It really is incredible what CDPR has achieved here, and I wouldn’t be totally averse to playing something of this size and quality each and every year. This is without doubt the greatest piece of DLC I have ever played, and I think plenty of other developers and publishers should rightly be embarrassed by their efforts after seeing this. Expansion of the year? Almost surely. Game of the year? A real possibility.

With DLC called 'The Deck of Many Things' and rules system that very closely mirrors the fundamentals of D&D right down to individual spells, it's sort of a crying shame that the powers that control licensing on both sides were unable to consummate this obvious marriage. Pillars of Eternity, for me, is the best D&D series there never was.

Hearts Of Iron 4 manages to surpass its only rival in this sector, Hearts of Iron III, delivering the best strategy experience available, from your armchair.

Rogue Islands, even though it looks disarmingly simple at first sight, is a challenging and immensely enjoyable game for those who love to play challenging titles. It’s a simple take on the survival genre mixed with gung-ho FPS action makes it a really unique and memorable experience. I'm a relative newcomer to the rogue-like genre, yet I adored Rogue Islands, poised as it is perfectly between enjoyable and challenging.

I lapped up all the skulking, whispering skullduggery and a few of the plot twists caught me by surprise. I can't wait for more.

I lapped up all the skulking, whispering skullduggery and a few of the plot twists caught me by surprise. I can't wait for more.

Time will tell if it hits the market with the impact that Planescape: Torment had. I would guess not, just due to the games industry being a different beast these days. But in quality of writing, and in its ability to make you care about characters and force you kicking and screaming to actually think about things like good and evil, and the value of life, Tides of Numenera is every bit on a par with its illustrious ancestor.

All told, Resident Evil 2 is an utterly fantastic remake, reimagining a 90’s classic for a modern audience with modern sensibilities. A single playthrough is slight at about 8-10 hours, but every minute is oozing with quality. If that’s enough for you there are also alternative routes with other characters, a couple of secret modes and some fairly crazy unlockables for those who absolutely master the game. Resident Evil 2 is a brilliant rendition of one of the finest survival horror experiences of all time.

Crusader Kings 3 is at the start of its own story - I'm estimating we're going to see around 300 DLCs for this beast before it's all said and done - and already through its clarity of interface and intelligent design decisions I can see years of amazing "OH MY GOD, you'll never guess what happened in CK3" moments clogging up Felix's email inbox as I continue on my own journey with this wonderful, wonderful game.

Resident Evil Village may be the best Resident Evil of all time. It certainly is up there with the best of the series, but that heavily depends on your kind of RE game. If you enjoyed RE4 or RE7 then you’ll probably like this one. And if you enjoyed both of them as much as each other then this very well could be one of the best. It certainly is for me.

I loved it, though I barely understood much of it. It's a wild ride despite being mostly walls of text. It's the only game where I honestly couldn't say what I thought my character would do at any given turn because I felt I barely knew him, and that was, I feel, by design. You're getting to know him as you're making the choices that define him. Like you are, in a way, with yourself in real life.

God of War is one of the most sublimely constructed action games of all time. It may lack a little of Souls' depth, but this is more than made up for with bombastic appeal, setpiece variety, and top-tier storytelling.

Virginia is a sharp thinking, plot driven single-player adventure like few out there. It borrows heavily from other games of its ilk, yet twists it into its own strange beast. Unlike plenty of others, such as Firewatch, Virginia also manages to actually live up to its premise and deliver a satisfying, thought provoking conclusion. I'd love to go deeper on this because Virginia is a game all about its story and it's delivered, but a mystery such as this best served piping hot with a cup of joe on the side.

Overall, SCS Software has outdone themselves with this DLC expansion for ETS, as they have with all of their map addition DLCs. From the attention to detail to the amount of roads they have added, along with all the companies and all sorts of new cargo and trailers, Beyond the Baltic Sea has it all. SCS truly is one of the best developers in terms of content added and issues fixed, taking care of a game that's already seen its seventh birthday.

