A welcome update, The Witcher 3 is just as magnificent and engrossing as it was seven years ago. It looks beautiful, but still retains that rusty charm that sometimes creeps into a game so massive. Given that it’s a free upgrade, there’s no better time to get back into the world of Geralt and the Wild Hunt.

Encompassing mastery in almost every facet of its design, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a near flawless JRPG experience that shouldn't be missed. A ridiculously addictive gameplay loop that's overflowing with depth, visuals and sound that are some of the most epic you'll experience, and a story full of enthralling characters and themes, Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of - if not the best - games of 2024. Potentially, even beyond.

An incredible adventure from beginning to end, God of War Ragnarök is epic in scale and nuanced in character. Its combat and gameplay haven’t changed much but why fix almost peerless systems? Ragnarök is an absolute must-play on the PS5 and a worthy contender for Game of the Year.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps improves upon its predecessor in every way, and is perhaps the most accomplished Switch port so far. Completely and utterly essential.

Hades is the new standard by which we measure roguelites. A stunningly modern narrative scenario told in bite-size morsels perfectly designed around roguelites, it also manages to have infinitely replayable combat full of constantly changing moves and powers. It demands your skill and a lot of your time, but it rewards you by providing meaning to the grind.

Emerging from the shadows of the Crossroads, Melinoë leads the charge for Supergiant's sequel that sits at the very top of the roguelike genre. The combat is exceptional, the visuals are divine, the story is mythical and its expansion as a sequel is first-class. Hades II safely resides in the hallowed halls of Olympus, worthy of its place amongst the immortals.

More than just another port or lazy remake, this version of Resident Evil 4 is everything you could ask for. It looks beautiful, but keeps its original feel. It has improvements that modernise yet don’t detract and, most importantly, is just as much fun now as it was back in 2005. A must-have for both series fan and latecomers.

Considering how botched the launch for SFV was, Street Fighter 6 has shown that Capcom do learn from their mistakes. A solid starting roster, some of the tightest combat the series has seen, and a story mode so crazy in concept that it only make sense here, the king of the beat ’em up is back for its crown.

Split Fiction is a genre-defying co-op adventure that shatters expectations at every turn. Blending sci-fi and fantasy with ever-evolving gameplay, it throws players into a seamless, fast-paced world where creativity knows no bounds. With stunning visuals, razor-sharp mechanics, and a co-op experience that rivals the best in gaming, Split Fiction isn’t just a game—it’s a bold, next-gen statement that demands to be played.

Finally arriving on Sony’s console, PlayStation players are now blessed with one of 2023’s best games. Dave The Diver is a sprawling, beautiful and immensely fun video game. The rogue-lite and management genres are blended with nigh-on perfection, and the presentation is simply stellar. Serving up what can only be described as a remarkable masterclass, Dave The Diver is a must-play for anyone yet to sample this delectable treat.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is bigger in every facet with more locations to explore, more characters to meet, more story to read and more systems to manage. But with an increase in sheer scale, my journey has felt less significant as a result. I'm a mouth piece of a story being told rather than a Sleeper choosing my path. Whilst that leads to something more definitive, it loses the feeling of being mine. Citizen Sleeper 2 is a sci-fi world that's hard to compare and powerful in its writing, audio/visuals and gameplay making it a must-play dice driven RPG overall.

With one of the most addictive gameplay loops of the year, Dave the Diver combines diving roguelike and sushi bar management with the skill of a master sushi chef. Its plucky irreverent tone, fun writing, constant minigames, and well-balanced drip-feed of mechanics made for an experience I was happy to sink many hours into.

The classics are here, all gleamed up for the current gen of consoles. If you’re dropping in now, you’re in for a treat. But if you bought last gen’s standard version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, be mindful of that crafty upgrade cost.

Tekken 8 is the pinnacle of series progression: it’s not trying to reinvent in the wheel, just make it shinier and a smoother ride. With absolutely gorgeous visuals, punch-perfect fighting and a huge roster to play with, this is GOTY for beat ’em ups already.

