Superb zombie-slaying combat and enjoyable motorcycle gameplay are integrated perfectly with a well-paced story. But the game’s major highlights are the terrifying zombie hordes which are unlike anything seen in a videogame so far.

I have thoroughly enjoyed playing Returnal so far and its unique die-and-start-over mechanic, excellent graphics, gameplay and sound all work brilliantly to deliver yet another fantastic first-party exclusive for the PS5.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an essential Xbox game. Building on every aspect of Blind Forest – from art to music right the way through to level design and combat – this is a sequel worthy of celebration.

I could write about Split Fiction for another few thousand words and still not cover everything that made me smile. As with 2024's Astro Bot, it's bursting at the seams with a Nintendo-like playfulness, an excited child opening a toybox to show you everything it can, and yet with a more measured pacing that stops it running out of breath...It's a poignant and timely reminder that for all of technology's advances, art is still made my artists, and that might just make it one of 2025's most important games — as well as one of its best.

The game is great and well worth buying if you’re looking for some multiplayer online shooting fun without the overt violence.

This is an excellent Souls-like title with a unique battle system to mix up the usual formulas. The setting looks immense and gameplay is addictive despite many a death at the hands of gruesome monsters...It's as good a Souls-like game as Elden Ring.

Though Sekiro feels impossibly hard at times, the level of euphoria you experience when delivering a death blow to a tricky boss or when you finally clear a castle grounds of all enemies is almost unparalleled.

More than just a good Total War game. Its variety in play, riveting campaign mode and improved performance move it up to one of the best games in the RTS genre.

Similar to how Breath of the Wild and Odyssey reimagined 3D Zelda and Mario, New Horizons represents an exciting new milestone for the Animal Crossing series. By truly handing the player the reins, Nintendo has delivered a deeply customisable and effortlessly joyous experience which is, quite simply, an essential purchase for all Switch owners.

You’ll find yourself quickly and expertly tossing pots to distract baddies, stacking boxes and tables for extra height and firing out little green critters to fight for you, while you run around enemies to escape. It’s a joy to play, looks great and an excellently crafted mashup of gaming ideas to deliver a fresh-feeling new Zelda.

Resident Evil Requiem is a wonderful modern gaming take on a classic series that both honours the gameplay wins of the past with more current storytelling and visual fidelity techniques. The monsters are horrors, the boss fights brutal and there’s more blood than you can shake a stick at. Perfect for survival horror gaming fans.

Huntdown stands as a neon-drenched monument on how to make a contemporary retro game. You might come for its highly stylised 16-bit aesthetic, but you’ll certainly stay for its authentic arcadey mechanics, amusing comedic overtones and unique boss battles. Despite being released long after its ancestors, Huntdown can stand tall within its genre, knowing that in reality, it probably holds more true to your nostalgic memories than what you actually played back in the day.

Overall, a great start for the PS5 era and a perfect example of a game that doesn’t have to be in-your-face to still dazzle.

Football Manager is back and its focus on long-term construction of a footballing powerhouse is refreshing for a series that previously felt solely focused on the short-to-mid term. The only challenge you'll have now is keeping in the board's good graces long enough to leave your imprint on a club.

The stunning graphics, incredible survival horror combat and wonderfully eerie setting make picking up a copy of Resident Evil 2 a no-brainer.

Factoring in all of the improvements that have been made to the handling model and racing experience in this game, I've had more fun in the My Team mode, races and time trial in F1 2020 than in any other previous F1 game before it.

Whilst a little tricky at times, Paper Beast is an experience every PSVR owner should play at some point as it is quite simply a one-of-a-kind experience. Pixel Reef and Eric Chahi create a gorgeous ecosystem where animals, plants, natural resources, and the elements all work harmoniously to keep one another alive. All of this is done with incredibly complex and beautiful paper creatures that you will marvel at as they walk on by you in the dry deserts and cold tundras. And, when the simulation you are in is over, you might come away valuing the life on Earth in reality, just a little bit more.

Id Software’s magnum opus, an epic of the videogame world that’ll be talked about for years to come, Doom Eternal is a triumph. It elevates everything that made Doom 2016 such a success, and keeps the pressure up from the opening minutes to the climactic final boss and falters only ever so occasionally en route. One of 2020’s first essential games, Doom Eternal is a masterwork of first-person shooter design, and sets the bar for what developers should be doing in the genre.

