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 beautiful take on the ancient Chinese story, Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have joined forces to create something magical. Wo Long is a tour de force, with its only issue being that it tries too many new things that will largely be ignored. At its core, it’s a solid Souls take and gorgeous game to add to an action fan’s library.

Diplomacy is Not an Option demonstrates the art of negotiation by being totally unflinching in both its vision and level of difficulty. Massive, bombastic battles are an absurd delight, provided you can muster the bravado to keep smashing your head against these rather thick, unmoving walls. Despite its flaws and missteps, Diplomacy is Not an Option is a sturdy castle that can withstand a good few of the ridiculously gigantic onslaughts it faces.

Few games can compare to the unsparing and ferocious intensity that permeates through every part of Ready or Not's gameplay or presentation. The more controversial themes and imagery will likely be as stomach churning for some as the often times inconsistent AI and multiplayer experiences. Yet I still found myself returning to duty to bring order to the chaos. Ready or Not is a tough and unforgiving game, but one that's simultaneously rewarding and stressfully evoking.

Boasting an incredibly unique, creative and gorgeous aesthetic with an exceptionally intriguing, well-told narrative, The Eternal Cylinder manages to still be rewarding even when its gameplay and mechanics become tedious and uninteresting. You’ll certainly be tired outrunning this circular vortex of death, but the tale is worth seeing through for the sights along the way.

Skate Story is a bold and convention breaking skating game that wears its love for the sport on its sleeve. With a satisfying control scheme to master, psychedelic environments to trick through and incredible music to bop your head to, Skate Story is an audio/visual sensation that's only mired by it's confusing gameplay turns near the end. It's a real one of a kind for a genre that's almost as old as the medium itself.

Avowed stands alone as a hugely enjoyable experience that scratches the RPG itch without tearing off your arm. If you haven't got a huge amount of time on your hands, that's worth its weight in Skeyt.

A title that succeeds in blending its story with the in-game narratives the player creates is a rarity and Last Train Home achieves it with aplomb. Some minor gameplay and visual stutters aside, this is a steamtrain built to withstand any hardship. Challenging combat missions, deep management gameplay and a phenomenal recreation of 1910s desolate Russia make this train worth boarding.

Moving Out 2 plays it safe with more of the same fun from the original. Whilst the game is more cohesive and streamlined with its levels, it loses some of the random craziness that you weren’t expecting from the first. New modes are decent and the addition to online co-op is great but don’t go into the game expecting it to reinvent the wheel.

A truly one-of-a-kind take on first person puzzle games, Superliminal may not be the longest game on the market. But what it lacks in length it makes up for in ingenuity.

A cohesive and complementary blend of point-and-click adventure and 2D platformer, Lair of the Clockwork God is a real rib tickler that’s capable of delivering real emotion when it aims to. This is Ben & Dan’s magnum opus and one of the most essential games of 2020.

A few niggles aside, Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is a well structured and engrossing family friendly adventure. Revolving around the themes of diversity, inclusivity and, most importantly, empathy, it’s a wholesome game that carries a powerful message that it deftly delivers via almost every facet of its game play and narrative. If you like your games to be relatively threat free while including the best aspects of combative games, Rainbow Billy will likely be right up your alley.

A chilled and deeply satisfying golf game, A Little Golf Journey combines small scale courses with a pleasant soundtrack, a varied art style and a real sense of adventure in a really pleasing way. Even if you don’t like golf as a sport, the environmental puzzles and quirky narrative in this game make for a gratifying experience, even with an occasionally unwieldy camera.

A darkly funny, emotionally engaging and poignant interactive visual novel, Stilstand is a relatable story that’s worth experiencing. With the implementation of touch screen input, the Nintendo Switch version of the game is the definitive console version of a game which I feel most people will see at least a small part of themselves in.