As an epic sci-fi story or as an elaborate futuristic dating simulator or even as a third-person shooter, Mass Effect Legendary Edition has a little something for everyone, and puts many modern narrative-driven RPGs to shame. It may not quite be the full-blown remake that many hoped for, but it’s still the ultimate way to experience Shepard’s story, regardless of your history with the franchise, and easily takes top spot in the running for my game of the year so far. Even the Mako sections are less annoying…

Neon White is a video game vision executed with the kind of immense creativity and skill the industry needs more of. Intensely satisfying gameplay combines with a well-executed story, engaging characters and a crisp art style. Every facet compliments another area of the title with a serene cohesion which culminates in an adrenaline pumping, high-octane blockbuster of a game. Neon White is a very strong contender for my game of the year, and if you own a Switch or PC you owe it to yourself to experience this incredible title. Failure is common in Hell, but only through trial can you reach the salvation of Neon Heaven.

Despolote is a reminder that video games are so important to the medium of storytelling. Through gorgeous visuals and a story is elation and excitement, this unique experiences manages to keep you engaged and uplifted throughout. It won't be for everyone, but if you're a player that loves to find greatness in independent games, you're going to feel like you've scored a hat-trick with this one.

Excellent use of the DualSense haptics, improved visuals and 4K resolution @ 60 frames per second mean that the PS5 version of Manifold Garden is the definitive version of a truly excellent game. Transforming the tenets of M.C. Escher’s artwork into a fascinating and enigmatic puzzle game, this title is still one of the best in the genre to release in recent times. If you’ve yet to play it, this is the best way to do so. If you’ve already got it on PS4, you’ll get this upgrade for free and it’s worth another look.

Like the Necromorphs themselves, Dead Space has been reanimated from death thanks to a superb remake treatment courtesy of Motive Studio. The USG Ishimura feels alive with terror once more thanks to fleshed out narrative stakes, an engaging exploration overhaul and a wonderful attention to detail. The Marker beckons, won’t you make us whole again?

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the series at its absolute best. Everything about the game from combat, story and the world is the most robust and enjoyable it has ever been. The game doesn’t cater as much for newcomers, but the plethora of high-quality moments make it an undeniably incredible RPG.

A sum of its parts indeed, Resident Evil Requiem silences any doubts about the previous entries it's mutated from. A mix of tense survival horror and action setpieces, Requiem is a welcome addition, perhaps even surpassing those you already hold high. It's beautiful, it's disgusting, it's over-the-top... it's Resident Evil, that's for sure.

Setting a new high bar for interactive storytelling games, Dispatch takes the Telltale formula, refines and matures it into an essential experience. With world class voice acting bringing a top quality script to life, this game is a surprise GOTY contender.

Despite appearing as a knock-off of other popular dance-rhythm action games, Synth Riders earns its place alongside the cream of the VR crop as an essential PSVR experience. With a wealth of varied and pulsating tunes, hugely enjoyable gameplay mechanics and a stunning visual art direction, it overcomes its minor flaw of a lack of challenge or campaign mode. If you own a PSVR and don’t mind embarrassing yourself as you throw shapes, you absolutely need this in your library.

Vampire Survivors delivers on exactly why it’s an addictive rougelite with near-perfect execution. Incredibly easy to pick up, even easier to get lost in and a well of secrets to keep you playing. It doesn’t offer too much variety with its gameplay but you’ll barely notice as the flashing lights of weapon upgrades and coins enamour you.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is a love letter to the original games, keeping the core gameplay intact but tweaking it enough to feel fresh and current. If you were never interested in the original games, or care little for skateboarding and its culture, there is still plenty to enjoy here too. You would be a right nollie not to pick this up.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an essential gaming experience. It’s simultaneously a hilariously absurd adventure that can be enjoyed on its own merits and an insightful examination of storytelling in gaming. The acutely self-aware new content reframes the original game to give it refreshing new purpose alongside a cluster of new barbs aimed at the flaws in modern gaming. A must play.

Monster Hunter Wilds is fantastic. It looks beautiful, the worlds and characters all make it vibrant and immersive, and hunting is just as fun as always. There’s so much to do in its base game alone that it’s easy to get lost in. But don’t fret, players can do as little or as much as they need to. If you want to build the easy stuff and just go hunt, feel free. You want to explore all food options, squad up with varying skills and weapons, that’s there for you too. There’s no wrong way to play, but however you do, it’ll be absolutely worth investing your time.

