Hood: Outlaws and Legends has some good ideas, but the execution is a little lacking. The one mode here is enjoyable but it gets very repetitive, with the clunky combat, slow matchmaking and poor, though admittedly amusing AI, taking the fun out of it. With more variety, whether in the form of different modes or with each map having its own objectives, this could have been a winner, but as it stands it's got a lot of squandered potential.

Subnautica: Below Zero is a masterfully horrific experience that encourages you to push on despite your fears. It's a fine balancing act of the horrors you'll face underwater and the rewards you can get for evading them. It's really very hard, but it's also really very good.

For the right sort of person, this abstract, solo board game style will be incredibly intoxicating. There are a lot of moving parts to keep in your head, and figuring out a particularly fiendish task is rewarding in and of itself. For most people, the contrast between mellow aesthetic, strange design choices, and the lack of a hard fail state (fittingly, it's more like a fail cul-de-sac) will make it a taxing time. Buildings Have Feelings Too! is certainly charming, but that charm hides a stiff challenge.

Legend of Keepers is a delight to play. It has such character, both in its looks and humour, that it feels unique when compared to other games out there. For those who want to work hard to create undefeatable monsters and dungeons, there’s plenty of scope to carve out your success. It's definitely a title to try out for yourself, even if you’re not usually one for this type of turn-based indie RPG.

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is, as a drama, objectively terrible, but there's a chance it could be a cult hit. It's like watching an amateur dramatics presentation in your local village hall, but on a PlayStation 5. If you can grab some friends, copious amounts of alcohol and embrace the ridiculousness, you will have some fun.

I really enjoyed my time Maskmaker. Puzzle games like this can easily lead to frustration, but Maskmaker is a thoroughly inventive VR puzzler that walks the line very well. It's a tad short, but I think it might be better that way as it doesn't outstay its welcome or overuse any mechanics. I'd love to give it a better score and it's an enjoyable VR puzzler, but with a few fiddly bits and some pretty serious bug that forced me to restart the whole game, it's lost a couple of points.

Overall, I like Dandy Ace a fair bit, but the story doesn't do quite enough to drive you to do more runs, and there were a few times when things felt grossly unfair due to the sheer volume of enemies that some rooms spit at you. The card combination system is wonderful to use though, and that'll keep mechanically-minded players involved for a fair while with Dandy Ace.

I was moved beyond words by this little game. Before Your Eyes manages to be interesting and quirky, whilst also finding new ways to immerse you in a beautiful story. It is deeply sad at times, and at others fills you with an immense joy and appreciation for people and their complex lives. There is so much about this game that is better experienced for the first time with no forewarning, but if you like heartfelt stories and powerful narratives, this one's for you.

Lady Dimitrescu’s towering presence is just the tip of the iceberg of what Resident Evil Village offers. This game takes everything you know about the iconic horror series and dials it up to eleven.

New Pokémon Snap has a lot going for it. It’s a genuinely endearing game that shutterbugs and Pokémon fans alike will enjoy, and anyone in the middle of that Venn diagram will absolutely love. That love will not be blind to the game’s stark limitations, though. As it stands, it’s a perfectly serviceable game, but some minor tweaks and quality of life improvements such as auto-completing requests you’ve finished, could drastically improve this game's flow and make it a far more enjoyable experience for everyone.

It feels immensely satisfying to be sat here in 2021, eons after playing Super Stardust HD on PS3, and see just how far Housemarque has come. Offering a visual bullet hell spectacle, a showcase for the DualSense controller and a rewarding sci-fi narrative woven around the roguelike loop, we can say with unflinching confidence that Returnal is the PS5’s best game to date.

Total War: Rome Remastered reflects quality and care from every raised gladius and stray denarius. We think you’ll love this, says the remaster. If not, no worries, you can change it. It's more difficult that modern Total War games to get into, but it's undoubtedly a great package. So, two thumbs up then. Or to the side, if you want to be a stickler for history.

It’s difficult to recommend Arkham Horror Mother’s Embrace if you’re not already a fervent fan of the universe, and knowledge of what this game could have done with the source material will leave you yearning for a better digital implementation of Asmodee's tabletop tour de force.

The Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff is a great example of a Pack, it includes some classic Sims dark humour, and increases the challenge of the game by a fair bit if you let it. It doesn’t come cheap, but for the amount of content and the sheer silliness introduced it may just be worth it. The items are maybe my favourite so far with their witchy charm, and the return of Bonehilda is a welcome one. It is a lot of fun, but may be best suited to spooky Sims with a high libido…

The Binding of Isaac: Repentance is an incredible achievement that goes beyond just being a DLC expansion. This is another load of thread connecting yet more pieces to the potential of the already brilliant base game. With all of these plates spinning, it's impossible to know how well a run is going to go at any given time, but it remains incredibly fun trying to figure that out.

Smelter's opening cutscene got me very pumped for what was to follow, but what did follow left me despondent. I’d been set up and felt ready for an awesome 16-bit experience that, thanks to its promised smelting of genres, would feel genuinely fresh. The game that followed wasn’t fresh, it was past its sell by date and starting to smell like feet.

Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack brings the best of the franchise to a brand new console. Atelier Sophie is an iconic piece of the series with a brand new lease on life, Atelier Firis has unique exploration gameplay that hasn't been attempted in any other entry, and the new story content in Atelier Lyde & Suelle is a delight for longtime fans. These games have never looked better, and are a must-play for anyone interested in the Atelier series.

As old-school as it can get in every frame and fibre of its being, Battle Axe faithfully transports you back to the classic Capcom and Neo Geo arcade era with its exquisite pixel art animation and punchy, challenging gameplay.

Milestone's MotoGP series has taken some significant steps forward in recent years; expanding the career mode, making the bike handling more realistic and lively, but it's a little tougher to see the signs of progress in MotoGP 21. This is a slighter evolution of the series, with the biggest changes the ones that you can see from the jump to the new generation consoles and, if you're on PS5, feel through the DualSense controller.

NieR Replicant was always an odd title that was great both in spite of and because of its limitations. Many of those oddities remain in Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139..., but it's a more refined experience on the whole that doesn't feel quite so awkward when placed alongside the superb NieR Automata. Now, if only they could get around to remaking the Drakengard series.

Deiland: Pocket Planet is a game and concept with a lot of heart and potential, but a few issues bring the experience down. A patch or two this could easily turn into a brilliant short story for any indie gamer, but for now it's an interesting tale that needs a little more time on it.

Oddworld: Soulstorm clearly comes from a very passionate, dedicated group of developers. Although it is very rough in places, there are parts of it that really do stick out as excellent examples of both gameplay and storytelling. With more refinement this could have been a shining example of what ground-up remakes could be, but it just falls a little short of the high standards set elsewhere. It’s still charming and funny, just like the Mudokens you’re trying to save, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

The core game of Ashwalkers is a great, atmospheric experience that takes classics like The Oregon Trail and transports them to a vividly realised post-apocalyptic setting. Characters are nicely defined, resource management is clearly presented, and I genuinely wanted to find out more about the world and its inhabitants. However, the actual process of playing the game is just too slow and becomes boring after the first couple of runs. There is a good survival and choice-filled game here, but you have to walk a long long way to get to it.

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is a work of genius. I'm planning to immediately replay it, simply because I don't want it to be over yet. The story is absolutely captivating, the world is filled to the brim with detail, and the characters and their motivations are remarkably well thought out. It made me laugh at absurd moment, made me gasp with the twists in the story, and I've developed an attachment to the main character's partner, Kim Kitsuragi, and his endless patience with me shooting finger guns at him as much as possible. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is a masterwork and you are doing yourself a disservice if you miss it.

TENS! is an engaging puzzle title with a simplistic, colourful aesthetic and some zany powers to keep things fresh. Unfortunately, it’s little more than an entertaining distraction, however, lacking the depth and variance to keep you coming back for long.

Poison Control has some of my favourite art and character designs from any game this year, but that isn't anywhere near enough to carry the entire experience. The dual-character combat system is a fresh and stylish idea, but it isn't executed very well. Clunky movement and repetitive combat end up holding back this otherwise stylish and unique new game from Nippon Ichi Software.