Saturnalia should be on any horror fan’s radar this year. A twisted story combined with a superb art style, nerve-shredding gameplay and expertly crafted design will have you praising and cursing the creative genius to put roguelike mechanics into a horror game. This Italian town has a horrific history you’ll both love and hate to venture into, but you’ll be compelled to uncover it nonetheless.

If you’re a fan of FMV games and dating simulators, Ten Dates is yet another easy recommendation from Wales Interactive’s ever-growing portfolio of published interactive movies. The acting and script are excellent and aside from a few odd musical transitions and dated references, there’s a lot of accessible fun to be had here.

Green Hell Quest Edition is a game that fully utilises the unique options that VR offers. If you can stumble/fluke your way past your first night, this game will keep on giving.

Managing to encompass the feeling of a leisurely stroll through an idyllic, relaxing location, Spilled! has both a great message regarding the environment, while also being a relaxing experience in and of itself. The short runtime might leave you wanting a bit more, and the boat can occasionally feel a tad cumbersome, but Spilled! remains a visually lovely and atmospherically pleasant jaunt through waters ready for your clean up operation.

Birdigo captures that feeling we all felt when we played Balatro for the first time, but gives it a Wordle/Scrabble-esque remix with a narrative about migrating birds. On paper, it probably shouldn't work but John August and Corey Martin have created a game that is quite frankly unputdownable. A glorious puzzler with roguelike mechanics, Birdigo's talons will hook you in and not let go.

Endzone 2 emerges from the fallout shelter with a new direction. The shift to a more modular, zone-based world map, as well as more directly involved expeditions both pays off and causes drawbacks in equal measure. However, the core of this colony sim continues to be entertaining and well structured, even if it is as slowly paced as the rate of radiation decontamination.

If you’re a fan of Final Fight and its ilk, there’s enough here to entice you. Doubly so if you’re a Marvel fan, but as somewhat of an outlier, I still got most of it and it doesn’t belittle you for not knowing them all. Partner up, and tear up, heroes.

After two and a half decades, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a welcome return to SNK's ranks. Accessible enough for beginners, yet hard to master for fans, there's an even playing field for all. The narrative may be lost on some, but with enough characters to master it's a blast for the fighting game community.

WWE 2K25 ensures the series remains the ultimate way to enjoy the most electrifying of sports entertainment, but the microtransaction fleecing is becoming harder to swallow, with an entire game mode built around it that is impossible to enjoy. It's a shame because otherwise, there's so much to do and its gameplay remains top notch. Just don't go to The Island. Yikes.

While its evocative graphics will attract players on this beautiful journey, the simple traversal puzzles and lack of emotional weight mean Planet of Lana is just not very memorable.

Reanimal is a whole beast of its own from Tarsier Studios, but only vaguely beyond the surface. It's a dark yet tasteful turn into more mature horror, with a striking art style, and a tremendous level of world building. However, its gameplay doesn't quite feel like the improved pivot every other aspect Reanimal has, as it's what we've come to expect from the studio. It's still an unnerving spectacle to trudge through, but it just feels a little too familiar to be impactful.

With a fun addictive gameplay loop, Astro Aqua Kitty is often a purr-fect sequel. It features expanded level design and enhancements over the original. If you liked the first, you’ll like this, but seven out of ten cats would say it’s missing anything to truly make it memorable, rather than just a quirky shmup.

Station to Station is a beautiful voxel experience wrapped up in simple to pick up, difficult to master puzzler that’ll keep your engine chugging along until the end. It’s a short but special game that deserves an audience, the endearment of its central mechanic is well worth the ticket price.

Prepare to break free of Dharma Tower in a blaze of sword swings, exhilarating last-gasp dashes and the glory of hundreds of deaths. The new motorcycle mechanics are bombastic (if a little janky) and One More Level continues to amaze with stellar level design, visual spectacle and a booming soundtrack. Ghostrunner 2 is a worthy sequel, even if the story falls flat and you end up smashing three controllers on your way to mastering it.