Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is like a finely aged bottle of wine opened at just the right time for just the right celebration. It's exactly what I wanted and needed right now, and the shamelessly simple yet satisfying old-school combat and adventures had me hooked instantly.

Snow Bros. Wonderland is a delightful wintry adventure, with bags of old-school charm that will spark joy in your arcade-going inner child.

I really wanted Alien: Rogue Incursion to be good and it starts so well, but then things just fall apart. There are many bad design decisions in the game so that you feel like you are fighting them rather than the Xenomorphs.

The Thaumaturge is an interesting and dark game in a relatively unique setting, 1906 Warsaw during a revolution combined with monsters is a fascinating setting. Whilst it occasionally fumbles how it delivers some details and you spend a lot of time running around, the strength of the setting and the writing makes these easy to forgive, not to mention the presence of the man who I have heard on good authority was Russia's greatest love machine.

TankHead is, overall, an enjoyable and interesting take on tank gameplay and on roguelike ideas. It looks fantastic, the story is compelling, and the world it's set in is very cool. I like it, but I don't love it. A bit more variety would have been nice, but in the end, it's going to be exactly what some players are looking for, and that's gonna be great for them.

With more development time, copious patches, and some decent tutorials, the good game hidden deep inside Flint: Treasure of Oblivion could be dug up and unearthed. But for now, that treasure remains hidden, with only a map inscribed on the back of a wooden peg leg to try and find it.

Although I genuinely applaud its attempts to try something new, Farmagia doesn't quite stick the landing for me. In fact, beyond the initial novelty of the mechanics, both the farming and the combat components end up feeling intensely repetitive with little to keep interest outside of further monotony. Once you add to these points uninspired visual design choices and predictable story elements, the game becomes very difficult to recommend to anyone but die-hard farming sim fans. Even then, it isn’t bringing any fresh produce to the table.

Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice is the kind of stealth game that makes me reconsider my opinions on stealth games. Finely crafted and gloriously conceived, if you’ve missed out on Shadow Tactics before, don’t let Aiko’s Choice sneak on by... but you should play or replay the original first.

Among Ashes is a great addition to this already stellar year of indie horror. It doesn’t quite reach the highs of titles like Hollowbody, but is an enjoyable dose of horror nostalgia that pulls together a range of approaches to create an identity that feels fresh and unique.

Soul Reaver and its sequel benefit from modern controls and minor visual upgrades yet there are niggling issues these remasters fail to address. Sparsely placed checkpoints and the lack of a quick save feature do little to help accommodate the sensibilities of modern gamers and will no doubt lead to prospective new fans and nostalgia seekers to bounce off pretty hard, especially if they encounter the same crashes we ran into.

I was so excited by the prospect of Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, it looked like a vivid nostalgia infused dream-game for 9-year-old me. Don’t be fooled though, this is not the game your inner child has been looking for. Repetitive and lacking in imagination and finesse, Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind should be rewound and begun again.

I really enjoyed my time with Nikoderiko: The Magical World. It's a blast in singleplayer, and after a good few evenings playing in coop with my kids I and can absolutely recommend it as a local multiplayer experience too. If you're a platforming fan, then this is one you won't want to miss.

3D Don’t Die Mr Robot brings the classic arcade-style high score chase to a new dimension. It's simple to understand and accessible to all ages, but the challenges will be tough for even the most seasoned of arcade game fans.

Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island offers a heartfelt and companionable experience that puts the focus on friendship, memory and community. It’s a charming adventure, and a perfect island-based break from the cold winter and its charmless blockbusters.

The most disappointing thing with Infinity Nikki? That all of my review period progress will be reset. This is a genuinely enthralling free-to-play RPG that will delight those looking for a magical fantasy world to be swept up in.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle forges its own, distinctive path as an archeological adventure, excellently capturing the feel of the films with its visuals and performances. There's a fun new story here as well, wrapped around its blend of exploration, puzzles and pugilism.

I really like Fitness Boxing 3 as a training tool. I've been incorporating it into my workout routine getting my cardio in the morning with Fitness Boxing 3, and then doing my weights at lunchtime for a more complete experience. If you're looking for a fun way to start moving, then this could well be it.

Loco Motive is a very well performed and funny point and click adventure with a memorable cast of characters. The majority of puzzles are structured well, though there are some that are very out there, and sometimes characters can get ahead of themselves before the story has caught up with them, but this is easy to recommend.

30 Birds is a very good narrative puzzler that is elevated by the lantern levels and Persian inspired design. Across its eight hours to complete, 30 Birds provides a number of engaging puzzles and a good story that contains a decent amount of humour.

Threshold is a game that deserves to find an audience that will truly appreciate its provocative and philosophical approach and represents another excellent title in Critical Reflex’s library. The opening credits claim that it is a true story and this detail in particular has lead me to speculate on possible metaphorical interpretations ranging from the highly personal to the global political. It is rare for a game to make you think quite this much and that is meant as high praise.

Towers of Aghasba is an approachable gateway into the genre that doesn’t hold back on features while introducing some quirks of its own. Its mystical setting is also deeply alluring, inviting you to unearth ancient secrets while restoring life to Aghasba’s derelict landscape. [Early Access Review]

G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra is a total and complete waste of a classic license. Avoid the unrelenting pull of the nostalgia tractor beam and give this one a miss.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an immersive experience like no other. It's a tense shooter, a gripping survival experience, an immersive explorable sandbox, and a stunning piece of art come to life despite the harrowing circumstances of the team behind it all.

Frontier’s park-building sequel is a vibe, it is a mood, and it is sunshine wrapped in a very bright bow. Minor control frustrations aside, it's the best theme park builder out there, with impressively deep customisation, beautifully detailed visuals and the ability to make hours of your life melt away.

With its immersive setting, streamlined gameplay, and bustling endgame (not to mention the one-time buy-in) New World Aeternum is a great MMO for newcomers and genre enthusiasts alike. Whether you want to engage in the persistent Faction War or play it like a singleplayer action RPG, there’s a huge amount of freedom while the core game itself has been enriched through months of updates and fully optimised for consoles.

Max Mustard is easy to recommend for a 5-7 hours of cutesy VR platforming fun. It's lacking a little originality though, wearing its many platforming influences proudly, so whilst it's fun and has some great moments, they fail to elevate it to the status of the games that have inspired it.

With its distinctive new style, challenging combat and well-designed puzzles, Sorry, We're Closed is a game I would highly recommend it to any survival horror fan.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a wonderful new version of perhaps the single most influential JRPG. It isn't a top-to-bottom remake or a surprising meta-retelling – it's classic Dragon Quest, brighter and better than ever.