I definitely don’t regret the download – even though my Switch is bloated full of titles, I can see myself always coming back to Downwell whenever I need to fill a short five to ten minutes.

An amazingly done port. Graphics alone could be cause for some to leave the consoles behind in order to view this world the way that it really should be, but for others, it could be the start to the series that you’ve been waiting for as it makes itself easy to slide into and is now available on the PC.

Namco Bandai was very smart to entrust their classic character and brand to this tiny team of Aussie mobile developers.

While the latest package of Ikaruga isn’t quite the grand celebration it should be for a classic title, Treasure’s shooter has aged fantastically well. The puzzle-like shooting is just as thrilling and demanding as it was back in 2002, and it’s sure to challenge any fan of shooters. Ikaruga’s themes of polarity help it stand out from the bullet hell crowd, and make it one of the finest shoot ‘em ups that can be purchased on Switch.

All signs point towards this being the most successful World of Warcraft expansion in years, which might just be what the franchise needed.

If I had to sum everything up in one thought, it would be to stop what you’re doing and dive into the Deadfire archipelago. With brilliant storytelling, character development, places to see and many ways in order to do what is needed, there’s no shortage of adventure to be had. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is a fantastic experience and honestly should be a must for any admirers or lovers of the RPG genre.

To be clear, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is good fun. The presentation is spot on, and it’s an example of how nostalgia can be traded on in a way that is fun, rather than desperate. But as a video game, it’s yet another example of how the AAA blockbuster end of the market is totally incapable of breaking away from the overly safe and familiar, and the inflexibility of these “video game design best practices” means that no property is allowed an identity of its own anymore. Every gameplay feature, character, environment, item and puzzle needs to be the exact clone of the successful examples we’ve seen before and in the end, even punching Nazis starts to feel too rote for the joy that it should provide.

Finnish studio Housemarque have produced in Nex Machina another game to sit alongside its well-received titles of Alienation and Resogun, and that showcases the serious pedigree it has built since their start in the early nineties with Stardust. It is a rush of colour that delivers a satisfying experience that’ll steal your calm and let you imagine a future where the robots don’t wipe us all out.

Nioh is a better game than what From Software has achieved.

The big selling point of Kingdom Come Deliverance II is also its biggest potential drawback. You’ve got to be genuinely interested in the history that it depicts to find it immersive. I do wonder whether some people will come in expecting a Skyrim-like or a first-person Witcher experience and end up disappointed with this. It’s not that kind of game. It’s far more grounded and gritty, but if reading Tolstoy or Yoshikawa appeals to you, then Kingdom Come Deliverance II is very much for you.

Deemo is a very gentle game. Its minimalist aesthetic aims to connect with players emotionally rather than intellectually or physically, and the end effect is akin to sitting down at a piano and playing a favourite song; but not for the benefit of an audience, and not as an examination or other test of musical skill. Sometimes people play music purely for the joy of music, and that’s what Deemo succeeds in tapping into. Sometimes, just sometimes, people play music simply for the joy of it.

The fact is that as a fan of Chu Chu Rocket, I am continually disappointed that there isn’t more done with that kind of puzzler, and Tempopo more than scratched the itch. This has been my favourite puzzle game in years.

Guacamelee! is the incredible adventure, offering up thrilling events and plenty of combat in between its humour. DrinkBox have done an amazing job and the Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition for the PS4 is more than a worthwhile experience.

Devil May Cry 5 is exactly what we’ve come to expect of the series. In fact, if anything it feels like the developers were that terrified of repeating the response to Ninja Theory’s DMC, that they’ve gone overboard on being traditional. But then, with such a slick, enjoyable combat system, and all the witty banter that you could ever want in a game, DMC 5 is a fine way to bring the series roaring back after a decade in limbo.

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.

Injustice 2 is a very solid fighting game that has not changed a whole lot mechanically from the last offering. Visually it is a step forward, but the narrative is a step back. I cannot entirely share the feeling that this is going to be a title that is meant to milk out additional money via a combination of microtransactions and DLC, which is a bit of a turnoff, but the variety of modes and quality roster do help to take the sting out of that, because there is already so much content available.

Jon Blow and Thekla have really created something special here, and while it has been a very long wait (I hope that the next one doesn't take eight years to complete...), the long development time has been used to good effect.

Battlefield 1 is the best release the series has seen in some time, and because it no longer is trying to measure itself up against other shooters like Call of Duty, the game itself winds up better for it.

