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.