To be honest, Waking the Tiger is worth it for the National Focus trees, new general mechanics and decision system alone. If, like me, you have little to no real knowledge of what the heck was happening over there during the war, Waking the Tiger will school you real quick and in that beautiful, delicious way that only Hearts of Iron IV can.

Total War Warhammer is the best of its genre, but it still has room to keep getting even better.

There’s a lot of surface detail, that is clearly just set dressing, yet it still provides one of the most incredibly realized and mature worlds to date. The story and characters are wonderful and pull you into their needs and wants. If you don’t mind a number of immersion-breaking bugs or lack of polish, then Cyberpunk 2077 absolutely measures up to be one of the best games out there, but only if you're willing to put the work in to find the good stuff.

Dark Souls 3 isn’t here to redesign the formula or to reimagine the way the Souls games play. Instead, it’s refined the game style that FromSoftware have been experimenting with since Demon’s Souls and it honestly feels like they’ve found the perfect balance between the style of each games.

It's remarkable how effective a game Playdead have created from a few static backgrounds and a bunch of playforms and ladders. I suppose it goes to show that games as art are as good as the emotional investment of the designers.

It delivers tonnes of fun, a brilliant environment with many hours of gamepla, multiple run throughs due to the two different characters choices. If the story delivered the same impact as the rest of the game then this title would no doubt become a timeless classic.

Tyranny weighs in at significantly fewer hours than Pillars. But a lot of this is replayable in ways that are interesting and thought-provoking.

Trying to conjure up faults with FIFA 17 is a remarkably hard task.

Overall Bandai Namco did a fantastic job resurrecting the Soulcalibur franchise with the 6th version. Finally something other then Tekken or Mortal Kombat on PC. SoulCalibur VI is a fantastic addition to the series that's made it the best it's been in years. It's also great that Bandai Namco finally brought Soulcalibur to PC after all these years. Be warned though, some people have been having too much fun with the male genitalia on the crazily in-depth character creator...

Civ is a game that almost defies a straightforward 1-10 scoring system. It's a way of life. A serious undertaking which can't be quantified with a simple number. Suffice to say, this is a feature-rich and immersive iteration where attention to detail in design is apparent from the first turn and systems you didn't even realise could be significantly improved have been infused with a spark of genius. True, the AI is a woeful mess and it's lacking a few tooltips but there is none of the hollowness that Civ V had on release.

Overall, Trine 4 is a fantastic, beautiful and extremely enjoyable game to play. Originality may not have been high up on the list of priorities by the time this fourth outing rolled around but everything, from the sumptuous visuals to the audio, everything is tip top. For people who have played previous Trine titles, this one may be the best one yet. It’s a remarkably solid side scrolling title and what seems to be a welcome change from the ill-fated Trine 3. I didn’t honestly think Trine 4 would enrapture me as much as it has, particularly when tackling the multiplayer. If you’ve played and enjoyed and title in the Trine franchise before, you’re very likely to love this one, so grab a few friends and enjoy.

For fans of single-player FPS campaigns DOOM is a juggernaut, and some of the most fun I’ve had in gaming for years. It’s never going to grab you with an engrossing plot of spectacular linear set pieces, but the flawless combat ensures DOOM just never lets up.

Overall, Road to the Black Sea is another fantastic DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 that everyone has been waiting for since Beyond the Baltic Sea was released last year. Now we're just keen to see whether and when the final chunks of Europe will be coming our way.

Titanfall 2 is the complete shooter package in a way that Titanfall wasn’t back in 2014. The fantastic campaign now complements the comprehensive multiplayer package. Factor in the free post launch support and it’s difficult to argue that Titanfall 2 is the unsung hero of the holiday rush.

Regardless of how its future looks, today we get to enjoy Total War Warhammer 2. With all its polish and rich Games Workshop lore, it’s the most well balanced and enjoyable Total War game so far, and that’s a strong accolade.

Dead Cells is fast-paced, slick, action-packed and pitched just right in terms of difficulty. This is paired with a ridiculously addictive upgrade loop and drool-worthy animations, combining to deliver a roguelike which can stand tall alongside greats like Spelunky.

If you haven’t picked up Rise of the Tomb Raider yet then is without doubt the package to go for, but if you do already own it on a different platform then I’d recommend waiting for a sale to pick up the extras.