Wednesdays is an earnest attempt to move the medium forward when it comes to exploring sensitive and taboo life experiences. Where it reflects on some of the lesser spoken about aspects of abuse, it succeeds. While it has a positive and optimistic view of healing from said abuse, it can occasionally veer into overly hopeful, which may be uncomfortable for some. Unafraid to tackle difficult subject matter, Wednesdays demonstrates how video games can be a vessel for important messages.

With slick gun play, considered movement, an addictive risk vs reward game play loop and oodles of style, this is a high quality extraction shooter. It isn't perfect, but with a few patches and a heavily populated roadmap of future content, Arc Raiders has the potential to be the pinnacle of the genre.

Manifold Garden is the best first person puzzle game since Portal 2. Unique spatial mechanics, a world that brings to life M.C. Escher’s work, a winsome art style and masterfully designed puzzles make this one of the easiest recommendations of 2020 so far.

A concept that originally seems daunting, once you get into the central mechanic of Deathloop, it all makes sense. Be prepared to die again and again, remapping the same perpetual day out in a variety of different ways to hunt your targets. Arkane have refined their craft once more, delivering a densely packed world with so, so much to do. And as always, an insane variety in how to kill and look good doing it.

Capcom once again listening to fans, Separate Ways is a perfect accoutrement to the well-handled Resident Evil 4 remake. It’s linear, sure, but it hits all the right beats to make players want to go back to Leon’s presidential daughter rescue mission. Albeit from a higher perspective.

Despite some disappointing technical hitches, Indiana Jones swings onto PlayStation 5 with a satisfying crack of the whip. Sporting excellent writing, great direction and immensely satisfying gameplay, MachineGames have delivered the ultimate in Indiana Jones wish fulfilment. The hat may fall off at times owing to the glitches, meaning the Xbox or PC versions are probably your best bet, but this is still a treasure worth hunting on PlayStation.

The most essential game in the series for years, F1 2021 is a thoroughly enjoyable, accessible and gorgeous racing game. The new Braking Point narrative aspect is a triumph and there’s content and assistance options that will likely please most F1 fans.

The land of Bohemia beckons you into one of the most immersive, visually impressive and brutal worlds you could ask for. A masterful RPG that combines impactful decision-making, gratifying combat, meaningful progression and a host of gameplay variety, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a triumph that deserves not just your money, but your time and your appreciation.

Brief and concise, but being no less affecting for its brevity, Before I Forget is heart-breaking and uplifting in equal measure. The framing of the story induces a genuine sympathy and understanding of what those who suffers such conditions go through, but successfully stops short of crossing the line into patronising schmaltz. I urge all of you to experience it for yourself and make sure you avoid spoilers for maximum effect. I cannot recommend this enough.

An inventive isometric slasher, Death’s Door feels like all the best bits of Souls-like structure and none of the bad. Its Zelda-inspired combat and systems are firmly at the challenging end of the spectrum, but are also pretty addictive, and mix well with a bleak yet unique story.

What matters is still intact, and that’s the heart and soul of one of the greatest stories in video game history. It’s a return to form that has felt a long time in coming, and what’s even better is that there’s still at least two more games of this quality to come...They can’t mess this up, can they?

Chained Echoes is an incredibly passionate love letter to 16-32 bit era JRPGs, but it also knows when to try new things and add modern conveniences. Its battle system is one of the best in the genre, and feels genuinely revolutionary. I was slightly underwhelmed by the game’s rushed final act and a couple of party members but Chained Echoes is a great game and is absolutely worth your time if you’re a fan of the genre.

An outstanding package in its own right and the new standard by which all future retro compilations should be measured, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration serves as a love letter to a bygone era, a reminder of the power the name once held and a tantalising glimpse at how some of gaming’s most storied franchises can be revitalised in the right hands. Highly recommended for anyone remotely interested in gaming history. A particular affinity for Atari? Utterly essential.

