Game of the Month: April 2015

Oooh, those bloody indies, eh? Ruining everyone's fun with their SNES graphics and their obsession with pop culture references. "We're not ripping off old games!" they cry. "We're paying homage! It's different!" Meanwhile, the stoic and the knowledgeable among us shake our heads in disgust as another ten 2D side scrolling puzzlers get thrown onto the PlayStation Store. But wait a second – aren't we Push Square, world renowned indie apologists? Damn, and we almost had you fooled, too. Now that our cover's blown, prepare to get really angry about the fact that our staff voted for a bunch of indies as the best games of April 2015. Sickening.

Bronze Trophy: Mortal Kombat X

Being really violent can only get you so far in life, as evidenced by Mortal Kombat X finishing fourth in this month's internal staff vote. The fighter ripped a still beating score of 8/10 from editor Sammy Barker's review, in which he described the brawler as being "only a few scratches short of a flawless victory". Still, NetherRealm Studios' accessible yet enjoyably deep creation is a bloody good time, with or without friends.

Silver Trophy: Broken Age

It was down to our resident Schafer enthusiast Graham Banas to review Broken Age – Double Fine's arty 2D project which began life on Kickstarter. "When all's said and done, Broken Age makes an excellent case for why the adventure game genre deserves to exist in this medium," he wrote, awarding the whimsical title a score of 8/10. "If you're a fan of Tim Schafer's previous work, then this is unmissable," Graham concluded.

Gold Trophy: Bastion

Finally arriving on PlayStation platforms, Bastion is just as good as it's ever been, according to reviewer Joey Thurmond, who scored it 9/10. Heaping praise on the game, which has already garnered huge critical acclaim, Joey wrote: "This game is a testament to the type of human creativity, innovation, and wonder that are sometimes only possible with indie games." So, if you're looking to fight with someone over the great indie debate, you know who to call.

Platinum Trophy: Shovel Knight

It's one thing to imitate the greatness of generations past, but it's another thing entirely to actually improve upon tried and tested formulas. Shovel Knight is a title that's managed to take numerous classic gaming concepts and mash them into an irresistibly charming and brilliantly rewarding adventure. "It's unfortunate that this new version of Shovel Knight doesn't add much, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the best games on Sony's hardware," stated reviewer Ryan Oehrli. He continued: "If you haven't already, now's the perfect time to jump into Yacht Club Games' 8-bit masterpiece." A 9/10 it is.

Do you agree with our winner, or even our nominees? Remember to vote for your favourite game of April in our poll, and tell us your reasoning in the comments section below.