It's a game that deserves to be elevated beyond the jokes and seen as a genuine piece of video game art. I would be very interested if those who have come to the Souls series later will find the deliberately unpolished elements of this remake to be as appealing, but given that FromSoftware will almost certainly never touch the King's Field series again, for me, personally, this is as good as it's ever going to get. As a PlayStation 5 launch title, it's a fascinating example of something that is both deliberately old and a brilliant use of the console's very new hardware, and brought together, Demon's Souls is reason enough to own the console, all into itself.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is very much a love letter to the RPGs of yesteryear, and it's a proof of how enjoyable those games can still be.

There's no better time to buy into the console.

It might be a flawed experience, but that’s almost irrelevant when you consider just how much of it there really is on offer. This is how you do an “HD remaster."

The Banner Saga asks a lot of its players, especially in the early chapters, but those who stay for the long run will enjoy a mature, character focused story which is both challenging and memorable.

Bayonetta 2 will challenge some people. It will make the uncomfortable. It's transgressive in numerous ways, and with that comes the potential to offend. But in causing offence, Bayonetta 2 encourages conversation, and that's the very definition of a good work of art.

Rayman Legends on the current generation of consoles is the best platforming experience of this early 2014 year.

As JRPG’s have become more of a niche genre and have been steadily downgrading to be focused experiences, here comes Square Enix to deliver a Dragon Quest game that’s packed tight with the gameplay we know and love. While it doesn’t innovate much on the formula and might be a hard sell for those who can’t stand turn based combat or long, meandering plotlines, it is also comfort food for those who love this kind of play. It’s a testament to the robust qualities of the traditional JRPG genre, which arguably started with the original title in this franchise, that these mechanics are still so captivating and compelling 33 years later.

It could be argued that this is more of an incremental improvement over the second Forza Horizon game because the overall formula is not drastically different from what has come before. However, almost every single aspect from the changing weather and gameplay tweaks provide an improved experience that makes the exploration of virtual Australia an absolute joy.

Shadow of the Colossus is, in a way, overwhelming. It’s not just that the beasts that you are fighting are so massive, and the challenge in taking them on with nothing but a sword and bow can, at first, seem monumental. It’s overwhelming for its emotive power, its rich themes, and its uncompromising vision. There’s nothing genuinely like Shadow of the Colossus out there, and hopefully this new, pretty version, as superficial as that prettiness is to what makes the game so important, encourages a new generation of players to try it for themselves.

I’m sure others will (and already have) find meaning in Inside. There’ll be fascinating, insightful deconstructions and I look forward to reading them. There’s a wealth of praise for the game already. It’s clearly spoken to a lot of people, but it didn’t speak to me – except, perhaps, to berate me for not being smart enough to understand what it’s trying to say.

Part of me is agonising over every detail and wondering what – if anything – I missed, but that is already subsiding in the hours since I left that police station for the final time. I may be slowly coming to peace with what has happened, but the memories that Her Story created will last a lifetime. Her Story has become intertwined with mine.

Dark Souls 2 offers glimpses of hope and illumination, but they always feel just out of reach. Scratching just below the surface to take on the challenges Dark Souls 2 has for you is where this game's appeal lies. The game will not be for everyone, but for those willing to tackle this game, it is a rewarding experience.

As a fan of the original game, this Resident Evil 2 remake has been an utter joy to play. During my time with it, I was constantly in awe of the love and reverence the developers clearly have for the original. The spirit of Resident Evil 2 has been distilled down, concentrated, and reconstituted into this beautiful, hideous experience that completely undermined all my preconceptions. Resident Evil 2 remade is not the cheap B-movie of its predecessor. It eschews the horror-kitsch stylings that made the original games instantly memorable, cuts down the weird, and plays it entirely straight. It can be off-putting. It can feel too serious. But this package delivered by Capcom is undeniably brilliant in its own right. It’s a love letter to survival horror, delivered direct like a bullet to the head.

Donkey Kong Bananza is the perfect launch window title for the Nintendo Switch 2. It highlights the kind of creative whimsy that Nintendo can achieve with its new hardware, demonstrates that the Switch 2 really is more than a slightly bigger Switch… and is just a very fine game on top of all of that. Donkey Kong has finally appeared in a 3D platformer worth a damn.

That balance is why its predecessors were so popular, and that's why the sequel is certainly going to be a major hit.

Sadly, I found later levels lost a lot of the game's early steam, as too much of the old "pixel perfect" platforming starts to creep in.

The reality is that at this point Dragon Quest XI is an older release, and Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition is itself not really that new. I have no idea what percentage of prospective Dragon Quest fans have somehow avoided playing this yet, but I imagine it's a now a very small number. With that being said, that "8-bit" mode really is a breath of fresh air to the original 3D game, so if you don't own a Switch and haven't had the opportunity to play this game that way yet, then it's actually worth the upgrade and replay even if you own the original.

We all need games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and while I don't think it's perfect by any means, and some of the new elements this time around come at the expense of what made previous titles so wonderful, the winning charm is still there in full. This will be Nintendo's biggest game of 2020, and with good reason - everyone who has been looking forward to it will be absolutely delighted by what Nintendo has delivered.

Between its twist of the Light versus Dark story, the delightful Dancer job, and the most stunning locations Final Fantasy XIV has seen, Shadowbringers is a shining example of why that formula works.

Overwatch is not typically my kind of game. Not by any measure. But the fact that I’ve been having so much fun with it that I’ve been playing it over some other games that I worship (but can’t quite mention yet) is testament to just how well Blizzard has done with this one. Bravo guys – someone has finally created a shooter I care about enough to actually want to play after finishing the review.

Just like Trails of Cold Steel before it, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is an excellent game, and a fitting second act after the first game’s exquisite setup. I can’t recommend it highly enough – just make sure you play Cold Steel first, otherwise you’ll miss so much of what this game has to offer.

Spider-Man 2 is as dumb as a bag of bricks, but that’s the norm for blockbusters. What it gets right is emotionally manipulating players to become invested in it, backing that up with one of the slickest combat systems we’ve ever seen… and then giving us two entirely different characters to enjoy that with. It is a true spectacle and while I wish that we, as a community, demanded better from narratives in video games, I couldn’t help but have fun with this one once I shut my brain off and just embraced it for the silly thing that it is.

Jack Jeanne is a celebration of the finest qualities of theatre, held within a visual novel that’s enjoyable to read. It has some distinctive, evocative art, and some minigames that help make the overall experience even more engaging. Yes, sure, future generations might not study these plays in school, as they do Shakespeare and Chekov, but the plays-within-the-game framing allows the writers to explore a love for the form, and that passion and respect infuses every second of the experience.

Velocity 2X takes everything that was great about the top down shooting action of Velocity Ultra and not only improves it, but adds a whole new layer of depth: platforming. It creates a new hybrid genre that's seamlessly blended together by its creative narrative and delicate balancing of controls for each style of game play.

This War Of Mine plays well, is challenging, and is a very good game. It just also happens to be a very good piece of art.

There's a consistency to the world design that is immensely pleasing, and it's easy to get lost within it for hours at a time. If the mark of a good RPG is a believable and vibrant world, in which progress to the next wonder is a reward in itself, then 7 Mages is a very, very good RPG indeed.

What Rayark does so well is emulate the experience of playing a musical instrument. VOEZ isn’t easy, and the icons flow in quick and furious, but as you master each track, your fingers start flowing across the screen, and the experience is pure, visceral elegance. Supported by a stellar soundtrack that has some of the best music I’ve ever heard in a rhythm game, VOEZ is essential stuff.