The Sims 4; Hatoful Boyfriend; Cubeman 2: gaming reviews

Impressive detail: The Sims 4 is an easy game to get into

The Sims 4

***

PC (£49.99)

I always wanted to be an astronaut. The Sims lets you do just that: see what life would be like if you were successful and had the ability to achieve whatever you wanted. In The Sims 4 (above), characters are given personality traits and their emotions and needs must be catered to. The developers have done a good job in fine-tuning the visual style and the level of detail present is impressive, but the camera can be incredibly frustrating. It's an easy game to get into (but I still wish I could actually go into space...)

Jack Fleming

Hatoful Boyfriend

**

PC, Mac (£6.99)

Set in futuristic Japan, after some kind of takeover by intelligent birds, this unusual dating sim lets you play as a female bird admitted to a school for "talented birds". The novelty value is there in the interactive story game; it's funny to tell your friends about and to bring up in pub conversations. Unfortunately, it has a shoddy translation and is full of tired stereotypes, plus it plays more like an awkward Flash game found at the dead end of the internet.

James Tennent

Cubeman 2

***

WII U (£6.99)

If you're a fan of strategy games but have a short attention span, then you should give Cubemen 2 a go. Combining tower defence with real-time strategy, you have a small army of little Lego-like men to protect your base. Unlike the usual array of static towers, however, you can move them around the map, which makes everything a lot more satisfying. Single-player campaign mode is enjoyable, though controlling your men can become fiddly, but it is in the multi-player online games where things get interesting.

Max Benwell