Zanki Zero drops the investigations for average survival RPG gameplay and explores themes of life, death, and rebirth with a sadistic story that goes places that Danganronpa wouldn't dare explore.

Sword of Legends Online has so much to offer, but it's sadly gated off by utterly terribly localisation in the text, the cutscenes, voice acting and - worst of all - the UI. If you can get around this and the horribly slow and tedious levelling process, there are a wealth of features to dig into, some that give this one of the better endgames in any MMO, particularly a non-subscription and non-P2W title. With excellent combat, only enhanced as the game progresses, and features like player housing, pets, extra narrative elements like character biographies (somewhat more understandable than the core story) and more, it's worth the grind, even though the grind is atrocious. On balance, for MMO fans who are used to, and can put up with this sort of nonsense.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet largely deliver the open-world RPG experience fans barely dared dream of for decades, with a huge, lively map and a surprisingly-engaging trio of stories nicely complementing the franchise’s rock-solid core mechanics. Yes, the game has more than its share of technical issues, but its shortcomings are largely cosmetic and the folks most excited to play probably aren’t going to be that bothered about its pixel count or performance. This Pokémon may be humble-looking, but it brings the fight where it counts.

Dragon Ball Fusions isn't bad by any measure, but I'd struggle to call it exciting. The fact is, only big Dragon Ball fans are going to keep returning to Dragon Ball Fusions, casual fans need not apply.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora pulls you in with its dazzling world, then pushes you away its frustrating combat. After a play session I 80 percent enjoyed, I’d leave with a sour taste in my mouth after repeatedly banging my head against some maddening RDA outpost. If you can handle this push and pull, there is plenty to enjoy here. Frontier of Pandora’s main campaign will take you around 20 hours, more if you’re easily distracted, and 100 percenting the game is at least a 40-hour effort. Whether you’ll actually want to explore until your face is blue is up to you.

Where Winds Meet delivers an exceptional open-world experience, successfully blending an engaging story, meaningful activities, a solid combat system paired with competent character progression, a wealth of multiplayer options, and one of the most lively cities in the genre. Though some of its features and mechanics suffer from the constraints of the free-to-play model, the good undeniably outweighs the bad, making it a rare title that can captivate even players who typically avoid similar open-world games, easily providing hundreds of hours of content even in its launch state.

I found myself wishing that something would appear to redeem Mordheim: City of the Damned, but as it began to feel like every action in the game was taking a few agonizing seconds too long, I realised that I’d lost hope in much the same way as the residents of the eponymous city. Mordheim isn’t a dangerous place, it’s just a bit dull.

Albion Online is a fun sandbox MMORPG with a clever progression mechanic and deep player-economy. The mid to late game grind and hardcore nature might turn away anyone looking for a more casual experience.

Layton's Mystery Journey is a lot of fun, and Katrielle is just a better character than her father is, but this journey is a lot more predictable and less memorable than the Professor's best.

A disservice to the original Soul Hackers mythology, Ringo and Figue's adventure to avert the end of the world feels all too predictable and lacks the risk-taking of other Shin Megami Tensei titles.

Harold Halibut is an extraordinary accomplishment in a lot of ways, presenting a gorgeously-realized handcrafted world and a story swimming with unique sci-fi ideas and affecting emotional beats. Unfortunately, a lack of stimulating puzzles or gameplay results in a title that delivers quite nicely on a surface movie-like level, but doesn't dive as deep as you might expect.

Somerville is a fantastic game, offering everything you could want from the impressive set-up. The relationship between the characters is well defined and surprisingly touching given the lack of dialogue, which may not have been achieved so well since Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The puzzles are intricate, challenging, and rewarding, and everything else stacks up to make the experience even more intriguing. While it is not perfect, it delivers an amazing atmosphere that feels perfect for these darkening days and tells a brilliant story with little more than some lights and shadows.

Beautiful, compelling and strange. There isn't a reason not to try Bound, and although its heavy emotional focus might not be for everyone, its well implemented movement and speed mechanics will surely be enough to keep even the most stone-hearted player entertained.

