Sea of Solitude is a masterpiece of storytelling, art-design and thematic visualisation. While not necessarily lengthy or mechanically deep it is an astoundingly well-crafted game that should be experienced by everyone.

Although it has its flaws, Erica is still a great revival of the old FMV genre, further erasing the line between video game and movie. An inspired control scheme, an engrossing multi-branched narrative that allows for multiple replays, and top-notch acting and directing - usually the pitfalls of the classic examples of the genre - make for a thrilling interactive experience.

There may be some rough edges, but for anyone looking for some fast-paced mobile suit action and who don’t mind a repetitive grind, Daemon X Machina is a big mech with cheese that’s worth sinking your teeth into.

WWE 2K17 isn’t exactly a step forward for the franchise. At best, it’s stuck in the past and completely lacking in any of the features that made 2K’s beast incarnate a strong contender from previous encounters. And that’s the bottom line.

A quirky love story of life, death and bureaucracy, Felix the Reaper is as effortlessly charming as it is relentlessly challenging in the puzzle department.

Lost Sphear is a bit of a hard sell to people who are not fans of JRPGS and even though the writing and characters are quite stereotypical, the story has a lot of heart. The battle system and customization options make for a fun game.

It’s clearly well thought out, but in execution The Signifer doesn’t quite match up to its intriguing concept and utterly convincing setting. The latter are so strong, though, that they keep you engaged even as you grapple with clunkier gameplay aspects and an abrupt ending. Ambitious, cerebral, worth investigating.

Saviours of Uldum offers up some interesting new mechanics and cards but rather than cleaning up the dirty patches prefers to make what was already clean shine even more.

Starblood Arena has the mechanics to be a compelling online VR shooter. But the lack of any compelling content and the difficulty of finding other people to play with proves to be one too many obstacles you shouldn’t need to be facing for a game this expensive.

Nom Nom Galaxy offers some fairly interesting additions to the genre while also attempting to critique Capitalism and human excess. It can be entertaining for a while, but just doesn’t do enough to stop that ‘samey’ feeling from creeping in all too quickly.

Star Wars Battlefront II is a gorgeous, incredibly fun shooter that builds on its roots with a host of new content, welcome gameplay tweaks and a fun single-player campaign. But all of its improvements are overshadowed by the Star Destroyer of crooked business decisions and terrible progression, making it a hard sell right now.

Battleborn is by no means a perfect game. Underneath its flaws however, there is a satisfying and fun character-driven shooter to be found.

Frantics should be a fun collection of casual-friendly mini-games made in the Mario Party mould. Unfortunately, it's just criminally boring.

Visually and audibly gorgeous, Inked battles to maintain its level of quality through an awkward camera, occasional obtuse puzzles and fumbled story.

Yooka-Laylee is a nostalgic trip to the past that ignores all the innovations that came after it. There's an appeal to return to a bygone era of platforming, but it's quickly washed away with long stretches of tedious, boring gameplay, and a sense of wit that thinks it's far smarter than it really is.

While Pure Pool is a great pool simulator, the problems I had left me feeling snookered. If those issues could be ironed out, and multiplayer fixed with a proper matchmaking tool, it would honestly be a solid title to spend some time with. For now though, I’ve just resorted to keeping it in windowed mode, taking my shots now and then between the other games I play.

A short and sweet distraction, Kill It With Fire is a quirky experiment in overreacting and pest control that will hold your attention for an hour or two.

The Wizards: Enhanced Edition wrestles with the limitations of PSVR and never wins, deeply undercutting its enjoyable spellcasting with inaccurate motion tracking. These issues are only made worse by uninteresting missions and repetitive combat, making the initial splendour of this spellcasting adventure fade very quickly.

Its mediocre ideas result in nothing more than a functionality that spoils solid art. Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold could have been a unique take on the genre but unfortunately cashes out too early to make any kind of lasting impression.

Silly, colourful and filled with more comic book knowledge than an entire chain of stores dedicated to superheroes. It may be a fan service game, but it delivers on that promise all the way.

Lord of Magna has all the ingredients for a fun and different strategy RPG but its inconsistent pacing, predictable battles and lacklustre customization options hold it back from being anything more than a pretty average game.

Biomutant juggles a ton of balls at any given time, and while it might not be able to keep all of them in the air, it's still an ambitious open-world adventure that's hard to not fall in love with. Maybe it's coming at the right time as well, as its generally laid-back approach to storytelling, wonderfully silly crafting, and deep character customization more than makes up for the rough combat that could do with some more polish.

Horror-adventure Close to the Sun pairs an emotionally-engaging narrative with arguably one of the most stunning and memorable game worlds of 2019. Pity about the frustrating gameplay choices and story decisions that ramp up in the final third of the game. They cast a shadow over the accomplishments that preceded them.

Boring narrative aside, Sniper Elite Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is superb at delivering its bread and ballistics gameplay. Focused purely on the art of the kill, CI Games has crafted numerous detailed sandboxes to become the ultimate long-distance predator inside of, resulting in a game that forges ahead and doubles down on its own unique brand of hold-your-breath gunplay. Pure cathartic and exhilarating action with every squeeze of the trigger.

While it's great to have a climactic final battle with Sauron, the rest of the game feels like a watered down version of the original. Add to that some weak storytelling and lack of character development and it ends up feeling like an ill conceived DLC prequel.

It’s definitely fun in short bursts, and is perfectly suited to the Switch with its casual, light-hearted multiplayer. That said, it’s just not especially engaging or memorable. As far as rhythm games go, this one going to be a bit like Marmite. As a rhythm game. it’s not nearly as quirky or interesting as something like Rhythm Heaven - and as a sports game, it can’t top Wii Sports. As a combination of both, it’s unique - but the sum isn’t as good as its parts.

A flawed game at times, but an equalling captivating one in others. It’s repetitive gameplay loops and standard mechanics hide an engrossing tale grounded by top of the class performances. It’s a tale that pays off in closing, if only just barely.

While the attempts to inject a bit of life into the series with a semi open-world mode and a track editor are laudable, the game itself is just too familiar. Newcomers might appreciate what the MXGP 2019 has to offer, but anyone who’s played any previous game in the series will just feel like they’ve seen it all before.