A roguelike first-person shooter with a brinepunk aesthetic, Abyssus provides a lot of frantic fun, especially if played in co-op. Its progression could do with a little work, though, with you needing to grind Soul Fragments to unlock basic upgrades that feel necessary for your survival, alongside some pesky difficulty spikes.
While the gameplay throughout Mafia: The Old Country is nothing special, generally being a mix of basic stealth and action-packed shootouts, it has some highlights. It's the game's gripping story and sumptuous visuals which will really win most players over, making this one of the most enjoyable Mafia games yet.
Gradius Origins not only bundles together the first three Gradius games and makes multiple versions of them available, it also includes a trio of Salamander games and Life Force. These spin-offs dramatically boost the collection's value, especially with Salamander 3 being a brand new game that's been developed by M2. Add in plenty of options and museum-like content, and you have a genuine treat for shoot 'em up fans.
Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights has all the ingredients to make it an enjoyable cyberpunk-inspired car combat arcade racer, but ultimately it's a let-down. The handling is awkward, there's no real sense of weight or impact, and on PS5 Pro performance is terrible. Things could be turned around with an update or two, but until that happens this is best avoided.
Thanks to its stunning visuals, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers certainly makes a good first impression. Its gameplay is what will keep you hooked in the long-run, though, even if it is perhaps a little too derivative of the early Souls games by FromSoftware. Still, being able to freely respec your character here is a fantastic touch, allowing you to experiment if a boss is proving to be a tough cookie to crack.
9 Years of Shadows isn't the biggest Metroidvania game, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in other ways. Its visuals are sublime, for one, and its gameplay is fantastic, too. Add in a soundtrack which includes pieces by Michiru Yamane, and you're onto a winner.
A short first-person psychological horror game, Dead Take cleverly incorporates full motion video footage to explore the lengths that some will go to in order to achieve success. It's not particularly scary but it does go to some dark places, making it definitely worth checking out for fans of the genre.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is largely more of the same, but that isn't much of a issue when the first game was already so enjoyable. Story mode here picks up where the last left off and covers three new dramatic arcs, and the gameplay has been refreshed a little with new elements such as Gear. It's the whopping number of characters now available in Versus mode that's the real draw, though.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a genuinely challenging action game with lovely visuals and rewarding fast-paced gameplay. It feels a bit rough in places, though, and often borders on being simply too chaotic for its own good. Assist options mean that anyone can see the journey through to its end, but better balancing or difficulty levels would have been preferred.
There's certainly fun to be had with Killing Floor 3. Killing waves of demons is as enjoyable as ever, but some of the changes here are unfortunate, and the new additions don't wholly make up for them. There's some work to be done by Tripwire to allow this game to fulfil its potential, then, and it's up to you if you want to jump in in the meantime.
Available at a budget price, CarX Street is likely to prove to be a nice surprise for open world street racing fans. There are many clubs to join and complete, and you can take the action online if you wish. The only real downer here is that its cars aren't licensed, but you can easily tell what their real-world counterparts are, and you can customise them to your heart's content.
A fast-paced action platformer with roguelike elements, Atomic Owl has attractive visuals and enjoyable core gameplay. It soon gets quite repetitive, however, and a myriad of other issues introduce a fair amount of frustration, too.
With its intriguing narrative that keeps you on your toes and some genuinely creative puzzles, Luto is a first-person psychological horror game like no other. It has an important message, but its dark subject matter means that it perhaps isn't suitable for those sensitive to themes of depression and suicide.
Some of the games here haven't aged as well as others, and it's hard to consider one of them a beat 'em up at all, but Beat 'Em Up Collection: QUByte Classics remains a solid package overall. It even packs in some neat extras and cheats.
Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact is a fast-paced and accessible 2.5D 3v3 fighting game that fans of the franchise in particular might want to check out. Well, as long as they're happy either playing with friends locally or digging into its single-player modes. When it comes to matchmaking, it can be hard to find matches, and when you do, there can be issues that spoil the fun.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 is a must-have for fans of the series, offering yet more outrageous skateboarding antics along with stunning visuals. Purists might not like that the format of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 has been changed, and that most of the music here is new, but embrace these updates and you'll have a very good time indeed. Also, the new skateparks that have been introduced are fantastic.
Being a standalone expansion to RoboCop: Rogue City, Unfinished Business understandably offers largely more of the same violent first-person crime-fighting action with investigation elements. There are some new weapons to play with, however, and some new enemies to use them on. Throw in some flashback sequences which switch up the action somewhat, and you have an entertaining title available at a budget price.
This video game adaptation of Edens Zero doesn't make the best first impression, but if you stick with it for a few hours, it gets a lot better. It's rough around the edges and has multiple issues that persist throughout, such as a certain clunkiness to its combat, but its entertaining story full of outrageous characters and ample number of unique playable characters will keep you coming back for more.
A stealth game played from an isometric viewpoint, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is likely to win you over thanks to its stunning visuals, engaging narrative and rewarding scenarios that are best approached like puzzles.
Putting you in control of a SWAT team, Ready or Not tasks you with diffusing a variety of hostile situations. As you'd expect, it's a tense and atmospheric affair, where making effective use of commands is a must. And while I think it particularly shines in single-player, you can still have fun online if you can get a good team together.