Minecraft Legends is gaming at its best - fun, welcoming, evolving, easy to play but endlessly difficult to master. And best played with friends. You’ll be continuously tested by this game and it takes its forebears’ core mechanics and adds them neatly into a new-but-familiar mix of action and strategy.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii may not be what anyone expected, but it's a fitting entry in a series that delights in surprising long-term fans and casual admirers alike. Whether you're interested in building your perfect pirate crew for hours on end, or just want to see the story through, there's a ton of things to do and with Majima around, it's a riot. It trades in some of its sentimentality for the bizarre and the brash, but finally having Majima playable again after so long feels like a breath of fresh sea air.

Masterful combat, a heap of interactive elements, and delightfully indulging gore all interweave to create something close to a masterpiece.

Clementine’s character is renowned as being one of the most impactful and most beloved videogame characters ever. Seeing her entire story retold with beautiful graphics and supported by a plethora of extras feels deserved and right.

The real enjoyment came when mixing up the two elements of conversation and combat. The way that the game allows you to make some really difficult choices in how you go about on the island give a real feeling of importance.

Divinity: Original Sin II is the best RPG you’re not playing.

Blood and Truth leaves the old glorified tech demos in the dust and realises VR’s full potential with an incredible blockbuster campaign that’s also a love letter to the city it’s made in.

It continues to plunder that wonderful rich vein they’ve been tapping of a brilliant single-player story combined with first-rate gameplay and graphics.

Indivisible is one of the best RPGs of the year. A masterclass in game design, Indivisible is funny, challenging and creative in equal measure. A few difficulty bumps can't take away from what is an almost perfect example of turn-based RPG genius. The production values are through the roof, and the game will have you rapt from beginning to end.

Overall a fantastic new title for the PS5. That console’s now-best available exclusive action-platform game. A perfect hit for those hot summer days of gaming.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is another remarkable remake of a true timeless classic. It masterfully balances new and fresh content with everything that originally lapped up such a fanbase. CTR Nitro-Fuled not only feels like an indulgent, nostalgic treat but it feels like a game that can truly be appreciated all over again thanks to new and exciting tweaks and explosive new content. Step aside Mario, there’s a new karting-king in town.

It’s lore always feels epic, but is ultimately hardcore fantasy nonsense and what’s going to keep you in Elden Ring for the long run is the amount to discover and the versatility and challenge at every turn. It has been equal parts a pleasure and hell to play Elden Ring. Because this is an amazing game and the developers have built a mind-boggling but nightmarish world to live and fight in. But it’s also one incredibly tough cookie from the off, and - casual gamers beware - you’ll have a lot of frustrating setbacks as you slowly progress as a warrior. Another wonderful video game for 2022. It’s already becoming a top year for consoles.

Overall, this a deep and wonderful game packed full of exploration, juicy combat and a strong story - if you can follow all the lore it pumps out. Square Enix have done a great job again of delivering a unique Final Fantasy world, in this case revamped for the modern gamer from an old classic.

FC24 doesn’t miss the Fifa branding at all and there’s endless enjoyment to be had here, both solo or with pals either on the couch or online.

With even more tools and features than before, Super Mario Maker 2 is a fantastic level-making package deserving of its number. Even players without a creative itch will have a blast with story mode, and being on a console with an install base already much larger than its predecessor ever had, there’ll no doubt be countless more exciting and inventive levels to come.

It is bombastic, dude-bro all-in fighting from start to finish and there’s months of replayability with the online multiplayer. It’ll get gun game fans not only through Christmas but most of 2023 too because it’s so damn moreish. For that reason it’s not only a top-tier game but one with huge value-for-money.

Jedi Survivor is a true triple-A game in that sense - a lovingly developed Star Wars game that’s improved on its predecessor and packed full of jaw-dropping moments visually and in the joypad. It’s Hollywood popcorn fun at its best, all controllable and with a real edge of difficulty that - rather than frustrates - pulls you back for more, like a good book.

The Last of Us Part II outshines the original in practically every way. The game takes level design, combat, stealth, AI and interactive narrative and uses each element to elevate the other. Unpredictable, intelligent and self-aware, this game seems to pride itself on digging into your head and staying there – allowing its themes and messages to grow and mutate long after the credits roll. Naughty Dog knows just when to take your tools off you, remove the safety blanket and provoke you. It weaves inconsistent pacing and tension together masterfully to leave you as scared and vulnerable as its protagonists. This is a game that’s going to be talked about for a long time to come, and with good reason. A masterpiece.