Rain on Your Parade is a casual puzzler that's a whole lot of fun. The simplicity of the gameplay allows for experimentation throughout with unique levels every step of the way. The game has charm (despite Cloudy being a bit murderous at times), and the minor issues are easily overlooked due to the fun nature of Rain on Your Parade.

Outriders juggles some truly captivating ideas for the looter shooter genre, yet fails to deftly execute them. While it succeeds in combining traditional third person shooting with rewarding dungeon crawling, its messy matchmaking, repetitive mission design, and a dull sci-fi story hold People Can Fly back from delivering to their fullest potential.

Yupitergrad is a game that's perfectly designed for VR and is a great way of tricking yourself into some physical activity. The story is charming fluff and the sense of place is really well managed too, so if you're up for the challenge and fancy the idea of swinging through the air like a Russian Spider-man plumber, then this is one VR title that you should take the plunge(r) on. [Oculus Quest]

Trials of Fire is uniquely entertaining, and it's an absolute joy to play because every run is challenging, and every fight is a blast to play thanks to the intricacies and strategies you can develop. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody who's looking for a roguelike that's less action and more strategy, and especially so if you love a good TTRPG.

If silly jump scare horror is your thing, you can do a lot worse than Doom 3 VR Edition, but you can also do much better. Its cutscenes are 2D, you get lost a lot, and occasionally you need to waggle your weapon about so it cooperates, but if you can get past these issues it's... a good enough version of the venerable id Software shooter.

Astrologaster is an incredibly original and fantastically designed experience that really captures the feel and tone of the Renaissance. From the impeccably researched astrology diagnoses to the infamous postscript of ‘coitus after consultation’ this is the most accessible way into the world of Simon Forman you could ever hope to find. Whether you mean to or not, you’ll certainly learn something about one of the most eccentric characters in Renaissance London – just don’t follow any of the medical advice. Trust me, I’m a doctor.

Balan Wonderworld is a passable platformer marred by a string of increasingly baffling design decisions. It has charm by the bucketload and off-the-wall concepts that land well in spite of themselves, but the experience is inconsistent at best and frustrating at worst. There is a good game in here somewhere, and it is great fun at points, but waiting for those points isn’t really worth it.

Professor Lupo: Ocean is a distinctive puzzle game that builds on the uniqueness of the original. As you walk through the Aurora Space Station’s flooded corridors, you find yourself adapting to the logical way of thinking needed to finally come face-to-face with the Professor himself. The visuals are charming, the soundtrack is minimal but effective, and you feel immensely satisfied after clearing each level. However, while there’s much to praise about this title, the shortness of its content, coupled with its awkward controls, does remove you from the gameplay every now and again.

Evil Genius 2 is a worthy return to the world stage for the classic lair builder formula. While there's certain areas that could be improved in the presentation or the game balance, building up your 60s spy villain lair and defeating the seemingly endless string of agents trying to foil your plans is immensely satisfying and engaging.

Spacebase Startopia feels a bit too basic for a management game and is not something you could really spend hours cultivating once you have the station set up. What it offers is rather simplistic, and is marred by regular crashes on console and an AI advisor that you'll grow to hate.

Black Legend evokes a brooding atmosphere thanks to the fog covered streets of Grant and has some good ideas around party and class management, as well as its turn based battles. However, bugs and awkward camera controls, plus a lack of a strong narrative or lore makes Black Legend feel like a fog has descended obscuring its potential.

It Takes Two is a great rom-com romp filled with action, oodles of variety, and more than a few twists and turns. No, you won't like Cody and May for much of the game, and some segments do feel a touch drawn out, but grab the right co-op buddy and this is a hoot.

Monster Hunter Rise is an incredible game. While it may not feel quite as ground-breaking for the series as World did, it boasts a stronger and distinctly Japanese identity, and the changes and streamlined gameplay simply focus on the franchise’s true stars – the monsters. Rise is easily one of the best games for the Nintendo Switch, and one of the finest Monster Hunters ever.

You can easily get yourself lost in the world of Olive Town - I’ve already spent more than 50 hours cultivating a farm that's entirely unique to me. Whether you want a relaxing time or a challenge, this is the game for you; Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is so malleable that it'll work for everyone.

