The realism has really been ramped up this year, making every pass, tackle and goal attempt feel accurate and worthwhile. The goalkeepers and graphics have vastly improved too, even if the more realistic referees might frustrate you at first – just as they do in the real game...The only let down is that there are very few genuinely new features, but with this refinement of the excellent work done in PES 2016, PES 2017 could be the new Leicester.

Like a robot that's been cobbled together from spare parts, ReCore has a complicated identity. It's often a platformer and a third-person shooter, but it sometimes feels like a shoot 'em up or a character action game, and it's all underpinned by RPG systems...Because of this muddled personality, it never fully delivers on anything, leaving us with an enjoyable experience, albeit one with a few issues at its core.

The new settings, intriguing characters and a fresh take on familiar faces all combine to make an extremely memorable adventure, especially when you consider the amount of plot turns and twists you go through.

Very few puzzle games are both challenging and fun, and deliver a heartwarming storyline, but Hue has done it.

This isn't a casual gamer's sim-style racer, but if you're looking for a more authentic driving sim Assetto Corsa might just win your heart.

F1 2016 gives you even better racing than last year's version, then makes it the centre of a brilliant career mode. The handling, AI and sense of speed have never been better, while the changes to starting and the new practice goals have a major impact on the race weekend. This is an F1 game for F1 fans, but exciting enough to pull in those who'd never normally sit through qualifying. You can't really ask for more than that.

Mankind Divided is neither as revolutionary as Deus Ex was 16 years ago nor The Witcher III and MGSV were just last year. That doesn't change the fact that it's a brilliant Deus Ex, giving you a rich, exciting cyberpunk world, a compelling storyline within it, and the freedom to explore it almost any way you wish...In terms of both stealth and combat it's a big improvement on the last game, while it still has the deep storytelling and lavish background detail we've come to expect. If you're in a mood for a dark, sci-fi conspiracy thriller with some meaty themes, put those mirrored shades on your face and get stuck in.

Although Deus Ex GO is a neat little package with great visuals, tricky puzzles and a compact storyline, it's let down by a control system that isn't as tight as its forbearers.

Although there are moments of warm loveliness in Grow Up's story, beauty in its world and some brand new abilities, there's no getting away from the fact that this feels like B.U.D's difficult second album.

This isn't quite the indie, arthouse Ratchet and Clank, then, but it's distinctive, unusual and frequently inspired.

Telltale Games has done it again. It's delivered another fresh take on a franchise you didn't think could be reinvented.

In many ways Abzu looks and feels like a successor to Journey, but while there's mystery and beauty in its underwater world, it's rarely quite as engaging. The simple, predictable gameplay is one barrier, the abstract nature of the story another, creating an experience that's big on audio-visual power and artistry but short on the stuff that made Journey truly magical.

There's precious little sign of excitement, imagination or progression, the weapons are weedy and the storytelling poor. Given that there are plenty of other twin-stick shooters with better gameplay and graphics out there, you'd be mad to buy it were it a fiver. At over £30, however? That's the biggest joke of all.

New features like the Hunter Styles and Arts and Prowler mode are a gift to less experienced players, while the sheer wealth of content and great online play will please long-term fans.

If you like your Metroidvanias it's well worth diving in.

It's rare that a game can be beautiful, gruesome, tense and exhilarating all at the same time, but Inside does just that. Its six years in the making really show. It might be just a sidescroller on paper, but it's so polished and well-put-together that its a showcase of Playdead's mastery. It's captivating and moving, gory and bleak but ultimately, Inside is a piece of art from the first stumbling steps to the closing credits.

We'll accept that there's some filler and that some of the gameplay's getting long in the tooth, but if TT Games keeps churning out games with this much charm and humour, we'll keep on buying them. As it is, the new combat and puzzle mechanics keep things fresh, while the lure of new stories set around The Force Awakens is hard to resist.

