So many puzzle platformers suffer from issues like length and boring puzzles but The Swapper delivers on all fronts and then also adds an intriguing story with questions about morality and humanity that are incredibly interesting.

A slick combat system and beautiful visuals help blend with an unobtrusive yet uplifting musical score to make this a wonderful little title.

Not only is The Last of Us technically brilliant, it has little things that just drag you further into the world. They are by no means important to the progression of the story of the game but the make the character seem more human and less one dimensional.

Gaming gold. It may be short, I clocked my first play through in around 6 hours, but it’s a beautiful 6 hours.

Forget your One Million Years Dungeons, Charlemagne DLC really does add 100 years to the game, adding the total up to almost 700 years of historical gameplay.

There are jokes, puns, quips, slapstick, a cool Resogun section, puzzles, laughs, cheesy character flight tunes (Superman flying to his theme tune is amusing) and a ton of Adam West to keep a smile on your face for hours.

Still not enough? OK, I have two words for you: War Elephants. WAR ELEPHANTS! Everything is better with War Elephants.

I could go on all day about Cities: Skylines, much like I could go on all night playing it. It has restored my faith in the City Building Simulator genre. It’s everything that fans of the genre were hoping for and more.

The graphical style is reminiscent of 90s cyberpunk game Speedball, the rules of the game are Bloodbowl-esque American football lite, but the turn-based strategy is as deep as a glacier, only with a ball and a clock to watch.

While there are a limited number of genuinely memorable landmarks in the world of Mordor, the real points of interest is the captains being hunted.

Do yourselves a favour folks; spend three quid on this game and immerse yourself in it, or merely dip into it whenever you have five minutes, and make your merry way around the world. You’ll either thank me the introduction or hate me for getting you addicted.

Overall GRID Autosport has taken a step backwards, but in a good way.

Minor criticisms aside, I think This War of Mine is the last great game of 2014. Representing a horrid subject in an honest way, its as effective a critique of war as any movie I’ve ever seen or book I’ve ever read.

F1 2014 may have some graphical flaws, but it’s a fantastic game. Possibly the best F1 game of recent times thanks to the radical changes to the sport itself and the ease of access F1 2014 has to players.

Believe me when I say you will sink days into this game. I got so wrapped up in playing it that I forgot to write the review and if that doesn’t say much for it’s wonderful mix of minecraft style building and RPG then I don’t know how to convince you.

One word sums up this game, fun. It truly is a lovely game to play, with enough adventure and fun to keep kids happy.

The art, UI and sound all match the minimalist style of the game perfectly, and with a potentially endless selection of user generated levels to play Socioball is a game that will never get old.

Insomniac Games have just given a masterclass in taking a tried and tested game genre and making it feel fresh and fun.

Never Alone attempts to portray the message that the connection between individuals and communities and how the ties that bind them together, can overcome the most seemingly impossible tasks. And whether you play by yourself or with a friend, the journey will be just as exciting and thrilling for the players as it is for Nuna.

A wonderful game. Very well designed and highly playable. The only thing letting it down (and this is probably merely a matter of taste) was the boss fights.

It’s funny, well written, good looking, has great music and will keep you busy for months. It is an essential purchase for those who haven’t played it before and a huge recommendation for those who have.

If you’re on the look out for a slightly different JRPG experience, a challenge or an entry point to games like Etrian Odyssey and Shin Megami Tensei, then Persona Q is a great choice.

All in all with the great graphic novel level intros and the nice little story and wit the protagonist displays, Veocity 2X is an engaging experience. I was glued to it till I was at level thirty six, then I realised I should really write something before I get to the end and spoil it for everyone here.

The music fits in perfectly as well. It has a great synth sound straight out of the 80’s, and nothing else would have done this game justice.

Now comes my favourite part of the game. Better than the combat. Better than the graphics style. Better even than the NPCs who fight by your side. It’s the soundtrack. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It takes me back to a time when a much younger version of myself was ineptly running through games like The Legend of Zelda and Mario Brothers.

Overall, this is probably the best game in the Tropico series, and one of the best city builders currently available.

Overall the War Thunder tank battles are great even at this early stage.

