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.