With their second outing, Chicken Police Into The Hive does not disappoint, brimming with classy noir style, phenomenal dialogue and a wonderful seedy underworld narrative that has you hanging off every word. Visual novels don’t get much better than this.

I’m sure those who loved The Wonderful 101 the first time around will get a kick out of playing this game again on modern day consoles with nicer visuals. For those that hadn’t experienced it before though, this remaster feels like an artifact from a bygone age that couldn’t adapt to a new set of input’s without the Wii U controller. The combat and concept are still sound 7 years on. Everything else needed to be reworked or tweaked further.

Acme Gamestudio has delivered an incredible debut with Asterigos: Curse of the Stars. If like me, you’ve been suffering from Souls-like burnout, this might be the game for you. It’s gorgeous to look at, constantly engaging and an absolute joy to play. Asterigos is not just one of the best indie games I’ve played this year, but one of the best, most complete games I’ve played in a long time, indie or otherwise. It’s an outstanding, honest-to-goodness adventure made with love, sincerity and attention to detail. It is incredible; play it.

A short but sweet experiential title, Strayed Lights shines bright above its station to deliver an atmospheric tale of self-discovery, rewarding combat and a fantastic graphical and audio treat. This light may not burn long, but it’ll leave quite the impression despite the odd minor issue.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered has rejuvenated the old and spruced it into the new. The visual rebuild is a stellar job of a series that has stood the test of time. Whilst the camera and modern controls can betray you as the player and may not be suited to a game of this era; the fun and joyous experience of jumping back in is not one to miss.

Celebrating the series 20th anniversary, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a hugely challenging trip through the greatest hits of the series, showing off classic courses rendered beautifully for the new systems. The Party Games remains the jewel in the Monkey Ball crown, but there’s more than enough to get your brain working whilst you’re balancing out a monkey in a ball on perilously thin ledges. It’s good to have Monkey Ball back.

Despite a few niggles, Modern Warfare 2 is a real return to form for Call of Duty. A masterfully crafted multiplayer experience and an excellent campaign mode that pays homage to its predecessors while simultaneously feeling like its own thing come together in one of the best big budget shooters for years.

With the foundations of Arcade Paradise well and truly intact and even some subtle improvements to the game’s economy, the VR experience elevates many aspects of the base game. However, with some difficulty in its controls, some jarring flat screen moments and a few bugs this isn’t quite the new way to play.

A few niggles aside, Jackbox Party Pack 7 is another cracker of a party game. It’s a great mix of word play and creative or collaborative challenges which anyone who’s familiar with a mobile phone can inuit quickly. From your nan to your little (teenage) brother, there’s giggles to be had here.

A must for any Doctor Who fan, The Lonely Assassins is a captivating and exciting found phone adventure that will delight the hardcore. Far and away the best Doctor Who game ever made.

Eloquent in design that never loses its puzzling magic, Paper Trail is a great entry into the puzzle genre. With perfect implementation of the ever-folding world you play through and wonderful visuals to bask in, you won’t mind if the story is by the numbers, as everything else will keep you glued to the page.

Descenders is a game that once you get to grips with can be a lot of fun, unfortunately, it probably has one too many flaws for it to be considered great.

Another remaster to Capcom's belt, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny Remaster is what you'd come to expect from them. Spit and polish have given this twenty-plus year old classic a nice gleam, as well as some additions and quality of life improvements to make it accessible. It may not appeal to newcomers as much, but to the old school crowd, it's a welcome palate cleanser until Way of the Sword arrives next year.

Far more than just a remake of the 2007 game, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (2023) is a character driven deep dive into the psyche of the titular detective and a competent, enjoyable mystery game to boot. It might not be the most accommodating to newcomers to the series, but if you’re a fan of the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes titles, this is yet another cracking crime solver.

Memories of Celceta is like a bite-size RPG for kids or for the millennial with time constraints who still wants to play RPGs, but can’t commit to 100-hour behemoths like Persona 5. It’s fun and doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Secretly an open-world stealth game, Star Wars Outlaws nails the worlds, tone, look and feel of this wonderful galaxy, while delivering constantly satisfying gameplay loops. Playing off criminal syndicates against each other and reaping the rewards of a double cross never got old. Outlaws is closer to an RPG of some fifteen years ago, but from a certain point of view, that might be exactly what you want.

With a muddled story that leaves much unanswered, and a series of half-baked mechanics that feel a decade out of date, it’s hard to recommend Amnesia Rebirth as a way to satisfy your scares this Halloween. You’ll more than likely want to forget all about it.

Beyond Blue isn’t groundbreaking in terms of structure or mechanics and for a lot of the game, it feels like you’re simply following waypoints. Thankfully the environments you explore, the deep sea life you encounter and the trials you see them go through make for an engrossing mix. Beyond Blue is a beautiful game that educates as much as it entertains and carries an important message that, in 2020, couldn’t come at a better time.

With intentionally difficult physics-based gameplay, Baby Steps can bring out the worst or best in you. If you're willing to gel with the QWOP-style controls for a sense of self-accomplishment, with an absurd but impactful story, then it may just be worth tripping over yourself for.

Sheepo has a nice concept; steal eggs for science, shapeshift into creatures and solve puzzles in a metroidvania world. It’s notable for its combat-free gameplay in a genre that often sticks a blaster in your hand. However, it never really rises above the formulaic to fulfil its potential, and it lacks content past the five hour initial run.

Odd design choices and an unsatisfying yet incredibly demanding gameplay loop mar a game that boasts the cutest plant people in video games. A crafting and survival sim with added base-building, Drake Hollow is not compelling enough to justify the demands it makes on the player or the lack of reward even when you manage to do what it asks.

Road 96 is an atmospheric experiment in procedural storytelling that is successful more often than not. A dynamite retrowave soundtrack and some interesting characters don’t quite excuse a story that lacks a cohesive framework and too many minigames.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is how you make a toys-to-life video game. Milestone have taken some of the finest collectables and made them photo-realistic, unleashing them on racetracks that will blow your mind with the level of detail and craziness in equal measure. Exemplifying the “kart racer” genre, it is the natural progression of why we fall in love with this type of racing game over and over. This is a love letter to both Hot Wheels and arcade racing fans.

Jackbox’s formula always remains consistent with hits, favourites and some skippable entries. Jackbox Party Pack 8 is no different. Although it’s not the strongest pack of 5 in the collection, this game still brings a wide variety of party games that can cater to almost any gathering.

Combining the awkward unforgiving nature of space with a short and focused puzzle exploration game, Heavenly Bodies succeeds in what it sets out to achieve. It’ll frustrate you, impress you, drive you mad and blow you away with its mechanics and 70s aesthetic. You might not always have fun playing it, but this is a Zero-G trip worth embarking on, smashed controllers and all.

A succinct and well-told story, Jack Move’s character-writing and dialogue are endearing, and its pixel art charms. It’s a short and satisfying bitesize JRPG of around 8 hours for players with a bit less time on their hands or perfect in between 100-hour behemoths.

While it’s a short, compact and competent point and click adventure at face value, The Plague Doctor of Wippra works best between the lines. A thinly veiled examination of the human condition during a health crisis, the game explores how little has really changed since the bubonic plague and the Middle Ages. If you like your adventures games to be deep rather than funny, this one is for you.

Sable’s ability to make the player feel so involved in such a hands-off approach to its open world is one that should be celebrated. The gameplay is a little one-note and the framerate can buckle under pressure, but it’s a game full of intrigue and wonderment that captivates you immensely. Not to mention exceptional cel shaded visuals and a zen like soundtrack that makes Sable enrapturing to explore.