A slick and stylish revival that captures the spirit of classic Shinobi while adding modern polish. Tight combat, striking visuals, and smart level design make this a must-play for fans of ninja action.

Blind Drive is unlike anything else out there at the moment. It’s unique, innovative and hopefully the start of something new. As a proof of concept, this game demonstrates that it’s possible to create an absorbing, exciting experience based purely on sound. As a game in its own right, it’s thrilling, funny and a triumph of audio game design.

With a mechanically flawless flat screen experience, an EDM soundtrack that is packed with bangers and chaotic visuals that emulate the style of your favourite arcade machines, Spin Rhythm XD is a great experience. The VR aspect isn’t as brilliant and the game doesn’t offer much else from the base gameplay but it’s hard not to recommend for rhythm game fans.

The Great Circle represents a huge shift in focus for Xbox, and tells a terrific story full of excitement and adventure. Machine Games have once again created a Nazi-punching sim worth investing in and perhaps, if the quality of the output remains this high, there's hope for Xbox's future first-party line-up after all.

The Witch Queen is a terrific addition to the Destiny 2 canon, finally balancing the combat and the story to near perfect levels. There’s so much here to enjoy, breathing new life into Destiny as a whole. Absolutely brilliant.

It may seem like one for the hardcore, but the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection is for old and new fans alike. Quality of life improvements make it more accessible, whilst retaining the original challenge for the more “old school” fan. Either as a bundle or individual title, there’s a classic for everyone.

A fun, unique little Zelda-like with all the quirk and style of a 90s heyday Game Boy game, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is going to scratch that itch if you like 'em retro. However, tricky controls and high difficulty are going to see many leave it languishing on the shelf after a few hours, alongside their old Yoyo.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is a mystifying and emotive title from Deconstructeam. The complex characters and card-creating/reading mechanics bring exciting concepts to the interactive fiction genre that leave a long-lasting impression. A game that is uniquely beautiful inside and out and deals with topics with much-needed maturity and representation. Let the game cast a spell on you and you will be left bewitched.

With solid gameplay, excellent style and some of the funniest writing I’ve ever encountered in a game, this pastiche to a classic is one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve experienced this year. It would be impressive enough as is, but when you then consider that this is largely the work of just one person, it becomes an almost unbelievable achievement. If you want an old-school adventure with some new-school panache, you’re not going to get much better in 2021 than UnMetal.

A brilliant duet of simple-to-play, tough-to-master rhythm game, mixed with a snare-hit of nostalgia right to the face. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is both a beautiful collection of incredible music and a fun battler that rewards your rhythm skills with satisfying progression.

Chicory is the kind of game that reminds me why I enjoy gaming in the first place. It takes innovative, artistically driven mechanics and makes them accessible and intuitive. It combines them with a narrative which is emotionally charged and truly engrossing. This is all topped off with a fantastic world that houses oodles of charm, a top class soundtrack and puzzle design that challenges the player while rarely becoming frustrating.

Phantom Liberty is a terrific reminder that the world of Cyberpunk is one well worth jumping into if you’ve waited until now to do so. For longterm fans, whilst Dogtown isn’t as hugely exciting and fun to explore as Night City, the new sidequests and characters add to an already engaging list of reasons to jump back in to the dangeous, ridiculous world of Cyberpunk.

With a beautiful new style, a more adult narrative, wonderful characters, and a modernised tone and feel, Tales of Arise brings the franchise smashing into the current era. It’s still got the tried-and-true Tales flavour, both good and bad, yet innovates with fluid combat that feels fresh. The best and most essential Tales game in well over a decade.

A solid collection, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics will appeal to fans of 2D fighters. A few new tweaks don't detract from the arcade charm, making this a worthy collection for those who have always wanted to settle a bet about whether Ryu can beat Cyclops in a brawl.

It looks beautiful, it's got the right amount of challenge in it, and it plays smoothly. What more could you ask from Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound? As a standalone title, or to tied over until the next main game comes along, you'll certainly have a flipping good time.