It’s a melting pot of nostalgia, and the result is an amazingly well executed and polished title, which builds the mechanics of these other titles into something new.

With over sixty hours of campaign to play, and the variety of the missions, there’s plenty here to satisfy your turn based strategy needs.

All in all, if you’ve never played Guacamelee then this updated version is the one you should jump into, but fans of the original shouldn’t miss out on the Super Turbo Championship Edition either as it offers enough upgrades and content to stand apart and above what came before.

If you are an Ultimate Team die-hard then maybe 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil won’t be for you, but if you are a FIFA fan and excited about the upcoming World Cup then definitely give this one a try. The only thing there is to dislike about it is the new podcasters that you can have talking during the menus.

With a versatile cast of strange of wonderful characters that play well and quite differently, it’s a release that deserves a rightful place in any fighting game fans collection and a title I hope gets the attention it deserves.

If you don’t like the Total War series in general, there might not be enough revolution here to change your mind. But if you’ve appreciated the series in the past, even in passing, Atilla deserves to be given a whirl. Learn the ins and outs, and you’ve got days worth of content right here.

Playing this for the first time gave me a similar feeling to playing the first Bioshock, where you were scared about what was around the next corner, but still intrigued to find out.

Hyrule Warriors looks great, sounds great and plays great. While hack-and-slash games have never been my personal preference, I lost an entire weekend to Hyrule Warriors without even realising it.

Dying Light is a game that looks good, plays well and feels great. A survival horror game should be able to reliably freak you out, and Dying Light achieves that and so much more.

It’s certainly not going to be a game for everyone but it undoubtedly resonated with me.

Finding fault in small aspects of the DLC’s design is churlish considering the renewed appreciation for From Software’s work that this chapter has inspired. Crown of the Ivory King is Dark Souls in microcosm; a bite-sized but meaty slice of the series’ opaque lore, atmospheric locations and ludicrously difficult boss fights.

Episode 1 does exactly what it should, grabs you right from the get-go and leaves you desperate for more.

Wolfenstein: The New Order feels like a game which really shouldn’t work. It transplants the feeling of a ’90s first person shooter into 2014; yet also has enough sense to mix in elements of modern game design to ensure it doesn’t feel antiquated. It is an action game which is fully functional as a stealth game. Its narrative is equal measures serious and ludicrous. Its lead character is a superman who feels vulnerable.

All in all, it’s a visually good game, easy to pick up and worth a try not only for fans but also those who like adventure games.

It’s the strength of the storytelling that makes Danganronpa 2 a veritable tour-de-force, even with its somewhat quirky gameplay mechanics.

I loved Commando Jack. I don’t think I can recommend it enough. Sure it has some rough edges and it won’t appeal to everyone. But I think it will appeal to the masses thanks to the amount of fun that is to be had.

The music throughout the game is used to great effect.

The presentation is also very sharp in Endless Legend, with nice in-game art and music combining with the well laid out menus to create the impression of a quality product. Unusually for a 4X game there’s a story running throughout the campaign, and the theme of a world on the brink of apocalypse is well handled and lends the whole experience a sense of urgency.

Fenix Rage manages to scratch the itch for the super-challenging Super Meat Boy-like but it doesn’t scratch it for quite long enough.

If you remember the good old days of 8bit arcade gaming then you should definitely be picking up Q*bert. The Rebooted mode is a relaxing break from the difficulty faced in the classic version, but you’ll always go back for more.

The entire game experience is very slick and you can tell a good amount of thought into the pool experience has gone into development to make it as genuine as possible.

Despite its shortcomings in regards to controls and camera, Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee is worth every minute of frustration.

The game is simple to get to grips with but complex enough that it can be challenging.

If you’ve got the patience to keep at it, Deadcore is an amazing new take on a tried and tested formula. The gameplay elements it combines run seamlessly into each other, with nearly flawless level design. It offers immense replayability for the Speed Runner crowd, and a challenging, rewarding experience for everybody who plays it.

Pineview Drive is a very atmospheric horror game. It ticks all the boxes for tension, atmosphere and makes you jump at all the right times. The only two things I found letting it down were the repetitiveness of searching the same rooms over and over again and the ending (which, in the interests of no spoilers I will not mention here) which didn’t feel like it lived up to the expectations of the rest of the game.