While fans will find something to love in its hardcore gameplay and old-school character design, non-fans should steer well clear.

Mirror's Edge Catalyst makes some major missteps in the story and character department, but hey, that's what the mute button is for...More important is that when the action is go and Faith is in full stride, Mirror's Edge Catalyst is as thrilling and sure-footed as they come.

From its celebratory replays to its hero of the match voting and on-the-fly hero switching, it's a game that does everything it can to make you feel good and bring you into the scene. Play it if you love online shooters, play it if you don't: Overwatch is ready to join the likes of Quake and Team Fortress 2 in the pantheon of greats.

If you're into RPGs and turn-based tactics, then this is an utterly essential purchase.

Homefront: The Revolution has plenty of ambition and a handful of good ideas, but it's spoilt by the clumsy execution. Much as we love the mix of gameplay styles and those classy customisable guns, we can't get over the lifeless gunplay, clumsy movement and woeful AI.

Relax – this is very nearly the Doom you've always wanted but never really thought you'd get. By focusing on DOOM's brutal, ultraviolent heart iD has created an all-action FPS in the old-school style, but with next-gen looks and a handful of mod-cons. It's not going to reinvent the genre, but it might help you rediscover all the good stuff that used to make it tick.

Shadow of the Beast might not be exactly what true fans were expecting, especially with a few strange gameplay and narrative choices, but there's still something here for everyone. It's short, but it's only £11.99 and there's plenty of replayability here - not to mention it's two games for the price of one.

It's not hard to knock Battleborn, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that it can be a blast to play. It still gives you the variety, the sense of growing power and the competitive thrills of a good MOBA, while also dishing out the kind of madcap, crazy shooter action that Borderlands fans have come to know and love.

It's the most appetising game smorgasbord we've ever had the good fortune to sample, with just the right blend of impactful storyline, cinematic cutscenes, explosive set pieces, exploration, discovery, puzzle solving and good old shootouts.

You'll fall for Alienation's great twitch gameplay, but it's with its RPG-like elements that the hooks really sink in. Alienation has created something that's part twin-stick blaster, part sci-fi dungeon crawler, with all the looting, levelling and upgrading that implies. Limited locations and the repetitive shoot 'em up gameplay might make it a less enticing prospect a few weeks in, but right now it's impossible to resist.

The graphics are basic and the controls can be tricky. Switching cameras is a nightmare when you can't remember the positions, making the business of stemming the tide of bots a little more stressful than it should be. Yet Starfox Guard turns out to be weirdly addictive.

Sometimes great, sometimes rough but mostly patchy, Star Fox Zero is depressingly mediocre. Fox and the gang deserve much better next time around.

It builds and evolves to eventually become an RPG that stands firmly on its own, borrowing from its peers but making sure it's also totally unique. We haven't been able to put it down, and we've not said that about a 3DS game for a while.

Stunning graphics, excellent platformer gameplay and a story full of cheeky nods to its origins and multi-faceted jokes make this the game that Ratchet and Clank fans deserve - and everyone else deserves to play.

Dark Souls 3 must bow its head to its Playstation predecessor - but should be proud that it manages to be a gruelling, challenging adventure, pushing endlessly through horror and weirdness.

If they dial back the gorgonzola, the product placement and adjust that cover mechanic, this could have been a perfect game...But, for now, you've got the best-looking game on Xbox One, jam-packed full of familiar faces and top-notch acting, complemented by strong gameplay mechanics and a popcorn-crunching TV series.

If you've got the time and patience to overcome its seemingly ​impenetrable​ exterior, then Dirt Rally is a thrilling racing game that's best in its class. This is a game where satisfaction can be had with a podium finish and one where you'll feel a true sense of pride and joy for every hard-earned victory... as rare as they may be.

UFC 2 is the best attempt to date at turning the sport into a game, and seasoned fans will no doubt be able to overlook its shortcomings and enjoy it for what it is - a gorgeous-looking but ultimately flawed fighter.

