Avowed is full of consequential player choices, meaningful side content and rewarding exploration all backed up by slick movement and some of the best combat in a first-person action RPG. It might not reinvent the genre, but Obsidian has achieved everything they set out to by creating a super fun adventure worth your time.

Rift is another great entry in the NecroDancer series. It may be a more 'traditional' lane-scrolling rhythm title, but how the game incorporates Crypt's elements to create its own spin on the formula is noteworthy.

Personally, I was left with mixed feelings – but I should also add that I don't have nostalgia for the original game like so many do, and Rebirth feels like a game specifically designed for fans of the original in the passionate way many of the moments, arcs and locations are depicted and fleshed out here. I enjoyed spending time with the core characters, the world-building is impressive and the soundtrack is truly superb. I had plenty of fun with the battle system as well. However, I found the narrative pacing poor and the open-world elements often tedious. The game is stuffed with minigames yet their quality is inconsistent, and there were late-game segments that I found to be a slog.

UFO 50 may be inspired by an era that's several generations ago, but an incredible amount of imagination and work went into making this collection of games more than just about evoking nostalgia. The collection also manages to feel fresh and innovative, delivering thrills and the feeling of discovery at nearly every turn. It's unlike anything I've played, and represents a passion and love for the medium in such a special way.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t just a masterful execution of a licensed game. It takes everything that MachineGames has learned from the Wolfenstein series and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay to create a deeply fun cinematic experience that explores Indiana Jones as a character and will really have you hooked as you take up the call to adventure.

All in all, this is an impressive expansion, and comfortably the best one in years. The cohesion between all of its ideas and features, as well as the strong execution of them, helps to metaphorically breathe new life into the game. There are things I could nitpick, but they're easy to forgive as this is the most engaged I've been playing the game in a long time.

Double Exposure may fall a little short when compared to some of the previous games in the series, but Max Caulfield's return is still a riveting (and wild) ride. Max is as caring and likeable as ever. We loved spending time with her again – from her adorably awkward attempts at flirting at the start through to the dramatic if slightly uneven climax – and would more than welcome further stories with her.

If you've never played Until Dawn, the remake is a good time to experience this cult classic. It's as fun and thrilling as it was in 2015. However, while the remake improves upon the original in some ways, the overall improvement isn't vast enough to the point where this version is a must for those who've played through the game once before.

It's an evocative story that is beautifully told and has plenty of heart, and one that feels increasingly relevant in the context of the world that we live in.

Silent Hill 2's remake is proof once again that Team Silent didn't just create one of the best survival-horror experiences of all time, but also a story that stands the test of time. It needs to be experienced to understand why fans have hung onto the franchise for so long, looking for any crumb of life left in it.

Metaphor borrows defining features of Persona yet executes these ideas in a less meaningful way, and in taking much from the beloved series, it takes a long time for Atlus' latest to carve out its own identity.

The Plucky Squire is bursting with so much joy and celebration of the medium that you can’t help but adore every minute you spend holding the controller.

Everything about Astro Bot has been painstakingly crafted to make it fun to experience, whether it's the fluid gameplay, unrivaled creativity or every interaction being a kaleidoscope of satisfying particle effects and sounds. Astro Bot is one of the best platformers in years and is a must-play title you shouldn't miss.

Space Marine 2 is a brutally fun action game that will be best experienced with friends in multiplayer, and while the gameplay and story itself are serviceable and don't do much to innovate the series or genre, fans of Warhammer or anyone looking for an old-school shooter will have a good time turning tyranid swarms into puddles of blood.

Outlaws is a Star Wars story worth experiencing. There's a fun story with some engrossing world-building and stealth exploration to be had if you give it a chance, and I really hope the team at Ubisoft Massive gets a chance at fleshing things out even more with a sequel.

It's a cohesive (and pretty saucy by the game's standards) expansion that doesn't quite nail all of its ideas.

Dungeons of Hinterberg is an absolute delight to experience. It's challenging enough to keep you on your toes, but never so frustrating that it drops the ball on its cosy core. We were hooked from start to finish and can't wait to jump back in for another holiday in Hinterberg.

Overall, Road to Elysium is more of what makes The Talos Principle 2 great, giving players new fun and challenging puzzles, more lore to uncover and lots of Easter eggs to find, with plenty of creative innovations across its three chapters that make it a worthwhile expansion to the base game.

It isn't perfect and whether or not it surpasses its predecessor is up for debate – this is a story that is different in scope – but Hellblade 2 is one of the standout experiences of the year so far and has been worth the wait.

The struggle to portray a vivid world and a sense of place results in the game failing to make much of an emotive impact. Once the credits rolled, there was very little about the experience that stuck with us.

Crow Country is one of the best experiences of the year so far, and we think it will be talked about in the same tones as last year's Signalis for its sheer creativity and efforts to reignite passion for the survival-horror genre.

Stellar Blade is a hard game to pin down in the end. The combat really sings in its moments and the boss fights are some of the most memorable you’ll encounter in this genre, but it’s bogged down by a bland story, uninteresting characters and the need to make boobs wobble in every second of every cutscene. There’s some fun to be had in there if you can look past its issues, but in an age of games costing £70 or over, whether it’s worth that is entirely questionable.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a stunning, impactful and exciting first outing for Surgent Studios and, for us, a classic in the Metroidvania space that could go toe-to-toe with recent big hitters like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Blasphemous 2. Surgent Studios has delivered a beautiful story that resonated with us as we explored the world of Kenzera, and we couldn’t recommend it more highly.

Princess Peach: Showtime is a fun and extremely varied adventure that serves as not only a great spin-off from the Mario franchise, but finally giving Princess Peach another chance in the limelight to shine like the star she is. It may be a fairly simple and straightforward experience, but there’s so much to see and do, and it’s hard not to suggest this to Nintendo fans of all ages.

It walks a tightrope of intrigue that balances quirky systems, fun combat and obscure secrets with frustrating circumstances, weird world-building and curious design choices, and somehow manages to make it across, and if you embrace all it has to offer, you might too.

Alone in the Dark isn’t a perfect experience or a five-star return to form. However, the game really nails the tone, and it is just a joy to explore Derceto and drink in the spooky vibes of this Lovecraftian detective thriller. There’s enough twists and turns to have you hanging on until the end, even if the latter half of the game feels a little too reliant on action that isn’t quite up to snuff.

How everything comes together is a wonderful surprise. Crystal Creations manages to over-achieve and mix up the game in an interesting and engaging way, while also remaining comparatively affordable. Is it our favourite Stuff Pack to date? Very possibly. If it's not, it's close. Between this and Home Chef Hustle, the developers have more than delivered with its recent Stuff Packs, and it goes to show that it doesn't matter how big or small the idea is — as long as it's done well.

With some unexpected twists and turns along the way, plus some confident changes, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is utterly massive and really is the ultimate way to experience this much-loved story. It's a must for PS5 players.