Gears Tactics is a brave new take on the turn-based strategy genre, executed to perfection. The freedom and fast-paced action that it provides are a breath of fresh air, and it nails so many mechanics that will hopefully become staples for the genre. It left me wanting more, though, which on one hand is glowing praise for the addictive, engaging gameplay, but it was also a little disappointing when the ending arrived so soon. Still, Gears Tactics blows its competition out of the water in terms of moment-to-moment excitement and production quality.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is another success in the series. We love that it’s starting to look back at older, more classic elements of the franchise and finding ways to reimplement them in an ever-evolving, fresh feeling new game.

While its story could be fresher, the multiplayer suite is awesome and will be played by millions across the rest of this year and next for far too many hours. War gaming is rarely this wild and fun.

While it’s not a new game, the love put in to this version of the first third of Final Fantasy 7 here makes it a brilliant addition to the slowly growing Switch 2 library. Gamers will be as addicted as ever and for £40-odd this feels like quite the bargain compared to some of the more meh full price titles nowadays.

As tennis games go, it’s a smash.

The result is a fully fledged puzzle platforming game, packed with collectibles, funny boss battles and amazing little gimmicks that realise the full destiny of the PS5’s unique playability as well as giving Super Mario a run for his money.

The work here should be used as a showcase for how to redevelop legacy products for a new generation. I would have liked to have seen it priced slightly lower, as I fear some gamers may be put off paying full-whack for a nine-year-old storyline. That said, if you really want to see what the PS5 is capable of when pushed, this is your game. And if you’re new to this series, this must be your next purchase.

Half-Life: Alyx is a perfect example of what happens if you wait a little while before jumping into a new platform. It perfects many mechanics from other games while adding in a layer of polish that only Valve could manage. It’s equal parts enchanting and terrifying, and it’s sure to be one of the turning points in VR for many of us.

Even non-gamers will find this easy to enjoy. Great family fun.

There’s depth, hundreds of hours of replayability and above all, an experience you won’t forget. With humour, panache, wit and genuinely touching moments, this is a hell of a story.

You may have played its various parts before in multiple other games but the makers have taken the best of the rest and forged their own unique hit with a pitch-perfect story and exemplary gameplay.

It’s great fun and the punching and smashing never gets dull. The difficulty ramps up nicely for all levels of gamer and there’s tons of secret areas to come back for once completed. The Switch 2 is now very much on its way to greatness software-wise.

This is an excellent first-person shooter with best-in-class multiplayer, a stunning story mode and over-the-top, enjoyable zombie smashing. Gaming gun action has never felt so good.

Another innovative showcase of the Joy-Con working with the new Ring-Con accessory, the fun-packed RPG mechanics makes Ring Fit Adventure the perfect gateway to fitness for gamers.

Shadowbringers is a step above anything that has come before it. The perfect blend of captivating gameplay and a truly memorable story that rivals those heralded by fans for decades. It’s time to step out of the shadows and become what you must Final Fantasy XIV; the best MMORPG in the world.

Switch owners will find plenty of content to chew through, particularly with friends, and while it may be the gaming equivalent to a Hulk Smash, that isn't to say that it isn’t a rollicking good time.

Despite these Switch-specific issues, Pillars Of Eternity is an absolute joy to play through. With the main campaign and two expansions included there’s well over forty hours of excellent RPG to get stuck into. It’s one of the Switch’s best ports because it’s one of this generations finest titles.

Other Ocean's reimagining of MediEvil is a respectful recreation of a unique classic. While some might think that the developers have gone down the safe route of a carbon copy recreation, it's clear that a lot of work that has gone into retaining MediEvil's original charm. The result? A gorgeous display of creative affection for a series limited by its original console confinement.

Crash 4 is a cracking platform game and an excellent way to start saying goodbye to the current console generation before the inevitable switchover to PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Tetris Effect is a magical experience that you really need to witness to believe. Featuring over thirty stages, unlockable content, and a wide range of challenges with their own leaderboards, it’s also the most complete Tetris experience to date. There’s endless replay value here for fans of the classic puzzle formula and virtual reality is the cherry on top.

It also just oozes a sense of cool that is easy to get lost in. You aren’t always on the back of a motorbike, dodging obstacles and chasing your foes: things can get surreal, absurd and often incredibly moody as you swing swords, play on a head-mounted-devices and ride waves of puke to wrap up Sayonara’s exciting missions. Don’t sleep on this one, it’s a trip.

It’s atmospheric, scary and adrenaline-inducing space fun.

Grindstone is a fantastic puzzler for your commute.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan is a must-play for anyone that appreciates horror gaming at its finest, for anyone that enjoys picking away at how a game is put together, for anyone that's got even a passing interest in finding the best storytelling vidoegames have to offer.

