Disney, as with Activision, is going to face stiff competition from Nintendo with its Amiibo line (which taps into the same sense of nostalgic loyalty as Disney Infinity, in fact, and is a bigger threat to it than Skylanders). But Infinity 2.0 shows that the franchise is on the right track, and it might just wind up on top.

It combines the nostalgia of Record Keeper with a typical storyline and free-to-play features that makes it irresistible despite a lack je-ne-sais-quoi/oomph.

Sakura Wars was a surprise - from all the promotional material SEGA would have you believe it's some kind of action JRPG hybrid. The combat stuff turns out to be its weakest element. It's not bad, but it's also not where the magic happens. No, what this game does quite beautifully is the character development and romance. From the perviest moments of fan service through to the most heart-wrenching moments of insecurity that each of the characters displays, Sakura Wars offers a real emotional gamut, and whether you call it a blockbuster visual novel or an interactive anime, it's a rare thing for a game like this to be done to such substantial production standards. SEGA took a risk localising this after many years of popularity in Japan. Hopefully it pays off, and we see more localisations in the future.

The battling is very accessible, meaning that the fantastic story can be accessed by anyone.

Gigantic Army is a great new entry for Astro Port's line of shooters. If there was one complaint to be had, the game does stand on the short side of the spectrum although there is a refreshing lack of filler.

The God of War Collection on the Vita isn’t a very good port, which is a shame as the both God of War and its sequel are great instalments to the Vita’s library.

Nihilumbra is a game that really anybody can enjoy, it’s just a shame that they hid the difficult levels behind the story mode. That being said, it’s worth a play through for the narrative alone; a strong, and somewhat emotional reflection on the player and how they exist within their own world.

I had a great time playing The Inner World and was sad to say goodbye to its wacky denizens, the cheeky humour and the fairytale world of Asposia.

If you go into Yomawari with the right spirit (hah, I had to get one pun in there), both of these games are memorable, beautiful, elegant and often chilling. They've never looked better than they do on the Nintendo Switch's screen, which is the perfect size for a top-down, sprite-based game like this so that you can make out the details without feeling like the art is too "stretched."

Niche and quaint as it might be, Spirit Hunter: NG is a far more effective, intelligent and deep horror experience than all the jump scare games out there combined.

It's tough to create good satire, particularly when it has socio-cultural undertones, but Heroland not only succeeded, it exceeded the wildest expectations I had on initial impressions. Furthermore, within the robust, witty, and consistently hilarious script sits a game that's a bit grindy, but one that doesn't stop being great fun to play throughout. FuRyu continues to establish itself as a publisher with a knack for finding the most interesting and creative games.

Criticisms aside, Football Manager Touch 2021 is impossible to put down. The bugs and crashes don't matter. The presentation doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter that this game is so dangerously close to crossing the line to become actual work that I wouldn't be surprised if the developers actually collect people's play data to pass on to the real-world managers to give them ideas for their actual decision-making. Football Manager is emergent narrative brilliance, and Touch 21 doesn't let us down there by any means.

In flicking back through my notes on House of Ashes, I find that I have been more negative on it in this review than I remember feeling from my time playing it. It is a highly enjoyable experience and hard to put down. It might not be as spooky as I’d like from a horror game, and it might not play the way I think it should given the type of horror the developers were aiming for, but ultimately, holding the lives of a bunch of delinquent characters in my hands and deliberately letting them fall to their proverbial (or perhaps literal) deaths will never fail to be a (ghoulishly) good time.

The beautiful design of the game and the interesting way that it handles characterisation and narrative has me looking forward to seeing Book Two with baited breath.

Thankfully, the design is very, very good.

It’s a pity that Dragon Quest Treasures is going to be overlooked as a spinoff dumped into the market late in the year, because there’s still in here that the entire industry could learn from. The way that the developers have clearly built an open world around the concept and adventure, rather than the other way around, makes Treasures one of the most meaningfully enjoyable open world experiences this side of the Yakuza series. Yes, the combat is a misfire, but the opportunity to go chill out with and go on grand treasure-hunting expeditions with your favourite Akira Toriyama creations is always going to be irresistable, and this is one of the better opportunities to do just that.

Dead Rising 4 takes a few steps forward in terms of the gameplay mechanics, but also takes a giant zombie-infected shamble backwards in regards to the narrative elements. Taking away the ticking clock, making the maniacs nothing more than a mere annoyance instead of the stuff of nightmares, and having civilians easily rescued really pulled away from what I liked in the previous games. Dead Rising 4 is fun, but it’s also a little hollow and it’s lost a significant chunk of the series’ soul.

I did not know a thing of Cage’s work prior to reviewing Beyond: Two Souls, but the excellent storytelling, the spot-on acting and the technical prowess that explodes out of the PlayStation 4 has made me a huge fan instantly.

Mushroom Wars 2 is the ideal casual strategy game. It has the potential to be much more than it is – the lack of a story to go with the gorgeous characters and art design is unforgivable – but nonetheless this is the perfect example of how to make something simple and elegant, while leaving just enough in there for people to feel like their strategic brain muscles are being flexed. As I said at the outset, Mushroom Wars 2 is a delight.

It's not accessible, and doesn't try to be. Football Manager 2015 is there to appeal to people who are such big fans of the beautiful game that they actually care about what happens off the field, and you're not going to find a better simulation of that behind doors "action" than this game.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1’s degree of fan service means it probably won’t resonate with anyone unwilling to step outside their comfort zone, but beyond that entry barrier lies a laboriously crafted JRPG with tangible meaning behind its story and worthwhile commentary on the video game industry.

So unpredictable as the humour is that I found myself constantly surprised with the narrative that would pop up in response to the choices that I made in the game took me down a different narrative path towards a different ending, each more weird and wonderful than the last.

While Earth Defense Force 2 offers a lot of repetition over the course of its missions, it’s a fun distraction for fans of bad science fiction that want to indulge in a bit of wanton destruction. While it may not offer depths of narrative or even the real semblance of one, the gameplay more than speaks for itself, and it’s quite easy to see why this series has managed to develop the core fanbase that it has over the years.

It's a thematically rich game that more than compensates for the visual weaknesses that are a hold over from the original hardware it was developed for. Throw in a tight and entertaining combat system and you've got a great JRPG for the PlayStation 4 - a genre that is currently in short supply on the platform.

I really like CastleStorm, and I’m so pleased with what Zen Studios has done to make the VR version of it a meaningful upgrade.

Anno 2205 is a stellar city-building experience that rewards and demands precision in planning. It makes the compromises that real city management requires central to its mechanics, and the strong environmental theme helps to make it contextually relevant today.

Lost Dimension is an incredible title, with a constant sense of escalation and drama.

I can’t quite see the point in buying the regular collection now that this Anniversary Collection is more widely available, but it’s equally not going to thrill you quite as much unless you’ve got a particular passion for games that you already own.