It's not as technical as Street Fighter, not as chaotic as Smash Bros and not as fluid as Tekken, but if it just offered a bit more of a challenge and some more depth, it would be right up there with the best of them.

There's no getting away from the fact The Division is the best open-world that Ubisoft has ever created, while the gameplay is consistently entertaining and cohesive. The deep RPG elements and tactical gunplay just add to that. Plus, the fact you can get so much enjoyment out of being a solo player, with that experience heightened by buddying up, is quite a feat.

So far, Hitman feels like the perfect blend of Absolution and Blood Money; the accessibility and polish of the former, but with the same approach to level design and characterisation as the latter. It looks fantastic and the frame rate even holds up during the busiest scenes on PS4.

Fans of the original will wolf down everything this revamp has to offer, and if it passed you by back in 2006, this is the best way to experience it for the first time.

A bright, colourful and tasty blend of all your favourite multiplayer shooters, it will leave you with a big smile on your face and feeling good inside.

It's a game that challenges your way of thinking, forcing you to live by each moment and ditch that hoarding habit you've been harbouring. So grab your raft, enjoy the views and just try to survive. It's harder than you think.

It's ironic that Telltale's biggest success with TWD: Michonne is in how it perfectly projects Michonne's detached mindset onto the player, albeit unintentionally. Just as Michonne is hardened and unsympathetic, you'll meet lots of new characters and learn of their troubles and motivations, but you probably won't care.

​Far Cry Primal ​is the most convincing entry yet, and we can't get enough of having our very own bear.

Just like Ryu and his never-ending quest to become the world's best brawler, Street Fighter 5 is a work in progress with a long journey ahead of it. And based on this evidence, it's a journey you should most definitely pack your bags for.

But anti-climatic ending aside, Firewatch is a truly unique experience that packs an emotional punch. Razor-sharp dialogue and exceptional voice acting only stoke its flames and help it burn brighter.

OK, so Unravel kind of runs out of steam, and there are times when the game is so frustrating that you'll want to throw Yarny in the cat's direction. But then this isn't a game that's defined purely by its platforming and puzzles. Indeed, by the time the cracks appear, you'll be too in love with little Yarny and too emotionally invested in the journey to turn back.

XCOM 2 is otherwise a follow-up that does everything right by offering the best extraterrestrial skirmishes since Independence Day, coupled with genuine tactical depth that doesn't come at the expense of accessibility.

If you're planning some solo monster slaying and don't know your Cloud from your Squall; your Lightning from your Yuna, then you might want to check out something like Monster Hunter instead. However, if you still blubber like a baby every time someone mentions the name Aeris, then Final Fantasy Explorer's exceptional level of fan service will warm you up like a Chocobo onesie.

You will struggle, you will curse, you will encounter liars saying they did things 'easily', and you will achieve redemption through completion... eventually.

These niggles aside, LEGO Marvel's Avengers is another mighty adaptation from TT Games, with as much wit, magic and authenticity as its other brick-rendered offerings.

It's certainly not the best in the series, but it's a creepy game with a great atmosphere and one where you actually have to plan ahead. If only they fixed that ruddy camera.

It's a stylish game with fun platforming, smooth combat and mostly good stealthy bits - and a definite improvement on its underwhelming predecessor.

From its intense firefights to its wanton destruction and carmageddon, Just Cause 3 ​has all the hallmarks of a classic action movie - it's just a shame the end result is more Van Damme in quality than vintage Schwarzenegger​ or Stallone.

As Star Wars fever builds ahead of The Force Awakens, Battlefront's brand of accessible multiplayer mayhem is definitely going to make a lot of people happy this Christmas. Sure, it could do with a campaign and sometimes it's a bit too shallow for its own good, but Battlefront is also one of the most authentic Star Wars experiences you can have outside of kissing your sister - "for luck" - and scrapping with your dad.

