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Rather than taking the systems and concepts of the original portable games and using a bigger budget and superior technology to improve on them it’s merely highlighted their failings. Bravely Default 2 isn’t a bad game but rather than being the new hope of modern Japanese role-players it just comes across as another misguided attempt to keep them in the past.

Not even Dark Souls is this frustrating and unfair, and while Ghosts ‘N Goblins does have the excuse of age its legacy is becoming harder to appreciate the more it refuses to change.

It’s not very well made, and P-Studio should really have found something more constructive to spend their time on, but it is mindlessly enjoyable trash. Compared to Persona 5, which is one of the best Japanese role-playing games ever made, that’s quite the comedown, but for Dynasty Warriors it’s a career best.

Regardless of the nostalgia factor, the rewind and slow-mo options make these versions uniquely accessible to new players and that’s an important achievement that should help to keep these classic arcade games alive for another generation.

As in all good roguelites, the real pleasure is in the slow, steady progression from defenceless wimp to occasional power-up-driven golden god, as a combination of relics and hard-earned upgrades come together into a super run – either making you massive quantities of gold or wiping out a boss and opening shortcuts to deeper levels.

Ultimately, Ys 9 is largely the same game as the last one but in a fundamentally less interesting context. As bombastic as the combat is there’s not quite enough depth in it to compensate for the game’s failings, relatively minor as they may be.

Bowser’s Fury is completely new and, as is typical with Nintendo, there’s no clue as to whether it’ll end up as a one-off experiment or the future direction of the whole franchise. But you could go mad trying to understand Nintendo’s logic, or predict their future plans, and for now, as always, all that matters is that they have once again delivered a classic gameplay experience… or two.

Overall, though, Little Nightmares 2 offers new proof that video games are indeed an art form, as opposed to the violent, instant-gratification pap that some quarters habitually characterise them as. If you enjoy the sheer diversity of gaming, and can appreciate the craft that goes into them, you’ll love Little Nightmares 2.

With Team Ninja apparently having no plans for a third game Nioh seems destined to be underappreciated in its lifetime. This is technically the definitive edition of both games but the difference is so mild it really doesn’t matter, the only important thing is that, somehow, you get to experience two of the best action games of the last generation.

Earthblood has none of that though. All it has is bad combat and storytelling, unremarkable stealth, and the persistent feeling that not even the boredom of lockdown is enough to make anything the game is trying to do seem interesting.

We are curious to come back to it in six months or so, once it’s no longer free and it has more content, but for now this is inarguably the least interesting of the PlayStation 5 exclusives and likely to stay that way for some time to come.

On its own Fatal Falls doesn’t particularly stand out from the existing splendour and complexity of Dead Cells’ world, in fact it blends neatly into the game’s mix of biomes and areas – each of which has its own personality, mix of enemies, and difficulty level.

While the video game world could probably do with significantly less sequels as a rule, for Control it seems all but essential. It’s already on the cusp of greatness and with a tighter story and a less bumpy difficulty curve a follow-up could become something truly special. For now though you’ll just have to make do with the original but slightly better.

It’s a delightful place to spend time, and while its puzzles never reach the savage, cryptic crossword-like difficulty of The Witness, they’re often tricky enough to get a good endorphin hit when you finally figure them out. Clever, beautiful, and clearly a labour of love, The Pedestrian is exactly the kind of ray of sunshine we could all do with in a frigid, grey lockdown winter.

The result may look unimpressive on the surface, but below that veneer, you will find a proper role-playing game with very addictive gameplay and a surprising amount of depth. If you believe that looks aren’t the be-all and end-all, and have a penchant for stealth games, you should find it all very satisfying indeed.

The storytelling ambitions are commendable but the execution is poor, with the story frequently feeling aimless and unengaging. In the end ‘medium’ seems a fairly generous description of the game’s qualities, in what is one of the more forgettable horror games of recent years.

Turrican is clearly a product of its time but it holds up much better than we expected, especially compared to other Amiga action games. Compared to contemporaries like Contra and Gunstar Heroes though it’s still very simplistic, even with the exploration elements, and the four games themselves are all too similar.

This system and the freedom it gives players allows for so many emergent goofs and gaffes and Hitman 3 provides more of that in spades, even if it has started to show slight signs of stagnation. However, considering where the series was before this trilogy, IO Interactive can consider this mission accomplished.

Super Metal Boy Forever certainly isn’t a cash grab but it is a terrible way to start the year and we can’t recommend it to any but the most masochistic of players.

Aftermath isn’t so bad it feels insulting but it is a complete waste of everybody’s time, including Universal Studios who keep licensing out the films in the hope someone will make an interesting game based on them. There’s the germ of what could be one in Jurassic World Aftermath but this needs to evolve an awful lot more for the second part to be in any way worth considering.

With a winning sense of humour, great animation, and the constant need for ‘just one more go’ Grindstone is a near perfect puzzler. We hope it doesn’t get overlooked because it happened to come out at the same time as Among Us (we really don’t know who these surprise launches are supposed to benefit) because this is a real gem of a game that deserves to be celebrated as one of the best of its genre. Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/12/17/grindstone-nintendo-switch-review-just-one-more-creep-13768571/?ito=cbshare Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

Arguably the definitive edition of one of the most important video games ever released, whose quiet puzzle-solving and slow exploration works perfectly in VR.

A stunning achievement in open world gameplay but one whose tonal inconsistencies and weak narrative undermines what could have been an all-time classic.

An extraordinarily good port that seems physically impossible given the modest abilities of the Switch but is just as playable and enjoyable as the other console versions.

When creating a spin-off that’s only one or the other we would’ve gone with turn-based but heading in the opposite direction has still resulted in some brisk, unique multiplayer fun. We doubt anyone’s going to be playing Worms Rumble in 25 years’ time but if Team17 can keep up a steady supply of new content it may worm its way into your affections nonetheless.