With its moreish pace and compelling presentation there's the basis of a really great tablet RPG here, but Warhammer Quest makes two misguided assumptions that hold it back. It assumes that role-playing works better with all the dice and messy statistics brushed off the table, and it assumes that a multiplayer board game and a single-player video game are the same experience.

Eric Chahi's back with a game defined by passion, surprise, heart and beauty. [Eurogamer Essential]

I'm keenly aware that Twisted Metal has "an audience", and I'm not belittling the people who like it. Heck, I remember a time I found it enjoyable belting around loosing off missiles. But it's such a disposable form of entertainment.

Between Galaxies' moreish every-ad-break appeal, Retro Evolved's continued brilliance, the control system's effectiveness and the well-thought-out multiplayer modes, it's ever so nearly excellent. Unlike the inside of my stupid head.

Heat Signature is, in theory, another empire-building game like Far Cry or Assassin's Creed, in which you prise away nodes of geographical control, amassing plunder if not XP or character levels. It never feels like that, though. It cultivates an air of supreme disposability instead, its ships thrown together only to be picked apart as you'd pull the legs off a spider, its adventurers little more than loadouts with funky labels and an optional bespoke final mission. Inevitably, this framework rings a bit hollow after a few hours of continuous play (you could spend upwards of 20, I think, reeling in every last space station and beating every last Defector quest) - these systems remain charming to the finish, but there's a sense that Heat Signature is reliant on players being heartily sick of games that invest such acts of open-ended vandalism with broader significance. Forgive it that, however, and this is a piratical delight.

Sonic is a bit like the band you used to love when you were a nipper but just refuse to change their sound: they keep a loyal crowd and play all the hits on demand for nostalgia's sake, but the new tunes sound like the old ones. Only the real obsessives need worry about this one.

This is not a pompous blockbuster, nor a long-term proposition. This is about men hitting each other with swords, and the hitting part works great. Chivalry is a simple pleasure, and a funny game indeed.

A pleasant anomaly: a stealth game that breaks out of rigid patterns and an episodic game that visibly evolves and improves from one chapter to the next. The game isn't quite everything it could be just yet - the occasional puzzles, although slightly more involved, still feel like the weak link in the chain - but with more episodes to come, there's a strong sense that by the end, it's going to be something very special indeed.

This is a game with meaningful, welcome changes on the pitch. This is a fun football video game made by developers who clearly love football and are well aware of community feedback. But FIFA 20 is also a video game made by a publisher that's seemingly incapable of changing some of the problematic stuff that comes with each and every FIFA game - at a time when the conversation has most certainly changed.

The Dragon's Trap's HD sheen belies the simplistic gameplay of its era, but there's undeniable charm in that simplicity. [Recommended]

An unusual setup, interesting characters and tongue-in-cheek writing make Astrologaster one of the most fun visual novels around. [Eurogamer Recommended]

In motion, it's a painfully beautiful game: in the saturated richness of its colours and the raw exuberance of its backdrops; in the soaring melody of Magical Sound Shower and the husky elocution of the girl who voices the menus; in the hard, brilliant, arcade brashness of it all; above all, in the unique balance and beauty of its handling.

A wonderfully idiosyncratic creation that, despite its smorgasbord of influences, feels like nothing else.

The only snag comes from not being able to see the whole playing area at once.

Packed with inventive ideas and one engaging sequence after another, it's a spirited, poignant and unsettling game that not only delivers a long-overduereturn to form, but reinvigorates horror adventures in the process.

Sure, it's not going to win awards for its longevity, but its instant playability and rampantly addictive qualities make is damned near irresistible. A fitting update to an enduring classic.

It's a game that dares to tear up the rulebook and start over in the quest for a better sequel, and is all the better for venturing beyond the boundaries established in the previous game. The sort of old-school puzzle game that demands patience and dedication, it repays both in abundance.

While FIFA 11 may be the better, more polished and controllable simulation of football, in many respects PES 2011 is the more charismatic of the two games. If you're only interested in the finished article then you might want to wait another year for further progress, but in the meantime PES fans can hold their heads high, and fans of the beautiful game are on the road to being spoiled for choice again in light of this encouraging instalment.

Faster, faster, the dizzying spins. The rainbow streaks. Man, the blue tunnels. Mind the gap.

