Like the characters in the game, Shady Part of Me is elegant, but troubled. At its core, the game is a well-designed puzzle game about a girl who has to cooperate with herself to overcome her mental health condition. Between this and the moody, melancholy aesthetic, the game hits home in all the right ways, which is why it’s such a shame that the ending just doesn’t stick the landing.

YesterMorrow is an entirely competent and mostly sound platformer. Sure, there's some issues around the occasionally finicky controls, but these are mostly balanced out through the exemplary level design. The main issue here is that the gameplay experience is so very hum-drum. YesterMorrow is a mish-mash of many other better games that we've all played before. As such it struggles to build its own identity and never becomes a compelling experience.

Visage is close to being of the best horror games of recent years, but it's held back by some annoying aspects. The inventory controls are awkward, there were still a few bugs that prevented me from interacting with the environment, and the chapters are far too uneven, with the third being particularly bad. That being said, if you are prepared to work through these issues there is a lot of spooky fun to be found here and it is more than just jump scares for streamers (although there are plenty of those). With a little more polish and a better third chapter, this could have been an essential purchase. Instead, Visage is somewhat haunted by the spectre of what might have been.

WWE Undefeated is ok. For a free to play mobile game, it has quite a good fighting system which definitely serves as a good base to build on, but it’s very light on content and needs more development to add some other basic functions.

Batbarian wades into the Metroidvania genre with enjoyable exploration, tricky and inventive puzzle mechanics, and an array of impressive accessibility options. A more helpful map that included signposting would make this a real Metroidvania highlight, but it still comes highly recommended for fans of the genre.

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.

Haven is an uplifting and positive tale of a young couple setting out to make an alien planet their home. Yu and Kay are a likeable pair as you watch their relationship strengthen, the world of Source is a gorgeous place to explore, and the soundtrack is great as well. While the overarching story could be deeper and battles could be streamlined further, Haven is a game that offers a chilled out escape.

Doom Eternal is one of my favourite games of this year, and Panic Button has outdone themselves in bringing this unforgettable FPS to the Nintendo Switch. There are some awkward nags like the clunky Joy-Con sticks and playing at 30fps that bring the experience down a bit, but I'm still beside myself over the fact that Doom Eternal manages to work on a Nintendo Switch. Is this the ultimate version of the game? Not by a long shot. But if you only have access to a Switch or you've been dying to bring this game on the go, you'll still have the time of your life.

If you're coming to Fitness Boxing 2 fresh-faced and don't own the first game, then it might be worth picking up. However, if you played the first one or if you own Ring Fit Adventure, it's incredibly hard to recommend it unless you're really into thirsting over the instructors, all of whom you can still rather creepily dress-up and customise.

Alba is the kind of game that all young people should play. Not only is it a heart-warming romp where you get to look at animals, it’s educational and empowering, inspiring and beautiful. Not only have ustwo created a world that is stunning to look at, but they’ve crafted a narrative that boldly shouts that this girl can. Never underestimate the power of an 11-year-old girl — especially one on a mission to do right by the world around her.

Even without the original’s VR elements, Chronos: Before the Ashes’ compelling and somewhat challenging combat is still its main draw, in which you have to attack, dodge and parry your way, with refined precision, towards victory. Its aging system also adds an interesting twist to combat, imbuing your battles with a sense of prudence. That said, it doesn’t offer anything new to the genre. Just watch out for its clumsy camera angles and you’ll do fine.

You can have the most advanced drone piloting physics in the world, but if the tutorial is dull, the career structure nondescript and the racing lacklustre, I’m afraid the combined package does not enthral. A pity.

I persevered with Battle Hunters and finished it (admittedly after dropping the difficulty down) but there wasn’t really a point where I actually enjoyed my experience. The most frustrating thing is that there were moments when it nearly came together in tactical combat, but it was continually held back by the need to rest characters and not sharing XP to non-party members. As a result, this is one adventure in which too many heroes spoil the game.