Diablo IV has arrived to reclaim its throne at the peak of the ARPG underworld. A well-executed story and darker tone merges supremely with an exciting, expansive open-world to explore and slay thousands upon thousands of demons within. Aside from some minor technical issues and repetitive dungeon design, Diablo IV is a triumph of horde slicing and demon killing. Diablo was the true Prime, but perhaps Lilith’s campaign has shaken up the order of hell.

Overboard is a 2D puzzle murder mystery, and is infectiously intriguing with a quirky art style. If you love murder mysteries and choice based games, you will have a lot of fun with this short snapshot version of one suiting it’s release on Switch and IOS/Android. Your patience may run short replaying 35 minute sections from the beginning however.

Crash Bandicoot 4 It’s About Time is still the best Crash Bandicoot has ever been, and deserves to be played if you have any interest in platformers or loved the originals way back when. The PS5 upgrade gives it a thin but noticeable lick of paint to stand alongside the next-generation, and a reason to dive back in.

Whilst it may seem daunting, there’s a wealth of things to do in F1 2020 for newcomers and hardcore devotees alike.

Dividing its time beautifully between rouge-like dungeon crawler and cult management simulator, Cult of the lamb is everything you would want and need from the mix of genres. A fantastic soundtrack and incredibly moreish gameplay, this is a big recommendation for anyone who is in awe of the vibrantly cute aesthetic it presents. While it’s currently harrowed by some glitches preventing certain aspects of gameplay from shining, once these are ironed out this could easily be ‘Game of the Year’ material.

Despite some inconsistent framerate issues in certain modes, Street Fighter 6 Year 1+2 Edition is a fantastic package, playing brilliantly on Nintendo's new system and showcases that the console can run with the big boys when it comes to line-up and performance. The magic of Street Fighter remains strong and shows no sign of slowing down here.

Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 has near-perfectly recreated the feeling of what the original did decades ago; knowing exactly where to stay strictly within the source material and where to add some modernisation. Performances are the best they've ever been, combat is a simple yet hard hitting improvement and the world of Silent Hill has a new level of terrifying. If you're an old fan or a new player, there is no better time to revisit that town than now.

Nioh 3 expands the series from tight bitesized focus to expansive open world design over multiple time periods. And while the third samurai soulslike still plays incredibly, its structurally compromised by recycled enemies, easy difficulty, too much loot and a nonsense plot. Bigger is not always better.

A Metroidvania for newcomers and veterans, Crypt Custodian does so much to be a well-paced journey. Frenetic battles, engaging secrets and a cute cast to cry over make the game’s less polished elements an afterthought.

Descending from a hillside house to a rural Japanese village, only for it to enveloped in fog and an evil haunting is just about as good as survival horror gets. Silent Hill f confidently lives up to the franchise name in quality and exceeds many of the later entries. Perhaps the f is meant to imply a spin off, rather than a numbered entry, so that the intense and satisfying reflexive combat can be accepted and praised rather than compared.

Bonfire Peaks is a gorgeous experience, with a multitude of puzzles that will challenge even the most hardened genre aficionado. The sense of completion is wondrous, and the voxel world is a peaceful one to work through at your own pace. You’ve been never been so utterly relaxed and completely infuriated at the same time. It’s quite the achievement.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is true to the spirit of the original in all the ways a sequel should be. Simultaneously obtuse yet immersive, brutal yet rewarding and handsomely engaging yet hands-off. The struggle in the early hours gives way to what is one of this year’s best RPG experiences, with an incredible amount to discover, overcome and master. It’s been a long 12 years, but the Arisen’s return is one of a burning heart, begging for you to get lost in its weird and wonderful world.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is an incredibly dense mech action title. Every facet has multiple layers that force you to chip away piece by piece, making the game so rewarding when you put in the work. The gameplay is laced with adrenaline and wholly addictive, with a mission structure that only indulges it, making Armored Core VI hard to put down. With a plethora of modes to get lost in, extensive customisation and impeccable world-building, this is another incredible title by FromSoftware.

A spot on throwback to the hedonistic and violent days of the Manga animation brand, Mullet MadJack is top tier indulgent fun. Its insane pace, somewhat too on-the-nose allegories for consumerism, and blinding visuals, make it a blast for that repetitive, quick-fix roguelike fan.

