A visual novel that stands shoulder to shoulder with the giants of the genre, Along The Edge is a fantastic and fantastical story that’s delivered eloquently and masterfully. It’s missing some modern quality of life innovations but that doesn’t spoil what it one of the most majestic hidden gems I’ve ever had the pleasure to review.

A triumphant new IP from Bandai Namco, Scarlet Nexus is probably the best RPG of the year so far. Its compellingly dark story will keep you guessing through two necessary playthroughs, while its engaging psychokinetic combat is in a class of its own, albeit with exceptionally streamlined progression. Throwing your toys around has never been so much fun.

It may have some technical issues that highlight the indie budget, but the good in Winter Ember outweighs the bad. It has all the stealth trappings; the frustration, the patience, as well as the stickiness of the combat, to harken back to the olden days. It may not be original, yet it doesn’t matter when it looks this nice and plays like the classics.

So this review is going to be a glowing recommendation, based on two factors: I have no real wealth of RTS history to throw it against, and I’m having an absolute blast with what I’m playing already. Much like any game, I’m trying to find my feet with its extensive tactics and takedowns approach, but I’m fully invested in the ride.

Like a great piece of music, I’m excited to revisit Across The Grooves over and over again.

If you want to step in the world of fairy tale, gothic fable whilst throwing in crafting spells and a linear simplistic story set within an explorable world, Wytchwood is for you. Beautiful visuals and an alluring soundtrack. This game could be seen as mundane and repetitive, with little combat or puzzle, however Wytchwood casts a spell on the player that will have you immersed into the art of enchantment for hours.

Throwing out the dour and the drab, Dead Island 2 is all about killing in style. From the beautifully rendered wastelands of HELL-A, to the equally visceral limb destruction system, there’s endless fun to be had here. With enough to do solo or with friends/strangers, not to mention the upcoming expansions, Dambuster Studios have rewritten how to enjoy oneself in the face of Armageddon.

Built on aged but sturdy foundations, Stronghold: Definitive Edition honours the roots of the franchise with wonderfully remastered visuals, challenging new content campaigns and a level of love many other, more money-hungry remasters fail to receive. A veritable banquet of siege warfare awaits, including actual multiplayer support and a smashing higher fidelity soundtrack. “To the walls!” as the archers would say.

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.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 finally arrives on current-gen consoles and is all the better for it. With extra content, fun DualSense additions, a myriad of performance options and gorgeous visuals, this is by the far the ultimate version of an already brilliant game.

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.

Hell Is Us succeeds in a fantastic throwback premise; to do away with modern quest markers and maps and just exist in the game and find your own way. Yet you are never lost, because its world breathes and lives and guides in far subtler, deeper ways. An incredible modern classic of both mystery and narrative structure that I hope inspires a whole new generation of game developers.

Narita Boy is a feat of imagination, one of the most conceptually interesting games I’ve ever played. The retro world of the Digital Kingdom – its pixelart, design and art direction – are some of the most eye-catchingly beautiful ever committed to code. Its soundtrack is mesmerising, truly special synthwave. Narita Boy ends up more than the sum of its parts, going beyond the source code to deliver a game that should take its place alongside the greatest indies.

Look up the word “charming” in the dictionary, and you might very well find the cover for this game looking back at you. A bright and breezy game with an important message at its core, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a terrific experience, imbued with personality at every turn, that can be polished off in a single session. Another winner in a rapidly burgeoning library from ustwo games.

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.

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.

Mortal Kombat 1 blazes onto current-gen hardware as hard as Liu Kang’s dragon kick. A fantastic campaign coupled with an engaging Invasions mode and a usual staple of rock-solid online modes offers a huge amount of content for fans. The roster is excellently balanced and while the Kameo system may not impress everyone, the back-to-basics fighting mechanics once again excel in this new dawn for the Mortal Kombat tournament.

A natural evolution of Absolute Drift, art of rally is a terrific passion project that serves as the perfect love letter to rally driving. Designed to be accessible to anyone, regardless of skill level, and with a huge amount of content, it’s a game that you could easily be playing a year from now and still finding new ways to approach it. As such, it’s an incredible value proposition and one of the best racing games in recent memory.

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.

A unique blend of social deduction game and visual novel, Gnosia is a mixture of both and something new entirely. A strong narrative that’s unveiled little by little combined with a looping logic and deduction game make for a very compelling proposition and damn near essential for fans of either genre.

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.

A fantastic blend of turn based strategy, deck builder and roguelike games, Fights In Tight Spaces belongs among the best these genres has to offer. With a minimalistic art style that underpins a vast tactical depth, FITS is accessible, deeply engrossing and is one of the most slickly designed games I’ve played in 2021. An easy recommendation.

[I] Doesn’t Exist will challenge and question you in ways few video games do. Supported by wonderful writing, deep thematic topics and addictive replayability, it shines through the darkness of this poor avatar’s world. Most importantly, I came away with a genuine feeling of reflection and introspection, something that loftier, grander games have frequently failed to do. An existential gem of 2023.

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.

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.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a truly special JRPG. Its focus on characters and worldbuilding set up a smaller, far more personal story. Its highly customisable skill system meant that combat never felt stale. I haven’t felt this way about a JRPG in a long time, and I cannot wait to catch up with Crossbell and its cast of characters again when the sequel launches in 2023. It’s not just one of my favourite games of 2022; it’s among my favourite games of all time.

A challenging and addictive driving game, You Suck At Parking maximises a simple premise to provide hours of laughs and fun. Either in single player or against friends, this game is among the most pleasing arcade games you’ll play this year.

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.