Outer Terror is a daring and defiant ode to the beauty of retro horror, delivering an arcade experience that is familiar but unique enough to keep you digging further.

Penny’s Big Breakaway manages to create an enjoyable platforming experience, despite some glaring flaws. As a package there’s still plenty of entertainment to be had, a handful of cutscenes do a solid job of telling the tale and a banging soundtrack nicely backs the colour on screen. It does lose some of its magic towards the end, when all the creative ideas run low its the boss battles that carry it through, but despite my worst frustrations I still had a fun time here. It’s an experience I wish had a bigger backing, maybe some voice overs or a bolder overarching story to Penny’s adventure. Ultimately, Evening Star’s debut doesn’t hit my lofty expectations, but if colourful worlds and a bit of old-school shenanigans are your thing, you’d do well to give Penny and her sentient yo-yo a crack.

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante hits all the right notes of a choose-your-own-adventure game, with just enough of its own spin to stand out from the crowd. A dark fantasy world rife with pseudo-historical politics and tensions are just the icing on the cake.

Despite a slightly tangled narrative and some very uncomfortable sexualisation of female characters, Majogami offers an engaging action adventure that drips imagination and flair. Once you’ve gotten the hang of combat, prepare for some impressive boss fights.

Mario Party Superstars offers a great package of classic boards and minigames that looks and plays great, but it's also a little too safe and comes with some annoying structural decisions.

Standing out among the Metroidvania crowd is tough, but with satisfying combat, great platforming and a cleverly designed and well thought out world, F.I.S.T. more than manages to stand on its own lucky feet.

Taking inspiration from the Tower of Babel mythology, Chants of Sennaar provides an intriguing puzzling experience with a striking visual style that stumbles slightly with unnecessary stealth sections and oversized environments.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is a reasonable continuation of the franchise, its sniping highs remain as amusing as ever thanks to some neat environmental gameplay, but much of its content rehashes what came before instead of evolving the series concept for a true next-gen sequel.

Tight controls, excellent fighting-game-inspired mechanics and an anime aesthetic that can't be overlooked are all reasons to start the engine, so it's a shame Screamer's story mode is so stuck in first gear.

Firewall Ultra sticks to what works and is very satisfying, but missed opportunities hold it back from truly being the ultra tactical VR shooter.

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly may not do much to differentiate itself from its predecessor, however it still delivers a quality visual novel experience packed with plenty of hot drinks and lo-fi beats to brew them to.

Garden Story is the kind of chill adventure that’s great in short bursts but long play sessions may leave you bored. The combination of genres is unique, but I feel like each aspect could have been explored more for a deeper experience. I definitely enjoyed what I played and was charmed by the characters, environment and music, but at the end of it all I was left wanting more. But how much can you expect of one humble grape?

Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a successful retelling of one of the series’ less-understood titles, massaging it into something that's a touch homogenous but ultimately more agreeable. But some off-putting choices and a fumbled focus on Mine in both the main game and Dark Ties stop it from sticking the landing.

Moonscars brings a deeply satisfying core combat loop and exciting art direction to the Soulslike genre, even if it has some teething issues with its overlapping systems and narrative.

Under The Island is a charming, puzzle-filled adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The balance between the game’s systems ensures that progress always feels meaningful, and while it would have been good to see some slightly more rounded out combat and extra polish, there’s enough substance here to make for a fun and memorable adventure.

With a cracking setting and emotional narrative that’s expertly brought to life by fantastic voice acting and writing, Still Wakes the Deep is a solid horror title that falls short of greatness due to its generic gameplay and limited scare factor.

Ruffy and the Riverside is an impressive debut title and a top-notch 3D collectathon adventure. The texture-swapping gimmick adds a rich layer to the canvas that more than makes up for some spotty platforming, and Riverside itself is a wonderfully weird and gaudy locale well worth exploring.

Strangers of Paradise is a loveable action-RPG despite its best efforts to spoil itself with a story that only becomes interesting in the last hour. The action is a little messy and not all of the moving parts gel together perfectly, but it's got a compelling janky charm that is hard to ignore.

Given a little more time to cook, Pathologic 3 would be an easy recommendation to players looking to see what this cult series is about. For those returning, tragic healers, these wobbles will hardly detract from the allure of another deadly vacation with gaming’s most neurotic medicine man.

The magic of manual map drawing is curbed with the handy auto-map feature, yet pulling off risky expeditions into Etrian Odyssey's dangerous labyrinths remains unmatched.

Whether you are a returning Shadow Warrior fan or a new one, Shadow Warrior 3 is bound to delight all high-octane shooter fans. Its minor shortcomings are rapidly overcome through the simple act of being gloriously fun.

Afterlove EP pulls from a deep emotional well to weave threads of grief, love, hope, resentment, forgiveness, identity and more through a mostly-good mix of choice-driven visual novel and rhythm game. It has some issues with flow, and the rhythm stuff isn't amazing, but stick with it and you'll fall in love with this little slice of Jakarta.

Like A Dragon: Ishin! does exactly what it says on the box. It takes the recognisable characters that have appeared throughout the series and transformed them into 19th-century analogs. The super dramatic storyline, backstabs and betrayals remain pleasingly offset with the eccentric substories that feature memorable characters in the wildest of circumstances. Kiryu-Ryōma-Saito remains the ever-loveable stone-faced uncle driven by honour, stoically seeking the goodness in hearts everywhere before curb stomping a handsy mugger.

Not a mere reboot or refresh, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons delivers a fiendishly familiar beat ‘em up that will have you hooked on its charming retro styles and clever modern trappings.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is a super fun yet sometimes frustrating arcade racer that is hindered slightly by some design shortcomings.

Through this occult management simulator l was challenged like never before, navigating magic, zany challenges and the offbeat humour that aims to thrill and vex it’s players. Call me a masochist, but I had fun.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is still a Tony Hawk game at heart, and as expected, plays brilliantly. As a package, the plethora of content on offer is easily the best way to revisit the masterful skating experience that was THPS 3, even if it entirely overshadows the meek representation of THPS 4 within the title.

As a successor to the S.W.A.T. games and tickling a strategic itch that Rainbow Six hasn’t scratched in years, Ready or Not nails the tension and tactical satisfaction that this genre prides itself on. Its single-player Commander mode is one of the better ‘training’ modes for a hardcore multiplayer game in years, though the wobbly AI can lead to many frustrating failures. With friends or a like-minded community, there’s probably no other tactical co-op game this engaging or evocative right now. It’s just a damn shame that the game’s matchmaking does nothing to nurture this experience.