What it comes down to is that Paradox is just amazing at listening to their community and developing their games long after release. Now that ships are done, I expect that the air force will follow not too far behind.

Predictably enough, I loved it. I loved the stories, the variety in approach, the focus on concluding the trilogy in a (mostly) satisfying way. I loved the literary and cinematic influences. I really like IOI's commitment to ' backwards compatibility' - unlock a sniper rifle in Hitman 3, and sure! You can go back and shoot people with it in Hitman 1. I occasionally get frustrated with the way that the online mode features can be a little unforgiving on a poor internet connection. But overall this is a game I'm sure I'll still be dipping into for years to come, just as I have with the previous two. It's the best action shooter series out at the moment for sure.

Everything about SUPERHOT just feels right, right down to look of its menus and how everything ties together. Equal parts fast & furious and tense & methodical, SUPERHOT is the perfect antidote to the legions of online-focused twitch shooters flooding the market.

Control is an excellent return to form. Not only is Control comfortably the best Remedy game since Max Payne 2, it may well be the best Remedy game ever. It helps as well that it's astonishingly beautiful, both on technically and artistically; from top to bottom, beginning to end, Control is a feast for the sense. Tantalisingly, the very concept of folklore and urban myths being believe into existence is a truly rich template from which this franchise can build. It’s rare to finish a game and already find myself lusting after a sequel.

Overall, I find the game to run much smoother than F1 2020. It's great to see codemasters actually fixing issues from the last game to this game but only time will tell. Is it worth buying if you already own F1 2020? I don't think so, unless you are a hardcore F1 fan and really want to try Braking Point. For me, the biggest reason to buy it would be for the co-op career, which just seems like too much fun having your friend as a rival or even a team mate and dominating the season. Hopefully this gives way into maybe having a co-op My Team game mode in the future. Seems like a great step forward and I'm glad EA being involved hasn't influenced Codemasters that much.

If you take into account the limits of the genre itself, then Helldivers is a fantastic way to keep yourself busy for hours at a time, Helldivers is a surprisingly immersive game with intuitive mechanics and a rewarding levelling system.

Enter the Gungeon is a wonderful, demanding yet rewarding, roguelike twin-stick shooter where the visuals marry perfectly with the gameplay to deliver one of the most addictive experiences in recent memory. Fans of Binding of Isaac, Spelunky et al sit up and take notice, Enter the Gungeon rolls with the punches and delivers an experience worth of sitting alongside these greats.

I could wax on about Assassin’s Creed Origins for a long time. For all its foibles it’s a staggering achievement, and most certainly the best the series has ever offered alongside Black Flag. Those who prefer the dense city networks of the original games may bounce off it a little, but for anyone even remotely interested in the prospect of The Witcher and Assassin’s Creed crossing paths, this comes highly recommended.

I've really enjoyed every minute I've spent with Dirt Rally 2.0, just as I did with 1.0 before it. The handling is gorgeous, the routes are truly beautiful to look at, and the management is ...manageable. The cars all have tons of individual character, the rallycross feels scrappy and frenetic and everything just comes together wonderfully. Codemasters, eh? They really have the hang of this thing.

All told, Hitman 2 is a heck of a treat for Hitman fans, offering the most refined mechanics, craziest antics, and most complex levels yet seen in the franchise. Each of the five core levels can be played for potentially a dozen or more hours, offering fantastic replayability for those who like to mess around with the Hitman formula. There’s an argument to be had that Hitman 2 plays it a little self, but when it’s so damned good, and unique, at what it does, you’ll hear little argument from me.

This will again get a 9/10 for me, with the price possibly being the only reason some people may hold off on purchasing it. But again, it is totally worth it if you play the game as much as I do. It's always fascinating to see how SCS slowly expands these vast road networks into new territories. I just now find myself wishing SCS would extend the Scandinavian DLC further up into the Scandinavian countries closer to the Arctic Circle. I would absolutely love to see some snowy or even icy roads, then we can go full-blown Ice Road Truckers. One can always wish. But I digress, back to ETS - Italia. Enjoy the long journey, and watch out for the Polizia in their Lamborghini. Happy trucking, enjoy beautiful Italia.

