Gazzlers is a fun-filled arcade blast that gives VR fans the perfect opportunity to switch their brain off. It’s not the kind of thing you’ll want to play in one long sitting – few VR games are during a rather summer-like October – but returning to it day in, day out, is the perfect way to get your daily endorphin hit. [Tested on Meta Quest 3]

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is an absolute gem, and one of Nihon Falcom's best games period. It's a simple, bite-sized, and endlessly rewarding action RPG that brings all the charm of a hand-held adventure to the big screen without missing a beat.

The Baten Kaitos Collection is a duology remaster that's full of contrasts, demonstrating perfectly the highs and lows that come with bringing decades old games to new consoles. The two games are great little JRPGs from yesteryear, however given the weird nature of the first and the generic nature of the second, it’s difficult to recommend to any but those wanting the nostalgia trip or die-hard fans of the genre.

Assassin's Creed Mirage will appeal to anyone who's been pining for a return to the old school open world stealth of the earlier games. It's pretty much exactly that with a few extra refinements and additions. Some of those additions are a bit distracting and immersion breaking, but nothing gets in the way of some good old fashioned assassinations.

Sometimes it's worth trying to reinvent the wheel, and Turn 10's renewed Forza Motorsport takes the series in some new and worthwhile directions. The 'CarPG' levelling and pre-race practice sessions really help to foster familiarity and confidence with cars and tracks over time, and Forza is now on a par with Gran Turismo and others for the online race structure. It all sets the foundations for years of new cars, tracks, races and further improvements that I'm looking forward to seeing.

Baldur's Gate 3 is a masterpiece and a true next generation RPG. Sure it has a handful of small issues, but they pale in comparison to the quality of the writing, the depth in character creation, the sheer wealth of options available to players, the voice acting, the gorgeous world, which are all just exemplary. There's no wonder it has sent ripples through the industry and gathered more attention than even Larian expected, it's got quality and creativity leaking out of every frame.

The Lamplighters League doesn't quite live up to its promise and expectations. There's a fun mix of real time exploration and turn-based combat, but it's a step short of the best strategy games of the year – others like Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew have done it better. Given more time and more engaging narrative The Lamplighters League could have been great. It will have to settle for decent at best.

Monster Hunter Now could grow into a true successor and companion to Pokémon Go, but only if Niantic listen to their audience make rapid improvements to the game. Smoothing out the difficulty curve and server issues could elevate the game, but the gameplay loop of buying Gems for Potions just to get through a day's play is quickly becoming obnoxious.

Mineko’s Night Market goes down as one of my biggest disappointments of the year. The early promise is entirely squandered through inane conversations, repetitive minigames and a feeling more akin to a mobile game loop than a cosy game. The art style and plethora of cats are cute, but I’m afraid this is one to avoid.

The Crew Motorfest provides plenty of fun arcade racing, though it does very little to break new ground for the genre. There's plenty to get your teeth into, but there are some annoying design decisions and a few technical issues that take the shine off it. Still, I can see it finding plenty of fans, particularly on PS5 where the only competition from a 'Horizon' game involves robotic dinosaurs.

Fate/Samurai Remnant is the best game in the franchise. It's a perfect blend of Fate worldbuilding and faithfulness to the Edo-period Japanese setting. It's also an incredible next step for Omega Force, and delivers one of the most addictive and engaging action-adventure experiences I've had in ages.

Separate Ways is a fantastic addition to Resident Evil 4 Remake and really cements its place as one of the series’ best. Add in some unexpected nods to wider aspects of Resident Evil lore and you have a DLC that works both as extra content to the main game and wider fan service too. If you enjoyed the RE4 Remake then this DLC is pretty much an essential purchase.

Sports FC 24 is not the complete departure from FIFA that its name would suggest. Most of the fundamentals remain in place and the career modes have barely been updated. Then again, Ultimate Team is the series' real money-spinner, coming with the addition of evolutions and mixed gender teams. Overall, the on-pitch gameplay is good, and you can see the extra animations enhancing the football sim, but it isn’t a massive evolution of EA’s flagship series.

Chants of Sennaar and the way it explores the relations between different groups of people is really engaging as a game. With language at its core, it highlights both the differences and the similarities between people and cultures. Chants of Sennaar is a puzzle game that deserves attention.

Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless sets a new standard for fun and flashy strategy RPGs. It's such a perfect blend of classic Disgaea feel and quirky new mechanics, and it's got some of the most memorable and entertaining characters the series has seen. This is the sequel that fans have been waiting for.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a fantastic homage to the original film and really shines in its general presentation, but the gaming experience itself proves to be a frustrating one. Combine an increasingly toxic community and the prevalence of cheaters with a distinct lack of maps and variety and you have a game that may well struggle to succeed in competition with the many other titles in the asymmetrical horror genre. To paraphrase the tagline to the movie – will this game survive and what will be left of it?

There’s not many wholly new ideas within the mix of Payday 3, but it’s a sensible refinement of what those games tick, bringing in some interesting tweaks and gameplay changes to smooth the experience a little. All in all, Payday 3 is a welcome return for the heist ’em up series, and a reminder of why the first two games were so popular. [Review in Progress]

Daymare 1994: Sandcastle is a decent second title in the series which makes some improvements but still struggles to come together as an complete experience. The basic combat and movement controls lack the refinement of the titles from which it takes inspiration. Taken alongside a story that goes from interesting to incoherent in the 6 or 7 hours it takes to complete and you have an interesting title that is worth a look by survival horror fans but not at full price.

Under the Waves is a beautiful game, both graphically an narratively, though the latter is on the sadder end of the beauty scale. It is a little short, but it's an affecting story with some fantastic voice performances that really help elevate what is already effective dialogue. It's not perfect but it is unique and it's a joy to explore the depths of the north sea in your cute little submarine.

Super Bomberman R 2 should be great. It can do just about anything a Bomberman game could possibly be asked to do. If only it could offer a decent game of Bomberman. A real missed opportunity.

The Teal Mask could have been a chance to give us some much-needed performance updates for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Instead, any shine it could have offered is marred by the same performance issues present at the launch of the main game, and it's just not acceptable at this point. Unless you're a die-hard Pokemon fan, the additions here simply aren't enough.

If you’ve enjoyed the Trine series up to this point then you are in for a treat, Trine 5 is by far the best entry yet, offering puzzles that are phenomenally inventive and an utter delight to solve. If you haven’t taken the plunge yet with Trine, then now is the perfect chance. If only we could ditch the combat and have twice the puzzles, then truly would Trine reach co-op puzzling perfection.

Regardless of what this review says, NBA 2K24 will sell millions of copies, and generate millions of dollars through VC. That is because basketball fans who want to play a basketball game have nowhere else to go. The on court action is really good, but without competition to keep them honest, 2K's monetisation has got out of hand and made modes like MyCareer near unplayable without extra investment from players.

Forget your 2Ks and your Fight Forevers, if you want to experience fun and surprisingly authentic pro-wrestling action in 2023 then WrestleQuest is by far your best bet. Wax your back, coat yourself in baby oil, and prepare your promo, because WrestleQuest is the pro-wrestling RPG love-fest you never knew you always needed.

Mortal Kombat 1 serves as a love letter to fans of this thirty-one-year-old franchise and as a pseudo-reboot it also has potential appeal to newcomers alike. There's still room to grow and I'm sure it will just keep getting better, but Mortal Kombat 1 is already definitely worth your time.

Smooth combat, seamless exploration and a set of well-executed mechanics makes Lies of P an excellent Soulslike. When you add in the gorgeous visuals, desolate world design, stark sound design and engrossing story, it raises the experience above a lot of its contemporaries. All in all, although Lies of P is essentially Bloodborne featuring Timothée Chalamet, it does more than enough to mark itself out as a unique title worth your time – and I’m not lying.

Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs is full of interesting nuggets of narrative revelations for fans of the long-running Utawarerumono visual novel series, but its pacing problems and lacking quality make it much less suitable for newcomers than it should be.

Skyrim and Fallout 4 had a space baby and named it Starfield. As with every child, there’s the hope that it will better its parents as it grows into adulthood, and from the time spent with Starfield, I’d say it’s right up there with Bethesda’s best. I’ve certainly enjoyed what I’ve seen so far and the new setting, but there’s just no getting away from the fact that it has its mother’s eyes and its dad’s nose. [Review in Progress]