Even though Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 on Xbox looks to seriously build on what its predecessor delivered, there are a few elements which hold it back from really providing the goods. The camera is god awful, the picky track limits system is a pain, and there are only so many times you can go flying through the air pulling off stunts before the whole thing gets boring. The open world has some serious promise, especially with the multitude of secrets that are hidden within, but a bit more shiny wax needs to be applied for this monster truck to start to gleam.

Aery - Heaven & Hell ends up in neither Heaven or Hell. It’s snugly in Limbo. Just as we thought we were going to soar up to the Pearly Gates with some high-fidelity visuals and pressure-free objectives, we come crashing back down with repeated levels, shoddy storytelling and a frustrating bug

Where Are My Friends? manages to create an original experience with the concept of designing four contrasting games and wrapping them together in a story of friendship – what little story there is. Nothing has the wow factor though, and aside from the lovely runner level, there is very little I haven’t seen before elsewhere.

For fans of the series, Killing Floor 3 is worth playing, especially with a dedicated squad. For newcomers, it offers a taste of frantic co-op mayhem, even if the flavour fades faster than it should. But for a game that arrives years after its predecessor, Killing Floor 3 lacks some much needed innovation.

A game developer would probably not want to see the word ‘workmanlike’ in a review, but it’s exactly what Cards of the Dead is. It’s a shabby-looking, functional little card game, which delivers just enough tension and survival-horror to warrant the price tag.

There’s no doubt that Gigantosaurus: Dino Sports is a well put together collection of mini-games, pushed along by a fun narrative and some additional challenges. But it’s very much let down by the asking price - we’d wait for it to drop in price by at least half before being able to fully recommend it.

If it wasn’t for the control scheme, Unlife could well have had something about it. The story and atmosphere are good, creating tension and astonishment as you explore the underground world. But whilst there are some translation problems with the text, it’s in how it controls where the biggest issues sit.

This is one middle of the road puzzler, that just so happens to be powered by the luck of the rogue-like draw.

Truth be told, Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 4 on Xbox feels like a step backwards. After the series high point of the third instalment, the enhancements on offer here are clearly designed to be an improvement over that one. However, the changes to the fundamental racing itself make this a far less accessible entry.

There is a charm to Strange Horticulture, even with the occult themes and downtempo music, but only if you can stick it out long enough.

Atomic Heist is good for a short session, and does offer some shooty thrills and spills. The repetitive nature of the game won’t be to everyone’s taste, and although the developers have tried to help with this by changing the layout of the station every day (the so called “Daily Mission”), they can’t disguise the sense of deja vu when you are flying and shooting.

Exp Parasite is easy to pick up and play, but hard to master. It’s fun while it lasts, even if it is frustrating in parts, but unfortunately it fails to ever pull any rabbits out of the hat.

Sokorobot manages to deliver a decent challenge with its Sokoban-style box-sliding puzzles and provides adequate variety in regards to the mechanics to get you over the line.

Detective From The Crypt is a reasonable game at a cheap price. The story and characters are good and, for a point-and-click adventure, it delivers a decent mix of puzzles, side quests, and detective work. However, the control system, UI, and the pace of the game does let it all down a tad, so much so that you may become frustrated.

By all means give Hirilun a crack if you’re a speedrunning fan, if you are happy to navigate the same area over and over in hope of shaving some seconds. But the highs of Mirror’s Edge this is not.

If you can find four friends, all willing to purchase Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition, who would rather not pop round to play it in person, then we encourage you to sink your fangs in. For anyone else, it’s one to avoid, or one to buy as the board game instead.

Remove the stealth from Clea on Xbox One and you have a delightful little Resident Evil puzzler, hunting for keys, navigating mazes and pushing the right switches in the right order. The story amps the mystery up, and you’ll want to know what Clea’s neglectful parents were thinking. But that wouldn’t be Halloween, would it, so we need baddies to skulk and scare. The problem is that these enemies are more like coming across umpteen traffic lights and diversions on a road you just want to get down.

With a lack of identity often causing confusion about what the game is even trying to achieve, and an utterly disappointing campaign experience, there isn’t much to go on if you want an enjoyable and in-depth story adventure.

Will you have a good time with Music Drive: Chase the Beat? Probably, is the answer, what with its short gameplay loops and old-school polygon graphics.

Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure on Xbox One takes the rotten core of a blockbreaker game and straps on a cracking story, great music, boss battles and some new approaches. But that rotten core still stinks, and you’ll get a whiff every now and again, as the infuriation and the tedium seep through. If you’re a Sacred Symbols fan, or you’ve still got love for games like Arkanoid, it may be just enough to warrant a purchase.

As a free download, if you’re a bit snooker loopy, then consider a download of Snooker Blitz. Just be aware of the microtransactions.

If you are after a game that will prove to be a great distraction between the big open world triple-A games, then NeuroBloxs is for you. It has that fun old-school arcade playability that is so easy to dive into, letting you waste ten or so minutes at a time.

STAR WARS: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is worth revisiting if you're after a trip down memory lane, however limited improvements prevent it realising its full potential.

It's not the worst game of the year because it's not broken, it all works fine and there is an interesting concept of a show here, even though we may have trodden these boards before. I found the combat sluggish and uninspiring, and some of the nightmare levels can be very generic compared to other games in these genres. But I think Past Cure is probably worth a punt as long as you can grab it in a sale and fancy trying something a bit unusual.

Axobubble is certainly no masterpiece, plagued with occasional bugs, a limited move-set, and narrow minded level design, yet its bubble gimmick can’t help but be viewed as a (much needed) stepping stone for Afil Games to learn from and expand upon in the future.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds on Xbox One brings a fast-paced arcade wrestling game to the market, which features a greatly diverse roster, a decent variety of modes and moves that pack a punch. Sadly, the bulk of the gameplay takes a while to get to grips with and even then, it becomes monotonous after a short length of time. The limited access to the roster doesn’t help in that sense, nor does the utterly bland narrative.

If you’ve a Sokoban itch that needs a scratch, Sokomage will be able to provide it. A cheap enough purchase with a level structure to suit, this is a fairly decent example of a box-pushing genre that has been done to death.

Judging a book by its cover goes both ways: what looks attractive can actually be a dirge, repetitive and depressing in its storytelling, and with caps on the fun you can experience from its combat. Roughly a couple of hours too long, I ended up hoping that the final page of this tale would come earlier, not later.