It’s not without its UI issues, but Total War 3 Kingdoms provides a beautiful, rich strategy that is well paced while enjoying a new layer of story depth through diplomacy and intrigue.

American Truck Simulator: New Mexico is hugely enjoyable, and if you didn't nod off while driving before, the vast expanse of New Mexico and its assorted highways is a must for any ATS fan.

Driving around cities that I've already driven through in real life and with such detail put a huge smile on my face.

If you're looking for a replayable sci-fi strategy game to grab a hold of your man hours, then Endless Space 2 will provide you with all you desire. Endless Space 2 sets a new and beautiful benchmark for the 4X genre, masterfully laid out and something future 4x developers will enjoy learning from.

The story is not something I particularly cared for in DOOM (2016), but DOOM Eternal somehow manages to wraps it’s silky tendrils all across your brain, and will surely provide a lot of excitement and satisfaction for those who have been following the DOOM lore and theory-crafting for these past games. DOOM Eternal is bigger and better in every conceivable way. Welcome back, Slayer, it’s good to have you home.

Overall, as with all their DLC, SCS Software has done a fantastic job. From the level of detail on the road markings being different from state to state to the police cars having the correct state trooper name on the car instead of something generic. Throw in the free 2GB version 1.35 update and the addition of "experimental" DX11, along with many other features, and ATS is growing into a stronger game than ever before. For those thirsting to expand their US play area in American Truck Simulator, Washington is a must-buy.

I know we’re only eight months in but Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is certainly a strong contender for game of the year. For those who enjoyed Deus Ex: Human Revolution this is the same but sharper, more focused, and gorgeous to look at. Surprises may be few and far between, but few can craft a world as comprehensively believable as this one.

If you loved Far Cry 5, you will absolutely fall in love with this DLC. It's just breathtakingly well done. I highly recommend if you're interested in this DLC or the two other upcoming DLCs - Lost on Mars and Dead Living Zombies - the season pass costs about the same as buying two of the DLCs individually and getting the third for free. Have fun, and don't forget to thank a veteran, no matter what country you're from.

For fans of real-time tactics and stealth games, Shadow Tactics is very nearly without compare. It’s that same classic Commandos gameplay wrapped up in an exquisite new shell; still punishing yet not cruel.

A New Frontier tells two tales, one of a battle-hardened teenager and the other of a brother who is trying to keep his family together while struggling with his emotions. It's powerful and steps away from the aesthetics of a melodrama but my dear reader, A New Frontier sets the bar high for its excellent narrative, storytelling and politics of society. You will drown in the world of New Richmond only to be awakened by a Walker nearby.

From the gameplay to the story, the heart and soul of Crash Bandicoot is here, and still as exciting as ever. It’s amazing that a series that has been so beloved by fans, and has spawned countless spin-offs - some great, and some not so much - has managed to return without feeling any different. It’s like the past 20 years has been one long fever dream for Crash, and he’s now awoken from a deep slumber for one last triumphant return.

Overall, the Utah DLC is a fantastic expansion, as it usually is with SCS and both ATS and ETS2. There's lots of attention to detail, and if something is missing they usually rework it into a future update. The team is always adding some new areas as well, it's never a let down. It was particularity great to see the Tree of Utah while driving to the salt flats, there's always something to watch out for during these behemoth treks across America. Here's hoping to seeing the whole of the continental United States one day, it should make for a hell of a drive.

This doesn't come easily, but Forza Horizon 4 is quite possibly one of, if not the, greatest racing game in existence. It's beautiful, it's varied, it's practically endless. it's Playground at the top of its game.

A new climate and a lick of paint have made another game in practically the precise mould of the brilliant Sniper Elite III, so I can't really complain. It's like going back to your favourite restaurant and ordering what you always order. Sure, it's a bloody delight, and there's not much bad to say about it, but perhaps something slightly different (aware as I am that this is vague and ill-defined) might have been nice?