Like a rookie player with bags of potential, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash has that raw ability, but it lacks the finesse to be a champion.

And that's Rise of the Tomb Raider in a nutshell. The parts that weren't so great about the reboot are better, while the best bits are bigger, louder and more plentiful.

Graphical niggles aside, Fallout 4 feels like a culmination of the fantastic work Bethesda did on Fallout 3, New Vegas and Skyrim, surpassing them all in terms of scope and scale.

It provides plenty of bang, bang, boom for your buck, and whether you're a long-time fan or partial to the odd shooter, Black Ops 3 should keep you more than busy until Infinity Ward returns with Ghosts 2, Modern Warfare 4 or whatever the hell it is they're working on next.

More doesn't necessarily mean better, but compared to last year's rather anaemic offering, WWE 2K16 feels like an Andre the Giant step in the right direction. If the series keeps on improving at this rate, we could have a future hall of famer on our hands.

Halo 5: Guardians features an underwhelming, confusing and surprisingly banal campaign that's not actively bad, but equally not quite good enough to warrant a purchase on its own.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate is an acrobatic lunge in the right direction for the series. It's a more stable offering than Unity ever was with engaging protagonists, a monster of a city to get lost in, and some shrewd tweaks to the time-tested formula.

When it comes down to it, it's the communication and that sense of shared success that makes Triforce Heroes such a joyous and satisfying release.

Even though you can play with a couple of guitars co-operatively, it doesn't offer the same group-based action that makes Rock Band 4 such a party favorite, but it does provide something that's radically different to anything that has come before.

Minecraft: Story Mode is off to a good start, and despite a story-less canvas and only in-game references to draw from, developer Telltale has crafted something promising.

If anything justifies the toys-to-life tag, it's LEGO Dimensions, which thanks to its fresh take on the toy portal, brilliantly varied licences and sets that actually need building, has reinvigorated what is still a relatively new genre. Disney and Skylanders may just have to raise their techy-toy game.

Combined with the lack of true innovation, it means that Rock Band 4 only ever achieves Wembley Arena-level greatness - rather than Wembley Stadium-filling excellence. But this is all about pure enjoyment, and after such a long absence and an over-complicated third release, it's a welcome return to form for one of the pioneers of the rhythm action genre.

Whether you're an ardent fan who has logged into Destiny every week since launch, or someone who set down the controller the moment the credits rolled at launch last September, everything has been tweaked and changed for the better for everyone.

This glorious compilation is the definitive way to experience the trilogy, whether you're a returning fan after a recap ahead of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End or a newcomer looking to pop your Uncharted cherry. Either way, you're in for a treat.

The Pro Evolution Soccer series has been steadily improving over the past few years, and with PES 2016 it seems the dev team has finally cracked that winning football formula, despite some rough edges.

Chock-full of content and fresh ideas, Skylanders SuperChargers revitalises the toy-to-life series by seamlessly integrating racing into the mix and cranking up the variety.

FIFA 16 is undoubtedly an impressive beast of a game that's stuffed with official leagues and licenses, game modes and other little touches that add flavor to the match day experience.

Mad Max is at its best when you're hurling through the desert with a pack of murderous bandits on your tail, but the on-foot portion of the game feels derivative and largely uninspired.

Forza Motorsport 6 is a terrific game. It misses a few minor beats, with yet another career mode that throws you straight in there, and good god the serious attitude of the game is sickening at best. But this is one of the best driving simulations out there: it's the game launch title Forza 5 really should have been.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is the apex of the series and a fitting way for Kojima et al to bow out: as one, as best, as Big Boss.

Super Mario Maker already has so much potential, but its true brilliance will only be apparent once it's out and it starts to create prodigies. Whether Super Mario Maker is a gateway to infinite Mario levels or an outlet for your creativity, you will still find unlimited value within.

