It's interesting to get a look into the past that's as well cared for and presented as Shadow Man Remastered. Maybe I didn't find a new favorite, but there's no reason why you might not end up loving this. If you're okay with having a walkthrough ready and are willing to traipse through the same few corridors numerous times, Shadow Man is certainly a good way to kill some time between big releases.

If you just want a wacky, dependable game with few issues, Yaga will quench your thirst for RPG action.

The Grand Getaway isn’t a good VR game, there’s no getting around that. But it is an excellent Wallace & Gromit short, matching the humour of the likes of A Grand Day Out or A Matter Of Loaf And Death perfectly. Full of heart, all its VR misfires are forgiven when you’re sat in Wallace’s kitchen with a giddy grin on your face.

I wouldn’t recommend playing if your idea of cinematic games is a highly polished triple-A experience. But if you don’t mind a bit of jank, if you don’t care about bowls clipping through each other in the sink as you wash the dishes, then Apartment Story will spin you a fraught tale in which there’s as much tension in getting a shower as there is with your home invader.

If you love Crash Bandicoot and you've been waiting years for what once was Wumpa League, there's probably just enough there to convince you that this is a good game. But it's not. It's a bad game. They shouldn't have made Crash Bandicoot into this thing, and deep down all of us know it.

Exit The Gungeon may not hit the same high notes as its predecessor, but it's still a worthwhile trip to take from the bottom all the way to the top.

If you loved the original Shenmue and Shenmue II, then you'll likely love Shenmue III for how closely it adheres to the original games. If you enjoyed the HD remasters of Shenmue & Shenmue II, then you will likely enjoy Shenmue III as a faithful sequel. There isn't much to recommend for everyone else, as Shenmue III is a ponderous experience that exists more to waste player's time than tell a compelling story.

As much as the game gets wrong, there is still a lot to like. The graphics and animations are stunning, the humor is top-notch, all of the puzzles are incredibly inventive, and the minimalistic HUD does a great job of keeping you focused on the action.

Throughout Schim, you can only watch this man’s life from a few steps behind, and when the time is right, you find him as hope returns and the man finds himself at the same time. There are some beautiful, abstract sequences as the man goes through these stages of depression, development, and betterment, and the lead-up to the final moments are appropriately dramatic and satisfying, completing what is a pure and wholesome experience that casts a bigger shadow than you may expect.

This isn’t a single-player experience with multiplayer tagged on to sell battle passes – if anything, it’s the other way around. I found playing other people more fun than fighting the AI, despite all the triple-A quality cutscenes aimed to curate a perfect experience. But Realms of Ruin goes to show, no matter how stylish your Lord of Change character model is, no matter how well rendered its feathers are, games are nothing without deep gameplay systems and precise controls to back it up.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is clearly a labour of love, and I can see that in everything it does. The ambition that bleeds into its story, characters, and gameplay are all evident, but the execution is just sorely lacking everywhere it matters. Perhaps my perspective on past games is warped by nostalgia, but this isn’t the road I imagined Abe and company going down. It’s in the right direction, but they’ve veered off course and landed themselves in a ditch.

There’s no point to anything in Tron: Identity. It took a magnificent sci-fi world and gave us an hour of closed-off, inconsequential guff to fill the space. Its additions to the Tron mythos are interesting but underused, the characters are flat functions for a deceptively shallow adventure, and you’ll be walking away from the Repository with the vague feeling that you’d just wasted your time.

Gylt is a great gateway game for new players to experience the stealth, horror, and puzzle genres. Otherwise, it doesn’t really add much for veteran players to experience. It certainly doesn’t add anything special to the Stadia’s launch titles, especially since the game is probably coming to other platforms at some point. Gylt may not be a go-to title or a must-buy for Stadia players, but it’s good enough if you have five to six hours to kill.

EqqO is a short game with a lot of creativity in its design. It's worth checking out for those who want a unique puzzle experience on the Switch, so long as they are aware that there are some issues on the technical side of things that can make things more frustrating than they need to be.