If you're looking for a more sporty, addictive alternative to Anno 1404, or a just worthy continuation of the Settlers series, you've absolutely found it.

A joyous, deep and rewarding tactical shooter.

The already fairly hefty system demands can be stretched even further by some of the water refraction effects, requiring some option-fiddling to get a playable game.

This is arguably the most involving non-linear RPG available on Nintendo's flagship system.

If you have the speedrunning bug, be warned: Mighty Switch Force's taunting clockwork worlds are going to be a dangerous, and possibly fairly maddening, compulsion. Even if you don't, this is still clever, personable, and beautifully made.

An aimless-feeling revamp of 2016's best multiplayer game, slightly coarsened by free-to-play grinding.

TrackMania 2 Valley's another Nadeo title as brilliant as it is scruffy, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Ustwo follows up Assemble with Care with more quiet restorative magic. [Eurogamer Recommended]

A competent entry with some poorly executed ideas and a striking lack of personality.

In isolation it's a great racing game, but in the context of the dreaded yearly churn to which Codemasters finds itself committed, the sensational but ultimately restrictive Classics Mode is the only meaningful addition.

A childhood bond reimagined as a series of elegant, time-based diorama puzzles, The Gardens Between is short but very sweet.

Messy, boisterous, chaotic - Civilization 6: Rise and Fall is the antidote to the Enlightenment. [Recommended]

A very poor introduction to the genre for Xbox owners. It's by no means terrible; but without borrowing Sakaguchi's rose-tinted glasses, it's not much fun either.

At times, yes, it does feel as though most of this stuff should be available on the website along with the rest of the free extras, but the impact the pack has on your creations can't be ignored and, for the Sim City obsessed, they're actually quite essential.

This is all fairly familiar, but the key thing is that it's new content, there are new challenges, it all looks spectacular and it'll last you for ages.

Falls down slightly not because it's not entertaining, not because it lacks content, not because it doesn't play well, but because its scope is too narrow to include everyone.

It won't get you out of your Tony Hawk funk if you're already bored to death, but then you've already got SKATE for that so hurrah.

As the most original, admittedly surreal, take on the sport for years, Mario Strikers is a gem of a game and manages to flawlessly meet Nintendo's brief of appealing to absolutely everybody.

Having your drawings come to life is just wonderful, and when you choose to do something inventive and imaginative, you'll have a fantastic time. If only the level design forced this kind of innovation on the player, it would have been even better.

An enjoyable diversion for a couple of hours, but lacking in depth or replayability to warrant serious consideration.

Sledgehammer takes Call of Duty back to its roots, refining rather than redefining the series for the best entry in years. [Recommended]

A mostly thorough remake of 2002's original, Mafia: Definitive Edition has its moments - but it struggles by the standards of today.

If it played just a little tighter, Apotheon would be brushing up against greatness. As it stands, it's stunning to look at and a pleasure to play, and what flaws it does have can be easily overlooked by anyone looking for something smart and stylish.

All That Remains does a great job of reintroducing the series, and switches things up in a way that could have tripped up harder than Lee over a tree branch yet feels like the only way the story could have been continued.

It's a fiendishly fast-paced puzzler. Beneath the gentle pastel exterior lurks the heart of a beast.

Mario Golf and Earthbound combine for one of the most delightful games you'll find on Nintendo's Switch. [Recommended]

A pretty respectable FPS, but like "Unreal 2" it's the game's inability to innovate consistently that compels us to give up.

For the seasoned player, it comes down to whether True Aim sounds like something you'd enjoy, and whether five new courses plus some tweaks to the XP and stroke system are enough to justify adding another box to the pile. All the changes are certainly beneficial, but none feel essential.

If you're a newcomer to the series, this iteration is well worth the investment. It's a highly polished game with instantly accessible gameplay, a smooth difficulty curve and some fun new power-ups. There's scope for both long-term strategising and mindless ball-blasting.

A compelling fusion of tabletop manoeuvring and characterful campaign progression. [Recommended]

Even if you haven't got the commitment to play the game the way it's meant to be played, mind, there's still a lot of fun on offer here. The Denpa Men is characterful, challenging and genuinely charming.

Despite an endearing commitment to its relentlessly positive tone, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands almost feels designed by a dice roll.

Its big themes are glibly handled, though this is still Quantic Dream's most credible and satisfying interactive yarn by far.