Providing thrilling gameplay, a flowing combat system, pleasing Tolkien landscape, challenging charismatic bosses, deeper story and a bigger end game mechanic to keep the player entertained for many many hours, today Middle Earth Shadow of War is one of the best games available in the third-person RPG-action genre.

Despite Ivory Tower sticking their fingers in a lot of pies, every racing discipline is a joy to play.

Despite a few tedious moments and some strange design choices, The Division excels at delivering a paranoid, distrustful world full of ambivalence and moral dichotomy along with an extremely enjoyable RPG experience. If you’re looking for a solid shooter experience then I’d say maybe this isn’t the game for you. If you enjoyed Destiny or love MMO games but wish they were a bit more action based then The Division will provide you hours upon hours of fantastic gameplay. Just make sure you have your buddies or that you find other players to play with in order to really get the full experience.

It is without a doubt the best F1 game yet. Whether or not to purchase it if you own the previous versions will be up to you. For gamers new to the world of F1 racing it's a no-brainer to go with the latest and greatest version, although there are probably enough changes under the hood here to justify an upgrade from F1 2017 for returning fans.

Arriving eight months late on PC, everything that can be said about Monster Hunter World already has done. Rest assured though, the wait was indeed worth it. Anyone looking for a deep action game they can potentially invest hundreds of hours into need look no further. This is Monster Hunter, back and better than it's ever been before.

In the here and now, Planet Zoo is the best zoo management game around and it’s not even close. It also features far stronger management systems than Frontier has ever achieved before, culminating in a fantastic package for tycoon and animal fans alike. There’s a lot to love here, even if the scope for creativity can’t hope to match Planet Coaster.

All in all, Ghostrunner mixes all the best parkour elements from Mirror’s Edge and introduces it to the chaotically symphonic combat of orchestral violence that is Hotline Miami. Run, die, run, and die again; it’s brutal in all the best ways and will have you aching for a perfect run. Whilst it does have some issues and can feel a little short, your time in Ghostrunner will be wholly enjoyable, and filled with so many ecstatic moments of blissful victory.

In the end, Regalia is a massive game and even those who think that it isn't would agree that it can be expanded to a bigger premise. There is a lot to do and so many possibilities. It has a great narrative and its own way of telling a story of a hero who is unwillingly dragged into the mess his ancestors created.

Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 1 is brimming with action and it shouldn't be a surprise considering the Caped Crusader has to resort to his knuckles most of the time to teach the Gotham underbelly a lesson. The combat sequences are rather easy to get through, although it may just be me getting a hang of Telltale's games for once. I've played far too many of late. To pull off moves you just need to hit different combinations of keys on the keyboard, but the timings are perhaps just a little too lenient.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a clear example of a game as an art form with a strong message and a complex, layered narrative. It’s true that you’re sort of along for the ride and most of your interactions are through your emotional response to what is depicted rather than through the mechanics of the game, but is that such a bad thing?

Considering its budget pricing, there’s a heck of a lot to love about Trackmania Turbo. As I said earlier it really is an acquired taste, for that masochistic lot that get a kick out of shaving tenths of seconds off theirs and other people’s time, Nadeo’s latest is a winner. It's the sort of thing I find myself frantically throwing in the last few minutes of my lunch break, desperate to catch a quick session or smash a new record.

By rights, a hospital management game should be narcoleptic in nature. Two Point Hospital is a glorified spreadsheet simulator, but it’s a spreadsheet simulator shot through with just the right magic combination of humour and deep management systems that help it shine.

Hardcore fans of turn-based tactics may be slightly put off by Mutant Year Zero’s obvious missteps but that aside, The Bearded Ladies have cooked up a special game here that’s got great potential for the future. Road to Eden isn’t perfect but it’s definitely stood out from the crowd for me in what’s been an excellent year.

Monks and Mystics serves the 'average' Crusader Kings player well, intersecting with all styles of play and interests in a way more similar to Way of Life than, say, Rajas of India. Adding depth to characters throughout the world is always welcome, and while the concrete plotlines themselves might be a little thin, the new dimensions and allegiances that can affect the unscripted procedural stories are always welcome. Great job as usual, Paradox.

