There's no denying that Dark Messiah has a certain bloody charm, with battles against numerous enemies being both challenging and rather gory. By the end though, things do become a little repetitive, and this prevents the game from being anything truly special.

You don't need to be in the company of non-gamers to enjoy Scene It? We played a rather heated game in the office that proved to be as hard fought as the console war, with as much competition as a session on Gears of War 2.

The game coaxes out hearty chuckles and swear-laden outbursts in equal quantities, but there's no denying that the resulting blend of emotions make for a memorable experience.

A thoroughly decent blast.

The frenetic fighting and over-the-top fun of Tekken 7 is great, but it's let down by light offline modes and online matchmaking that, right now, simply isn't working well enough.

The game coaxes out hearty chuckles and swear-laden outbursts in equal quantities, but there's no denying that the resulting blend of emotions make for a memorable experience.

Through simulating the good of adult life and the comfort of routine, without complicating things with the pressures of money, Animal Crossing: Happy Home designer is a relaxing, repetitive toe-dip into the working world.

When it works, it gathers up your problems and piles them together to await their death. When it goes wrong, it simply washes everything bad your way, trapping and killing you.

Despite these impressive production values, Homecoming ultimately fails to achieve greatness.

It's a great stepping stone if you're looking to really improve on your overall fighting game skills, and it's a meticulously well-made effort in its own right. Just like the dominatrixes flaunting and frolicking about on the screen, though, it's just a little too weird and demanding to fall in love with.

Dishonored is a great game that doesn't quite achieve excellence, and this collection is the best way to experience it all on consoles, but the port simply offers a crisper image and more defined textures. There's very little reason to buy this if you've already played it, but newcomers will still find a very entertaining title if they embrace the stealth mechanics.

As with the rest of the game, outside of the more focused platform sequences, I was boosted through by the breezy mood more than anything else. Skelattack is a masterpiece in the art of the pleasant.

A Plague Tale: Innocence has some clunky writing in places, and its play gets stale after a time, but it prevails with a compelling mystery and a beautiful world.

Civilization Revolution 2 brings with it a visual overhaul, new leaders and some new units, but ultimately, it’s largely the same game that suffers with the same issues of older Civ games.

Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll might be marketed as a game to play using the Wii Balance Board, but it's a much better game when played using standard Wii Remote controls.

If you approach the game with the mentality that Charged Football is going to be football in the Mario universe you'll find a game that is hard to get on with. If you accept that the emphasis is on flashy moves and fun over skill and precision, you'll find a game that has a place in your collection, even if it's only brought out every now and again.

It might be a simplified version of Hitman, but it does simple very well.

Leviathan manages to just about recapture what makes Mass Effect compelling, but by failing to develop any of the game's most central characters it struggles to find a place in a narrative that many of us will already be done with.

Shadow Warrior isn't a classic, but it's a game that exists in an area that we rarely see these days, and is great fun to mess about with.

Byking has delivered more than a fitting send-off to this series. In many ways, this is a complete My Hero Academia game experience. However, these strengths make it all the more painful when My Hero Academia All’s Justice fails to reach its full potential. Despite the simplicity of its mechanics and more conservative approach to storytelling, attention to detail and earnest love for its source material make My Hero Academia All’s Justice a competent if unremarkable conclusion to the series.

Battlefield V offers a compelling single-player and multiplayer package, although it's not the complete reinvention that you may have hoped for.

A well-produced sequel to the original that manages to repeat many of its problems. It's still fun, but it's a shame Ubisoft Romania feels little inclination to challenge its established mould – doing so could have yielded a far more interesting end product.

FIFA 23 is the best feeling football game currently on the market, the gameplay is much better this time around than it was in FIFA 22. It's just a shame the lack of attention to the single player game modes, and Pro Clubs, lets the rest of the game down.

FIFA 15 has gameplay problems, but it can also play some sublime football. However, single-player’s continued stagnation leaves a sour taste in the mouth. If goalkeepers can be addressed, EA will remain the football king.

A well-produced sequel to the original that manages to repeat many of its problems. It's still fun, but it's a shame Ubisoft Romania feels little inclination to challenge its established mould – doing so could have yielded a far more interesting end product.

With a smart learning curve - it's still throwing new ideas at you well over 30 levels in - and an absolute barrel-load of content, I could call Hitman GO the surprise of the year. I'd only be doing that for hyperbole purposes, though. It's still pretty damn good.

It offers an otherworldly break from the busyness of life, and, when you do return to Earth, you will do so with a smooth landing, and without stress.

Final Fantasy 16 is a rich, visually arresting spectacle with engrossing set pieces let down by a bloated story and stifled combat.