It's the sequel that does everything just as well as the original, but adds loads to it. And, with the music selection being even better and more varied than in the previous game, this really is the perfect music game. A little strange for the ears of some people, perhaps, but strange in the best possible sense of the word.

While I personally prefer the more textured narrative of Persona 4, the unrelenting focus and intensity of Persona 3 means that it still stands out as one of the greatest and most intelligent video game narratives. The developers haven’t done too much to mess with that (the decision to leave out a “post-game” chapter that was both technically unnecessary but yet well-regarded notwithstanding), and have otherwise focused on modernising both the look and flow of the game to make it the most enjoyable and “clean” version of Persona 3 yet. Persona has a habit of attracting purists, and I foresee the discourse around this remake being particularly volatile. However, personally, I’ll be over there looking forward to the inevitable announcement that Persona 4 will get this treatment too.

This unique blend of action and tactical RPG elements in one, along with the deep level of complexity, finds the combat to be enticing and addictive in its execution.

I love Far From Noise. It's one of my highlights for the year. Not as a game - because it's barely a game. I love it because it's genuine bona fide art, made with that explicit intent and, importantly, successful at it. It's a game that weaves a masterful story, and would only really work as interactive art, because ultimately, what this game is about is a conversation... and it wants to hear your answers as much as it wants to pose questions to you.

I love being able to play Age of Empires II on my console, and for it to play so well on the hardware and with a controller. As someone who consumes anything to do with Romance of the Three Kingdoms with enthusiasm, I’ve loved this latest expansion in a very long line of excellent expansions, too. Now we just need to get a remaster of Civilization 2 as well, and I’ll spend the rest of the year just playing the same games I spent my entire teenage years with.

Dragon Quest III was a pioneer and was very far ahead of its time. The first Final Fantasy had only been released shortly before this game, yet in terms of storytelling, worldbuilding, and themes, Dragon Quest III was much more sophisticated than Square’s inaugural title. The HD-2D engine is just the cherry on top. Thanks to that, this is one of the best retro remakes I’ve ever played.

Grand Theft Auto V really surprised me. For a series I have had very little interest in the past outside an appreciate for technical proficiency, I found myself drawn into a world where lots of bad things happen to a good number of people - and I was often the one perpetrating these crimes. Call it self-aware social criticism or a guilty pleasure, Grand Theft Auto V proves to be a great deal of fun.

You may well find Gal*Gun 2 to be offensive and intolerable. But that’s all the more reason to experience it and discuss it, and because it’s backed by a really good light gun experience that is bigger and (on balance) better than its predecessor, this game is one of the most playable and interesting transgressive franchises the Japanese industry has ever produced.

Really, the question of whether this game is going to be worthwhile to you is ridiculously simple: Do you enjoy nonograms? If you do, then you don’t really need to be a Miku fan to get value out of this. You’re getting 1000 puzzles, and most of them are very well-designed nonograms. That is, by default incredible value. If you don’t like nonograms, then… well, I just don’t know you.

I always have been, whether it's the writings on T.S. Eliot and Poe, films from The Cabinet of Dr Caligari through to Blade Runner, the music of Nick Cave, or games like I Am Setsuna and, now, Crystar. That Crystar manages to be so layered and nuanced with that theme makes it all the more impressive. FuRyu continues to be the publisher to watch for anyone who likes their games with a bit of genuine artistic credibility.

Dragon Quest I and II HD-2D Remake achieves exactly what developers should always be trying to achieve with a retro remake: Breathe new life into something that fans love. With enough new additions to surprise and delight even the most veteran fan of both titles, combined with a gorgeous art style that does so many favours to Dragon Quest, I somehow found myself genuinely excited, enchanted by, and unable to stop playing something I’ve played almost annually for decades now.

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.

Atelier remains the comfort food of video games, and Atelier Sophie 2 is one of the more comforting snacks. With so many dense and complex games releasing around one another at the moment, having something that is light, warm, and good-natured is a nice release. I don't know if launching immediately after Elden Ring and Horizon, and immediately before Triangle Strategy works in Sophie's favour, but if you can resist making those comparisons, what you'll see here is one of the most refined and beautiful entries in this long-running and utterly wonderful JRPG mainstay. The game deserves better than to be compared like-for-like with these other titles, as it no doubt will be.