Astroneer is a nice and relaxing survival game that does away with some the typical mechanics of the genre to offer an experience that's mostly based on exploration and crafting. The basic gameplay loop is very engaging at the beginning and manages to carry the game quite far, but the complicated controls, especially on pad, and the repetition, which will eventually set in after a while, damage the experience a little. Still, Astroneer is a very solid game that no fan of the genre should pass on, especially if they love outer space settings.

Steep delivers great fun for winter sports game fans, although it can be a little difficult to find amongst a huge map and confusing tutorial/interface. What Ubisoft has tried to accomplish is mostly successful, and fans of winter sports games will find a lot that they recognize and a lot that improves on the genre in this mountain range.

God's Trigger might feel underwhelming at the start, but its mediocre tutorial hides a fast, frantic and fun hack 'n' slash that is perfect to play with a friend.

Ride 3 tries its best to be welcoming, but only true motorbike buffs will want to stick with the game long term. Those hardcore fans ought to be satisfied, as Ride 3 plays well enough and is packed with authentic, lovingly-detailed content, although a repetitive structure and bland visuals limit the experience a bit. Ride 3 may just be the best racing sim on two wheels, but some of its four-wheeled competitors still lap it.

Hopefully my complaints can be resolved in the next episode, but Ripples was not as enjoyable as I was hoping after the first two episodes of The Council.

Titan Quest Ragnarök offers more of what makes the main game so engaging - a new Mastery opening up new customization possibilities, new gear, new enemies, new areas to explore and new challenges. With the new content being meant for high level characters, and the lack of any real new gameplay mechanics, it's clear how the expansion is geared toward the most die-hard fans of Titan Quest. Those who aren't particularly fond of action role-playing games from over 10 years ago will definitely not change their opinion with Titan Quest Ragnarök, making it an essential purchase only for those who love the game created by Iron Lore.

Still one of the best mecha action games to grace any platform, although the decade and a half since its original release have caused Jehuty to lose some of its luster. While the native 4K60 and PSVR support is a great improvement, some other aspects of the game just feel out of date.

There are one or two missteps here and there, but The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a wonderful RPG that has to be explored to be understood for the gem it is.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet largely deliver the open-world RPG experience fans barely dared dream of for decades, with a huge, lively map and a surprisingly-engaging trio of stories nicely complementing the franchise’s rock-solid core mechanics. Yes, the game has more than its share of technical issues, but its shortcomings are largely cosmetic and the folks most excited to play probably aren’t going to be that bothered about its pixel count or performance. This Pokémon may be humble-looking, but it brings the fight where it counts.

Attack of the Earthlings is a good, fun and funny game. While it's fairly short and has very limited replay value, the time you spend with it is genuinely fun. More than that, it's funny where most games will feel forced or simply re-use aspects to their death. Though it may not surpass other similar titles like Xenonauts, this is an altogether good experience and one that's well worth playing if you're a fan of the genre.

Days Gone puts Bend Studio once again on the map of all PlayStation gamers after many years of oblivion. While it doesn't deliver any meaningful innovations in terms of open world and gameplay mechanics, it's a fun game that sports gorgeous graphics and a surprisingly great story/cast of characters, easily paving the way for a sequel to the stories of Deacon 'the Drifter' St. John.

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars had the potential of being one of the most exciting ARPGs influenced by the Souls series, with its ancient Greek and Roman influences, cartoonish art style, unique approach to story choices, and a more gamey approach to combat and character customization. Sadly, it falls flat mostly due to the mediocre level design. If you can look past this significant issue, however, you'll find a decent enough game with an acceptable story and serviceable combat with some interesting twists.

Tribes of Midgard can be a fun, satisfying, and surprisingly friendly action-survival experience, but without the right guide and crew, you might find yourself lost at sea. Dedicated Vikings may find treasure here, but for some, Tribes of Midgard will wear thin quickly – just another trinket for your pile of shame.

Sand Land is a fitting farewell to Akira Toriyama as the game elevates itself above most digital adaptations of his work, delivering a well-presented story, solid action, and satisfying exploration. Some aspects of the game’s design may be a bit overfamiliar for open-world veterans, but newer players and fans just looking to explore a fresh world from the master will likely enjoy burying themselves in this sandy adventure.

Mantis Burn Racing is a fun yet slightly shallow racing game. It's a decent alternative for those who don't feel like getting too investing in a deep racing sim and are just looking for an easy to play arcade racer.