While many PSVR experiences claim to let you inhabit another world, Robinson: The Journey fully embraces the medium and in doing so comes the closest to actually delivering on that promise. It’s not without its flaws, but still manages to deliver an ambitious, narrative-led experience that offers the kind of immersive escapism the medium was made for. It may be overpriced and not much of a looker, but Crytek’s latest still sits comfortably as one of the most essential PSVR titles to date.

Biomutant is a charming open-world RPG that is blatantly aimed at children, with a low difficulty level and overly cutesy tone that will likely put off older gamers. Combat is fun with a large range of craftable weapons and mutant powers at your disposal, but boring puzzles and a barebones story means there isn’t much else here to keep you captivated.

Little Town Hero is a solid RPG with several unique, ambitious new systems that light up different parts of the brain than you may be used to. However, it also feels like it’s still in the prototype phase. The battle system is fun to figure out, but ultimately combat is so drawn out and confusing that it becomes exhausting. Unfortunately, it’s not as snappy and enjoyable in quick bursts as Pokemon, which may be the thing that doom’s Little Town Hero’s clear potential as a brain-teasing game to play on your commute.

Underground is most valuable to those who are already the most devoted Division fans, although if you’re willing to put in some hours, there’s nothing to stop you joining their number.

Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Switch doesn't feel suited to Nintendo's latest portable, with the awkward use of the stylus and flimsy handwriting recognition sapping the joy from sharpening your smarts. There's still plenty of fun to be hand with the brain-teasing puzzles, but limited content ensures this is a far cry from the Nintendo DS original.

If you’re looking for a challenging, retro-style FPS that takes no prisoners, STRAFE has you covered. It has the replayability and difficulty of a perma-death roguelike wrapped in the style and attitude of a classic nineties shooter. Yet where Wolfenstein: The Old Blood and Doom 2016 revived old-school action in a way anyone could enjoy, STRAFE is a hardcore experience, through and through.

While it’s reminiscent of Journey, The Wind Waker and Ico, RiME is so much more than a grab-bag of borrowed ideas. Combining art, craftsmanship, enigmatic storytelling and engaging gameplay, it does what the likes of Bound and ABZU couldn’t: wrap a powerful experience inside a compelling game. I’m still working out whether RiME is a masterpiece and, if so, where it sits in the pantheon of greats – but one thing’s for sure: if you love the games it’s inspired by, you’re going to love RiME as well.

Ridiculous performance problems that I experienced only help compound a package that is enjoyable yet ultimately underwhelming.

Fallout 76 has improved with the introduction of Wastelanders. The region of West Virginia now feels more alive with an increased populace, deeper quests and a greater focus on your place in its living, breathing world. But many of its problems remain, and haven’t been improved with such a major expansion. Far few players occupy each session, making multiplayer feel like a lazy afterthought instead of something that defines the experience.

InnerSpace can’t quite reach the heights of a RiME or Journey, but it’s a meatier and more compelling game than ABZU or Oure. There’s something genuinely chilled-out about its alien vistas and lazy exploration. It’s no thrill ride, but a thoughtful, mysterious adventure with moments of real wonder. If you’re in the mood for something different, give it a go.

ReCore has a lot of great things going for it. Joule is a likable protagonist and her robotic companions are outright adorable. The platforming exploration is an absolute blast. However, it's all dragged down by a combat system that ruins the game. The end result often frustrates as much as it excites.

On the one hand, it’s lost the look and feel of the original classic, so if you’re looking for a slice of RPG history, look elsewhere. On the other, the core, combat-heavy gameplay doesn’t really work for a modern audience; the fighting’s either aggravating or plain dull. Put it all together an you have a retro RPG that’s fun in places, but that wears away at your enthusiasm over the long haul.

There’s certainly a few hours of cheesy fun on offer here, and the inclusion of online co-op and a horde mode certainly help. But despite the decent amount of content for £30, it’s hard not to feel like your hard-earned cash would just be better spent on a traditional PS4 game.

Is this the season’s must-have horror game? Nope, but there’s a lot here that fans of Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu will appreciate. Sure, there’s still a sense that the truly great Lovecraft adaptation has yet to push back the door of dread R’lyeh and rise to the surface, but until it does – or a sequel brings improvements – this will more than do.