The Ancient Gods Part 2 is an insanely fun ending to the saga of the Doom Slayer. While the narrative aspect of the DLC is a little underwhelming, what really matters is that I got to fight two high-speed buffed Marauders at once. Doom Eternal rocks.

Equal parts puzzler, platformer, fighter and cutesy collection of pixels, Jumpala is certainly an intoxicating concoction. It is also equal part superb. For those prepared to put the time in to find online rivals then this is a competitive experience to be savoured.

Silver Chains feels like an homage to every popular horror game and film. While this isn't necessarily a negative, I feel like the potential and individuality of the game was lost amidst the references and tropes, making it feel forgettable. If you have a love for horrors, then I believe you’ll thoroughly enjoy Silver Chains, but I’m not so sure you’ll remember it.

Blind Drive is like no game I've ever played before, which, having played video games for the last thirty years, is certainly saying something. Lo-Fi People has delivered one of the most compelling and plainly weird video game experiences of 2021. Your ears will love this game.

There's a bitter sweet feeling to playing Stubbs the Zombie in 2021. The game is too dated and linear to really recommend and some of my fond memories were tarnished by revisiting it, but the core gameplay still has enough to keep you engaged and the setting and humour still stand out. I still think it is worth a return play for those old enough to remember it first time around and I am glad that it is finally available again. There is enough here to get your heart pumping, but there's a persistent whiff of decay that you just can't shift.

The card combat and deckbuilding of Neoverse is incredibly strong and if all you need to keep you entertained is deep card combat, it's got you covered. However, the lack of any kind of context and background to anything, just going from fight to fight, eventually takes the sheen off. The core of the game has benefited from a great deal of attention, care and creativity, it's just a shame it was almost squandered due to the lack of it elsewhere.

Green Hell is a fantastic survival experience with an exemplary sense of place and peril. Creepy Jar have really nailed the feeling of loneliness and despair that true isolation would lead to and married this to some well balanced challenges and a refreshingly user friendly approach. The range of ways to play are really welcome and should ensure that even those players who may be turned off by the rigours of hunger and thirst mechanics can enjoy the immersive jungle experience. This may not be a welcoming jungle, but there’s plenty of fun and games to be had.

Cyber Shadow is a compelling modern retelling of the iconic retro classics of yesteryear. Sure, there are issues; the pacing feels off and 'knockback' really should have been consigned to the dustbin of unwanted gaming mechanics. None-the-less, Cyber Shadow is basically Ninja Gaiden if it had been released in 2021. Not sure I can think of any higher praise than that.

Bringing Apex Legends to Switch is another quite remarkable accomplishment for Panic Button. They’ve made the necessary compromises to get a decent high 27-30fps in most situations, and the game stays at that target for large portions while playing. The game is still one of the best battle royales out there and having it on Switch is great, but the added input latency, the inherent feel of the Joy-Con analogue sticks in an intense first person shooter, and the lack of cross-progression mean that if you’re already playing the game on another system, you should probably stay there.

Flow Weavers is a well designed and enjoyable escape room puzzler that is perfectly suited to virtual reality but also suffers from some of the common issues that the format provides. While it doesn’t reach the genre heights of The Room: A Dark Matter, it offers a welcome change of setting with the emphasis on magic and dimensional teleportation well suited to the virtual world. This is a game that may well weave its magic on you, albeit for only a brief while.

You won’t want to start every game of Three Kingdoms at 200 CE, but it’s a perfect place to jump headfirst into a tense, dramatic conflict already in play. Battles are even grander, and new additions make the strategy layer more interesting than ever.

Even though Littlewood is a peaceful town building and farming sim that doesn’t offer anything new in the genre, it thrives in the soothing, meditative loop of its routines--from harvesting fruits to mining precious stones from ores. There are plenty to busy yourself with, but there’s also plenty of time to get to them at your own pace. This means that Littlewood is mostly devoid of the pressures to optimise the grind--an issue that usually plagues other farm sims like Stardew Valley. It’s, in short, a charming little distraction from the stresses of our real world.

