As you come to grips with the tactical combat and progression systems, Sword Coast Legends may start to grow on you. For those who can see past its long loading times and other shortcomings, there’s an RPG here well worth the price of entry. However, for casual fans of the genre looking for something upbeat, this n-Space swansong is likely to disappoint.

Brut@l is certainly a punishing experience for those not used to Rogue-like tropes. Yet it’s a visually attractive game that pays tribute to Rogue in its ASCII style that’s genuinely appealing, as well as having a clean interface and enough flair in the combat to not be devalued as a button masher. A few issues rise when it comes to cooperative play, which make this a harder sell, but Brut@l is otherwise a fitting tribute to Rogue and the genre that came from it that dominates the indie scene.

This Is The Police leans on cliched scenarios and characters, but it represents some of the real struggles a police force has to deal with, like budgets being cut and a city with a lot of social problems.

This game is as much about the man behind the mask and the problems that Bruce Wayne faces, as it is taking on crime bosses, meeting familiar faces in new and interesting ways, and unravelling mysteries. Telltale’s Batman series is off to a great start, giving us a fresh view into the character that goes well beyond beating up criminals in alleyways.

Easily the best co-op game of 2016 so far and will hopefully set living rooms afire with its accessible, often hilarious culinary hijinks. It’s certainly a game I’ll continue to revisit, roping in anyone willing to sit down and pick up a controller.

For a certain nostalgic generation of gamer, it’s hard not to fall in love with Headlander’s retro futuristic stylings and the kind of “what if…” set up that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Terry Nation TV show or a film like Logan’s Run. The combat and and boss fights let it down, but this is an eminently enjoyable twist on the Metroidvania genre.

If you’re looking for an arcade racer then Riptide GP: Renegade is a decent enough choice.

Human Fall Flat is a game that’s aware of how unusual it is and builds to its own strengths. Bob’s ungainly controls work particularly well in the invitingly designed worlds that let you play around, cheat and conspire with a co-op buddy.

I am Setsuna is a love letter to JRPGs of the past, and while it offers a style of play oft forgotten by the modern age, it is an exceedingly well crafted and thoughtful journey that should make you wonder whether the genre’s progress is necessarily all it’s cracked up to be.

It’s effortlessly cool, from a slightly nerdy retro perspective, but hidden beneath that, there’s a simple and very ordinary feeling tale of a trio of kickass women living outside the law and pulling off ever more outlandish heists.

Of course, for some, Obliteracers just won’t click. While fun, the singleplayer campaign doesn’t have much of a lifespan – a problem for those who don’t have the means to play online or locally with a group of friends. Then there are the raw mechanics, tuned to give Obliteracers a frantic, sometimes nonsensical feel. Needless to say, if you’re looking for something similar to Mario Kart, you’re in the wrong place.

Plotting the downfall of the human race is a rare treat in videogames, and there’s a lot of fun to be had in bringing this to pass in Zombie Night Terror.

Chime Sharp is a good, fun puzzle game that builds upon the ideas of its predecessors in all the right ways. It’s gorgeous to look at, each level flows with the consistency and rhythm that you’d hope for, and the soundtrack is one of the best in video games. It does get a tad tedious, and there are a few things they certainly could’ve done a better job explaining, but it’s well worth the ride if you like your puzzle games to be fast and challenging.

Kerbal Space Program is one of the most educational games I have played in years. While I’m nowhere equipped to apply for the ESA or NASA Kerbal Space Program does make understanding the science of space travel easier to digest.

I’m certainly eager to see where nDreams take us to next, as they hone their craft in developing for virtual reality, but The Assembly is sadly just a first step on that journey. It does some interesting things, with a nicely constructed story split between two characters and contrasting styles of gameplay, and it gets the controls right for first person exploration in VR, but without that, it would struggle to stand out from the crowd. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Uncovering the threads that connect the residents of Harbor Prime is a fascinating look into a flawed future, if you are willing to hack for it.

The one saving grace is that Ghostbusters is dull rather than boring. Played in short bursts, a level or two at a time, it’s still rather fun, even more so when you have some friends in tow.

The puzzle-like missions of Crush Your Enemies are a lot of fun, as you race against the clock in a frantic rush to defeat the enemies, or simply grind with sheer weight of numbers. Ignoring the crass sense of humour and forgetable story, Crush Your Enemies does an admirable job of distilling the strategy genre down into a bitesized form.

While it’s not as essential as Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was, those wanting to keep in the loop should seriously consider picking up a copy. While some of the bonus features do little to spice up the core game, there’s an embarrassment of riches to be found in the sheer volume of content on offer.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness carries a weight of expectation that it is incapable of satisfying. A legacy JRPG franchise, published by Square Enix, should have some meaning, but here it translates to pure mediocrity. Series fans may find some brighter elements to latch onto, but for JRPG stalwarts there are far better examples of the genre.

If you like the manga or anime though, this is a fun time.

Carmageddon’s revival gets off to a sloppy start, though it gradually gets better with perseverance. Drawbacks such as the fickle handling and the so-so presentation become easier to overlook, but those first few hours can be a major slog.

Full Mojo Rampage is simply an average game that could have been a lot better. There are a few good ideas here, but they aren’t fully realised, leading to a game that becomes tedious after a few runs of its quests.

Strategy aficionados will look on approvingly as fans of the series rejoice. It’s certainly not a game for everyone, yet those who find themselves hooked by Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII will struggle to break free of its hold. The fact that it plays so well on console as well as on PC shows that Koei is capable of more than mindless button bashers.

Duelyst had me hooked, as I put hours and hours into it almost every day. If I had written my review for it at that point, it would have done incredibly well in my books, with it’s fascinating tactical RPG twist on the familiar card game play. But after playing with friends, I struggle to go back to playing against anonymous opponents in ranked play, and I just don’t know how much more time I see myself putting into this game.

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is amongst the best games from either franchise. While the story of a single film has been noticeably stretched out, there’s still plenty of content here for fans to enjoy, and the new additions to the Lego formula help to keep things fresh despite so much familiarity.

Inside is not for those looking for hours of fun, opting instead to channel the ‘games as art’ mentality that has been debated into the dirt. It’s a game that people will be trying to figure out the meaning to for months to come.

When buddied up with three fellow survivors, there’s certainly some fun to be had. However, these moments will usually stem from the hilarious situations you’ll find yourselves in, enhanced by the game’s dumb raft of bugs and glitches.