Some minor niggles in visuals and UI marr things slightly, but overall as live service titles go, Breakpoint is one of the better examples.

Trine 4 is an absolute masterclass in 2D puzzle platforming. Everything about it – from the brilliant use of physics, through the wonderfully crafted world to the constantly engaging gameplay – is a step above most other titles out there. Combat is about the only weak point I can think of, but even that manages to be fun, just not as much as the puzzling. Whether you’re new to the series (pro-tip: the collection of all 4 titles is out on the same day) or a returning veteran, Trine 4 will keep you enchanted from start to finish.

While sim games are hardly rare, Megaquarium has a unique, charming spin on things that make it worth checking out. Some slight UI niggles aside, there’s enough charm and content here to give you a relaxing evening playing with the fishes.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is very enjoyable and should appeal to many with its distinctly memorable characters and almost limitless customisation opportunities. It certainly has a high entertainment value bringing a more up to date and fresh approach to a genre that other developers have tried to revive with somewhat less success. The music is exciting flowing seamlessly through different areas and never becomes irritating. No part of play gets frustrating because of the ability to skip or customise levels and the depth of design in every character and their dialogue brings it all together so seemingly effortlessly. A confident thumbs up.

I enjoyed We Were Here, and again Total Mayhem Games have made a beautiful, intricate and definitely more difficult game with this sequel. The communication needed and I suppose understanding of your partners humour (explaining symbols) really made this much longer than expected play throughly enjoyable. I will be going through it again and suggest you do too with a good friend.

Tropico 6 is a fun sandbox strategy game, with some new additions that provide some reason to upgrade from the previous entry. I enjoyed my time with the campaign, even if some of the objectives and demands sometimes got a little too overwhelming. At least sandbox mode is there, allowing you to de-stress with no pressures and just enjoy the act of creating your own little empire.

Blasphemous has an astonishingly good looking art style, making the oft used pixel art look feel fresh, even after all these years. But beyond that, there’s a solid game here, with a decent challenge that will keep you hooked. That the story is also captivating – steeping you in the lore of the universe here – is just another upside to this brilliant adventure.

Legend of the Skyfish began promisingly, skilfully luring the player in with tales of exciting music, beautiful visuals, intricate action puzzles and epic boss battles. Combined with the strange controls, technical glitches and much of the former mentioned missing, however, it became increasingly frustrating to play and slowly chipped away at my sanity. Sadly I wasn’t hooked as my patience soon wore fin, but at least the game wasn’t a complete pile of carp.

Torchlight 2 doesn’t explore new territory, but it doesn’t need to. It keeps true to what made the first Torchlight a decent RPG and built on it. Although it has taken a while for it to finally make its way to the Xbox One, fans of the first game or those into isometric RPG’s will be happy to tuck into this game as there is plenty of content and variety to keep things interesting. To also now be able to play this multiplayer as well can only make the game more interesting.

Creature in the Well is visually fascinating and manages to bring together hack and slash with dungeon crawling and a pinball twist. It sounds like a strange mix, but it works brilliantly.

I really enjoyed Blair Witch, it caught the essence of the franchise and definitely gave me nostalgia from the movies – which now I have to watch again. Visuals look great and it plays well, although being a bit short in length I’d recommend this to any horror or franchise fan. Bloober did a pretty good job and I can’t wait to see what they have in store next.

Overall, we have a simple, repetitive JRPG that doesn’t really add anything to the genre of note, further hampered by the fact that you can buy add-ons to make the whole thing even less engaging. As it is, it’s all too forgettable and really, not worth investing much time in at all.

Himno is a simple game designed to be played at any pace suited to the individual’s preferences or needs. Featuring relaxing sound effects, music and endless areas to explore, it certainly provides a tranquil experience but it isn’t particularly exciting so it won’t appeal to everyone. With no pressure to avoid enemies or harmful obstacles, Himno provides a calming escape from the stresses of everyday life and a relaxing time-free approach to gaming.

I can say with absolute certainty that Gears 5 is an astonishingly fun video game. The excellent flow of combat established in prior entries has been implemented here almost flawlessly, the audio/visual feedback is intense, and there’s even a compelling, touching narrative in there to boot. The open world areas let the pace down a bit, and some difficulty spikes can frustrate, but overall if you’re after an action experience, you cannot go wrong here.

