Forza 5 isn't a fluke. It's the product of almost a decade of refinement, evolution and an unbelievable amount of experience on Turn 10's part. In essence, this is a game without any real weaknesses.

It challenges you, it gives you room to breathe, but also a purpose and of course it´s fun for every minute of it, which is all that counts in the end. You don´t have to invent everything again to get that. Not, if you have mastered the craft like Vigil Games obviously has.

When the prospect of the adventure eventually ending causes you nothing but grief, there's only one score to give.

Cutting your teeth on astonishingly good-looking and immaculately presented fluff pieces and then going ahead to produce arguably the darkest game of this generation – that's the sort of trick only the real heavyweights can pull off. Naughty Dog's game ain't begging for sympathy, it doesn't care if you like it or not. As such, it's a wake-up call for the medium, determined that the line isn't drawn between good and evil or right and wrong, but between you and the others.

And that's just what it is: incomparable. A confusing, but incredibly fascinating mess of a game. It knows the power of having you question your senses and the timing of a well-placed floorboard creak as well as the lure of a question without an answer or the rush of spine-tingling ghostly shootouts. Whatever the Remedy-verse has in store for us after Alan Wake 2, I'm insanely looking forward to it.

For me, The Talos Principle 2 is more than just a puzzle game. It is a game that makes you think in every respect. One with which gets your gray matter firing in the best possible way.

A monumental masterpiece: Despite the bugs, clunky menus, and awkward controls, its magnetic pull is simply impossible to resist.

Ninja Gaiden 4 marks a milestone for the series as well as Platinum Games. It features fast combat, precise controls and a uniquely exhilarating experience like no other - it's a step up from all its predecessors.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is so close to the original that it almost feels like a precious relic in its own right: a long-lost type of adventure that even the recent movies have been unable to unearth, no matter how hard they dug. It is playful, cheeky and blessed with an enviable innocence that you would not have expected from such a large, lavish mainstream product from one of the biggest publishers in the world. It belongs in a museum.

Astlibra does everything, and it doesn't always get everything quite right. But as an overall construct, running pretty much alongside our timeline, it's as unusual a genre mixer as it is fantastic.

The rich environments and the heartfelt, touching story easily make the price-tag seem irrelevant. Left Behind is on par with the main game in all but length, built with great care and attention to detail. It's the best DLC I have ever played and even though I never for a moment wanted The Last of Us to extend beyond its perfect conclusion, Naughty Dog almost made me think that a sequel to this might not be a bad idea after all.

Three of the best Castlevania games in a lovingly prepared collection with lots of great extras, all for 25 euros. Sometimes, life's good after all.

Split Fiction starts strong and gets better and better, only to leads to an unexpectedly profound story. Hazelight's new co-op game shines with terrific, inventive gameplay, and really ups the ante in an epic finale.

A slow and difficult start, but well worth the effort: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 delivers a grand medieval world and fills it with many quests, exciting NPCs and, above all, endless role-playing systems that are very reminiscent of this genre's long forgotten ambitions.

A game that almost only Nintendo can make. Colorful, entertaining, and always a little crazy. Bananza is bursting with creativity and ideas.

Lumines Arise is a fresh and striking audiovisual experience that elevates the only game matching the brilliance of Tetris to a new level.

A spotless conversion of this top-of-class action-adventure, which shines with excellent boss fights, an exciting scenario, engaging exploration and many entertaining ideas.

Games like Skyrim or GTA love talk about open worlds, but it seems, that so far only Minecraft has truly embraced this principle. (…) This here is your story, that you simultaneously write and experience. All at your own pace.

Larian promised a game experience like at the role-playing table that would not be inferior to the old classics. Surprisingly, the only promise they didn't keep is a release on Stadia. Well, we'll get over it.

Much seems familiar and sometimes a tad uniform, but a strong combat system, excellent boss fights, an exciting scenario, the motivating environmental exploration and many well thought out ideas make Stellar Blade an excellent solo adventure.

Rarely have I experienced such a thrilling rush of action and acrobatics, and if you're even remotely in the mood for that, don't miss Turbo Overkill.

Playful and atmospherically captivating adventure without combat, but with imaginative challenges and lovingly executed ideas. Discovering a mysterious world has rarely been so much fun.

It's not as special as the title suggests. But that doesn't make it any less – or more for that matter – of a brilliant game.

Dexterity, nerves, observational skills - Snow Riders loves to see all of this from you, both solo and in multiplayer. But this game is also fine with you wanting some peace and quiet or a little vacation feeling in the mountains. To me, this vibe is a revelation.

The last time I had this much fun with a similar racing set-up, I was playing Project Gotham Racing 2. Fans of the genre should definitely keep an eye on whatever Playground Games decides to invest their considerable talents in next.

Thanks, Ubisoft Montreal, for getting this right on the first try, because this is undoubtedly the only time it will be fresh and exciting. Still, the degree of creativity and the load of ideas on display really demonstrates which ways you can treat your source material inventively via spin-offs or DLCs. I really could get used to that.

Do yourselves a favor and buy this one. And if you don't have a 3DS, get one in a bundle. Then show it all your friends and colleagues so that they proceed to do the same as you. This way, and no disrespect to Fire Emblem, maybe Intelligent Systems can procure the resources to produce a Game of Thrones spin-off I keep dreaming about.

This is not a weaker version of what awaits us when the Wii U outing rolls around in a few weeks time. It's one of the best handheld games out there.