I probably don’t need to say this but Nintendo knows what it’s doing when it comes to the Mario Kart franchise. Time after time, they come back with exceptional racing games and Mario Kart 8 might be the best we’ve ever seen.

Super Mario Maker delivers on its promise with the kind of ease you’d expect of a company like Nintendo with a tentpole release of a new entry in their best known series. Level creation is easy and provides plenty of creation room, and using the Gamepad is as simple as dragging and dropping.

NHL 10 continues the extremely strong legacy of the series and proves to be yet another great hockey experience from EA.

If you have sat a few years out on the franchise or even if your a regular NHL fan, NHL 09 is a game that all sports fans need to check out.

While I strongly feel it was a crime both NieR and Drakengard 3 were grossly overlooked by the media and blatantly judged only by their flaws, it was about time Yoko Taro's genius got the deserving attention and praise in the form of NieR: Automata. One shouldn't underrate the part PlatinumGames have played in the process though. The game might be Taro's baby but PlatinumGames has fostered it to a fine specimen of a Japanese action RPG. Not as brash and mad as Taro's previous offerings but more bold and proud. Much like the protagonist 2B herself.

It’s a near flawless narrative experience wrapped in a bog-standard but necessary adventure game.

Well written, fun, easy to pickup and difficult to put down, 80 Days is not only one of the best mobile games around, it’s one of the best video games, mobile or not, to come out in 2014 so far.

You owe it to yourself to give Hyper Light Drifter a go. It’s an incredible game with a wonderful look and feel to every part of it. It’s beautiful, looking great on the Switch’s screen, and can be surprisingly enveloping as an experience even as you take it to louder, crowded public areas. Every new area and experience was a delight to me, and I kept taking screenshots all the way through. It’s a challenge, but every moment was worth it.

This is not only one of the best games of the year, it is the best game on the PS3 thus far as well.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps doesn’t try to recreate the magic that made the first game so special, instead it embraces it. With its absorbing soundtrack, meticulously crafted world, and all-around gameplay improvements, Moon Studios has miraculously given us a worthy sequel to the marvelous series.

The visuals are top notch, the gameplay is solid from beginning to end, and the experience is exactly what you would want from a Battlefield game.

Left Behind is how story DLC should be done.

As a "dangerous tropical island simulator", Far Cry 3 is one of the most satisfying and inventive shooters released this year. Gamers eager to explore the wild jungle should pick this up without second thought, and try not to let the infuriating campaign rain on their parade.

PGR continues to dazzle us with an impressive array of top notch motors, solid gameplay and incredible and challenging online play.

While it pushes the series forward the on-court moment to moment action is just beginning to show signs of age.

Torchlight II is great fun and it won't be long before you're playing the game late at night muttering the famous gamer mantra, "Just one more quest." This is a how a sequel should be: it reintroduces concepts and mechanics that made the game popular while making a few useful tweaks and changes to parts of the design. Although it doesn't stray too far outside the original game's shadow, it is no less wonderful for it. As the saying goes, "if it isn't broke, don't fix it."

If you have any interest at all in turn-based games, you owe yourself this game as a gift, and honestly, even if you have little to no interest, playing this may just get that engine started.

With the additions of the CHL and Ultimate Hockey League and the great Gameplay improvements this is once again the best hockey game available as well as one of the best sports games out there.

There’s a good game in Pokemon Y, and fans looking for another game near-identical to the ones before it likely won’t find issue with a lot of the dusty trimmings and transparent battle system. If you want to get into into the new stat rebuilding features and grind out tons of easy battles to prep for high-level online multiplayer, it’s never been easier to do so. But for all else, the game’s excellent visuals belie the frustratingly old-fashioned design. RPG folk can find better times on their 3DS.

Ori and the Blind Forest is an aesthetically breathtaking adventure. Immaculately detailed environments coupled with engaging gameplay, all driven home by an emotionally driven plot makes this journey one for the ages.

In the simplest terms, playing The Witcher 2 is a lot like attending an archaeological dig with nothing but your bare hands: you're sure to come up with something amazing, but you'll suffer a lot of unnecessary punishment and stress to attain it.

For those who thought it can not be done, Rockstar has proven you wrong with this almost perfect port of a cleaned-up "GTA III" for the sweet PSP handheld.

Now that Telltale has captured my attention with this entry, they've got the difficult task of keeping it. This episode is so full of smart character moments and interactions it seems impossible for them to continue it any further, but we'll just have to see what they have in store for us next. Of course it's a lot of pressure to keep the momentum going, but the series is starting to look more cohesive and it feels like it's actually going somewhere, which I appreciate after the second episode felt so aimless and one-off. For the first time since it started, though, I'm looking forward to the next entry in this series, and can't wait to see what happens.

Super Mario Maker 2 builds upon the original in very basic ways. The game adds an impressive array of new mechanics that allow creators more freedom to design. With the addition of the painfully tedious, gimmick-driven story mode, the developers teach players just how annoying the new features can be. Regardless, designing levels has never been more convenient and the vast sea of user-created content is bound to provide endless enjoyment. Overall, Super Mario Maker 2 is a solid release that is highly recommended and successfully manages to mostly satisfy both creators and players, despite the game’s various issues and shortcomings.

Combines a great storyline with superb gameplay, and slick graphics, to give you an experience that is just non-stop fun.

Devil May Cry 5 has its best moments when it lets its new and unheard voice roar free and wild but I think that too much time is spent on treading familiar ground of the series. Of course, the game looks more amazing than anything before it, but the tried-and-tested gameplay is only elevated by its pompous overdoses. However, the ending was a saving grace as it wasn’t entirely something I had expected. It left me in high spirits, all invigorated and happy that I saw the story through, although the journey to the conciliatory climax lacked excitement when it needed it most.

This can get tedious playing by yourself, but when playing in co-op this game really shines and is actually quite a bit of fun to play.

So where does this leave us? Same great game, extra content, fan made costumes, all on the your personal computer through the magic of Steam.