I played the first Gears of War, and right now, Gears 5 has barely changed the flavour of the original. And while the original might have been a revelation, Gears 5 presents as a detriment.

Zer0 Sum is probably the best first episode Telltale have ever done.

I never used to get chills playing a videogame, not the way I would watching some epic movie scenes or reading an incredibly engaging book. That has changed in the last few months and this game has set the benchmark.

While not as immediately memorable as Gears 1, Gears of War 4 does a similar job to J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens -- it takes positive and familiar themes from the first game and dresses them up in modernity and pretends it’s an entirely new, and fresh start. So it’s not bad, but it’s not groundbreaking either.

For the most part, Bungie achieved this lofty balance with its Halo games, but after an impressive first shot at the sci-fi series with Halo 4, 343 Industries has fumbled with one of the most important parts of a Halo experience: the solo campaign.

For a game that centres itself around the idea of settlements, negotiation, alignment and choice, Valhalla does an amazing job of making you feel like the spotlight is always on you. It redirects misconception around viking culture and remains an Assassin’s Creed game, though perhaps the lesser of all before it, for the betterment of the franchise. Game of Thrones’ Magnus Bruun is a shoe-in for best voice actor in a videogame this year but, more importantly, Valhalla is a game that will drag you along the Bifröst bridge and into the vision of Fenrir. How you handle all of this is up to you, but to boldly state in the positive, this is as anti Assassin’s Creed as we’ve yet played, and we love it all the more for it.

Portable Skyrim, the reason some us bought into the whole Switch concept to begin with. And with so much content, I’d forgotten just how rich and detailed the world of Skyrim could be. Perfect for making even a long commute feel like a breeze.

I played on both PC and Xbox One and found -- for the most part -- it to run satisfactorily, but it does suffer from some long loads and frame-rates can chug a bit if you’ve had it running in any background for too long. But really, those are about the only major concerns overall. It’s delivery of an interesting and new game-world is handled well; inviting newcomers in to learn as much as they can about these battle chasers as possible. And with success, there’s bound to be a bigger and better entry in this franchise moving forward. Addictive, challenging and charming in its throwback love, coupled with stunning art, Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a gamer’s game. It doesn’t over-promise to under-deliver, and perfectly delivers on its premise. Absolutely worth your investment.

At its core, Darkest Dungeon is a turn-based RPG, governed by a brutal RNG/dice roll system where everything has a cost, one such example is Occultist class which can heal but also has a chance to cause the healed character to bleed, so much of the game falls under this Risk Vs Reward system.

If there’s one gripe to be had, which could be said of the original Yooka-Laylee from 2017 is that some of the stages feel overly large to traverse – which can adversely affect the pacing. That said, that’s only a minor gripe as Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair succeeds in delivering a fun, challenging, and rewarding old-school romp. By incorporating some of the classic 2D design of previous generations this once N64 throwback has matured and grown into its own slice of platforming gold.

There’s no cash-in on the overall success of the MCU here, or on the Guardians of the Galaxy movies in a standalone sense. This is a pure videogame born from the paper and ink flesh of the comics before it, imagined as an interactive slice of the IP’s universe. And it absolutely works. The action-RPG lite approach was conclusively the right decision to make, which allows the game’s absolute strength: its story and characterisation, to truly stand out. This is a surprise hit for me, and one of the most enjoyable games from a written and performed perspective you’ll play this year.

Players who don’t mind the long game, and have a soft spot for the turn-based tactics games of old will find a lot of value here, even beyond its charm. There’s also multiplayer and a map editor with all the tools required to upload and share those creations, which is a massive added bonus to the basic product, and at less than 5GB to download, but with how much you get out of it, it’s hard not to recommend it. Just be ready for an intensive investment in time through its swift learning curve. This fledgling developer-publisher is on the right path to making a nostalgia-based name for itself if it stays this course.

A no brainer for fans of the series, and a great way for newcomers to see what all the fuss is about.

Going in with as little knowledge of the mechanics and choices and scenario structure is the best way to experience Frostpunk. One of the most intense, beautiful, and emotionally resonant games that features arranging housing and streets ever made.

For what it’s worth, I loved playing the game. I felt let down and disappointed with my major gripe riddled throughout this review, but every other facet of the game is a triumph. And so at the end of the day it boils down to where you stand on design progression, and on modern day humanised characters with sticky trigger fingers. While I’m in the former camp, I also realise I’m likely outnumbered by those in the latter.

As an entire experience there is a lot on offer, and the game encourages multiple playthroughs with a number of difficulty settings, Mercenaries, Treasures and more to find and unlock. I wasn’t wholly sold on werewolves and vampires and fairytale zombies initially, but as I progressed through the game, my inner cryptozoologist emerged and I just left all scepticism at the gate and enjoyed the game for what it is: more outlandish and out there, is more better.

The Jersey Shore of videogames: fake, stupid, garish and endlessly amusing in a terrible and compulsive way. You'll hate yourself for loving it, but it won't stop you from coming back for more.

Moonlighter, like many classic action-RPGs or fantasy blends like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, is a grower. With masterful touches.

I think EA needs to go back to the drawing board on its interpretation of unpredictability's role in sports games, because while it might make the game look more realistic to watch, it makes it feel frustrating to play.

It's a game with few real weaknesses, is accessible to players of any calibre, and provides hours of entertainment for those who like to go solo or play with friends. Considering its price, it's almost a steal for the amount of enjoyment that can be had from it.

There have been obvious comparisons made to WoW, with some even going as far as calling it a clone. But what makes Rift so special is that it goes out of its way to avoid falling into the same traps as the many that have fallen before it. It avoids the painful, mindnumbing grind, makes incremental patches everyday and listens intently to its rapidly growing community.

The superb design and incredible visuals provide more than enough reason to continue to return to a game that's the best reason so far to own a Kinect.

It's well worth the hefty XBLA asking price, and if you don't already own this on any of its other platforms, or just want to relive the experience in glorious HD, Resident Evil 4 should be high on your "must play" list.

It’s a rarity when a title delivers engrossing, compelling, varied and highly replayable gameplay in both its single and multiplayer elements. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is such a manner of beast and other than a few graphical inconsistencies it remains one of the most solid all-around combat experiences I’ve snuck around behind and embedded my knife into.

Even though there’s not much going on mechanically that we haven’t seen before, one look or glance at GRIS and you'll feel the opposite – it is something you haven’t seen before. Like a beautiful and minimal watercolour painting or an evocative piece of album art come to life - GRIS is short, sweet, and often inspiring.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a pleasant surprise. While it’s lacking in any major offering for those wanting a campaign to play through, everything else is refined and iterated on in meaningful ways. Blackout is a blast, traditional multiplayer is as good as it’s been in years, and Zombies is insanity in all the right ways. Minor concerns aside, this is the best Call of Duty package I’ve played in a long, long time, and think the trade off of a campaign for Blackout — something I was more than surprised by — has been well worth it.

When the story enters the picture, Ghost of Tsushima’s world goes from problematic to picturesque to beautiful, violent, haunting, melancholic, and even divine.

To come back to our earlier appalling (but inevitable) metaphor, Kid Icarus Uprising definitely soars a little close to the sun, but manages to get away with only slightly singed wings.