In short, Mighty Adventure is a great wee game from a newly formed team and I look forward to their next offering.

So if you can set your cynicism aside and gather your three least inhibited friends (and maybe some of their kids or younger siblings), Just Dance 2015 can be one of the most fun games you’ll play this year.

Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype is all about playing over and over to perfect your runs. A series of unlockable challenges task you with goals like “finish the first four stages without losing a life”. You’ll probably knock these challenges off the list without being aware of them, because replaying Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype is not a problem.

The graphics are just as great, the game plays the same way and it’s basically a new adventure with new puzzles to solve, so it is what you would expect from a sequel to a brilliant game.

A really deep and powerfully hitting game. On the surface you have a rogue like puzzler, with simple pick and throw mechanics. But give it a few hours and you soon realise that it’s more than that; it explores the concept of loss, fear and self-preservation.

I have played 8 hours of this game. 8 amazing hours of beating my enemies to a pulp and gorging myself on their souls… 8 hours of pure unadulterated madness.

A thoroughly enjoyable game and in a market bursting with puzzle platformers, it manages to shine bright and bring something truly unique to the table.

The revised skills trainer makes it a perfect entry level game for us on the other side of the pond who are interested in the NFL but need help in the concept and rules department of the game.

Pure Pool is a great arcade game that looks better than it deserves to. The physics are flawless, down to the frustrating pocket bouncer shots.

The only real criticism I can think of for Dungeon of the Endless is that it’s difficult. But that’s like criticising FIFA for containing so much football. Difficulty, permanent death and a challenging learning curve are the bread and butter of the entire genre. And it’s a fun genre, if you’ve got the patience to try and try again.

Reiner Knizia’s Supremacy is one of the best DICE+ enabled games out there so far, and definitely shows the potential of the DICE+ as a social mobile video game controller.

You will hate the amount of time you spend replaying the same level just because you think you can do better.

Silly story aside Q.U.B.E Director’s Cut is very good game. Most first person games fall apart when the have platforming sections, but Toxic Games managed to pulled off a whole game with first person platforming.

The styling of the different ships is quite frankly amazing.

Offering up new challenges and features keeps us entertained, and the unlimited supply of tracks via Track Central ensures that the game will never die. Trials Fusions downfall is that of the new FMX trials. It is an unnecessary addition to a game still provides the player with the same fun factor as its predecessors without it.

Battle Princess of Arcadias is an incredibly fun game that you should definitely give a shot.

The Last Tinker: City of Colors provides a great splash of nostalgia for gamers who grew up playing games like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot. There are plenty of puzzles in there to keep you on your toes, but the gameplay can be easy enough to let your kids loose on it.

Rollers of the Realm is quite a lot of fun, though the story doesn’t last very long and the ‘Arena’ mode gets repetitive very quickly as it just recycles level designs from the campaign. The core gameplay, though, is totally solid. If you’re not into pinball, this probably isn’t one for you. If you’ve been known to dabble in the art of Pinball Wizardry, however, you should give it a shot.

Tower of Guns offers a fresh and exciting blast of satisfying thrills with each play-through, all delivered in easily digestible, rogue-like chunks. That this is essentially the work of just one guy, and that the price is right (currently £11.99 on Steam), makes Tower of Guns easy to recommend to PC gamers looking for something just a little bit different.

Unless you’re a fan of the South Park universe, you’re probably not going to be able to dive into this game. For me, although it’s a ton of fun and bright and cheery – after a while the potty humour and same quips and jokes became somewhat wearisome.

The new routes provide a wide range of challenges and the new trains, particularly the ICE T, will please many train fans. Load times are long, so if you have a SSD install it on there.

The Creative Assembly have Frankensteined together a game from these elements: the crafting of RPG’s, the item paucity and unstoppable enemy from survival horror, the skulking and hiding from stealth games, the hacking and puzzles from adventure games. They’ve created something new, and while you can still see the joins from where the different systems have been grafted together, they have nonetheless created the best Alien game ever made. By some distance.

