Hitman 2 stays true to the series foundations, while also building on the core systems that make its unique stealth gameplay peerless. Some minor story stumbles do little to hold the game back from being the most refined entry in the series to date.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is everything you could want from a port. It features a wealth of content, and feels like a response (and then some) to fan criticisms of prior games. But for me, the real triumph of this game is the symbiotic relationship between the game and the new system that it inhabits: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is proof that Nintendo wasn't just blowing smoke when it proposed the Switch as a portable console experience. I got a profound sense of satisfaction and enjoyment by having this game with me on the go and getting to play it whenever the opportunity arose. It is, in many ways, a dream come true.

After a decade of development, and thousands of years of bloodshed and territorial domination, it seems the Total War series has come full circle. Fall of the Samurai is the resounding conclusion, a well-thought out, well-crafted game that puts comparable expansions to shame.

An incredible update to a much-loved title, WipEout HD has set the bar for high-speed, high-adrenaline racing! A must for every PS3 owner.

This year's FIFA represents a big change for the long-running series. The core gameplay is fun, The Journey is great, and the improvements across the board all shine to showcase a football game that is absolutely worth playing, whether you're a diehard fan or not.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is essential gaming for anyone who has ever dreamed of running up the Jolly Roger and taking whatever they can carry from His Majesty’s holds.

The Korg DS-10 synthesizer can't rightfully be called a game, it's much more than that. Anyone with even a passing interest in music and a DS should put this on their list.

This is cyberpunk! An ugly-beautiful dystopia dripping with atmosphere. Emergent game play and the freedom to play how you want make Satellite Reign not only a worthy successor to Syndicate, but in many ways the superior game.

Convoy name-checks some heavy hitting properties, but manages to be more than the sum of its parts.

Hearts of Stone is everything great about The Witcher 3, delivered in a neat little package.

You will need to play the game to realize its potential and accept that TiQal is definitely one of Xbox Live Arcade's greatest games to date.

With this release, Supergiant Games has set a new high-water mark for not only for budget-price RPGs, but XBLA games as a whole. Highly recommended.

Planet Coaster is a celebration of everything Frontier Developments did well back in the Rollercoaster Tycoon days, with new mechanics and systems piled on top. Its variety of customisable buildings, scenery, objects, coasters, and rides make for an incredibly special game.

New Horizons is the near-perfect installment ahead of the 20th anniversary of the series. There is so much to do in this game, and Nintendo has really pushed the limits for the series with the amount of creative freedom they’ve handed over to the player. The only thing that lets it down is the clunkiness of an otherwise delightful multiplayer feature. Still, this is exactly the kind of game I want to be stuck at home with.

Frustration and reward go hand-in-hand in Cuphead. Your fingers will feel the pain of extended play sessions, but your face will be fixed in a fierce (albeit slightly pained) grin.

The Last Guardian can be frustrating gameplay-wise, but the connection you'll feel to its beautifully-realised yet intractable companion creature leaves no room in your heart for such concerns. Somehow, this game was worth the wait.

Kingdom Hearts III is a love letter to fans and the perfect end to a saga seventeen years in the making. Backed by a strong cast of characters and a near-perfect combat system, Sora and friends' final journey is sure to please both new and old fans alike.

Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is everything a remake should be: a thoroughly modern yet completely reverent update that preserves the soul of its inspiration for a new generation of gamers to enjoy.

Quotation forthcoming.

DiRT Rally 2.0 is a master-class in how to do the rally genre justice. While it certainly presents a steep learning curve, rally enthusiasts will find a lot to love in Codemasters' latest entry in the highly-revered DiRT franchise.

The Sword in the Darkness is the best of Telltale's Game of Thrones episodes yet, and sets up what will no doubt be a dramatic second half of the season.

Unfortunately Vanquish is short - about six to seven hours on first play through – and there isn't a swathe of bonus content. That said, this is the only game I have ever completed and immediately restarted, ever.

This Worms release is by far one of the best in recent memory and does an excellent job of providing fresh graphics that remain true to the original style.

Legion is excellent, a thoroughly enjoyable expansion made all the more impressive by the base game's age. It might have taken a demon invasion, but WoW's players are back together at last.

Sonic Mania Plus is a return to form for Sega’s most iconic character. It takes all that is old and makes it new again.

It’s almost everything we want in a PC shooter. DICE’s latest installment in the Battlefield series sets the bar – we just wish there were more developers trying to surpass it.

Far Cry 4 doesn't have the element of surprise afforded its praised predecessor but does more than enough to live outside its shadow, and thus stands alone as a great game in its own right.

As much as we love remasters, it is not often they are as justified as Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled has proven itself to be. The well-balanced difficulty of this games map and AI fills a niche in the Kart Racing genre that is sure to delight multiplayer parties and provide a healthy challenge for both nostalgia-filled millennials and newcomers alike.