Stronghold: Warlords is a refreshing new look for the long-running siege warfare series, rekindling much of what made the series great in the early 2000s. However, there's a number of deep-seated flaws that Firefly need to make the focus of game updates and redefine for the series going forward.

Tiny Lands offers an eminently charming game of virtual spot the difference. The fact that there's no time limit, no pressure and no stress result in a delightfully relaxing video game. A chilled, tranquil experience that stands out on an island of calm in a sea of action-packed video game stress-fests.

Dakka Squadron’s fast, varied, and challenging aerial combat make it a lot of fun, but it’s so singularly geared towards a specific audience that it’s hard to recommend to anyone who doesn’t already know their squigs from their squiggoths. Otherwise, it’s the most fun I’ve had playing a Warhammer 40k action game since Relic’s Space Marine.

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a complicated beast. It’s a vastly detailed strategy game that demands a lot of players. For those up to the challenge, there're hours and hours of content on offer here, in what is an impressive strategy titles. However, if you aren’t versed in strategy games, you are going to struggle to get on with Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia as it offers new players very little help.

Shattered - Tale of the Forgotten King is a game set in a beautiful, stylised world that is sadly too opaque and flawed to recommend.

An engrossing and compelling piece of interactive fiction whether you just follow one character’s thread or read every available node, Closed Hands handles its difficult subject with real nuance and maturity thanks to excellent writing that gets you inside the head of each character.

Moving Out: Movers in Paradise has left me excited for the future of this puzzle 'em up, I can't wait to see what DevM, SMG and Team17 add to the formula next. All too often DLC can prove to be an unimaginative and unnecessary extra, but not so here; Movers in Paradise is the kind of joyous video game fun that can bring a family together.

If its aesthetics appeal and the gameplay style grabs you, then Loop Hero will take over your gaming life until you finish it or are drag yourself away. It reminded me strangely of the allure of Football Manager but with a more fantasy setting. The combination of auto combat and strategic choices, with resource management and settlement development on top, makes this a unique and captivating indie game.

PixelJunk Raiders plays like an interactive sci-fi album cover from the 70s; one full of Vangelis off-cuts that you're going to try and share with a bunch of your friends despite the fact they're more interested in Rod Stewart.

I cannot, in good faith, recommend a game that I could not finish thanks to game-breaking bugs. Looking past that, on the grounds that said bug can be squashed in time, you have a great concept that is just poorly executed. For all its atmosphere, for all its potential, the game feels totally hollow. Perhaps the point of the game was that you feel closer to the squirrels than your boss, who you hold in such contempt you refuse to speak to her. Perhaps the game is just dull.

A Tale of Paper is a great concept with an excellent presentation that’s slightly ruined by some poor platforming design. If you’re willing to stick it out though, you’ll be rewarded with a gorgeous world to explore and an equally captivating score.

Aside from a few gripes, this is just as much Slay the Spire as any other version. What that means is that it's still a sublime game filled with some of the best deckbuilding roguelikery around, and it's no less satisfying to play despite being on my phone (although my trips to the toilet are about 50% longer now). However, the accessibility issues detract, and a lot of people are going to be unable to ignore them in order to play the game.

In an industry filled with excellent couch co-op games, it’s really hard to recommend Shakes on a Plane. The gameplay is incredibly simple, offering very little variation outside of the core campaign mode. Unless you’re desperate for a multiplayer game, having finished everything else, this is one flight you can probably miss.

I really like where my successive adventures into Curious Expedition 2 took me. There’s a few minor bugs to iron out, but I found that the game was mostly a smooth ride from beginning to end (by which I mean when an expedition failed and I quit the game). There’s enough depth here that you feel invested in the fate of your character, and even once I finished playing, I kept thinking back to my latest run and what I could do differently.

Mutropolis is a decent point and click adventure title with genuine humour and some very good puzzles. However, it's let down by a slow-paced middle act that drags on far too long and some puzzles that could have been better implemented.

Maquette is a great puzzle game that uses perspective and out of the box thinking very well. The story of Michael and Kenzie is neatly entwined within these puzzle, adding heart and soul to the game as you make your way through the world, big and small.

