Game of the Month: February 2015

February's always an interesting month. We begin to see titles trickling through into the market, signalling the start of the inevitable spring rush that's on its way – either that, or these games are just desperate to avoid being crushed by the encroaching onslaught. Regardless of their reasons for release, though, 2015's second month played host to some interesting titles, but as always, only one can be crowned Game of the Month.

Bronze Trophy: Unmechanical: Extended

Quirky little puzzle games feel like they're dime a dozen these days, but Unmechanical: Extended is worthy of your attention. Reviewer Alex Stinton said that the title's "hands-off approach works wonders in the gameplay department", while its puzzles are "testing without being frustrating". With a charming art style and a plucky little robotic protagonist, we awarded Unmechanical: Extended an 8/10 in our review.

Silver Trophy: Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late

Despite having one of the most awkward names to write more than once, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late (ugh!) is actually a rather brilliant PlayStation 3 brawler. The game "achieves an ease of entry to allow newer players to experience and immerse themselves in traditional 2D fighting action, without sacrificing depth in the higher tiers of gameplay", according to reviewer Dan Carter, who gave the fighter an 8/10.

Gold Trophy: Apotheon

One of February's free PlayStation Plus offerings, Apotheon was clearly an inspired choice, as it only just missed out on our coveted Game of the Month award. Adding further fuel to the 'indie apologists' fire, we scored the 2D adventure 8/10 in our review. "Minor crashing and design issues aside, this gorgeously presented action platformer packs plenty of variety beneath its pottery-inspired shell," wrote reviewer Graham Banas.

Platinum Trophy: Dragon Ball XenoVerse

When we think about it, this one could have gone either way. It's easy to bugger up a licensed game, but thankfully, Dragon Ball XenoVerse's relatively ambitious design was enough to make it one of the best Dragon Ball titles in years. Featuring great online functionality and addictive character development, we called XenoVerse "a well realised and refreshing take on Akira Toriyama's universe, which allows fans to appreciate the source material from a whole new angle", and subsequently gave it an 8/10. And, while not perfect, it looks as though the property's latest gaming effort has really resonated with fans, making it a worthy Game of the Month winner.

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