It combines fighting and stealth in an elegant manner, gives you just enough freedom to make you forget there's actually not all that much of it there. All in all and tonal inconsistencies aside, it's one of the best engineered games out there.

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.

Chants of Sennaar is a strikingly stylish and, above all, playfully addictive puzzler, where you have to decipher foreign languages to understand the puzzles and their world. For me, it's a big hit, which certainly didn't come out at the most opportune time of the year. But ambitious tinkerers should not lose sight of it despite everything.

It's firmly rooted in the tradition of Bizarre Creations' glorious Project Gotham series, the best arcade racers there ever were. What more could you want from this?

Once again, it's quite beautiful how all the mechanics just snap into place like in a well-oiled machine. The new features integrate so seamlessly into the campaign that you'd be forgiven for thinking they had always be there. Most impressively, through this, XCOM gains breadth and depth without losing any of that infectious accessibility that made the main game such a hit.

I'd say 'fans of the genre, go ahead and get this', but honestly, there's no way you don't already have it.

This extremely entertaining pinball game floods the brain with reward hormones. The overkill disrupts precision and tactics - they are replaced by variety and an audiovisual feast.

It might sound a bit more harsh than the game deserves, but sometimes you have to call the developers out when a game suffers under ill-advised direction. Thanks to the beautiful and richly filled houses and some really great characters, Luigi's Mansion qualifies as a really good game. It's just not the fantastic one it could have been.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon definitely carries around some legacy issues. These and a couple of other annoyances aside, the game clearly shows how much From Software has grown over the past ten years. Because in its best moments, Fires of Rubicon is a furious action fest that requires skill, quick reactions and a spirited tactical approach.

It plays super-slick, is easy to learn, all the while still offering enough depth to take on the competition. Just like with all the other Beat 'em' Ups, though, you can't help but wonder when the genre will take its next evolutionary step.

In its rousing finale, without a single word, Cairn makes me understand what was always inscrutable to me. I realize what Aava feels when looking up at Mount Kami from below. Not a grave, not even a threat, but a gateway to eternity. Powerful.

Ditch the podcasts or netflix for some games that seem to want you to enjoy in parallel to the experience. If you don't focus on The Talos Principle alone, you'll never experience that sublime moment, where some puzzles seem to solve themselves, because you instinctively get this world's inner workings and use its tools with machine-like efficiency.

World of Warcraft: The War Within represents a strong start for the worldsoul saga and brings with it many improvements and numerous new features that will advance WoW in general.

I don't usually count myself in the group of people who frequently wished they were younger. But in this particular case I'd give a lot to be able to see this world and its magic through young and unspoiled eyes, to be able to take it all in unfiltered. The influence Studio Ghibli exerts over this is so strong that it single-handedly might make Ni no Kuni that defining game for a young and Japanophile generation, not unlike what those Final Fantasys of old managed to become for us. And because I hold those so dearly, I couldn't think of a bigger compliment. I salute Ni no Kuni.

As a sequel, Legend of Grimrock 2 parties like it's 1991 and itself is a Beholder: bigger, better and basically the same game… I guess not that much has changed since then when it comes to sequels. Anyway, for every one of you dungeon crawlers out there, this one is a dream come true.

It's the only RPG you'll need this winter and finally a worthy heir to Origins, last generation's best role-playing game.

Playful and with a spatial openness previously unknown in the isometric Hyrule, Zelda celebrates her grand entrance, but also proves that the Switch is technically at the end of the line even when it comes to in-house productions. ... The approach of omitting iconic tools works because the heroine is able to shake a bouquet of alternatives from her staff in return - and thus builds up more than a sword could ever tear down.

Is the new technology worth the 10 euros if you already have the original in your collection? Yes, I think so. Is it worth buying if you've never played Zero Dawn? The answer should be clear: Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered is a must-have.

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.

Just leave me here, on these lush, gigantic worlds, and I'll be too well entertained to over-analyze Survivor's certain lack of precision or it not exactly inventing all these mechanics anew. I am docking a point for the technical state it is launching in, though.

Even though I like Starfield more than Fallout 4, it's just 'the next one of these', instead of the big new beginning that some might have hoped for. If that's not enough for you, I understand. In the end, however, I have to say that these old bones are still robust enough to carry heaps of fun through this fresh and technically as well as visually appealing scenario. Here's hoping for a 'Starfield: New Vega' from Obsidian.

2K manages to impress the 14th time in a row. That's not an easy feat to accomplish.

Assassin's Creed finally arrives where it has always belonged: firmly into the stealth genre, where a mistake is just as deadly as your famous blade. The division into two characters, each with their own weaknesses instead of one superhero finally allows for new, successful impulses for the series. And old Japan is simply gorgeous.

I'd have to make things up to find anything else that's worthy of complaint about this wonderful game. Gaijin Games has taken the best and most appreciated entry in the Bit.Trip saga and honed it to perfection, small lapses in creativity in the final levels notwithstanding. I honestly don't think there's much room for improvement for a possible part three.

Sometimes, videogames are thought of as a means of escapism into worlds and universes you always wanted to immerse yourself and spend your time in, but in reality never could. I truly hope I never encounter someone who thinks this way about Hotline Miami.

Comprehensive modernizations, useful QoL features, and a spectacular graphics update: While not entirely free of some grating gameplay anachronisms, this is still the best possible version of Kojima's legendary classic.

Somewhat straightforward, but exciting and elegantly presented urban development against the constant scarcity of resources.

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.