well-written narrative that immerses you in its magic-filled world. Despite strong shooting and grand world design, it doesn’t make much of an impression during its 15-hour campaign and it feels like the scope is too big with the quality suffering for it.

Exoprimal’s blending of the futuristic and the prehistoric is an excellent concept, and it’s served well with satisfying combat and a diverse array of Exosuits. However, it’s let down by some slow pacing and repetitive game modes, and any new live service game needs to be doing more out of the gate to convince players to stick around.

Gross, gory, and gorgeous in equal measure, Dead Island 2 may not be one of 2023’s most exciting or innovative games, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun and well worth the wait.

Minecraft Legends is ambitious and unique, and offers up a new experience for Minecraft lovers. While its PvP mode could give it some longevity, as an actual single-player strategy game, it unfortunately misses the mark.

Despite some performance issues that are difficult to ignore, WWE 2K23 builds upon WWE 2K22, further cementing a return to form for the series with fun gameplay, an excellent My Showcase, and an enjoyable online experience for all.

The Lightfall expansion delivers a fantastic destination in Neomuna, a fun new subclass in Strand, and it makes some great changes under the hood of Destiny 2. However, the heart of any Destiny expansion is its campaign, and Lightfall's is well wide of the mark.

An intricate and rewarding VR climbing adventure held back by an easily forgettable story, Call of the Mountain succeeds in showing off the PSVR2’s best features but fails to leverage Horizon’s storied past.

While Scars Above’s exploration and progression leaves a lot to be desired, third-person action fans will still enjoy their time blasting bosses within some visually-striking biomes.

While exploring the confines of the iconic castle, Hogwarts Legacy is a marvel. Outside of it, things are a little less straightforward. While there is some excellent world-building and combat here, Hogwarts Legacy is let down by a questionable narrative and some unnecessary open world baggage.

Forspoken is a magic-by-numbers game that is marred by a generic narrative. While the world of Athia can feel bland, the occasional spark of magic from the combat helps it along.

One Piece Odyssey’s attention to detail and respect for its source material informs an original story that is, at times, obfuscated by drab side content, and an innovative combat system that, sadly, rarely gets pushed to its limits.

High on Life won’t be for everyone. However, those who love Justin Roiland’s comedic style will find a game that offers humour and a silly narrative with arcade-like gameplay, sometimes to its detriment.

Need For Speed Unbound delivers everything fans of the series will want, with a cool new art style too. But due to some woeful voice acting and a lack of spectacle, it fails to deliver on the aesthetic it hoped to achieve.

Modern Warfare 2 is an enjoyable first-person shooter, and if some of its issues get addressed, it could be the best Call of Duty title we’ve had for a number of years. However, with the highly-anticipated, free-to-play Warzone 2 launching so soon after, it’s hard to see a world where MW2 gets the attention it needs.

Gotham Knights is a messy, directionless open-world RPG that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Its lack of identity means that, just like its heroes, it fails to step out of the shadows and truly shine.

A Plague Tale Requiem is a thrilling continuation of Amicia and Hugo’s story, but the gameplay innovations introduced pale in comparison to the huge strides taken when it comes to the game’s narrative and the world Asobo Studios has created.

Scorn is a haunting journey through an alien world that asks a lot from players, both through its striking imagery and some smartly designed, unique puzzles.

Saints Row offers a fantastic sandbox full of opportunity and some great new gameplay additions, but its story and characters feel underutilized and neglected, making for a rather unmemorable experience.

Roller Champions is a fun and engaging team-based multiplayer game that might become your new casual multiplayer addiction. However, a lack of progression and limited customisation options without paying money holds it back from being great at launch.

Sniper Elite 5 is guaranteed to be enjoyable for fans of the series, with its distinctive gameplay loop and some well-designed levels. However, Rebellion's attempts at innovation generally miss the mark - as does the campaign's incredibly bland story.

Vampire the Masquerade Swansong is a top-tier narrative-focused adventure set in the World of Darkness that offers complex characters and a fascinating world. However, performance issues on PS5 mar what could have been a sublime experience.

Trek to Yomi sets out to be classic Kurosawa in videogame form, but it ends up being hampered by clunky gameplay and a convoluted story.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands offers an excellent shoot and loot experience set to the backdrop of tabletop gaming in an ode to D&D. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for something different, it feels far too similar to any Borderlands’ games that came before it and fails to take risks in a fantasy genre that welcomes them.