If the sports were improved and more fleshed out then I’d have been recommending this title for sure, because of its setting in Kawawii Island. In its current state, however, I’d wait for a price cut.

Compared to open-world rivals such as GTA, Assassin’s Creed or The Witcher, there’s simply far too little to do in this world – and what little you’re asked to do, you’re asked to do so much it becomes bland and uninteresting.

At £10-£20, Super Bomberman R would be the kind of fun, flexible party game that the Switch could do with so close to launch, but at the current price, it simply doesn't offer enough to justify the outlay.

This isn’t the smartest, most exciting or most imaginative 2D platformer you’ll find on the 3DS. In fact, Sega seems hell-bent on hobbling its chances with a selection of tedious or frustrating mini-games...Yet, overall, Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice isn't bad, dishing out the kind of rollercoaster looping, spring-heeled madness that first made us love the little fella. It’s a high-speed sprint in the right direction; it's just a shame about the missteps on the way.

As a collection it’s hard to fault the amount of content you get in Mario Sports Superstars. However, all five sports are lacking in key areas. Accept these for what they are and you'll find it easy to pump numerous hours into this package, but go in with hopes of this 3DS title rekindling the glory days of Mario sports titles and, sadly, you’ll be disappointed.

We Happy Few is a game filled with fantastic moments and wonderful stories, but they’re weighed down by token survival mechanics and tedious scavenging, an unfortunate hangover from the game’s survival origins. Despite this, there is so much to love about We Happy Few, and if you can forgive its missteps, you’ll find some powerful storytelling.

While it feels like Adventure Time, the adventure isn’t one that many will want to go on.

I can understand Volition wanting to reboot the Saints Row series given the original launched all the way back in 2006. But the latest entry feels like a backwards step for the developer, with this release misses out on the over-the-top satirical humour that made the series so beloved. As a result, Saints Row now feels like a mediocre open-world action game, becoming just like all of the games at which the series used to poke fun. Mission objectives are bland and repetitive, while the story is boring and lacks cohesion. Worst of all, the slapstick jokes rarely land and are arguably more cringeworthy than they are funny. You can still have fun if you simply want mindless chaotic action, but I’d argue you’d have a better time with the likes of CyberPunk 2077 or even Saints Row The Third Remastered.

This game shares a lot of DNA with the Dragonball Xenoverse titles but manages to falter at almost every aspect, with flaws in the mission structure, the combat, the way you attain loot and in the way that you develop your character.

Got a household of bored kids on a rainy weekend? World of Warriors has just enough charm and interest to keep them busy for a day or two. Yet while it has depth and a few good ideas, it’s not compelling enough or varied enough to hold their interest for any longer. It has a whole bunch of warriors, but not the heart or soul of a great fighting game.

Raging Justice is ridiculous fun which is, at its heart, just an updated version of Streets Of Rage. It’s dumb, entertaining and well made, even if it can be horrifically hard.

Warmind represents Bungie finally getting its PvP house in order after a rocky start, but this success comes at the cost of an underwhelming PvE offering. The campaign is a one-note run through a handful of missions that boil down to run here, kill dudes then throw a magic space javelin at more dudes for the big finale. The Escalation mode and Raid-Lair are nice little additions, but Warmind really does offer staggeringly little for its price tag.

I love PaRappa and his ‘I gotta believe’ attitude, but this early rhythm action game no longer holds up. That’s no slur on its charming visuals, great music and superb animation, all of which look great in this HD update, but the gameplay just doesn’t really work. Enjoy PaRappa in your memories or on YouTube if you must, but this remaster will leave you thinking bad of the rapping pup and, really, who wants that?

When you’re racing, drifting, off-roading or being chased, Payback feels like a fine arcade racer in the classic Need for Speed mould. It doesn’t have the glamour or the handling of Forza: Horizon, but it’s scores big on variety, speed and thrills. Unfortunately, those simple pleasures keep getting spoilt by the amount of grinding and driving around that goes on in-between. Need for Speed was never the most-respected racing series, but it used to be one of the most fun. Payback has too much getting in the way.