Valheim’s realism is so apparent that it’s easy to recognize, but not too much so that it would turn those looking for a similar experience to, say, Minecraft, away. Survival games are what you make of them, and that’s the beauty in it. [Early Access review]

What Bravely Default II has retained from previous games has been polished to a high standard and delivers the perfect slice of turn-based JRPG nonsense you’re craving. However, be warned as the areas that have changed aren't as solidly executed and can have frustrating results. Bravely Default II is definitely worth the look for JRPG fans or fans of the series, but be prepared for an experience that's a tad rough at times.

Tohu is a mixed bag. It delivers such beauty and curious treasures, but it loses some of its shine thanks to tediously hard puzzles and a hint system that proves to be a greater hindrance than the actual puzzles. For those who love a challenge, Tohu will tick all the right boxes for you. However, I found it to be lacking in depth for a game that showed such promise; the trailer, imagery, and story all hold the potential to deliver more and it just falls short, or at least it did for me.

Neptunia Virtual Stars is a great new direction for the series. It's weird and unexpected, but it's a breath of fresh-air compared to the familiar territory the last few games have been treading. There's a massive amount of love for vtuber culture in this game and it helps lift up the fun and refreshing story. It's a shame that the combat couldn't reach the same highs as the rest of the game, but while it's a major wrinkle, it doesn't ruin the entire experience. Any hardcore vtuber fan needs to play this game, and some clunky combat won't change that.

We Were Here Together is ultimately a bit of a let down on console. Some of the biggest puzzles are quite frustrating, some of the others rely on a poorly designed user interface, and the ones we most enjoyed were the shorter ones anyway. There are better coop puzzlers to spend your cash, time, and friendships on.

No more advanced than Crazy Taxi was back when it debuted all those years ago, and without the same trademark attitude, Taxi Chaos is a real missed opportunity to modernise an arcade favourite.

Fatal Fury First Contact is a solid little fighting game, but it has little to offer beyond that. Unless you are specifically a huge fan of the Neo Geo Pocket or all things Fatal Fury, there are definitely better fighting games you can spend your money on.

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a fantastic Zelda-inspired, procedurally-generated, action-adventure with one of the most rewarding gameplay loops I’ve seen in some time. It perfectly captures the styles of its inspirations, while carving its own legacy as a standout Roguelike. I honestly enjoyed every second of my time with Rogue Heroes and can’t wait to continue playing in the coming weeks.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is the most ambitious Ys game to date, delivering a larger focus on narrative and a much more involved and organic world to explore. The game stumbles under its ambitions a bit, with a slow opening chapter and a consistently struggling framerate. Despite those issues, though, this is easily one of the best entries in the long-running franchise, and while veteran fans will get a lot out of the callbacks sprinkled throughout the game, newcomers are still in for one of the best action RPGs of the year.

Eternal Hope is a great little puzzle platformer. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in heart, offering a relatable story of love, loss and redemption. Perfect if you're looking for a short, heartfelt adventure to keep you distracted for a few hours.

Glyph is a soothing puzzle platformer, which, despite its sparse appearance has plenty of bounce, challenging you with its literal sandbox gameplay.

It's difficult to sum up Conspiracy! On the one hand it's a great concept and the meta approach is fascinating. It's a game with many interesting things to say about online culture, the news cycle and how we perceive the world we have constructed. This is a game with lofty ambitions, but it also happens to be a dreary experience that, despite a short run time, was an absolute slog to play.

Orwell’s Animal Farm relays the content of the book well, but stops short of drawing from any new depths, as choices are limited and the plot takes second place to a dry management sim.

I can't really recommend Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury enough. Whether you've played the original game before or not, the addition of online multiplayer is a big win, while Bowser's Fury is a testament to just how pure a Mario game can be while still feeling fresh and exciting. Put simply; this is an essential game for Mario fans.

Rigid Force Redux delivers an R-Type emulating experience to be proud of. Fast, fluid and with smooth action, this is the type of shmup that makes you want to smother it in exciting and complimentary adjectives. If only there was more content, then perhaps it would be Rigid Force Redux that future side-scrollers try to beat.

