For the right person I am sure Discounty would be a satisfying package as is, but it falls short in a lot of areas that otherwise have great potential.

What you get from Townscaper depends on what you’re willing to put into it. It’s a city-creation tool with a few surprises up it’s sleeve, but nothing beyond that. It’s gorgeous, simple and adapts to anything you can throw at it. If you find creative games aimless, though, this is perhaps the worst of them.

No qualms about it: we are glad we played Paratopic. And while we might apologise in advance for recommending this horrifying little distraction, you should play it too.

I honestly have no idea who will buy Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor. And if those people do buy it, I have no idea whether they are the ones who will enjoy it. But I can say, from an aging Thomas fan’s perspective, at least I was happy. This is a slightly distilled Train Sim World, redone for the world of Sodor, and - some usability issues aside - it reaches its destination with a degree of style.

Ario is undeniably slapdash - an action platformer that has the structural integrity of a five-year old’s papier-mâché. But the designers are so eager to show you the next gameplay section, the next area, that you can’t help but be led by them. We’d hesitate to call Ario good, but it’s capable of being fun.

Battlefield 2042 is far from perfect, but it isn’t bad. It’s fun to fight and it’s great to be able to drive vehicles across huge maps. Hell, it’s even enjoyable to crash a jet into some unsuspecting soldier on the ground. There are bugs, but patches are planned so hope should be held. In the meantime, Battlefield Portal is almost worth the price of admission itself.

For as good as the lore and worldbuilding in Phoenix Point is, the generic – and sometimes tedious – gameplay doesn’t back this up properly. Clearly, a lot of time and effort has gone into creating this world, but the turn-based gameplay could have been ripped from a number of existing titles.

Mushroom Wars 2 is a pretty good single player RTS, however if you want to make the most of the multiplayer side of things, you’ll be wanting to drag some friends along for the ride.

Homebody may well take you by surprise. The writing and narrative are great, with some brilliant character creation dealing with a range of very real problems. The structure is interesting as well, even though at times you will feel at a bit of a loss for what to do.

Real Heroes: Firefighter HD will not appeal to everyone, but it’s unique and actually quite bold in its vision, managing to make a highly engaging and enjoyable game out of a concept that could have been a complete dud.

Onirike is a unique action platforming adventure with a great premise and a weirdly wonderful narrative. The platforming is not always the best and having to plant flowers in order to find progress is initially tricky to get to grips with, but the puzzles are inventive and the design of the world is superb.

There are upwards of twenty hours of game time in Punch Club 2: Fast Forward, depending on how eager you are to rise through the fighting ranks. Just don’t expect to be pressing buttons all that often.

Tannenberg is an interesting creation. It aims to provide a somewhat realistic depiction of WW1 with authentic equipment and well-thought out maps, but this is hindered by the sheer scope of it. It can be genuinely rather impressive at times but is held back by the indie nature of it all. Its ambition is both admirable and detrimental to the central experience.

There is no doubt that this newly rebooted Speedball is a respectful take that manages to capture the feel of the original, without ever trying to reinvent it. The league structure adds longevity, arena variety keeps things fresh, and the management elements provide just enough depth. If only the online multiplayer was well populated…

There is a reason why Istanbul is so celebrated. Once you’ve learned the value of each of its locations – and the tutorial won’t help you with that information – then things click, and you will feel eventually pull off some sensational plays.

Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet on Xbox One is mostly delightful, occasionally shocking and a little underwhelming. It follows the stereotypes of visual novels a little too closely but I have enjoyed my time with it. Its characters are charming and develop nicely over the admittedly fairly short playtime.

I've never played a game like Later Daters, and the whole concept of an elderly dating sim is something I wouldn't have thought anyone would be thinking about creating or playing. But the development team have managed to make something that isn't a dating sim, but a narrative adventure that focuses on being old; ridding the stereotypes that affect it. The game isn't afraid to deal with some hard subjects - and some taboo ones - and it’ll certainly make you open your eyes and think about matters a little more.

Yu Suzuki hasn’t lost his touch. Air Twister is clearly Space Harrier, but with a very modern taste for spectacle. For one or two playthroughs it’s a shoot ’em up Fantasia, just as much a treat for the ears as the eyes. The thing is, Air Twister wants to be more than that. It wants to be your go-to shooter for much longer, with more modes and skill trees than it could possibly need.

If you’ve got nostalgia for the gruesome scamps, then Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is massively rewarding. It packs in all the characters you could possibly recognise, stuffs them in a surprisingly deep little platformer, and then presents it with affection.

Dagger Froggy is no Vampire Survivors, let’s get that clear right now, but it does have a certain charm. The gameplay loop, while simple, has a nice hook to it; enough to keep you coming back.

Paw Paw Paw on Xbox is a pretty decent beat ‘em up that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is reasonably priced for the fair few hours it will take to get through. There will be retries and replayability as you come up against some darn tough enemies, but the short levels help alleviate stress.

Quantum Replica tries to keep things fresh even though it borrows from those which inspired it. Despite some rough edges, what results is a surprisingly comprehensive adventure.

You’ll enjoy the story and exploration side of Post Trauma, perhaps more than the combat sections and latter puzzles.

Mecha: Bravely Edition is a lot of fun. The multiplayer side of things is a bit throwaway, and instead the story mode should be seen as the main draw. The movement and fighting is good, the development of your mecha is decent, and apart from weird niggles, this a solid entry into the side scrolling genre.

Witch Rise doesn’t do anything drastically wrong, but it doesn’t do anything particularly exciting either. It’s a solid little game which will keep you busy for a couple of hours if you’ve a few quid to spend. Basically put, Witch Rise is a short and sweet adventure which has its charm, despite being incredibly easy to play.

There are many brick breakers out there, but few have the unique feature set that has been applied to Shatter Remastered Deluxe. The whole ball manoeuvring works really well, especially on the square playfields - we don't like it quite so much on the circular arenas - and the inclusion of a good few game modes help extend playtime.

Kitaria Fables is certainly not for everyone, but neither are donuts. Its visuals are mostly great, the music is a delight, and the story is charming. Sure the combat and quests are a grind, but if you enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes from completing lengthy tasks and you don’t have a gluten allergy, grab yourself a donut and give Kitaria Fables a try.

If you fancy yourself as a space hunter, with a harpoon in one hand and the controls of a spaceship in another, then this is the game for you.