But if you don't own a PS5 and wouldn't mind staring at those bright red World Stones from Remnant again, then Chronos: Before The Ashes might make for a decent distraction. Especially since completing this lifelong journey may not take you all that long.

At its core, it's little more than a standard hack 'n slash title. While the environments look good, the game's lack of obstacle-filled platforming is a missed opportunity. While there are far better action games to play, none have the iconic laughter of Aku.

Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived uses dialogue-heavy gameplay to remind us that many extremists start as frustrated people. It mostly succeeds by pulling from all walks of life for its characters. I would've liked to see the gameplay dig just as deep.

It’s impossible not to be charmed by Chinatown Detective Agency. Mei Ting, in particular, is exuberant and spirited (she particularly enjoys the promise of cash), and the motley crew of characters who accompany you in your detective work is far from atypical, as you work together to unravel conspiracies and convoluted schemes. The treacherous plot at the heart of the game, too, will probably take repeated playthroughs to uncover, given the several routes and choices you can pick throughout the game. For all of Chinatown Detective Agency’s imperfections, this is still a case I’d gladly take on, over and over again. Of course, with a web browser and notebook in hand.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is, crashes and caveats aside, an excellent game. Key is a triumph, the puzzles are imaginative, and the final chapter earns everything it demands of you. I’ve spent about 12 hours with it and I find myself wanting to talk about it with everyone who has ever shared even a flicker of an interest in Lovecraft with me. It’s a cosmic horror that brings classic tropes into futuristic dressing and manages to do that well. What’s not to like?

But, I will say that Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars is very true to its subject matter, as it did feel like the life was being sucked out of me as I played it.

I ended up feeling the same way about Shredders in comparison to SSX as I do with Tony Hawk and Skate. I prefer the fast-paced arcade action of the former, but the latter is a great time as well. I’d love to see the core gameplay and vibe of Shredders with a little more budget put into it, as there’s something special hidden underneath all the snow.

This is not the penultimate chapter in Destiny's decade-long story anyone wanted, but even without everything weighing on its shoulders, Lightfall still disappoints.

Park Beyond is a unique experience that has a huge amount of potential that’s not entirely been released yet. I experienced a number of visual glitches in particular and there are still some core features that feel absent. While I don’t need to do a deep dive into micro-management I do wish I could set patrol areas for staff, instead of just restricting their duties. I didn’t even find a way to move them or call them to a specific ride. You just have to Impossify them and trust in their jetpacks and the AI. Things like this feel like an oversight that I hope is changed as the game progresses.

Slitterhead is an incredibly inventive game with a brilliant, novel idea at its core. It’s the exact kind of release we should be uplifting, a new IP that pushes graphics and trends aside to try something fresh.

If you're not into super bosses, save the $30 and just watch all the cutscenes. If you miss the challenge that Sephiroth, Lingering Will, and the Enigmatic Man brought to the games, you're in for a treat.

Right now, Payday 3 is a foundation. The heisting itself is better than it’s ever been, with quality of life changes, more confident level designs, and improved stealth mechanics that make it stand above Payday 2. But in making the jump to it, you’re also giving up the years of updates and general stuff Payday 2 offered. If you’re a newcomer to the series, or a lapsed crook coming back to it, this is a great jumping on point. If you’re already invested in the series, you might find it difficult going back to basics.

Mostly, Detective Pikachu Returns does what its title promises. It’s a little longer than the first game, coming in at just over 20 hours, but other than that it’s still Pikachu stealing the show, some cosy and straightforward crimes that take a little too long, and some more interesting puzzles on the way. It won’t make you think too hard, but it’s relaxing and opens up the world of Pokemon a little wider. Fans of the first game will welcome the sequel with open arms, but those looking for a Pokemon-themed LA Noire may need to keep searching.

Despite its combat and platforming only being serviceable and the overall package needing a bit more polish, Mutants Unleashed still managed to be a turtle surprise because of how much love and understanding it has for the source material. It may not reach the same gameplay heights of Shredder’s Revenge or Splintered Fate, but it has one of the best tales to tell of any TMNT game.