The combat, visuals and audio all work so well together in delivering a frantic action role-player that’ll give you tons of fun.

Overall, this is the best day one first-person shooter of the year and will only evolve and improve more as the developers tweak it. You’ve an awesome open world to explore for the first time in the franchise and a top-level multiplayer suite to battle endlessly through during the cold winter months. Well done Xbox.

It’s nowhere near as complex as Fifa, none of it is, but this game knows its strength is in the moment-to-moment arcade action and really wants you involved in that as much as possible with little distraction. For footie fans, this is a bit of a no-brainer. It’s very much a crazy Nintendo version of that sport.

51 Worldwide Games throws you into a treasure trove of high-quality games, combined with amazing multiplayer support and addictive leaderboards. For players who want a quick gaming session or those who want to compete against their friends, the game is an absolute must-buy. In fact, I’m beginning to think that 51 Worldwide Games is going to become an essential purchase for anyone who gets a Nintendo Switch from now on. For such a simple concept, Nintendo really knocked it out of the park.

Pixleopus has made a triumphant return with Concrete Genie; from your very first brush stroke you’ll be so swept away by the colour and narrative that by the time it’s over, you’ll want to jump right back in again to paint the town red, and blue… and green.

Overall, this is the best version of Ghost of Tsushima out there. While it is a year-old base game, there’s enough here for both newcomers and veterans alike to warrant another look. Yes, you could save a fair bit of cash going out and buying a 2nd hand PS4 copy. But if you want the most from your shiny new PS5 and are keen to delve into a sublime open-world sword game you really won’t find much better.

This is a great showcase for the PS5 and well worth a look for those seeking a sci-fi epic packed full of challenge.

Just as the 1999 original was a more action-focused Resident Evil game that arguably helped pivot the franchise towards the iconic fourth instalment, this 2020 reimagining feels like last year’s game in many ways, only sped up and thirstier for zombie blood. It treads the line between tension and action impressively, and Nemesis cements his legacy as one of the series’ most enduring creatures. If you’re stuck inside and looking for somewhere to escape, you’ll find Raccoon City more than accommodating.

Well worth revisiting if you’ve played before and a must-buy at £45 for those new to Part II.

It’s beautiful, brilliant to play and packed full of cars worth tinkering with. All in one easy-to-access package. This title tops the podium.

Beat Saber is the perfect recipe for a rhythm game. Easy to pick up, difficult to put down, and a wealth of complexity to explore once it has you hooked.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is the quintessential 2D Zelda experience. The gameplay never feels repetitive, and solving each dungeon or beating each mini-boss is equally as satisfying as the first. The audio is crisp and matches perfectly to the gorgeous visuals that players will be treated to throughout their time on Koholint Island. It pays homage to the original in the greatest of ways, by introducing an entirely new generation of players to one of the best Zelda experiences out there. It is a must-have for any Zelda fan, and so should take its place as a console seller for the Nintendo Switch.

Full of content for all different types of gamer, whether that’s the one-vs-computer classic Street Fighter type or the player who loves to live online, making new pals. But underneath it all is an excellent fighting game that is as addictive as it ever was and a joy to play.

It’s possibly Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus, and it’ll be a long, long time before I stop thinking about it.

Your mileage may vary based on how well you enjoyed Gwent in The Witcher 3, but if you’ve been looking for a fresh perspective on Andrzej Sapkowski’s dense world and lore then we can’t recommend it enough.

If you’ve never played Uncharted before, this is as five-out-of-five a game as you’ll ever see in review...Grab this for £42.99 and set aside February for nothing else.

My Friend Pedro is an addictive experience and a mesmerising shoot-em-up that, though failing to deliver a good story, takes you on a violent ballet filled with blood, bullets and bananas…There is plenty of content packed into the game’s 5-hour playtime, with a huge opening for possible DLC and easy ways for players to compete with each other via leaderboards.

Death Stranding is the most unique big-budget game I’ve ever played, a socially-minded injection of inventive ideas into a genre that has long survived by being lazy and brutish. This ambitious formula-flipper is brimming with empathy and carefully courts cinematic influences, an ensemble cast and a world of eye-watering scale, delivering a sticky gameplay loop to tie it all together and create a console generation-defining experience.