It is quite clear that Devil's Third was never intended for the Wii U. It feels completely out of place. It's fitting that the only Wii U-specific feature Devil's Third uses is the GamePad's poor battery life, because it gives you an excuse to turn it off.

Despite the butterfly effect's premise, a ham-fisted story means you won't care about who might live and who might die. It's not enough to save the game from disappointment, and in the end, Until Dawn is its own self-inflicted nightmare.

At times, Volume may fly too close to its Metal Gear Solid roots - creator Mike Bithell has unashamedly noted 1998's stealth 'em up as a distinct source of inspiration - but what it lacks in immediate originality, aesthetically at least, it makes up for in innovative, engaging, and challenging level design.

Rovio has gone above and beyond making Angry Birds 2 the best entry in the series so far, from its polished-up graphics to the new challenges it has to offer.

For what it is, N++ is great. It's a puzzle game that is equal parts demanding, equal parts destroying. Everything that worked before has been tweaked and tuned, and there's oodles of extra content within and outwith the solo campaign.

The Swindle is a good game on the cusp of greatness, but falters from a structural identity crisis that is hard to ignore.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is far from a double-bogey catastrophe of a golfing game, and has all the fundamentals to challenge for honours. With a little extra love and lots of additional content, it could potentially go beyond par and soar like an eagle.

And that's what it feels like to play Godzilla - you're a man in a giant suit, blindly bumbling around a fake cardboard city, swinging your arms and trying not to pass out - not because you're exhausted, but because you're bored out of your mind.

F1 2015 lays the foundations for the future by getting it right on the race track where it matters most. Ultimately, however, it's still in need of some bodywork to bring it fully up to speed with feature-heavy past releases.

Final Fantasy XIV newcomers might have to jump through hoops to access the new content, but believe us when we say it's worth the effort.

Three games' worth of classic heroes and villains and six years of work come together beautifully in a fitting conclusion to an epic superhero trilogy.

A game which dares to be different, something which confidently redefines what should be considered a 'video game', but is as profound and important as any other game available today, telling a vivid and engaging tale which is as rich and colourful as any open world sandbox; its tangents and offshoots as playful as any sprawling side quest.

There is the odd flourish of creativity, but it is hard not to feel like it's all been done before, and better. There's still plenty to enjoy, but it doesn't quite carve out its own identity. In short: it's finely crafted, if a bit woolly.

The game is worth its asking price for its sheer volume of content alone, and while not all of it is gold, you'll find as much bang-for-buck value here as in any other multiplayer online adventure on console, subscription-based or otherwise.

Good enough, but incredibly safe, and definitely a factory line production that inspires little other than blandly trundling through the game, chuckling a bit at some jokes and ignoring most of them.

If you already own the original on PS3 or Xbox 360 there's not an abundance to write home about. If you don't, Crimewave Edition is still worth your time, but it's far from the perfect score.

While Splatoon isn't quite the revelation some were hoping for, it's stupidly fun. The only concern is longevity, with the brief single-player and only two main modes to play online.

Magicka 2 is fun in the right circumstances - i.e. when you've a friend or three in tow - but even then it's a case of an all-too-familiar experience to the first game. That's not in itself a bad thing, as the Magicka formula is a solid one, but it is disappointing - there's hardly any progress from the first game. For a sequel that took four years to hit, that's just not good enough.

It's a unique take on the war-based theme, and will evoke your inner voyeur, dazzling in its moments of exposition as well as its suggestive junctures.

Not only do you care about the characters and want to see how their stories end, but you want to scour every inch of The Witcher 3's glorious game world. It's a world you want to get lost in, a world where fast travel is an afterthought and a world you want to keep exploring in case there's something you've missed.

If it's more surprising, rule-breaking encounters that you're after, then look no further.

An interesting and, importantly, fun game with enough going for it to keep you coming back, trying out new and different things and generally helping out in one of the most violently dodgy election campaigns ever seen.