Don't Nod has arrived among the greats: Banishers combines a huge, enthralling world and a engaging narrative with good technology and effortlessly entertaining Kratos-style action-adventure combat.

What else can you say about these two games? For me, they were and remain the crowning glory of Mario creation, masterpieces of level design, and a bottomless treasure trove of interesting ideas to toy and tinker with.

Saros might not be perfect, with the storytelling in particular showing some rough edges. It takes a while getting up to speed but when all systems are in place, it's an exceptional arcade shooter and an extraordinary spectacle.

Beautiful Metroidvania with a clever combat system that sparks curiosity about discovering a magical world.

With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare manages to bring the series into the present: great technology, excellent playability, engaging story and characters and, above all, fantastic action combat make for an outstanding modern role-playing game.

If you're willing to put in the effort, you'll get a game with unparalleled depth and competitive fun. This one has one hell of a learning curve, but climbing it, you'll find, is a huge pleasure in and of itself.

Beautiful in its presentation and with a powerful protagonist: Hellblade 2 is a landmark in fantastic storytelling.

Especially if you have children with whom you can pass the controller back and forth, Astro Bot is one of the feel-good games of the year. And if you don't have any offspring, this will let out your inner child with ease. Astro Bot, then: a game that was well worth sending a chrome Sackboy back through time for.

Don't miss out on this gem! Even if you know Tower Defense inside out or perhaps don't like it at all... although: especially then. Because Kunitsu-Gami feels so distinct, as is rarely the case under the umbrella of a big label like Capcom, and is made with so much attention to detail it enchanted me from the very first minute.

Minor quibbles aside ... just like the ruins you sift through, Metroid Prime is a monument - it was just a bit overgrown and blended into the scenery of collective gaming conscience. Now it's back in the limelight. Pristine, demossed and its fissures glued, fresh and relevant again for a gaming world that was on the verge of forgetting about it.

It is the rare case of a game that gets better and better the deeper you get into it. Not only because there are new things to see and do and the hero becomes more and more powerful, but also because you grow as a player.

This golden age of Marvel Games and the tournament brawler genre has aged well. Fluidly and with vigour, these heroes fight each other a quarter of a century later as if no time had passed and no MCU had ever happened.

Marathon is an incredibly intense, nearly perfect first-person shooter in a visually breathtaking scenario. It keeps you engaged with an incredibly well-tuned cycle of looting and improving, while you constantly progress even after failing a mission.

The heart-rending story isn`t romanticizing nor does it drift into the pathos other, less subtle games so often lean towards. That's the line where good craftsmanship becomes art, and an excellent game.

Hades 2 elevates what Hades began: It's a beautiful and incredibly engaging sequel with mightily satisfying combat.

Shadow Gambit shines with its well thought-out systems, the multitude of characters and possibilities, and offers you significantly more options and even more reasons to seriously think about your approach and experiment. That's exactly what such games are all about, and it's outstandingly implemented here. If you liked Shadow Tactics and / or Desperados 3, don't think twice and get Shadow Gambit, you won't regret it.

Sure, Shadow of the Erdtree doesn't turn Elden Ring into a new game, and if you were expecting big new impulses in terms gameplay, you were mistaken. From Software has been improving their thing for 20 years, and they did so in leaps and bounds. But it's not like they're straying from their path. Just as well, if you love their concept for what it is: the best game in the world.

Halo 4 is something really special. Not only is it a first-rate exclusive for the good old 360, it's also a shining example of the kind of technical excellence that's still possible on the elderly hardware. It's one of these games that justify the decision to buy this console. 343 Industries has gone ahead and obliterated my qualms about the brand's change to another developer than Bungie. Now there's only one thing I want: More.

You can't meaningfully see Phantom Liberty without Cyberpunk 2077. Both together are like a director's cut of an already outstanding game. And together they are more than the mere sum of their parts. The new story fits seamlessly into the saga of V and Johnny in a way that makes you truly admire CD Projekt's artistry. Tugging at the interconnected threads of a game as artfully convoluted as Cyberpunk 2077 and incorporating this new episode meaningfully into everything is quite a feat.

In terms of action, it is in a class of its own, while in terms of substance it is ahead of almost everything else that video games have to tell. Few others reach a similar level in their own way. In my opinion, none is better.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred finally raises the game to the level we had hoped for in 2023. The campaign has a few weaknesses, but the endgame is great and the new Spiritborn class is the new benchmark for future heroes.

The best JRPG in years - despite coming from France. Hard-hitting, well thought-out and utterly rewarding, Clair Obscur is a beautiful reminder of what truly matters.

Chic, sleek, addictive, Thronefall is an artful gift to anyone who has been wanting to play a strategy game again for a long time, but who has struggled to integrate this often over-complex genre into their everyday lives. That's what makes it precious.

If you get involved with No Man's Sky, you can expect a phenomenal space adventure. Something I certainly wouldn't have said with such enthusiasm about the game that was released under this name in 2016. I'm sure it can be said often enough how much Hello Games put into this to take you into space the way they imagined it. But I haven't said it often enough yet, so I do it once more.

Everything is here, and as with the other franchises Konami tackled before, Gradius Origins is the ultimate fan package. This is how you remaster and present old games. This is the way, no question about it.

Three years after its initial release, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance remains the perfect JRPG, which shines in the new edition with better performance and an expanded story. Sensible additions to the game elements also make it easier to get started without scaring off hardcore fans, for whom new conveniences remain optional. A clear recommendation for anyone who has always wanted to get into the franchise or is simply in the mood for one of the best modern JRPGs.

With a lot of affection for their own past, Lucid Games have given a well-loved classic a new kind of drive.

So, is Guild Wars 2 the MMO messiah everyone is waiting for? Maybe not. What it is, though, is the first MMO in years that really does the "massively multiplayer" part justice. This is a gigantic, sprawling world for explorers, with countless wonderful stories and characters, all backed by a gameplay concept that treats all players as equals. And that's just the basis of what Guild Wars 2 is.