Persona 5 Strikers is an excellent welcome back party for the franchise. It takes a formula that is proven to work and takes it to a new place by adding a whole new combat system that allows you to play as the whole team, rather than the main character we’re all used to. This said, and although Persona 5 Strikers is excellent in its own right, there’s enough that's been stripped back to make this game work that it can't reach the lofty heights of the original.

It's rather obvious, but if enjoyed the first Little Nightmares then you will enjoy the Little Nightmares II. While some new elements have been added it is more of a next chapter to the story than a full blown sequel. The attention detail is incredible, bringing the story to life without a single spoken word. It's unsettling, creepy, darkly amusing, and at times a little frustrating, but immensely enjoyable. Another little, slime covered gem from Tarsier Studios.

It isn’t without its rough edges, but Skul is a really compelling experience, and definitely scratches the itch left by the button-mashing brawling of Hades and Dead Cells. If you’ve played those games to completion, or if you want a game with decadent pixel art and a wealth of characterful play options, then it’s an easy recommendation - just don’t lose your head during those challenging final stages.

Windfolk is a game so turgid that it almost managed to put me off video games. Painfully flaccid combat and boorish level design both serve to undermine any fun that flying might offer. The subtitle promises that 'Sky is just the Beginning', but after this showing I'm rather hoping it's the end instead.

Sword of the Necromancer is a fun roguelike, with a unique enemy revival system that sets it apart from other titles in the genre. Unfortunately, a lacklustre combat system and unoriginal story mean that it doesn't quite match up to the absolute best roguelikes out there.

Landflix Odyssey isn’t a revolutionary title by any stretch but it is a fun and mostly well-realised diversion that takes a light-hearted look at our TV obsessions. The different worlds offer some nice variation, but some are definitely more successful than others. I could have happily lived without the frustrating slowdown mechanics of the Going Mad levels for sure. It might not get you obsessed like your newest favourite TV series, but it shouldn’t make you reach for the remote either.

The car combat genre has long been out of fashion and still has a way to go if it wants to take us back to its glory days of the 1990s. Destruction AllStars is a mostly satisfying modernisation that has some neat ideas and looks fantastic, though ultimately spins its tyres on repetitive rival-wrecking gameplay and a lack of truly worthwhile content at launch.

Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition manages to give budding yokai hunters even more to do, and whether you missed the PS4 version of the game or not, it's definitely one to sink your teeth into if you fancy a challenging experience.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood feels like it had the potential to be really good, but even though the combat is very satisfying, the drab interludes and disappointing stealth meant I spent a lot of the time asking when the game was going to be over. To me, that speaks volumes.

As a port, the Turrican Flashback collection cannot be faulted – these are perfect conversions of some all-time greats. Although the collection is missing some of the others in the series, £7.50 per game isn't bad value and given the difficulty, getting a perfect run is going to take many hours of playtime.

Hellheim Hassle is a must-play for fans of platformers. Some fiddly controls aside, it's a wonderfully dark and funny adventure that’s well worth going out on a limb for.

Habroxia 2 makes me erupt with positive and overly excitable adjectives: entertaining, fun, delightful, near-perfect. I could go on, and I will: fast, frenetic, fluid, confident. This is a game that demands the attention of any fan of 2D retro shooters and offers a seismic improvement over the original. You'll be hooked from beginning to end.

Bezier Second Edition is a great twin-stick shooter, that should be an essential purchase for fans of arcade high score chasing. It is a bit light on content though, so I'd perhaps recommend holding out for a sale before picking it up.

Encodya has some lovely elements – the soundtrack, a few interesting plays on dystopian fiction and the heart at the core of its story – but uninteresting puzzles, lack of environmental variety, and unremarkable storytelling mean I can’t recommend it over its contemporaries.

When the Past was Around isn’t a long title by any means, but what it does with its run time is definitely worth the look. The puzzles throughout are challenging, but not to the point of frustration (mostly). The beautiful visuals and music tell a wordless tale of love and loss with such deftness and care that the game’s emotional moments feel earned. If you’re looking for a great indie title to while away a sombre afternoon, look no further.