Chivalry 2 is an immersive, chaotic, gory, hilarious, carnage spilling thrill ride of a game which will have you storming castles like a true knight of old one moment, before bewildering you with someone beating you down with a loaf of bread. It’s a fantastically enjoyable experience which is unfortunately held back by a light content offering and some technical as well as balance issues. While this knight may have taken an arrow to the knee, it battles on to launch a cabbage at you another day.

13 Sentinels is the deepest of narrative experiments, with none of the form of a normal RPG, and a visceral and addictive strategic mech battler. It channels everything good about Japanese mech anime and games from the last 40 years into something beautiful, timeless and incredibly niche. A real contender for RPG of the year.

A wonderfully written story, combined with some dark, depressing and ultimately great side discoveries and accessible yet engaging platform-puzzling prove to be another fantastic addition to Untold Tales’ portfolio. It may not be perfect, but we can rejoice that What Lies In The Multiverse exists within our dimension to experience.

Expanding on the original's vision in almost every conceivable way, Frostpunk 2 is a city-building triumph of a sequel. The intense challenge remains while the experience is bigger, bolder and yet streamlined and far more intuitive. In spite of the horrendous conditions and hostile environment, Frostpunk 2 is a joy to play, even when you're enforcing child labour and exiling a faction for daring to request you listen to their reasonable demands. Even if the end of the world is nigh, New London beckons to have you as its steward, and you'd be foolish not to heed its call.

Pragmata is a much more reserved and grounded title than its premise may suggest, but that's for the better. Its central duo of Hugh and Diana form a likeable bond, its gameplay keeps itself tight and focused with some great-yet-cumbersome hacking mechanics. Even with some imprecise controls and visual mishaps, Pragmata makes a trip to the moon a sight to behold.

Death Howl is an excellent and original soulslike deckbuilder, that's only mired by its pacing. Progression is sluggish, and the combat is so unforgiving that these challenges may dissuade some players. However, if players want that challenge and love turn-based card battlers, then it doesn't get better than this.

A masterclass in narrative convergence, the eight-fold seemingly disparate paths of Octopath Traveler II come together to form a tightly plotted and engaging whole. Though its gameplay is not ground-breaking, its battles are fun and rewarding and manage to cut out much of the grind of its predecessor, making it an essential JRPG experience.

It seems miraculous that one of the most graphically intensive games that gave the PS4 a headache is available on Switch 2. But here it is and CD Projekt Red have worked wonders to bring this game to life on a handheld device.

An absurdist adventure into a world that you’ll never want to leave, Promise Mascot Agency delivers ridiculous highs on a near-consistent basis. You’ve never played anything like this.

Lil’ Guardsman never overextends with its ambition but rather perfects everything the game does. With nuanced and hilarious writing, gorgeous visuals, complete with fun deducing-based puzzle mechanics, the game is a king amongst its own kingdoms.

Return to Monkey Island lives up to the near thirty year long wait with a modernised take that feels fresh, unique and brand new. Nostalgia naturally fuels a major proportion of its endearing qualities, but the new puzzles, the sumptuous music and the glorious performances bring the series back to life in ways we couldn’t have imagined. An absolutely stellar return for a franchise we thought we’d never see again.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is the perfect distillation of classic gameplay, and modern gaming demands. It is full to bursting with content, things to earn and masses of replayability. Though its difficulty may be too high for some, it’s definitely the best Crash Bandicoot has ever been and deserves its place alongside the original trilogy. A classic modernised and a modern classic.

OlliOlli World is exactly what you want from an arcade game: it's quick, it punishes mistakes, but it embodies the spirit of trying again. Pair that with some Saturday morning cartoon visuals and characters, an overly-sweet level of charm, and the sense that Roll7 are having a fun time making this, and you've got a perfect recipe for frustrating fun.

Immortality uses the conventional format of an FMV and tears it apart, only to devour it. And you can’t help but watch it unfold in equal parts horror and awe as the game’s design, plot and acting will consume you too. This is an absolute triumph for Sam Barlow and the team at Half Mermaid and the PS5 is a perfect place to experience it.

