We need more game developers and publishers willing to gamble on made-from-scratch worlds and ideas, but The Order: 1886 feels like it might have fared better as a film, graphic novel or TV series. As a game, there’s just not enough propping up this shining suit of armour.

For those who love the Dynasty Warriors game franchise, the latest instalment may leave them feeling as hollow as the terracotta warriors of the Qin dynasty.

Clear Vision 2 almost feels unfinished. The large city map and hugely expanded stock of rifles available suggest you’re in for a much longer experience this time around, but it all ends with a weirdly shoehorned-in first-person shootout, after which the plot is tied up and credits roll.

Perhaps fearing their game would be too short, development studio The Creative Assembly have artificially stretched Alien: Isolation’s length far beyond necessity or logic. From the endless backtracking to and fro across the Sevastopol to alien-free sections that have Amanda dealing with difficult-to-kill rogue androids, the game’s pace ebbs too low too often.

As an experimental bit of game design full of intriguing puzzles that defy earthly geometry, Antichamber is a success. Yet given a choice, I’d much rather spend my time with a more conventional first-person puzzler like Portal 2, Quantum Conundrum or Q.U.B.E. Maybe Antichamber is a little too clever for its own good. Or maybe I’m just dumb.

Is it so weird that I’d rather pay $5 up front for a game based on fun, addictive core design principles than a “freemium” game that ends up feeling like an interactive advertisement for bundles of coins or gems or Smurfberries or whatever the currency of the moment is?

Seduce Me might be a way to ease us into the notion that sex in games isn’t necessarily harmful. But next time, it wouldn’t hurt if it was a little more fun, too.

I almost feel like Ryse wants to be the Xbox One’s Gears of War – a new intellectual property by a studio known for visually stunning games, and a title that can perhaps kick off a franchise. But Ryse is too shallow, too simple and too familiar to be anything more than a fleeting bit of fun.

While the more-than-the-kitchen-sink approach to customization and content provides plenty to do, it’s clear that until the entire combat system is overhauled, gamers won’t be able to create art on the canvas.

The Assassin’s Creed formula of fighting and parkour is starting to get old, even with the ability to climb trees now. Maybe it’s the repetitiveness of the series, or maybe it’s just less interesting to toss crates of tea into the harbour than to hunt and kill corrupt bishops.

Gamers who love a good challenge are bound to be satisfied with this collection of levels. Anyone else - whether they're as casual as it comes or even longtime fans of the series - may not be so enamoured with the spike in difficulty and lack of originality.

I love games that experiment with a unique visual and emotional palette. But compared to amazing PlayStation indies like Journey and The Unfinished Swan, Rain is just a passing shower that fails to soak through to the skin.

The game allows for user-created mods, and downloading new levels and tweaks might give this kid some extra legs. But I suspect most players will have a few hours of fun and then file this game away as an occasional novelty to pull out when they’re especially bored, drunk or just need to give their goat a good thrashing. That’s not a euphemism. Probably.

Like the dusty old Monopoly board buried in the back of your closet, Mario Party 10 offers familiar, predictable enjoyment, although the fun factor really boils down to who you’re playing with more than the game itself.

Fury Road was a big, expensive, risky film that paid off because of the irrepressible will and talent of its director, George Miller. In video game form, Mad Max lacks that same kind of originality and danger. It’s familiar and formulaic, competent but rarely exceptional. This Max could have used a little more madness.

Despite the solid core golf mechanics and snappy visuals, Mario Golf World Tour feels a bit scatterbrained, which is surprising given Camelot’s pedigree with Nintendo sports titles.

The Army of Two games have always been overshadowed by Call of Duty and Gears of War and the other shooter juggernauts, but they had unique co-op gameplay elements and a goofy charm that set them apart. Both of these things are mostly missing in The Devil’s Cartel, and that’s a damn shame.

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough "suck" puns in existence to properly illustrate how badly this game misses the mark.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix is full of beautifully animated worlds and nostalgic throwbacks to classic Disney movies. Unfortunately, it brings virtually nothing new or fresh to this aging series.

The characters, for instance, are equal parts annoying and forgettable, and the writing is genuinely laughable.

If you can overlook the horror of it all – something that’s surprisingly easy, given that Hatred is far more toothless than it thinks it is – there’s several hours of mindless if mechanically competent gaming here, artificially lengthened by a punishing degree of difficulty.

At its best, The Evil Within offers a few scares and decent, if bland and predictable, combat; at its worst, it’s unoriginal, uninspired and plodding.