Radium is a fairly good physics game which has all the qualities to keep the player occupied for hours on end, striving desperately to clinch the top awards. There's nothing really wrong with it, this neat little game doing exactly what it set out to do. It speaks well of the efforts of an indie developer who has turned out a gem in a minimalist fashion.

If you didn't like Dying Light, you're not going to like The Following but if you're still sitting on the fence or you're interested in smashing some more zombie skulls with all the visually stunning gore that Dying Light: The Following has to offer, then I don't know what you're doing still reading this and not playing it. All in all, the expansion is well worth the price and a really excellent addition to an immensely enjoyable game.

Firaxis have made tremendous strides to provide new mechanics and gameplay options for players who are still unsure what the XCOM series can offer them whilst retaining all the features that fans of Enemy Unknown have grown to love and now expect from the series. XCOM 2 is more than just a fantastic XCOM game, it's a polished and cohesive AAA experience that shines with a level of quality not often felt in these bleak, modern days.

The Sinking City is deeply evocative in its oppressive dourness, and stays true to the investigative backbone of Cthulhu. We are presented an open world of horror and suspense that HP Lovecraft surely would have enjoyed investigating.

This Wolfenstein has been broadly politicized and has been the no-doubt eager focus for political stunts and controversy. Which is odd, really, seeing as how at its heart it’s one of the most clear-cut examples of an FPS that we’ve seen in a while. No tricky resource management stuff, no new sub-systems to learn, just straightforward running and gunning, with a side-order of throat-slashing. And leg-removing. And eyeball-popping. And forehead-hatchet-burying. And exploding with diesel-filled grenades. And evaporating with laser guns. Typical, uncomplicated Wolfenstein stuff!

By and large, Battle: Fleet Gothic Armada is a great game, and another one of the nice surprises that can occasionally emerge from Games Workshop's plan for world domination.

From the modular ship constructor system and the impressive (if automatic) fleet battles, to the ethical tensions between interstellar neighbours reminiscent of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, to the endless moddability that'll allow, no doubt, classic sci-fi reskins (the likes of Dune spring to mind), I can't wait for Stellaris to be the game it is so obviously going to be. For now, though, it's still struggling with escape velocity on its mission to the stars.

From an outsider looking in this is a heck of a good sports game. Full featured with heaps to do and gorgeous to look at. I can only imagine how fantastic NBA 2K17 is for true fans of the sport, but even for a newbie like me it's an entertaining and comprehensive package that contains heaps to do.

Overall, if you play American Truck Simulator quite a lot then the Oregon DLC is absolutely worth buying. It's also a bit cheaper than the Euro Truck Simulator DLCs so it makes it worth purchasing, especially since the ETS and ATS DLCs are often on sale on Steam.

Combat can often devolve into a straight-line slugfest at times, and at other times terrain can make avenues of approach somewhat unclear and adjacencies a little hard to pinpoint. But for the vast majority of the time, the feeling of leading a desperate crew of die-hard sellswords is captured better in Battle Brothers than in pretty much any other game I've played. A surprise hit.

Pathfinder Kingmaker on PC is incredibly fun and rightfully nominated in our Global Game Awards 2018 for Best RPG. Today Owlcat have already made Pathfinder Kingmaker into a beautiful looking, rich CRPG, that delivers a great place to adventure, an interesting land to rule and the tools to carve out a realm that you can call home.

Overall the game is the same as F1 2019 with some tracks redesigned and with the My Team mode added. It should give people a couple seasons to go through instead of career mode, which is still available for those who want to do both. We may not be too far away from having an F1 motorsport manager game or even an add on if this keeps going, maybe for those more interested in managing rather then racing.

This game actually forced me to pick up Season 1 and get to know The Walking Dead series again. Rest assured, A New Frontier is a brilliant game and continues the never-ending Walker drama, certainly providing enough intrigue to keep me avidly looking out for episode three.

It may not be a western classic like the old spaghetti westerns, but Desperados 3 stands tall as a great western tale not of redemption, but of brilliant tactical strategy. There’s nothing more rewarding than pulling off the perfect synergy of puzzle-violence (after loading up a quicksave 2, 3, or 18 times), and the amount of challenges to complete after missions is just begging to be replayed for the most passionate of perfectionists. Now if you’ll excuse me Pilgrim, I got a horse to catch.

