There's a great deal to like about Fimbul, from its luxuriant vector inspired visuals to the solid combat and an interesting interpretation of Norse Mythology. Whilst the delivery of the plot in a comic book format disappoints, it is the failure of the frame rate that provides Fimbul's fatal and final blow. Without this issue being remedied, despite the many reasons I like the game, Fimbul is difficult to recommend.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really enjoy my time with All Walls Must Fall. The fantastic setting, thumping soundtrack and original take on seduction mini-games are not matched by its gameplay mechanics. Everything felt too chaotic and the environments too lacking in variety to maintain my interest.

Hellbound has potential, and will surely find an audience for both its nostalgia and its challenge. While the story is almost completely unnecessary, it's a real shock that the whole narrative focus appears to not be concluded in the game, though. Just as the story gets going, and the first big boss is defeated, the endgame credits roll, leaving Hellbound feeling unfinished. That feeling is compounded by the fact that the main reason for returning comes from the score-based survival mode which is still available as a free download on Steam. Hellbound is not big, nor is it clever, and in all the wrong ways.

Despite the interesting ideas, Bladestorm still manages to be shallow and, whilst it may grab your attention for a few hours, you won’t want to carry on playing for much longer – the repetitiveness of it all will make sure of that.

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

Extinction is a game that has large ambitions, but fails to be as exciting as it could have been. The Revanii look imposing, but are less threatening than the smaller enemies that accompany them, and with a mixture of lacklustre storytelling, repetitive action and some technical issues, Extinction end up a remarkably average title.

Fueled Up may be an Overcooked! clone but it nonetheless has some intriguing ideas that set it apart from other games in the genre. Unfortunately, the issues with pacing, poor tutorials, haphazard controls, and difficulty spikes make for an uneven experience that will not suit many players. If you’ve done Ghost Town Game’s finest to death then Fueled up might be worth a look, otherwise, forget fuelling spaceships and go fry some burgers instead.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance fails to live up to both the potential of its placement in the D&D canon and the legacy of the Dark Alliance name. As a mediocre-to-good game, depending on whether you’re alone or with friends, the whole experience is sluggish and dull in execution, and sails close to the average tabletop D&D session where you play for four hours and somehow only walk down a single corridor, but without the enjoyment that comes with that experience.

Empire of Sin is a promising strategy game but one that feels woefully incomplete. I can't recommend it, but I can recommend following it's hopeful transition into something genuinely wonderful.

Effie is a decent traditional third person platformer, but could have been so much more. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled in recent years, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Effie could have been elevated if it had tied the interesting backstory to the game mechanics or development in some way. As it stands, the narrative is totally removed from the game itself and this makes it feel old-fashioned in the wrong sort of way. Not a disaster but a missed opportunity.

Moero Chronicle Hyper lives up to it's name. It is a hyper-actualized fantasy of sex and sex objects and sex acts and anything sex related. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of raunchiness, the game fails to deliver anything that's truly charming or engaging. Beyond some goofy monster designs, it's a terribly average game all around, hampered even further by a translation that desperately needed more time in the oven.

Happy Ray Games succeeded in what they were aiming for with Ikenfell, I just wish they aimed a bit higher. The story doesn’t pick up for a long portion at the beginning of the game, and the battle system is interesting but nothing groundbreaking. There is still some enjoyment to be had with Ikenfell, but it feels like it’s missing some magic.

Metal Max Xeno is just so thoroughly average when it comes to JRPGs. The basic world, familiar storyline, and characters serve an okay experience which embraces the grind a bit too much for a world that is generally void of much interest. The game feels like a throwback to older JRPGs which is great if that is what you’re into, but there has been so much advancement in the genre that overall Metal Max Xeno feels a bit out of place.

Tyler: Model 005 is a real mixed bag. It doesn’t get close to the heights of its spiritual predecessors, but instead goes its own way to produce a surprisingly effective and heartwarming story that surpasses the limitations of its flawed mechanics to leave a lasting impression. Tyler: Model 005 must go down as a fleeting curio rather than a game I can wholly recommend. Maybe in this case an animated movie would have been a more suitable choice for delivering the story being told.

Devil’s Third’s singleplayer campaign is dumb, misogynistic, shoddy and borderline broken at times, but its multiplayer may well be its saving grace. While it remains lo-fi and decidedly rough around the edges, there’s some fun to be had and an experience that could see it gain something of a cult following on Wii U.

Much like Chibi Robo! Zip Lash was a bit of a flop in converting a primarily 3D franchise into 2D, Hey! Pikmin makes errors of its own. While the antics of the Pikmin seen in the levels are adorable and the game is visually pleasing, I just couldn’t get over the way the Pikmin behaved when I was playing. It’s otherwise a rather bland and forgettable adventure that Pikmin fans can quite easily skip.

As a free-to-play experiment, it’s fairly successful. When you download Spartacus Legends you get the full package, not just a few morsels of gameplay, with the rest locked behind a pay-wall. In some ways this is one the game’s biggest strengths but it still fails to dispel a number of its other issues.

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.

There’s nothing wrong with modernising older games. However, therein lies the problem for Miracle Cure: it’s just a modernisation.

Gun Gun Pixies has a very specific audience, and many of those people are sure to have a good time with this game. Cute characters and a wealthy abundance of fanservice are here in spades. Unfortunately, I often found myself struggling with the repetitive gameplay and clunky controls too much to appreciate any of the good aspects of the game.

Vane is a strange game. Its art direction and visual design frame a grandiose, otherworldly affair, but its puzzle design and narrative squash those expectations, ultimately providing a frustrating experience with fragments of its original vision.

Super Dodgeball Beats' manga-influenced visuals are sure to draw you in, but sadly aren't backed up by its middle-of-the-road rhythm action.

Utawarerumono: Zan is only for the most dedicated of fans to the series. Newcomers will be lost by the incredibly brisk and abbreviated story, and even though the combat is fun and the characters unique, there are just so many other Warriors-style games out there that provide fun gameplay and addictive action without slacking on the story. Hardcore Utawarerumono might get more pleasure out of this game than fresh faces would, but are sure to be just as disappointed by how thoroughly the story has been butchered.

For most of the time Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles fails to impress. Whilst it's certainly not the worst game out there, it struggles to rise above average, and I wonder if it would sell at all if not for the Resident Evil name behind it. If you're a fan of the franchise there's a good chance you'll get a kick out of this, but for everyone else I struggle to recommend it.

Everything about Mafia II is average. From the tepid driving controls and the standard cover mechanism to the staid narrative which could still have been enjoyable, had they put a little more thought into it. This game is not terrible but it is some way from being good.

Despite the huge flaws, there’s still something that kept drawing me back to play a bit more, to destroy a few buildings or beat one more Kaiju. It’s not smart or clever, nor remotely modern, and it’s mostly repetitive and dull. But it’s Godzilla – a giant nuclear accident that is as likely to destroy you as protect you.

Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune would be easy to appreciate as a unpolished but obviously heartfelt metroidvania experience, if it weren't for the poorly executed and far too frequent cutscenes.

There’s some good ideas in how PlayLink can be used to let a group of players (and non-gamers in particular) join together and shape a filmic story, but the actual interface feels clumsy, and the story and scripting leaves plenty to be desired. It’s safe to say that Hidden Agenda is an obvious disappointment.