At its core, Danganronpa is a melting pot of various philosophical puzzles that pulls together in such a way that it connected with me on a very deep, very real level. Without giving the ending away, the ultimate fate of all the characters (including Monokuma) left me more than a little shaken, and any game that's able to connect with me at that kind of primal level must be worth the investment.

This game is memorable. It's one I'm going to keep referencing back to, both as an example of really clean, effective writing, and an intelligent concept executed with startling precision. It works as discussion on social interactions, the role technology has on our lives, and a critique of the increasing reliance we have on social media. It's superb, different, and an essential experience.

Every time I think I'm losing interest in Pokémon, Game Freak does something to reinvigorate me. The Pokémon Pearl and Diamond remakes last year were fine, though I ended up spending more time just playing the original Pokémon Pearl again. I needed something like Arceus, I think, to get me to once again drop dozens of hours into a single game. This is a brave, bold game into new frontiers for Game Freak, and it confidently promises a new and revitalised future for the series.

As one chapter in something that is almost experimental for video games – a genuine epic, spanning decades of game development, a half dozen consoles, and a dozen titles – Trails From Zero is a very fine entry indeed. The rich complexities of the narrative engage the brain, while the charming writing and characterisation also make for an entertaining experience. The story is everything to this series, so it’s just as well that is spot on, though thankfully the combat is enjoyable in its own right, and it’s all backed by excellent aesthetics. If you are new to The Legend Of Heroes, this isn’t a bad place to start. If you’re a veteran of the series you must surely love how one of the best games in the series has finally got the full localisation it always deserved.

Baldur's Gate is a classic and a masterpiece, and its sequel might just be better (depending on who you speak to). Brought together in a comprehensive and complete package, not only do you get hundreds of hours of some of the best RPG action ever conceived, but if you're like me and more comfortable with controllers than keyboards and mice, you're finally able to play this masterpiece in the way that you prefer. There's no other way to say this: by virtue of being two of the greatest games of all time, this combined edition pack is one of the best releases of the year.

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.

This is a quirky and fundamentally experimental JRPG that in many ways remains out there on its own. The chapter-based approach to simple (but enjoyable) narratives that take place across time and space allows for an experience that is both varied and flexible. Throw in the most excellent application of HD-2D art for the remake, and the fact that this is the first time this game has had a formal release in the west, and Live A Live is an essential experimental title for the curious and those that enjoy playing things that are genuinely different.

Australia has a long history and heritage in video games, but very rarely do I see Australian game developers aim to contribute to our national body of narrative work like Wayward Strand does, and I cannot express in words just how admirable I find this effort to be.

Bound isn’t going to be an eSport, and doesn’t really care about that. Nor is Bound for people looking to unwind after a hard day’s work with passive entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with games being either of those things, but Bound is for a third audience; it’s for the people that want something thoughtful, meaningful, and intelligent.

It is impossible to put down.

As a spiritual successor to some of my favourite RPGs of all time, Pillars of Eternity does those games justice with its ultra-traditional story, presentation and mechanics. But I recommend other people check it out as well, as it offers a sprawling world to explore, and a fantastic cast of companions to interact with, making it the perfect example of a retro genre done right.

The Fame & Strategy Expansion Pack for Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII adds even more depth to the game’s systems, and brings the game to the Xbox One for the first time as well. If you missed the original release of Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII, then this is obviously the way to go, and I do think that diehards will also find enough of worth in the expansion as well to justify the purchase.

From the second that I stepped into the game's world and into the first village that would become a base of operation for a few subsequent hours, I was hooked as wave after wave of nostalgia hit me.

The Last of Us 2 epitomises everything about overly-produced, mass market-friendly content that many of us are becoming exhausted with. SWERY, knowing full well that his game will be castigated on Metacritic and widely mocked, has satirised every mainstream expectation of a video game in Deadly Premonition 2. There’s nothing that suggests that anything within this game is not an entirely deliberate, surrealistic subversion of expectations, and while Deadly Premonition 2 is not for everyone (and potentially offensive to some), games as an art form are better off having works like this to exist in parallel to mainstream entertainment.

What is important is that I came away from this game very happy. It's a joy to play, the overall experience is video game comfort food, and I don't think I'll ever get bored with the way Gust approaches the alchemy systems with the same sense of experimental creativity as the alchemy in the game itself.