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.

Struggling has imaginative indie talent sloshing throughout. Plus, you can tell it's got a big publisher behind it, believing in its charm and uniqueness.

Paw Patrol On A Roll is perfectly placed to fill a gap in the market. It is backed by the right TV endorsement, excellently paced for four or five-year-olds, and capable of introducing our youngest generation of PC gamers to the delights of gaming. Hopefully more professional games will start to fill this gaming niche and the overall gaming bar will be raised, but for now, I am pleased that Paw Patrol presents parents of younger ones with an option that lets their children learn and enjoy gaming in a safe space.

For me, it was the prod I needed to get back into the world of Fallout 4, and wonder why I'd ever really left.

A roughly ten-hour excursion back into a fantasy world you know and love.

There’s a lot more to love here in Snowfall than there was in the slightly meagre After Dark, and from a visual standpoint alone it’s almost worth the price of entry just to build a winter wonderland.

Like a good thriller, the whole time I was playing Firewatch I was completely engaged and couldn’t wait to see where the story went next. The tale raises interesting questions about solitude, privacy and paranoia. However, a weak ending and some occasionally strange pacing ultimately detracts from Firewatch’s spark of greatness.

Battlefield 1 is a fantastic game, but not necessarily a fantastic Battlefield game. The boots on the ground multiplayer is second to none, but the vehicular action which was always the focus of Battlefield has moved to the wayside, replaced by run and gun action and a surplus of snipers picking people off.

At times then Resident Evil Zero is a frustrating experience, but persevere and you’ll find yourself immersed in a great old-school survival horror game.

It’s sadistic, mean-spirited and unfair. And it makes no pretense at being anything other than that.

A difficult game to review. It’s a predictable experience, but it’s one which does improve on its predecessor, no matter how small the improvement. It’s a safe evolution then, and one that fans of the last game will be able to go in confidently, knowing they’ll like it. One day the fairy dust will wear off, but for now, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a glittering spectacle of what cinematic third-person adventure games can be.

The gameplay is a healthy challenge. It’s good value for money. All in all it’s such a charming and engaging piece of work that as soon as I’ve wrapped this review up I’ll be straight back on it. So farewell.

PES 2018 is Konami’s classic back at its strongest on PC, and the small changes to the feel of the gameplay have genuine ramifications on the pitch. It might lack the big budget feel of FIFA, most keenly felt in the match atmosphere, commentary and the lack of TV-like production values, but it plays a damn fine game of football.

The infinite replayability of procedurally-generated maps and adventures is limited by the encounters available, and you'll have seen them all in a couple of playthroughs. Still, in that time it's a pretty good laugh, and The Curious Expedition bestows a real sense of adventure and exploration.

10 Second Ninja X is glorious, fast-paced fun. It’s frenetic action might make it ill-suited to long sessions, but for pick up and play goodness it’s hard to beat.

Despite the glaring flaws in Horizon Zero Dawn upon release, and the occasionally shoddy dialogue and uninspired activities, what shines through are the major moments of awe-inspiring wonder and childlike discovery. The overarching story is also a joy to unravel, touching on some major themes and topics still unseen in many games today. And the standout star of the show is of course the mechanical creatures, who always steal the scene no matter the occasion.

Half-Life: Alyx is a tremendous VR experience that should absolutely set the standard of quality for all VR games to come. But the lack of replayability value, and the scale factor of enjoyment dependent on your hardware and room size, holds Alyx back from being a truly astonishing game. Is it worth it alone to buy a headset for? I’m not sure, that depends on how big of a Half-Life fan you are. But I can say that there are tonnes of other VR games available that are worth buying a headset for already, and Half-Life Alyx will still be a significant entry in that list of games.

As a kind of Star Trek-esque adventure, Andromeda is fine. Combat feels better than it has in previous games in the series, with the transition between exploration and fighting being seamless and tight. There is a rudimentary stealth mechanic (isn't there always?) which once again resembles KOTOR as much as it does anything else, and bouncing around with the jump pack blasting aliens is a pretty good laugh. Levels are quite pretty, and somehow manage to be imaginative without being desperately original.

All in all, Mortal Kombat 11 is a great package, and nicely fleshed out with a ton of content and modes for both the casual fighting game players like myself and the hardcore community who want to get stuck into the online battling. The heavy involvement of microtransactions can be an annoyance, for sure, but there's more than enough to get busy with to help beat the grind.

MotoGP 19 is a fantastic package overall and, hopefully, it ends up with a thriving multiplayer scene. The first post-launch patch was absolutely crucial in terms of tightening up the brakes and, while some of the physics still aren't quite there, it's a strong start.

The big question mark left dangling over Hitman is whether it deserves its episodic nature then. Put bluntly, it does. The additional time with each map gives everyone room to understand and digest the finer intricacies, while the special challenges keeps things entertaining and fresh. Elusive Targets meanwhile offer unique bonuses for killing them, but you only get one shot. These are neat additions, but there is an unshakeable feeling they have been included purely to justify Hitman being episodic. The fact the Elusive Targets can disappear after a matter of days makes it feels as if gamers are being punished if they don’t get in the door early.