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series brings together some of the best narrative games of the last decade in a package that celebrates not only the series, but every single person – be they creators, actors or fans – that has been there along the way. If you’ve never experienced the series before, this collection is now the perfect opportunity to jump in.

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered has done a great job of bringing a great game from the archive back into the forefront. On first impressions, you might not be wowed exactly by the remaster job, as some graphics look great and some still look like as they did on the PS1. But it has allowed this great Final Fantasy story to be played by both old and new fans of the series as well as allow inexperienced players a chance to just enjoy the ride.

As overGame put in their email to me, Gaijin Charenji 1 : Kiss or Kill is more of an experience than a traditional video game. If you are up for an hour spent questioning what you see before you, before having your mind melted by the mad antics on display, then absolutely pick it up. I fear many people won’t be willing to give it a chance however, and that’s a shame, as it is a unique experience that will stay with you for some time.

I have enjoyed every moment of this game thus far. There’s been a few hiccups, but overall the game is solid, with its mix of RPG elements and fully obtainable upgrades that can be unlocked how ever you wish. Some wonky voice acting doesn’t distract too much from some great visuals and atmosphere too, really allowing you to get immersed in the world.

The shame of all this is that without these practices, NBA 2K20 can stand tall as the best basketball sim available. Even running unopposed with the retirement of the NBA Live franchise, it continues to get better and better on the court, but serious issues surrounding that experience leave it feeling less and less impressive year on year. Here’s hoping 2K can end that trend.

Thankfully, there’s something about the core feel to the gun-play and movement that mostly makes up for things. Everything is snappy, even with the screen chock full of enemies, gunfire and gigantic bosses. Getting a particularly powerful upgrade early on feels like winning the lottery, while teaming up with 3 players online makes the grind far more appetising. It’d have been nice to be able to keep something from each run, and have online loot shared amongst the team, but as it is, Risk of Rain 2 is a great example of the genre.

WRC 8 is super challenging even if you’re an experienced driver. I recommend taking your time to learn the courses. It will lower your frustration levels and add to the overall replay value of the game. Again this is definitely going to be difficult for the casual racer but well worth the effort to “git gud”. Wheel users will get the most out of this game as the normal controller just does an ok job.

If you want a game you can play with a friend for a couple of hours, We Were Here really shines with is intricate puzzles. A few little hiccups here and there with not being able to hear each other aside, if you want a pick up and play co op game I would definitely recommend We Were Here. Doubly so, as it will be free on GwG by the time you read this.

Despite the UI downers, I still found myself rather charmed with Bus Simulator. It does exactly what it says on the tin, and for that I admire it. The act of driving about the city is relaxing, planning routes and getting to know them is oddly fun, and managing the back end of the business can get quite deep. Even if you may not think it’s up your street, hop aboard one day and you might just be surprised.

eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 is another fine addition to the Pro Evolution Series. Konami have done some work good on the gameplay mechanics and the graphics are looking better and better every year. A few of the game modes come out better than others, with the Legend mode not sitting right with me. An effort has been made to secure more football rights to gain more attention for football fans and keep rivalry well truly alive with FIFA, which only benefits the consumers at then end of the day.

Niffelheim is a good game for those that enjoy the foraging and building mechanics in games. With a superb art style and intriguing story, players will find they can put a lot of hours into this game and they’re going to need it. Being a little grindy the game will find homes with many players and received good reputation on PC builds.

There is very little I can say negatively about NASCAR Heat 4. Visually, the way the game deals with shadows under the cars doesn’t do the gorgeous lighting effects of racing at night justice. Track surfaces seem a little dull in comparison to the dirt tracks. The dirt tracks seem to have more luster and reflect light better than the tarmac. For some it may just feel like an update to NASCAR Heat 3 and that’s fair. But if you’ve not played previous iterations then NASCAR Heat 4 is definitely the pinnacle of virtual stockcar racing.

Distraint is a short game, but well worth the time invested. The story kept me interested, and while the mechanics are simple, they work well enough.

Hunt: Showdown is an amazing game and I’m glad Crytek have persevered over the years because this needed to happen. Anyone with a fetish for horror should pick up this title. The stealth and PvPvE work well and the game feels like a shot of adrenaline when a gunfight breaks out between players.