Resident Evil Village: The Winters' Expansion is packed full of great content and definitely worth putting down the cash for. While Shadows of Rose feels cut a little short in terms of potential, it's still a great narrative-based DLC and a unique look at some familiar areas, while the third-person view and extra Mercenaries content is the icing on the cake.
Saints Row is a necessary reboot for a series that was getting out of hand (pleasingly so, but still), and Volition has made smart decisions in retooling the origins of the purple-clad gang without losing that silly, violent, and crude spirit. It leaves room for future improvement and escalation, and that's an exciting place to put the Saints in.
Sonic Origins is a fantastic celebration of 30 years of SEGA's spiky blue mascot, offering four of the best platformers money can buy and chucking in a bunch of great extras that long-time fans can appreciate. Regardless of where the Blue Blur head next, Sonic Origins is a reminder of just how damn good these timeless classics are.
The Quarry is a pulse-pounding teen slasher packed with strong characterisation, amazing atmosphere, and scrumptious visuals. Yes, it's not exactly the most challenging game thanks to dumbed down QTE events and interactions, but with a great story and heaps of replay value, you won't really care. If you're a fan of Until Dawn, then this is a must-have.
Kao the Kangaroo is a fairly decent, if unspectacular, platformer that harks back to a golden age of the genre's 3D era in many ways. Sadly, it falls short of being a notable addition to a heavily stacked part of gaming's history. That could well be its strength when it inevitably becomes an unexpected platforming touchstone for a new generation of young gamers in the way Croc, Gex, Crash, et all did for previous ones.
Sniper Elite 5 is the series at its strongest to date. It's not a radical paradigm shift by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn't need to be. Instead, it builds on what Sniper Elite 4 did so well by expanding on the scale of maps, stuffs them full of things to do, and polishes its already-compelling combat. If you're looking for a tactical, rewarding World War II-era shooter, Sniper Elite 5 comes highly recommended.
The House of the Dead Remake is everything you'd expect from a revamp of an old-school 90s zombie rail shooter. It's fun, all too brief, but still provides enough entertainment solo or with a mate in tow. However, it still feels like a missed opportunity to stuff it full of some worthwhile new content.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Dawn of Ragnarok is a sizeable expansion offering a gorgeous new realm to explore, memorable characters, while new abilities such as the Hugr-Rip adds a new dimension to combat and traversal. Beyond that it's more of the same however, so that'll determine whether or not you'll want to dive back into Valhalla once again.
The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes is the best entry in the series yet, packed with gripping storytelling, compelling characters, and solid performances. Your choices feel impactful, and seeing your relationships grow or fall apart based on your decisions carries a lot of weight. With tons of collectibles, an improved camera, and solid pacing, House of Ashes will keep you glued to the screen until the credits roll.
Despite a few ageing visuals and dodgy mechanics, Alan Wake is just as captivating and memorable as it was 11 years ago. With satisfying combat, a brilliantly-paced story, and fantastic setting, Remedy's horror-thriller is absolutely worth the punt if you're a fan of the studio's more recent output or just have a curious interest in horror.
Resident Evil Village combines the best of the past 25 years of the franchise, bringing a compelling adventure that should appeal to action and horror fans alike. With massive locations offering a wealth of exploration and hidden goodies, a meaty campaign with some decent unlockables, Village is the franchise at the top of its game.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla on PS5 is the definitive version of Ubisoft's epic Viking title. With a sharper resolution, silky-smooth frame rate and a reduced number of bugs and glitches, Sony's new console offers a more seamless and enjoyable platform to experience this mammoth, engrossing open-world game on.
The Dark Pictures Little Hope is a solid continuation of Supermassive Games' horror series, and a step above the previous entry, Man of Medan. With a gripping story, heaps of collectibles, and a solid cast of characters, Little Hope is a fine addition to PS4's already-stacked horror library.
Resident Evil 3 is another stunning-looking revamp from Capcom that effortlessly manages to switch between tension-packed moments of genuine horror and bombastic action set pieces. It's just a shame that some questionable changes were made from the original and there isn't more bang for your buck in terms of post-completion content.
Zombie Army 4 is a solid co-op offering that offers plenty of blood-spilling fun. However, it's let down by dated mission design and repetition, while its single-player isn't half as fun as when you're teaming up with a group of mates. Fans of the series will definitely appreciate what's on offer, though.
Shenmue 3 is an uncompromising love letter to fans of the original games, make no question about it. If you weren't on board before, then this will do little to sway your opinion, as modern conventions have been largely ignored in favour of preserving a 20-year-old experience. While it's not perfect, Shenmue 3 is about as solid of a sequel as we could have expected after all this time.
Disney Classic Games: Aladdin & The Lion King is a superb package offering some of the best retro platformers of their day. While the difficulty spikes may seem off-putting - and there's definitely some frustrating moments to be had, particularly in The Lion King. All the same, there's some brilliant platforming to be found in these retro classics that's worth experiencing for fans and newcomers alike.
The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series is the complete package. If you haven't yet experienced Clementine's genre-defining journey through the zombie apocalypse and fancy a few bonuses thrown in for good measure, then this is absolutely essential. Not to be missed.
Man of Medan weaves a brilliant and compelling story punctuated by some genuinely creepy moments. More importantly, your choices matter, and the multitude of collectibles and different outcomes based on your decisions means there's more than enough reason to keep plugging away at Supermassive Games' latest horror romp. It's not without its issues, sure, but they're not enough to deter from what is one of PS4's best interactive dramas.
Sniper Elite 4's advancements make it the best entry in the franchise to date and a must-have for anyone with a penchant for stealth-based action.