If you hadn't played the Nioh games previously - perhaps concerned over their difficulty - then don't let it miss you the second time. They are difficult, but that was essential in setting the desperate, nightmare tone and atmosphere. One other key takeaway that I've had from replaying both games for the remaster is this: what nearly made me quit the first time around has become comfortable now. The learning curve is glacially slow, but you do actually "learn" how to play these games, and there's a real sense of reward that comes from pushing through. Now, if you have played these title already, the upgrade isn't anything to write home about but, then again, perhaps you just want two brilliant games on your PlayStation 5. It's not like either Nioh is going to age poorly; you're going to want to revisit them at some point. You may as well play the best version.

Civilization VI is essential. Not only is it a game that's educational, informative, and inspirational (see my video above for more thoughts around that), but it's also deeply pertinent to today's world and gives players a way of seeing - and grappling - with the topic on their own terms. There are deeper strategy games out there (though not on PlayStation 4), but Civilization's accessibility and polish make it the perfect introduction to the genre, and while the PS4 port doesn't do anything beyond what was already on offer, this is still one of the best things released on the console this year.

Perhaps the best way that I can describe just how much I've appreciated Final Fantasy VII Remake is this: The original Final Fantasy VII was my least favourite in the series, but after playing the Remake, on a whim I loaded up the original game. Within the first couple of hours I was already so much more invested in it this time around. Being able to visualise the action of the original through the lens that the Remake has provided me has made the game more vibrant, interesting, and emotionally engaging. I don't necessarily see FFVII Remake as a replacement to the original game, as remakes generally are. It's a complement to it, where the developers have built on the world and characters in such a way that it's like two sides of a single coin - for me, at least, without one, the other doesn't exist. Making me love the original Final Fantasy VII is something I never thought Square Enix would achieve, but we do live in the strangest times.

The spirit of competition is alive and well here, because Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is a complete game, which feels a little strange for me to type, because in some ways it took us two years longer to get here than it should have.

Astral Chain is both beautiful and mesmerising. You’re not likely to come across a better action gameplay system for quite some time – likely until PlatinumGames’ own next effort. Truly this is a developer that understands the principles of movement in action better than any, and while its games might struggle in other areas to meet the brilliance of the action, every second with that action is satisfying, exciting, and a very pure form of entertainment.

Telling Lies easily falls into the category of my top-three FMV titles, the others being Her Story and The Shapeshifting Detective. Its downright genius use of a computer interface allows a remarkably in-depth narrative to shine. The difficulty level means you'll spend hours upon hours in front of your screen... but quite frankly, the time passes as though it were minutes. It's a deep rabbit hole, but worth the trip regardless.

As I said at the start of the review, Star Ocean 2 is the masterpiece of this series. As a hardened, die-hard Star Ocean fan, I can even excuse the fifth entry in the series in my head, and almost no one likes that one. However, the second occupies a particularly special spot in the upper echelons of the genre. With this remake, Star Ocean The Second Story R, the original has been modernised in the most clever and appropriate way, maintaining all the great qualities that people remember from the PlayStation 1, while giving the aesthetics a luxurious overhaul that makes the game comparable as an artistic endeavour to the finest of the genre today. This is, simply, not something that someone with even a passing interest in JRPGs should overlook.

As I’ve said a few times in this review so far, Arc System Works are masters of the genre, and Guilty Gear Strive is a showcase of that mastery. It might not be the most comprehensive fighting game out there, and I do think the developers have made a mistake in giving up on drawing new players into the franchise with a story mode that assumes you’ve been playing Guilty Gear for years. However, those quibbles melt away the instant you get into the action itself. There’s no other word to describe it: it’s sublime.

Just as Persona 5 Royal added something meaningful enough to actually be worthwhile, without being a full sequel or changing anything that people liked about the first game, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance really does deserve the moniker “ultimate version of the game.” You’re going to need a ridiculous amount of time to play it (again), but if you enjoyed it on any level the first time around, you’re going to love what the development team has done to it this time.

Ultimately, Pokemon is a coming of age story, as told through the analogy of monster collecting and battling. This new game loses none of that, but in building a greater sense of narrative into the action, has given it a greater resonance and purpose. This is also the most creative that Game Freak has been with the franchise in quite some time, and players who had grown tired of the iterative approach the developer had been taking may well find this one a Renaissance for the series.