I want to say these games are still great. Experience them yourself for the first time, or take Dante and his demon-slaughtering exploits out for another spin. But the HD remastering is so basic, and the rough edges so rough, that I can’t quite bring myself to recommend this new collection.

Payday 2 continues to maintain a very dedicated audience, but even fans of the game are unlikely to enjoy what’s being put forward for Nintendo Switch. Stripped-back visuals, poor performance and a lack of adaptation to the console results in a shoddy port at best...It’s ironic that a game about heists is trying to jump on a bandwagon and rob you of your hard-earned cash.

I can’t help but feel that a bigger, better and arguably more ambitious vision of Crackdown 3 existed before this incarnation – one that would have made use of the cloud technology Microsoft so proudly boasted about only a few years ago. Now it feels like a pipedream, as we’re left with a serviceable yet forgettable world to explore.

It’s fun for a bit but quickly runs out of steam. The more casual fan, looking for something to have a laugh with their mates with and little else is almost certainly going to be better served by hanging on for Nintendo’s new Smash Bros game because there’s simply not enough interesting content outside of unlocking clothing accessories.

Metal Gear Survive is a brave move for Konami and a decent survival game – it’s just not particularly fun. If you like the more abrasive side of the medium, give it a go. Everyone else should probably stay away.

Godfall currently feels very familiar: it unashamedly borrows the loot system that made Destiny and Borderlands great, attempting to mix it with hardcore Souls-like melee combat. In the first few hours, this makes the game feel a little dull. But the core mechanics feel well built and could act as a stable base for the game’s more interesting character building and co-op dynamics, of which I’ve currently only scratched the surface. [Review in Progress]

Obviously, Surgeon Simulator isn’t meant to be taken seriously, and as long as you can keep that in the forefront of your mind, there’s some fun to be had here. I should imagine it would make for some great streaming material and a few comical sessions with friends. Beyond that, however, the game is light on content and the added Switch features don’t add anything worth the price of entry.

Rogue Trooper Redux is an impressive remaster of a shooter that doesn’t quite hold up when compared to its modern competition. That being said, it’s still a fun, atmospheric and wonderfully charming outing with a few neat tricks up its sleeve.

It’s immersive, absorbing and sometimes very creepy and effective, but it also feels like only half the game it could have been. With more real interaction and more for the player to see and do, we might have had a new highlight in the PSVR line-up. As it is, it’s another intriguing but short-lived experience, which hints at a richer, more ambitious tale of terror than the one it ultimately delivers.

It feels like PlayStation VR Worlds has two very good games buried within it that have been stripped back to demos. Rather than being amazing, indulgent main courses, they’re bite-sized chunks thrown into a pick-and-mix. Each experience is fun, yet far too fleeting and lacking in replay value.

Anthem is a strange flawed adventure with glimpses of greatness buried behind an abundance of obtuse design decisions. What so many players love about Bioware is here, but fragmented in such a way that it becomes unrecognisable...The core of Anthem – being its fearsome gunplay and angelic flight mechanics – are stellar, yet they’re held back by the mission structure that dictates them. Things could certainly improve with the introduction of deeper dungeons and endgame content, but right now Anthem is sadly underwhelming; a victim to the template it’s trying so hard to emulate.

It’s never that V-Rally 4 is actively bad, but the 16-year wait since V-Rally 3 is no way near worth it.

1-2-Switch packs in an impressive amount of content, and is legitimately one of the best party games you'll come across. If it'd been included with the console, it would doubtlessly win over a lot of people. I'm just not sure anything here is compelling enough to entice people to pay an extra £40 for it – especially when Zelda is going to be sat right next to it on shelves.

This is the Police 2 is a great strategy game where things are always trying to get out of hand. Dealing with the minutia of an officer calling in sick, while also chasing down bad guys feels as chaotic and hard to balance as it should do, but never unimportant. The story feels too separate to the game’s mechanics, which is a shame because it is compelling and well presented.

Like Sonic? Play Sonic Mania. Played Sonic Mania? Play it some more. While Sonic Forces looks fantastic, it’s one of the least engaging games in the entire series...True, it doesn’t have the broken controls or half-witted camera of the worst examples, but there’s very little here to actually play, enjoy or discover – bar a cool custom character designer and a whole bunch of costumes to unlock.