I really enjoyed my time with Monochroma. I found it charming, intriguing and most importantly, very well done.

The more control the game gives to you, the more fun you can have with Wildlife Park 3. Between building the perfect enclosure for each animal, keeping an eye on what’s available to you and making sure that your park is properly staffed and well maintained, you could easily lose hours to this without realising. The characters in the game may be annoying and unlikable, but the game itself is charming enough to hold my attention, and hopefully, yours too.

Space Farmers is a fun wee game that punishes you as much as it delights you.

Duels 2015 lacks any of these fun Multiplayer formats which, to me, is it’s greatest weakness. But with a robust tutorial, a massive selection of cards and an emphasis on allowing the player the freedom to choose their own Decks, I still have to rate Duels 2015 as one of the strongest of the series.

Sniper Elite 3 is one of the most taxing and rewarding games you will play this year.

EA have got their hands on UFC, and for their first release have promised to deliver a complete revamped engine; from the physics to damage modifiers, the fatigue system to the artificial intelligence. This game packs a serious wallop in terms of its features!

FIFA 15 delivers what you would expect from it. Which is a massive plus point for EA Sports this year. In fact it’s the first EA game I’ve played this year that was actually feature complete at launch.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Ancient space and I will beat that final level. Even if it takes me another twenty hours of complete and utter failure. Ancient Space has beaten me down ruthlessly but I still want to come back for more.

Despite what might seem like harsh critique, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a stunning achievement. It’s undoubtedly one of the best games I’ve played this year, and I cannot stop thinking about it.

I really like Halfway. As a turn based strategy game with a great atmosphere that offers a steep but engaging challenge, it’s a good game. It’s still a bit limited, but I want to play it. Again. Right now. And that’s surely a good sign.

Yes, the game isn’t perfect but it’s a lot of fun.

If you’re hungry for Walking Dead, and moreish pinball games, this is a no-brainer.

Ionball 2 is a really well polished and generally decent Breakout game, there’s enough interesting ideas and customisation in the active and passive upgrades to give you a few playthroughs and still have you enjoy it every time. If you’re interested in a little bit of brick breaking action you can’t go wrong here.

If you are a Sims veteran that hasn’t picked up Sims 4 straight away, do it. There is an improvement in a lot of areas to the game, mainly the build modes and the introduction of the moodlets, and it is only going to get better as they patch and add more content to the game.

What delighted me most about Pixel Puzzles was the gentle reminder of how much I actually missed doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Graphics aside Colin McRae Rally keeps the “realistic” handling of its day.

The course designer adds a huge amount of depth to the game as you will never run out of new courses to play.

The improvements to the graphics (did I mention it looks gorgeous on the iPad?), sound and overall presentation of Chapter Two ensures that The Journey Down can still be regarded as a solid example of a good point and click adventure game.

On PS4, this is the same great, addictive title that left me nostalgic for the skateboarding version of the nineties I never really knew: it’s just that OlliOlli’s mobile heritage begins to become apparent when played on a home console that it was probably never intended to grind, flip or spin its way on to.

As difficult and repetitious as Lovely Planet gets however, rarely is it frustrating. It’s hard to hold a grudge against a game so whimsical, especially when it delivers even the most nefarious of its tricks with such stone-faced innocence.

This game is fun. It’s a great way to while away the commute to work, kill a few minutes waiting for tardy friends or lose yourself in after a long day at work.

Ascendant is a decent brawler and you will have fun watching the amazing artwork of your character slicing his way through a marauding horde of enemies. The game is not for the faint-hearted though, as death is final and a lot of people will (like me) get annoyed far too easily due to this.

A pretty good game. It lacks any brilliant originality or unique spark to make it truly stand out from the crowd. When it’s not hampered by technical issues (it frequently crashed on me) and long loading screens, the game itself is quite fun, especially to play with friends. For the most part NS2 plays well and, while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any aspect, you could do a lot worse.

For the price of £15 you get a game that rewards you with story and atmosphere, albeit a slight lacklustre combat experience and a game that is in need of updates adding more enemies and areas. Is it worth looking at this game? For certain. For me at least there are a number of unanswered questions that I need to resolve.