The Alto Collection is a lovely little timesink that survives the jump to the big screen in robust fashion. Its clear and appealing visuals, and their ever-changing time-cycle, are simply another bright little plus point in a tightly concocted endless runner that’s works as well on a TV as it does on something more portable.

It's clear that the developers of Banner of the Maid have a lot of love for the historical French period they've adapted in this game. Unfortunately, the gorgeous character art and intricate story is hampered by a rough localization and awkward gameplay systems. The intriguing characters are hard to follow thanks to awkwardly translated dialogue, while the upgrade and faction mechanics of the game only serve to bloat the experience. Banner of the Maid has plenty of solid ideas, but only a few of them truly shine through.

Splicing history with Hollywood, Troy is an exciting new take on the Total War formula. Sega's immense strategy series continues to snowball, absorbing and shedding new ideas, somehow keeping momentum despite that core gameplay remaining virtually untouched.

Popup Dungeon nails the papercraft look, has some endearing and funny writing, and provides an intriguing framework for community-created content. The core of its tabletop-inspired combat system isn’t engaging enough to hold it up alone, ultimately leaving it up to whatever community it attracts to decide whether it’s worth putting your own paper on the table.

As confusing as it is entertaining, Superliminal constantly uses unique mechanics that go against your expectations, even once you've adjusted to what it did last time. It might be short, but it's a genuine delight.

Fae Tactics is a charming, ambitious homage to classic tactical RPG’s with plenty of its own ideas, but it never quite add up to greatness. It fails to explain so much of what’s going on under-the-hood that victories often feel unearned and defeats often feel arbitrary. The great presentation and some solid core systems means it stays entertaining in small doses, however. I’d still tentatively recommend it to dedicated genre fans.

Fight Crab is weird, wild, and fun as hell. It's a game purely focused on delivering charming and silly moments, and that chaotic, no-rules atmosphere leads to hours of hilarious crustacean combat. The game could have easily been an unpredictable, button-mashing physics mess, but the fact that there are legitimate layers of executable strategy to the combat makes it a thrilling challenge to boot. Even if you don't like crabs, Fight Crab will easily convert you into a claw-believer.

Neversong is a dark and thrilling tale with a child-like twist, exploring human emotion in a world without adults. The dark storyline contrasts starkly to the beautiful score and artwork, the clear influences from Tim Burton and The Legend of Zelda creating an immediate connection and sense of nostalgia.

Full of cute and cuddly jellybean dude bumbling into each other in a race for the crown, Fall Guys is just about the most wholesome battle royale imaginable, and a whole lot of fun.

Post Void is an absolute delight to play with some of the most satisfying FPS gameplay I’ve experienced in years. While it might only have eleven levels to play through, the outstanding gunplay will keep players engrossed in the hours, days and weeks to come and at £2.33, it’s an unbelievable indie package.

Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition brings Guerrilla Games' fantastic sci-fi adventure to a whole new audience, but PC players used to ultra-high frame rates will have to accept a step down in performance as they enjoy Aloy's journey.

Röki is a brilliant and emotional adventure that will appeal to all lovers of adventure games and well-told stories in general. The mature themes are handled in such a wonderfully appropriate way that it would make a perfect family game, and I loved the time I spent with Tove. Rather than a flatpack indentikit product, this is a game that has all the hallmarks of true artisanal craft and skill.

Lost Wing is a hugely enjoyable and exciting arcade mash-up of endless runner, roguelite, Wipeout and Tron. There's a bit too much grinding for content and the nauseating screen-rotating anomalies, but these are sufficiently offset by thrills of the rest of the game and a budget price point. It's a game that managed to make me both punch the air and slap my face in despair on a regular basis; how many video games can you say that about?

As a piece of gaming history the Darius Collections are spot on, recreating classic arcade and console games on modern hardware, but they are massively overpriced considering the content. Some games in the Arcade collection are either minor tweaks or ports of a previous versions, so you would have to be a die hard Darius fan to even consider purchasing both collections. The Console collection is by far the better choice due to the single screen design, but aficionados will then miss the classic arcade versions.

