South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an RPG with tangible qualities and enjoyable passages, but without the bite or imagination you'd expect of the name.

Resident Evil 4 meets the Truman Show in an entertaining but unremarkable follow-up, held back by tepid stealth and warmed-over scares.

A brave VR murder mystery experiment inspired by immersive theatre, but the asking price is too high.

A modern indie classic on PC finds in Nintendo's Switch the perfect platform. [Essential]

An adorable platforming adventure that steadily finds it own voice. [Recommended]

A greatly expanded and improved action game let down by a dreadful story.

A scrappy tribute to the long-lost Road Rash series whose raw spirit just about overcomes its shortcomings.

Another handsome, well built and entertaining Forza rolls off the production line - though there are controversial changes under the hood. [Recommended]

A brutal game that's equal parts frustrating and exhilarating, delivered in the mesmerising style of a prohibition-era cartoon.

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

Intricate and ingenious, Hob is a true spiritual successor to A Link to the Past. [Recommended]

A powerfully grim, fleet-footed cyberpunk action odyssey that is caught in the spell of its own nihilism.

High-scoring fun from EA Sports, but FIFA 18 is an unspectacular upgrade. [Recommended]

No matter how good a Total War game is, the follow-up campaign is always better. Warhammer 2's is no exception. [Recommended]

A CRPG of unparalleled breadth and dynamism, Original Sin 2 is Larian's masterpiece. [Essential]

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.

The people behind Grow Home return with an ingenious multiplayer battler. [Recommended]

A 3DS classic gets a follow-up that doubles down on the charm. [Recommended]

Great fighting, but a drab art style and disappointing roster of characters let the side down.

A morbid, potent epilogue for Dishonored 2 equipped with new powers, some great locations and some overdue tweaks. [Recommended]

Project Cars 2 improves upon its predecessor for a racing game of unprecedented scope - unfortunately hampered by a series of small issues.

A timely overhaul that should take a great game to new heights - though it's not quite on peak form this year. [Recommended]

Bigger and better - but there's not enough genuinely new for Destiny 2 to achieve greatness. [Recommended]

Tooth and Tail is a deft and minimalist RTS that's slick as a knife through the ribs. [Recommended]

It all adds up to an underwhelming return. MercurySteam now has the curious distinction of being the one developer to have worked on both Metroid and Castlevania on the 3DS and fallen wide of the mark on both. This isn't quite the disappointment that was Mirrors of Fate, and there's a hard-edged gem to be found in what was always going to be a troubled exercise. Samus Returns is ultimately a noble remake that fixes so many of the original's problems, but it doesn't do so without introducing a handful of its own.

Please Knock on My Door effectively encompasses the isolation and strain those who experience depression go through on a day-to-day basis. [Recommended]

Improvements abound, but Knack's adventures still suffer from a lack of charm.

This ambitious survival game emerges from Early Access fully featured but just as in danger of toppling in on itself as ever before.