The best way to view the Enhanced Edition is as a particular flavour of this game - one which may or may not appeal to your personal taste. I certainly can't claim that this is the definitive version of Baldur's Gate and I have to judge this game I love with that in mind. It's not better - it's just different.

But for series veterans who want to drill down to the bottom, upgrading weapons by slogging through 100-level grinds in the item world, balancing Evilties, managing clubs and alliances to create a squadron that is literally the gigantic sum of its creator's decisions, a blanket recommendation is harder to make.

It's not offering anything revolutionary, and you could argue that it doesn't fix anything that was wrong with it last time out, but the new toys are a lot of fun, it still stands out for looking absolutely stunning and given that it lasts about as long as most full priced shooters you're getting good value for money.

A significant step up from Yakuza 3 in terms of visuals and story, Yakuza 4 still lags behind the genre's leaders, lacking the polish in interactions to make it a classic. But this is still a strong, mesmerising video game, an offer that none should refuse.

Anybody who remembers the good old days of Contra should steer clear of Shattered Soldier, unless you have some sort of sadistic urge to lay waste to your senses and pollute your fond recollections of this once proud series.

A game using this toy technology with the depth and breadth of Pokemon, or the variety and replayability of the Lego games, would be absolutely amazing. For now, "pretty good" will have to do.

Equal parts tense and unpredictable, this serves the kind of memorable experience that makes exploring branching storylines a joy. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Festival of Blood's slight but fun, in other words - a decent shaggy dog story for you to plough through on Halloween evening before the doorbell starts ringing and your friends drop round dressed as the seven ages of David Bowie, or whatever your theme is this year.

Fresh presentation and admirable dedication to its big idea can't save this two-player adventure from mediocrity.

if you've got the patience to sit through its slow build up, and if you're open-minded enough to allow it to transport you, then it will take you to places that other JRPGs haven't even dreamed of visiting.

Once you get it on a big TV or monitor and hook it all up to a meaty stereo system, it really is something special to behold.

It's worth a look if you're short of a good portable adventure, but it's not quite smashing.

It's exactly what meets the eye - which is to say a good-hearted festival of a game about talking robots shooting and smashing each other, shouting itself raw-throated in joy at the toys it gets to play with, but no more than that.

Incredibly for such a simple and strictly limited game, it almost never tries your patience, and it's made with such infectious and irreverent glee and such obvious pride, you can't help but join in.

It might not be what Mrs. Hudson wants for him, but Bomberman's still one of the best multiplayer games you can buy, and whether or not you want another version you should at least dig out one of the ones you already own and raise your rollerskates in acknowledgement.

Patchy, chaotic but ultimately hilarious mini-game collection that proves Jackbox is still king of the party genre. [Eurogamer Recommended]

If you've got massive amounts of patience and skill you might enjoy this game, but we're talking the kind of patience and skill required to solve Rubik's cubes in the dark and balance marbles on tightropes.

Not quite unparalleled excellence, then, but more than enough chills to keep horror adventure fans gibbering.

Zelda gets the Dynasty Warriors treatment once more, folding in inspiration from Breath of the Wild for the best musou spin-off yet. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Dontnod has crafted a brilliant narrative that once again puts teenagers and young adults at the forefront of today's big issues, never shying away from talking about our world. But this isn't just an "issues" game. It reminded me of the TV series Rectify, about a convict released from prison thanks to DNA evidence proving his innocence. There is similar poignancy and sadness throughout the story in Tell Me Why, as Tyler and Alyson discover the meaning of their childhood memories, while being unable to change the past, trying to reach a mother now lost to the world. Not only does it provide emotional depth, but the story seeks emotional justice, and it never fails to bring us along on this journey for the truth. [Eurogamer Recommended]

It's a game that really understands people, and their complex motivations. And yet so often forgets the motivations of the people playing an adventure game. It's a game that knows how to use the DS to great effect, and how the stylus can be so casually and effectively. But its ‘minigames' are perfunctory and underdeveloped.

Prototype is a game of riotous, gore-splattering ultraviolence. That's all it wants to be, and in many respects it does a solid, and often spectacular job.

There is a big element of luck to Fluxx, but this is balanced against mastering its unusual playstyle and making the most of every hand. Either that, or I'm getting luckier.

