Should you fancy yourself as a commercial fisherman and want to prove it in the virtual world, Fishing: North Atlantic is the new game of choice. However, this is a very niche genre, the competition isn’t awfully strong, and saying that feels like faint praise.

I wanted to completely zone out and enjoy the zen-like peace that From Earth to Heaven promises. And at times it allows this, but in other moments it frustrates, with basic controls and floaty jumping at the heart of it. I think the lack of purpose is what the game is aiming for, but some will need more from their games.

Stranded Sails – Explorers of the Cursed Islands on Xbox One is probably the best pirate-themed exploration game which has some farming and crafting in it. But then again, it doesn’t exactly have much competition.

The final stages of The Expanse: A Telltale Series episode four create a real buzz for the finale, but the rest of it kills all enthusiasm.

If you’re a fan of FPS adventures and are looking for something different, RICO may not be the best way to go. Whilst the initial concept is one that has plenty of potential, a lack of interesting and meaningful content, bland design and poor gunplay make this an experience that is easily forgettable.

There’s not enough of a difference to materially change the experience that Synchro Hedgehogs offers versus the Butterfly games - it’s more of a slight tweak of the gameplay. As a result, the game has more than a strong sense of deja vu about it.

MeteoHeroes Saving Planet Earth is a copycat kids’ platformer that has more than a passing love for the PAW Patrol and PJ Masks games. When it adds anything new to that formula it only ends up diminishing the original. Sure, the ‘save the planet’ message is laudable, but we struggle to find anything else that makes MeteoHeroes Saving Planet Earth stand out.

In Beholgar we have a game with some good ideas that is marred by poor execution. The combat feels samey and yet frustrating, the jumping will have you chewing your joypad, and while Beholgar looks fine, things like platform piercing axes are the nail in the coffin.

We’re discerning adults, and we expect value for money. My Friend Peppa Pig lasts about as long as a bag of Percy Pigs, but costs about twenty times as much. And when a six-year old, far less discerning than we are, complains about how often it repeats itself, and how much it tends to take control away, then we tend to listen.

Daydreaming about the ideal Color Pals gets us nowhere. We’re stuck with the reality: a game with a great idea that failed to exploit it. Then it implemented controls that would have been dismissed as clumsy on a ZX Spectrum. Colour us disappointed.

In a world where Cake Bash exists to deliver a multiplayer treat, Beat Me on Xbox is an irrelevance. It's okay in short bursts - and I mean short - and I imagine it would be fun with a group of drunken mates sat around the place, but as we all know, 2020 hasn’t been kind in that regard. That said, this is a game that is hamstrung by its own controls and combat system, and all the clever stages in the world aren’t enough to save it.

If you’re looking for easy Gamerscore, it may be worth looking into this one. But for those looking for a great precision platformer, Explosive Candy World is just okay. There are much better options on the market.

Alice Sisters is a mediocre little platformer that can’t figure out whether it’s made for a single player or two players in co-op. In the end, it doesn’t work well for either.

0 Degrees’s two big guns, the creation and freezing of ice blocks, are loaded with blanks. By applying physics to its ice blocks, and not tightening up the ways in which you create them, it feels like you’re climbing a mountain with all the wrong tools. Somewhere in all that snow and ice, there’s a fun puzzler with precision controls. We chipped away as much as we could, but couldn’t find it. Then we went back to playing Celeste.

Persian Nights 2: The Moonlight Veil on Xbox is best described as an anticlimax. It starts well with a wonderful setting - magical lunar eclipses and techno-Persian backdrops - but then fumbles them completely, reverting back to all the usual Artifex Mundi cliches.

Heavy Duty challenge is an odd duck. It looks rough but the actual driving experience is engrossing, even if it is not exactly a laugh a minute. But then, this is meant to be a simulator, not a fun game! The lack of guidance in stages may put you off, but if driving a truck aimlessly at a heady 13mph for hours on end is your idea of fun, then Heavy Duty Challenge will feel like a dream.

Cybarian: The Time Travelling Warrior on Xbox One is let down by a limited combat system and the knock-on effect that has on enemies. The short run time also means the game never gets going and there is no element of replay value to speak of.

Liftoff: Drone Racing on Xbox is a Gordian knot of a game. Mastering even the simplest manoeuvres takes time, and that’s before you’ve mastered the improbably difficult racing. Master the racing, and you’re left with a slow, precise racer in an ugly environment.

It’s possible that we have finally found the edge, the genre fusion too far, and God of Rock is it. The basic premise of the game is misguided, and when the graphics are so incidental to the gameplay, it strikes as a bit of a mess. If you want to fight, play a fighting game - if you want a rhythm action, choose one of them. This is a mash-up too far.

Monster Jam Steel Titans is fun for a time, but you’ll feel short changed for what you get considering the premium price tag.

Presenting itself as a game to appeal to sim fans and board gamers, Dice Legacy Definitive Edition offers up an interesting prospect. The reality though is far more tedious, with frustrating gameplay elements and an incredibly slow pace throughout.

Puzzle by Nikoli W Kakuro is inelegant, and far from the quality we expect from the masters at Nikoli. We’re going to leave it for only the rainiest of rainy days.

It’s been more than 25 years since one of the first Rugrats games released in the form of Rugrats: Search for Reptar. Unfortunately, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland feels like a massive step backwards from that game.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for in life, and with Bullet Beat on Xbox One costing very little it is just a tiny amount of gaming satisfaction that you will discover in return. There is nothing wrong with it per se, except for the fact that things are over fairly swiftly; there is absolutely no reason to go back in for a second, third or twentieth attempt.

It may well be the most historically accurate frontier duelling game on Xbox One, but with that comes its own pressure. Pressure that should at least see more content available for the pistol duelling fans out there to embrace, instead of seeing a few minutes of button mashing fun before it all ends. But it doesn’t. And that’s a big problem.

Surf World Series is a major disappointment. To compare it to other extreme sports games from far bigger studios – games like SSX or the Tony Hawks series – may seem unfair, but this has fallen way too short for me to enjoy and I can’t ever look past its problems.

If Blue-Collar Astronaut allowed for a bit more in the customization stakes or just provided more diversity, then things would feel much more worthwhile. But hey, to its credit, I did get to experience an astronomical amount of debt to pay off.

My Aunt is a Witch on Xbox One and Series X|S is a treat for the eyes; never less than beautiful. But it’s a witch’s glamour, as the story underneath is stodgy, mistranslated and boring. Give an editor a hatchet and some freedom, and the brambles might clear enough to make the path to a sequel more appealing.