The statement ‘you can’t rush perfection’ has never been truer when it comes to Persona 5 Royal. The story is a slow burn, but with emotional payoffs. The enhancements and additions have been made to feel natural and fully integrated into the rest of the games systems. Persona 5 Royal is a shining example of how to reinvigorate a game. It’s a love letter to fans and a fantastic entry point for newcomers. Simply put, Persona 5 Royal isn’t just one of the best JRPGs of this generation. It’s one of the best games released in recent memory.

The story powers along at a gentle pace and can be a bit annoying, meaning a lot of dialogue skipping for me. But the gameplay itself is great - easy to get while complicated to conquer - and that 3rd person visual across a gloriously designed cartoon world can be beautiful. Its urge for exploration is everywhere and really helps to distinguish this away from other Switch titles.

I think that your enjoyment of Ghost of Tsushima will come down to how you like the game’s structure. If you’ve played Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone, you’ll know exactly what to expect. While I understand the comparisons, calling the game “Assassin’s Creed but in Japan” is doing it a bit of a disservice, in my opinion. Yes, you will raid hideouts. Yes, you have a “listen mode” where you can see enemies behind walls and stealth kill them. The game also does have similar ideas from its contemporaries, like Sekiro’s focus on parrying and Nioh’s stances. But Ghost of Tsushima does many aspects exceedingly well – and it's more than the sum of its parts. The gameplay is fun, the narrative and its characters are great, and the art direction is absolutely beautiful. The pros here vastly outweigh the cons. Ghost of Tsushima is a breathtaking adventure.

Different, fun to play, with loads of collectibles to find and a deep story that pulls at the heart, South of Midnight is THE video gaming gem of the year so far.

What a game. Web-crawlingly brilliant at every turn. Top marks Spidey, top marks.

Perfection is hard to achieve, especially in the world of video games – but WWE 2K24 comes as close to that as any previous game has so far.

I'm giving this a 95/100, but if the few little bugs are ironed out then it's as close to perfection as a wrestling game has ever been.

Overall, I love this game and – apart from Wargames – I can see myself playing this for hours upon hours without getting bored of it. The days of button-bashing your way through a WWE game are definitely over.

Overall, this is a fantastic new IP for Ubisoft and they should be commended for allowing this development team to pursue an idea that sprung out of the Assassin’s Creed development.

This is the racing equivalent of EA Sport’s not-Fifa football franchise FC24...It now delivers all the same realism, audio and visual fidelity while also never losing sight that it’s a good video game that will keep players coming back for more.

All in, a cracking Switch title. One that doesn’t feel particularly fresh in any area but is done with enough Nintendo charm and style that it’s still a pleasure to play.

While the puzzles can be tricky and resolutions are never easily signposted, you’ll have great fun slowly working your way through the tougher, more intense elements of this game to unveil ever-more details around what’s really going on in this dark world. It’s much longer than the first game too, so you feel like you’re getting more bang for your buck. Although one downside is there isn’t a huge amount of replayability in the longer term. A top effort, and we’re already looking forward to Little Nightmares 3.

Against all odds, Elden Ring Nightreign keeps FromSoft’s streak alive despite a very, very surprising left turn into multiplayer. What could have felt like a game chasing trends or designed by committee has maintained so much of what’s special about the core franchise.

It is much more accessible than before but still retains all that juicy motorsport detail under the hood...A little more of the fun factor on the next iteration will elevate this series even further.

Overall, Pragmata is a well balanced dual combat/puzzle solving space game that strikes the right tone between emotional connection and outright fighting challenge. It looks great on console and borrows design elements from past sci-fi space epics to deliver a well-rounded gamer’s game with a distinct style of its own.

Overall, you get a lot of bang for your buck in this year’s Black Ops. While the campaign is a bit meh, it’s got a couple of really neat ideas and an unusual theme for a Call of Duty title. The multiplayer is fast, frantic and as good as ever and the real selling point of this title. And the addition of meaty zombies and dead ops modes means there’s plenty of gaming to be had in the overall package.

An epic game with tons of content.

It’s a brutal game and one that’s fully sat within the oddball Japanese manga-style of near nonsense storytelling. There can be too much lore when all you want ultimately is the addictive gore of the gameplay. Difficult, frustrating, face-flushing - this game is all of them. But it’s also fantastic in its fluidity when you get things right and rewarding when a chosen baddie is finally slain after the umpteenth attempt. Overall, another strong title on the Xbox and PS5 consoles.

Well worth a look if you fancy trying a different looking and feeling race game.

Rogueport is packed with fun and danger in equal parts and tons of personality, almost a character itself. And Mario of course holds it all together with some wonderful gameplay, comedy and an interesting storyline.