The genius of Blek's design is that it channels that weird sense of freedom you get from helping a doodle unfold - the freedom that comes of kicking yourself loose from life's formal structures, even if your only rebellion is seeing where a curving black line will take you.

If you fancy the idea of action-oriented "Deus Ex" then a rental is completely essential as you'll easily romp through it inside two evenings.

The proliferation of save points also strips any element of tension away from the experience.

Sure, the poop gags are a little wearisome, but a sprinkling of the old Gilbert magic makes it a worthwhile ride.

Assault is a smart and sometimes fraught blend of running and gunning with the highest production values. What's most impressive is that this isn't a genre piece with a licensed skin over the top, but a game that works themes from the series into its mechanics - albeit at times rather loosely - and combines this with a wonderful take on the art style.

There's a lot to admire in Arc System Works' latest, but it's undone by some familiar faults.

Something Microsoft should have put out at a budget price from the beginning, because the single-player story mode is without question one of the worst platform games we've had the misfortune of playing in <I>years</I>, while the multiplayer is merely adequate next to the best in online console gaming.

No Going Back does more than caps it off with aplomb; it drags the rest of it up by its braces and recasts it as something much more than the sum of its parts.

A lacklustre port of a fantastic game. The sad thing is that the improvements to manoeuvrability and updated visuals show us what the ultimate Metal Gear Solid 3 would look like - but then Snake Eater 3D fails to deliver that due to stodgy aiming, low resolutions and a choppy frame-rate.

If For Honor occasionally feels like a game at war with itself, its edge blunted by some less arresting modes and design-by-committee add-ons, the heart of the game beats strongly enough to overcome these blemishes. [Recommended]

Eerie and loving by turn, Bomb Rush Cyberpunk is a gloriously haunted video game.

SHODAN is what makes parts of this game truly special, even with some warts. Thankfully, the original's impenetrable Excel sheet menus are gone. But Nightdive doesn't take the Capcom or Square Enix approach with this remake; they're actually pretty uncompromising in their mission to update the original. As a result, there aren't any wildly dynamic abilities or playful ways to move around the station (a la Prey) that some newbies might expect. But ultimately, the System Shock remake faithfully recreates a classic, retains most of its appeal, reframes everything with a horror tilt, and as a result, makes it more playable for everyone.

TumbleSeed is challenging in all the right ways. It never feels mean-spirited, yet it requires patience, perseverance, and experimentation to unlearn everything you know about how to manipulate a video game character. [Recommended]

Dotemu delivers an exquisite extension of Data East's 1994 masterpiece. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Astropop is a fun, but ultimately short-lived experience that's missing the X factor of the best puzzlers to drag you back for long.

It's an absurd bargain. With online multiplayer, it would be a miniature classic. As it is, it's recommended for PS3 owners, all but essential if you have a Vita - and for lovers of RC cars or top-down racing, it's a rare treat.

Deftly written and designed, Forgotton Anne is proof that seemingly small, simple things are well worth treasuring. [Recommended]

A simple music game. But, for someone who grew up with these myths wallpapering their imagination, it is a complex vehicle for emotion. Final Fantasy may be a loose, somewhat obnoxious umbrella term for a collection of games of mixed message and quality, but Theatrhythm succeeds in touching upon some true magic within its bounds.

Fun though DKC is, it is - as many have said in the past - rather on the short side. Stumbling through the game with a fairly good idea of where everything was, it took us about four hours to get to the final boss and dispatch him, picking up some 70 per cent of the game's secrets along the way.

More time, heart and money has gone into this than any other free game I can remember playing, and I think Riot Games is going to make good on its promise of post-release development. Until further notice, this is the DOTA game you should be playing.

Not everyone is going to enjoy this. Some people will never warm to Ubisoft's anarchic little fiends, many will find the constant enthusiasm draining. This isn't a purchase for hardcore enthusiasts or steely battlefield veterans with a thousand-yard stare and a pico-second response time. The rest of you, should you be able to engage your inner child, could well find a big old slice of the fun pie cooling on your windowsill.

Admittedly, many of the other problems haven't been fixed - staff, for example, are still in too short supply - but at least the effects add a touch of pazazz and the moviemaker mode finally works. The name may be misleading, but it was just the medicine The Movies needed.

Dune: Awakening is a harsh survival game, an intriguing RPG, and a fierce open world PvP game all in one. Somehow, it pulls it off.