Rather than a jumping-in point, Trails Beyond the Horizon is third in a trilogy and not a good place to start this series. However, for those already neck deep in Zemuria, Horizon is a well-built conclusion to the Calvard arc, and a fun way to spend 80 hours and send off Van and his team in style.

There’s a glorious amount of fun to be had with What The Golf? and I’m delighted it’s finally on Switch, in particular. It’s a perfect blend of game and console, something I’ve said in various Switch reviews beforehand. When a game lands on Switch and feels completely at home, it’s well worth investing in.

Live A Live makes an impressive case as to why classic RPGs are not to be forgotten in time. The vignette style of storytelling brings an epic scale to an otherwise modest and sometimes unevenly paced narrative. The HD-2D visuals and recomposed soundtrack are standouts in what is already a stellar package that all RPG fans need to play.

Blasphemous 2 is a near-flawless sequel that only improves on its own formula. The game is bigger, bolder and more confident in every facet. Combat is more diverse and brutal, the platforming more fulfilling and the presentation more enriched and hauntingly beautiful. One of the best 2D Metroidvanias that honours the Soulslike formula, whilst carving out its own path.

A visual novel adventure game emulating the style and serious constraints of a PC-98 title, Stories From Sol: The Gun Dog tells a compelling and suspenseful tale of ingenuity and resourcefulness in deep space. This is one for those who like their retro indies, but regardless of niche, it’s a brilliant game that deserves attention.

A masterpiece on any system, Shadow Gambit The Cursed Crew is a high-performance wave-slicing ghost ship on PlayStation 5. Making lovely use of the Dualsense and optimising controls for console, you’ve got the absolute best version of pirate stealthing on your massive living room telly box.

As a straight story of Stranger Things meets Sylvanians, Beacon Pines is written beautifully, drawn evocatively, and compelling to play. But as a deconstruction of narrative that lets you rebuild your own story from the pieces, it’s stellar, captivating stuff. An unfettered joy from start to finish.

A perfect swansong of a DLC, Finding the Flowzone is a beautiful little finale to OlliOlli World. New locales, more eccentric friends and a gusty mechanic, it only enhances the formula already established. Have fun, get frustrated, go back for more in this high-flying adventure.

An exhilarating 2D soulslike set in a remarkably charming world, Tails of Iron is a surprise GOTY candidate. You’ll croak and die often due to the formidable combat but the narrative and systems will keep you coming back for more, like a rat does to cheese.

The hugely anticipated Hogwarts Legacy does not disappoint. An early GOTY contender offers interesting storytelling parallels with the Harry Potter franchise, beautiful and glorious fan favourite locations, and an array of exciting combat and collectibles for hours of entertainment.

Trails Through Daybreak takes the series to new heights of drama without losing any of the series’ strengths or structure, and features a fun double battle system that somehow doesn’t get in the way of itself. It’s also a viable jumping-in point that hasn’t come along in a while for those looking to dip their toe into this long-running series and finding it daunting. The dawn of a new era.

As with most ports, Ghost Trick is mainly going to appeal to those that hold it in esteem since its first iteration. For them, this is the perfect port. For the uninitiated, however, there’s no reason not to dive into the unknown if one enjoys their kooky, off-the-wall puzzle-adventures. With added spirit(s).

Be prepared should you decide to take the plunge into this fast-paced, conspiracy-ridden epic. If it can win over even me, it’s surely doing something right. It has the odd issue and stumbling moment, but on the whole, this is one of the better indie games you’ll likely play this year. Me, enjoy a pixel-art point-and-click game? Madness.

Over its five-or-so hours, Lost in Play barely puts a foot wrong, delivering cerebral gaming and effervescent entertainment. In doing so, it makes many of the genre’s design challenges look easy. Here’s hoping it inspires and influences future graphic adventures – or at least gets a sequel.

Mediterranea Inferno is unafraid of tackling a multitude of serious themes and exploration of the more immoral, shadowy parts of human desires. It has moments where it’s too brash and its themes won’t sit comfortably with many. But, for those who descend into this psychological character study, there’s a host of beautifully rendered, disturbing imagery to feast upon.