Talk about a squandered opportunity. There’s nothing much wrong with the graphics or the rough-and-tumble arcade racing, but the new Micro Machines hasn’t got the single-player mode to pull players in or the multiplayer content required to keep them there. There’s a sorry sense of ‘will this do?’ about World Series. While the nostalgia factor is high, the rest is a letdown.

Featuring reworked combat and open-world story mechanics, Dynasty Warriors 9 is a definite step in the right direction. But even without the technical issues around its framerate, Dynasty Warriors 9 feels like a fundamentally compromised game that lacks depth.

There’s space out there for more games in the Left 4 Dead mould, and Earthfall tries its best with limited assets and a limited budget. Sadly, it lacks the things that could have made up for both: imagination, invention, thrilling pacing, suspense and brilliant level design. Even without the current – and frankly unforgivable – matchmaking problems, it’s a game that struggles to match the ten-year-old classic it’s cloning, let alone surpass it.

Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics is, honestly, a bit of a disappointment. It’s a perfectly competent tactics game, and there is a solid 10 hours of narrative here for you to explore. However, it’s mostly upsetting because of the flecks of brilliance that don’t quite fit together, and the good ideas that aren’t explored enough.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is a transcendent pile of garbage. It's both strikingly ambitious and laughably incompetent in every regard, which is somewhat fitting given the iconic status of its predecessor. But all the campy brilliance aside, it's difficult to overlook its monolithic performance problems and decrepit approach to game design.

Train Sim World can be as unexpectedly compelling as it is powerfully soothing. It’s just a shame it lacks some of the polish to make the eccentric gem it is something truly brilliant. Nevertheless, it let us throw about the word ‘pantograph’ with haughty delight.

At its best, Predator: Hunting Grounds is a tense asymmetrical shooter that forces you to pay attention to your surroundings in a dense, jungle environment. At its worst, it’s a mess of waiting, loading and gunning down shoddy AI-villains in forgettable missions.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint may have solid shooting and co-op play foundations, but it can't make up for the aggressive microstransactions, infuriating technical issues and mission structures so repetitive they soon become tedious to complete. After attempting to cherry pick popular features from other games, Breakpoint ends up feeling like a chaotic yet bland mess that really isn't worthy of your time.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 offers some of the most satisfying sniping you can imagine, but everything outside of that just feels too drab and lacklustre to truly make it standout.

Space Hulk: Deathwing – Enhanced Edition is an improvement on the original version, but still nothing more than a semi-decent co-op shooter chained to a ditchwater dull campaign.

The Tomorrow Children is weird, wonderful and oddly hollow, lacking neither the addictive hooks to keep you playing, nor the sense of community to bond you to your town. It’s worth a look for its unique visuals and strange, slightly sinister atmosphere, but don’t be surprised if your interest wanes after the first few hours.

It isn't clear why this real-time game was created at all, when the world would be far happier with another BLiTZ system title. It makes it tough to recommend, even for a Chronicles aficionado, because the other things that went into making the earlier game so enjoyable – a jaunty alternative history/fantasy plot populated by an interesting bunch of characters – feel half-baked here. Everything, from gameplay to graphics to the storyline, is worse.

It’s often beautiful, graceful and intriguing, with more in the way of gameplay than ABZU or Bound, but it struggles to deliver moments that resonate with wonder, while the demands sometimes go beyond what the controls and camera can handle. It’s hard enough to make a game with the artistry of Rime or Journey, but Oure hasn’t got the polish, heart or soul.

It’s by no means a classic, but it’s a decent foundation for what could be a compelling sci-fi tale.

The game has a gooey smooth outer coating that contains a rough, unpleasant centre. Unfortunately, Black Clover Quartet Knights is much like Asta himself; completely lacking in magic.

Has-Been Heroes is an interesting attempt at a new kind of puzzle/strategy/brawler hybrid, but it’s never as much fun to play as it looks like it should be. It’s a game that has good ideas and strong visual design in its favour, but it never manages to balance the high difficulty level with rewards that make the hardship worth your while.

