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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Usually, I let my past experiences inform the present, but with Assassin's Creed Odyssey I'm attempting desperately delink my own fatigue with the quality of the end product. At the end of the day, not everyone will feel overwhelming by another AC less than a year after Origins. Or indeed there may be plenty picking up Odyssey that have never played Origins at all. For those players, Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a feature-packed, incredibly lengthy belter, but a colossal time sink in the same breath.