Crystal Rift is far from an enjoyable experience, with cumbersome controls, lacklustre visuals, and poor enemy AI. The entire experience gets very tiresome very quickly, and with the ever increasing expectations for great quality games, this just doesn't cut it. This rift would be better left unexplored, unless you think you'd enjoy its torturously repetitive depths.
The Last Guardian is a modern masterpiece, and a worthy addition to Team ICO's already flawless track record. Some will be unable to look past the mechanical shortcomings, but they'll be missing out on one of those most meaningful and truly original experiences in years.
Weeping Doll's one of those games where you can see the intentions of the developer, but the end product just isn't very good. The muddled mismatch of time periods could be forgiven if the writing wasn't so woeful and the voice acting so unintentionally amusing. There's the nugget of a good idea here, but like an action figure with its appendages in the wrong places, it's been sloppily assembled.
Contrary to common opinion, Farming Simulator's always had the root of a great game buried beneath its Eurojank surface, but now that nugget's really starting to blossom. This edition doesn't reinvent the veal [Sorry – Ed], but it refines what's enjoyable about the originals, and sprinkles some Miracle-Gro on top. It's still an acquired taste, and you're going to need to be patient to get the most out of it, but if you've ever dreamed of being an agricultural extraordinaire, then this is a series now very much in its hay-day.
Magnificent many years after its original release, Rez Infinite finally feels at home on PlayStation VR – and virtual reality has got its first killer app. A sensational sensory overload, this sublime shooter may be short-lived, but you'll be hard pushed to find an experience more deserving of your attention this year.
How much would you pay to be Batman for an hour? If your answer sits somewhere in the region of £15.99/$19.99, then Batman: Arkham VR is a virtual no-brainer. With the exception of the finicky motion tracking and brief running time, this is an exceptional short story that eloquently demonstrates many of the advantages of virtual reality. But perhaps the most impressive thing here is that, in transforming you into the Dark Knight, it illuminates both the pros and cons of being a masked vigilante. And while the former interactions will make you feel downright awesome, it's when the Caped Crusader slowly begins to unravel that it comes into its own.
Bound is beautifully presented and will make you think, but its basic platforming doesn't have the legs that developer Plastic thinks it has. Fans of emotionally charged titles like Gone Home will be satisfied with what's on offer here – but those looking for a quality platformer may want to dance with something a little more competent in that department.
Shameless like a boob tube but about a billion times less interesting, Gal*Gun: Double Peace is a bad rails-shooter that tries tirelessly to get a raise, only to leave you feeling limp and agitated. If firing pheromones in the faces of overly appreciative schoolgirls is the kind of thing that turns you on, then consider giving Net Nanny her marching orders instead.
A blend of Spider-Man and Tony Hawk, Energy Hook is the kind of old-school Activision-inspired outing that any millennial should be able to enjoy. Unfortunately, the execution's just not there, and cumbersome controls coupled with some real lousy presentation mean that this is a swing and a miss we're sad to say.
Just because it employs the same font as a competing title doesn't mean that Professional Farmer 2017 comes anywhere close. This is a lousy, cynical game which has just one positive to its name: it's made us appreciate Farming Simulator 15 that little bit more.
Unless Lassie's got our back, then we'd never normally want to get lost down a well – but Downwell is a strong exception. This fun little freefallin' title ties you up in its gun-boot antics, and is difficult to put down once you casually drop in. The action's perhaps better suited to vertical screens, and it can be a bit obtuse – but for the price of a Big Mac, this is one deadly descent that deserves your tuppence.
A fitting end for one of PlayStation's most famous franchises, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End sits alongside The Last of Us at the apex of cinematic action experiences. Naughty Dog's ability to tell engaging tales is unmatched, with Nate's final chapter expertly balancing bombast against genuinely relatable themes. It won't redefine the genre quite like Uncharted 2, but the developer's boundless ambition means that this is a bigger, better, and more beautiful adventure than ever before.
A valiant attempt at creating a touch screen-based action experience with real depth, Severed struts confidently for four or five hours – before ultimately devolving into the same old swipe-fest that it seems to detest. Still, this is a wonderfully presented experience, with a mystifying world and some intelligent level design. If you're the kind of person who appreciates tailored Vita titles, then you'll more than get your money's worth here. It's just a shame that the studio fails to cut the foray off before it gets stale.
TrackMania: Turbo's a gaudy game that demands you excel in short bursts. A truly compelling online component and a meaty single player campaign is offset by some shaky handling that, in the case of one car in particular, is far too fiddly to be fun – but those that like a challenge will still enjoy attempting to tame the title's increasingly outlandish maps. With a clumsy but empowering track editor there's certainly no danger of this racer running out of gas – it just depends how long you're willing to keep up with the quest to be the best.
Kholat may be daunting to approach at first with its massive scale, but its eerie setting is worth exploring for its intentionally perplexing narrative and unsettling visual and aural atmosphere. The simplistic gameplay may turn some off with how tedious exploration can become with few scares and long stretches of nothing, but if you choose to remain steadfast on this trail, the sights, sounds, and story may very well be worth your effort.