Does The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV have a great story that's a worthy capstone to a ten-year JRPG saga? No, it doesn't. As a standalone experience, it's an impenetrable mess of fizzled out character arcs and bloated cutscenes. Despite all that, Trails of Cold Steel IV has addictive gameplay, dope music, and gorgeous character designs. If you want a fun and grind-heavy JRPG with a wild amount of options and battles, but don't mind turning your brain off to ignore the story and glaze over poorly-written cutscenes, then this is one's for you.

Unto The End is a challenging game, but not overwhelmingly so. Each combat scenario is unique which keeps things fresh, while the world itself looks nice and hints at a wider world that cares little of your character's adventure. A handful of fights are frustrating and will hold you up, but Unto The End does not overstay its welcome and is easy to recommend to those who enjoy tough fighting challenges.

The Wild Eight is an accessible and rewarding survival game that works on so many levels. Considering that I'm not a fan of survival games, the fact that I enjoyed my time with The Wild Eight is high praise indeed. If only the combat wasn't such a bore, then I'd have no hesitating in giving it two thumbs up. As it is, one thumb and a pinkie will have to suffice. Or a seven if you prefer your scores out of ten.

Call of the Sea's original setting, narrative, and overall feel totally hooked me – even when I wasn’t playing I found myself working over the puzzles in my head. If you’re a fan of emotional stories and challenging logical puzzles then you should dive straight into this adventure.

Although purists may balk at Worms Rumble, I found Team17’s reinvention to be a welcome change in direction for the series. Real-time action wrapped around the battle royale genre works a treat here when combined with the zany, explosive world of Worms, but in order to become a multiple mainstay it needs more depth both in terms of strategy and player progression.

Submerged is a wonderful, melancholic exploration game, that builds a more defined and evocative world than many AAA games do.

Not needing to reinvent the wheel, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 delivers the same fun and brilliant mash-up of two of the best drop-puzzle games ever with a healthy dollop of content, both classic and new. The jury's still out on whether the new Skill Battles will change things up, but regardless, this is a great puzzle package for parties or pros, and hopefully a great jumping off point for newcomers to discover the marvel and skill of competitive puzzle battles.

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.

Morbid: The Seven Acolytes is a great top-down Soulslike with the right mix of challenge and reward. It makes good use of the systems and mechanics it borrows from the genre staples and combines this with a darkly beautiful aesthetic and some memorable boss fights. It's not always clear how or the best way to progress, but if you’ve got a hankering for a bloody good time then you won’t go too far wrong with Morbid.

A compelling take on a Martian colonisation and terraforming project, Per Aspera also comes with a gripping mystery to unravel as you fight to survive and thrive. There's some muddled pacing and it's not always how you can proceed, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable sci fi planetary sim.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla effortlessly plants its banner as the best open world RPG available for the new consoles. This Viking epic flexes its gore-soaked, tattooed muscles when it comes to world-building, and medieval England wows with its enchanting untamed vistas. It’s also portioned out at a steady pace and, if not for the repetitive, limited combat, Valhalla could have ranked even higher among our favourite games in the series.

Partisans 1941 is an enjoyable take on the real time tactics genre, but too often your perfect ambush is then undone moments later by hyper-alert enemies spotting your squad. There's some balance issues (which will hopefully be improved with patches), but there's a solid tactical game here with an enjoyable story and some gameplay mechanics that we’ve not previously seen in the genre.

I really, really wanted to love Phogs!, but I simply couldn't. It really is a lovely idea, set in a lovely world and there's a simple joy to the game's opening. It's clear just how much love went into this game, right down to the Hollywood Bowl carpet at the bowling alley, but the execution just leaves you wanting. Between the repetition and the bugs, there’s just too much to get frustrated with, making the game, at times, an uphill struggle.

ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos proves that visual novels can work surprisingly well in virtual reality. The ways in which your mode of interaction are worked into the setting are clever and really help to increase the sense of immersion. It might not feel like many of your choices have an effect on the story, with most branches being a result of clear binary choices at set points, but I have enjoyed my time in the world of Lieutenant Chloe and will delve back in to seek out the last couple of alternative endings.

A handful of excellent new units, a much needed faction rework for the Wood Elves, Drycha's campaign, and a host of quality of life changes make The Twisted and the Twilight's lacklustre Vortex campaigns much easier to overlook.