Dakar 18 is a curious creature. It absolutely delivers something truly distinct in the wider racing genre, and though the core gameplay isn’t immediately accessible, it can be greatly rewarding to those that take a chance on tackling it properly.

The gameplay needs more polish, better balancing and more finesse and the same goes for the presentation. If or when it gets that it could be a contender, particularly if you love the franchise, but until that happens you might want to stick to something else.

Some will relish the gruesome spectacle and challenge, but Execution manages to transform giant-slaying into something of a chore.

Playing with buddies looting collapsed shopping centres and derelict towns is a blast and the robust crafting and character development mechanics are excellent. However, quests’ repetitive nature and a lack of human players filling the vast world can make Fallout 76 feel a little sterile and hamper its long-term appeal, especially if you don’t have friends to accompany you on your journey through the wasteland. This makes Fallout 76 a good, not great, entry into the iconic franchise.

Fishing Sim World welcomes those who want to take its subject matter seriously, and throws its arms open to players who don’t mind life slowing down. But if you’re here for unbridled fun and explosive action? This probably isn’t even the right genre for you.

Ultimately, Immortal: Unchained serves to highlight one thing above all else. Every frustrating aspect of the Dark Souls experience is tolerated and even praised by its fans because the underlying combat system is so fantastically well-realised...Strip that away and all you’re left with is a mediocre exercise in frustration. Immortal: Unchained has thrown guns into the mix, but no consideration has been given to how their addition might affect the classic Souls formula. Dark Souls but with bad combat is a tough sell.

There are good ideas at work in Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, but it’s a shame that one of the most intense and shocking indie movies ever made has spawned a game that’s neither. At its best, it’s a tight, engaging twin-stick shooter with an element of strategy and a cool rewind mechanic, but it never manages to be anything more than that.

Got an Aim controller? You might want to look at Bravo Team. It’s a horribly flawed but fun lightgun blaster with some cool co-op cover shooter twists.

More slot machine than it is video game. If you have oodles of cash you want to throw away then give it a look; otherwise, steer well clear.

Pretty average all things considered but given what we received over two decades ago, that has to be considered somewhat of a success...Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn takes the beat ‘em up format and runs with it in the same way any game has over the last 30 or so years. It has moments where it’s relatively fun, but you’ll need to be a hardened fan to get the most out of it.

A shame, then, as Agony is a bold and deliberately non-conventional release from a studio that clearly has a vision. However, no matter the content, when the game is both boring and broken, it immediately overshadows any positives.

Death Star makes Star Wars: Battlefront a more complete offering, but that game mode system needs to be fixed.

The result is hugely satisfying, and a compelling reason to get back into the game. If you’re going to get one expansion pack for Star Wars Battlefront, make it this one.

Stardew Valley is the best of its kind, surpassing the classic titles it shamelessly imitates to create one of the most delightful games of the past decade.

There are first attempts from studios with more years behind them, more people involved, far more hype and even greater promises – and even then they’ve fallen flat. Alter Army is imperfect yet assured, unfair yet legitimately challenging, and absolutely worth a few pounds from your wallet and a few hours of your time.

Door Kickers Action Squad is a great game, but outside of its generous helping of levels, it’s a little light on content. For the price, this is one of the better co-op titles I’ve played, and it offers a unique experience you’re not getting anywhere else. A surprising treat.

Dead by Daylight’s a little too repetitive to be your next online gaming feast, but it’s one hell of a palette cleanser.

With it’s high-octane pace, RGX Showdown is an incredibly promising blueprint for a low-priced arcade racer, but with the untimely demise of its publisher, Telltale, it’s hard to tell if the developers, Shortround Games will be able to make a sequel or expand on the premise of the game.

Whether you already own Lethal League or not, you should buy this sequel as fast as you can.

Journey to Batuu is an enjoyable game pack for The Sims 4 and a worthwhile glimpse into the Star Wars universe, but it sadly lacks ambition when it comes to doing something new with the property. At times, it feels like a glorified tourist attraction, and the lukewarm narrative doesn’t pull you in enough to feel worthwhile. But for hardcore fans, this is possibly a journey worth taking for the price.