Quern is a must-have game for puzzle enthusiasts. At 25$ this is one game that has a very good dollar per hour of game play ratio. It could also be a great gift for non-gamers who have an interest in puzzles as it's simple to understand the play mechanics and it should run fine on any system.

Despite all of this griping, and all of these complaints, Tropico 6 is still sort of fun. Partly it's just watching the numbers going up. When the freighter arrives in port and your first shipment of electronics goes to market, netting you enough money to build a new stadium, it's like a little pat on the head that can be weirdly addictive. There are certainly some bugs that probably shouldn't exist on the fourth (fifth? sixth?) iteration of essentially the same game, but the special sauce that has allowed them to actually get away with making six Tropico games is still there.

All in all, it has to be said that Northgard is an extremely promising premise. It has a good storyline with challenging campaigns. While there are some minor hiccups here and there, overall, it's an awesome addition to the RTS genre.

Assassins Creed Valhalla is a lot of fun and easy to sink dozens of hours into. It is the best entry in the more recent trilogy and genuinely elevates the gameplay mechanics. Content could be considered somewhat bloated still, but it is diverse enough and the setting and story is solid most of the way through.

Death Stranding is a wholly unique and fresh experience that will surely appeal to only a few, and the surprisingly engaging experience of essentially being a delivery man in the post-apocalypse is hypnotizing. Kojima’s standout weird and wacky writing is left unhinged here, and that can excite some or terrify others, but the truth is that Death Stranding on PC is definitely the ultimate version of such a very, very strange game.

The Evil Within 2 is definitively better than the original. An already great horror game has been refined and expanded, offering just the right balance between overwhelming oppressiveness and a satisfying fight for survival. It’s another love letter to fans of Resident Evil 4.

The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon adds a nice chunk to the already delicious pie, It’s a satisfying extension of an already entertaining experience, so if you enjoyed the base game then you will definitely enjoy this new expansion. The writing is stellar as always, with the typical Obsidian charm that hooked us the first time round. And whilst it’s mostly just more of the same, I’m perfectly happy with that.

Ultimately, Dead Rising 4 is the epitome of big, dumb fun. It's as wide as ocean yet as deep as a puddle, yet curiously it's self-deprecatory tone and over-the-top violence means it's a game that rarely gets boring. It's less fine wine, more Bacardi Breezer, and you know exactly whether that makes it the game for you this holiday.

I do hope that Paradox create more of these DLCs with the focus on minor nations, with interesting new National Focus trees. I like the addition of the autonomy mechanic and the new sprites and leaders. But that's only part of what HOI4 needs. If the next DLC brings more resilient AI, better balanced anti-air and a focus on fixing a few of my peeves with the warscore system, I'll be getting it for that rather than for any deep dives into the soul of a minor nation. Unless it's Finland. Those guys were the rock stars of WW2.

SnowRunner is a beautiful - and oftentimes frustrating - experience, but it’s that journey you undertake, one that you carve out yourself, that makes all the trials and tribulations worth it. The struggles you face will become obstacles to conquer, with each route forming a sort of puzzle to solve. It may take a while to get into, and if you’re having trouble at the start then stick through it, as the long haul is well worth it.

As a sequel, Metro Exodus pulls ahead of the rest of the franchise in a big way by leaving the very metro itself behind. Aesthetically, the place is a joy to explore from beginning to end, and there’s enough variation to keep things feeling fresh. Dig down deep and it’s another Metro with a new skin, but it’s a damned good one of those all the same.

A little more slickness and tactical depth might not have hurt. But overall, I found my time in the cockpit of a giant doom robot to be quite a giggle.

If you've had long enough since FC4 or Primal to hunger for more, or you just really hate religious cults, there are many hours of mindless, gun-nut paradise to enjoy here. But it has to be said that if you've played one, you've kinda played them all.

Silence is a breathtakingly beautiful game. There are so many moments where I just stopped and stared at what was going on around me.