As a piece of gaming history the Darius Collections are spot on, recreating classic arcade and console games on modern hardware, but they are massively overpriced considering the content. Some games in the Arcade collection are either minor tweaks or ports of a previous versions, so you would have to be a die hard Darius fan to even consider purchasing both collections. The Console collection is by far the better choice due to the single screen design, but aficionados will then miss the classic arcade versions.

Through its lengthy story, Resolutiion provides real moments of awe and beauty. From dark and dingy caves through to soaring heights at the peak of the monolithic buildings, the world is a sight to behold, it’s just a shame that traversing it doesn’t feel any where near as great as it looks. Resolutiion’s snappy, visceral combat does help make that journey slightly more bearable, but you’ll still likely end up wandering in circles trying to find the right path forward.

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.

Skater XL softens some of the more technical aspects of the sport, but empowers players with the ability to pull off stylish tricks with a swish of the analogue sticks. Even with a lack of content and polish, Skater XL stands on its own four wheels in a soon-to-be-crowded marketplace, providing players with an experience that prioritises fun over simulation.

Creaks is a nice and inventive puzzle game from Amanita Design. A handful of frustrating puzzles do little to detract from the world's stand out visual design and inventive use of music as a guide through the adventure. If you enjoy puzzle games then Creaks is well worth a go.

A bright, bold, saliva-shooter, Spitlings will provide a healthy dose of entertainment for those playing alone, while the multiplayer turns it into a much wilder ride.

Jump King is an excellent experience in soul-crushing difficulty and nightmarishly precise platforming. It's the type of game that won't be for many people, but for the small percent that craves this kind of experience, they won't be disappointed. The somewhat imprecise nature of your jumping often frustrated me and diluted the pure player skill needed to clear the game, but it still ends up being a solid test of your patience and platforming skills.

The Fairy Tail franchise and the JRPG genre are a perfect match, and this game perfectly captures the silly yet surprisingly intense charm of the original series. It's a shame that the game often puts so little effort into adapting major story scenes, but that sacrifice is outweighed by the abundance of fun little character interactions and vignettes that are sprinkled throughout the game. Fairy Tail lets you live in the world of Natsu and co. like no other anime game has done before, and any fan of the series is sure to crack a smile at this dedicated RPG experience.

What Happens is an interesting and mostly successful addition to the growing field of games that focus on mental health issues. Most of what it sets out to do works well despite the glaring issues with polish and acting ability. There were moments which were more successful than others and it would benefit from making it clearer where alternative approaches were available. It is clear that Genius Slackers’ ambition is greater than their abilities but I applaud the attempt to use gaming for such a vital and powerful message.

Megadimension Neptunia VII is a delightful and silly JRPG romp that is sure to keep you entertained. The wide cast of characters bounce off of each other perfectly, and even if you're a newcomer to the franchise you're sure to get invested in Neptune and her laid-back, lazy gamer attitude. It's just as fun to stroll through dungeons and dive into the layered combat of the game, as long as you remember to disable the framerate-killing visual effects in this Nintendo Switch port.

I often feel uncomfortable playing military shooters. Is it really morally acceptable for me to be having fun in a virtual playground that depicts a real life conflict in which thousands lost their lives? I don't know the answer, but thankfully Tannenberg never forces me to consider this ethical question. Tannenberg has some good ideas, but it's a slightly dull online FPS that never really gets going. As a budget multiplayer shooter there's some satisfaction to be had, but overall this is a far too limited and sluggish experience.

Othercide is an evocative and absorbing tactical roguelike, albeit one whose style occasionally gets in the way of the substance.

Maid of Sker is a great addition to the survival horror genre and offers a wonderfully intimate and local threat that takes its influences from Welsh folktales. Eschewing the combat and weaponry of many entries into the genre, its gameplay loop of sneaking and hiding proves compelling and successfully manages to keep you feeling in danger at all times. When you add in some excellent sound design and atmosphere you have a Victorian horror that deserves a rousing reception. There may not be a welcome in these valleys but this is one vacation that genre fans should have no reservations about taking.

Destroy All Humans is a faithful remake that retains the charm of the 2005 original, while dramatically overhauling the visuals and making some improvements to the gameplay. Perhaps a bit too faithful, with missions that now feel too simple and limited to the point of just being a bit boring.