Fighting simply doesn't get much better than this, and the utterly furious and hyper-excited Tekken 8 will be my main fighting game for years to come.

Dead Space Remake is one of the best remakes we've ever received. The technological, audio, and graphical improvements all do wonders for the level of immersion that this game relies on, and the quality and polish is so welcome when considering some of the other 'finished' games that we've seen as of late.

Full 4K/120Hz support, crossplay, co-op, split screen multiplayer as well as online multiplayer, N64 maps, restored midi music... Everything is included here in a package that feels polished and clean in a way that today's games very rarely do.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape is not for everyone, it's for the veterans and the players who have stuck by this game year-after-year-after-year, and it's precisely this that makes it such a brilliant end product. It's crammed to the brim with content, has hugely impactful and important story developments, takes risks that pay off with mechanics and gameplay, and all in a new location that is dripping with nostalgia while being effortlessly gorgeous.

On the one hand, there are several things I miss about the game. The weather could play a bigger role, the pacing sometimes loses its footing, I would like the world to be more exciting from an architectural point of view, and I wish my mission givers weren't so boring to listen to. On the other hand, it feels great to play, has more character and personality in its little finger than Ubisoft's entire game library from the last 10 years can muster, and it manages to tell a decidedly excellent story that will stay with me for a long time.

The game is overall an excellent conversion of the PlayStation game. The main story is super cool and the graphics are gorgeous. There are a few niggles here and there, but Horizon Forbidden West is an excellent game that should be experienced by as many people as possible.

Ryu Ga Gotoku have managed to expand and progress not only the JRPG system of the current series, but its narrative, character development and extra content. Besides being better in almost everything, and offering a gaming experience that no other can match, it can boast of being an unrivalled graphical portent.

Resident Evil Requiem is a fantastic example of why this series continues to thrive, it's a truly great experience that will have you smiling with glee, quivering with fear, and pumping a fist in the air out of thrill.

Remedy deserves all the praise I can muster for being brave enough to make some exciting design choices that limit Alan Wake 2's mass appeal, but increase the enjoyment for those of us who remain. They deserve for me to call this game what I think it is - a masterpiece.

If Warhorse has truly achieved its original vision with Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, then what an ambitious vision this was. A title that combines the best of RPGs we've loved, with its own unique niche of its historical setting, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has set the bar high for the rest of 2025.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut is a great conversion of the PlayStation game and should be experienced for its magical atmosphere and combat system. Although the story and missions have been seen before, the game is filled with innovative design choices that I highly recommend.

I can only recommend that you give Monster Hunter: Wilds a try, it will give you a very enjoyable action adventure on your own, and a game of enormous scope to continue playing for many, many more hours after the credits roll. Happy hunting!

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an aesthetically pleasing, cognitively challenging and narratively stimulating experience of the kind we rarely get to enjoy, and I already miss the obsession of unravelling all its secrets.

Cabernet is a completely unique vampire story and it's really unlike anything else I've ever played. Party For Introverts has somewhat out of nowhere delivered perhaps the most original title of the year and has also executed it all with brilliance.

Few games have fascinated me the way Cocoon does with its metre-thick atmosphere and reality-distorting challenges. It's an alien among its earthly peers, and even when it draws on a classic series like The Legend of Zelda, it twists the concepts we know so well, such as requiring you to diligently travel between worlds in a split-second. Some games mesmerise you with their breadth and almost hubristic level of ambition. Cocoon does this by perfectly executing its tight focus - just as its role model Portal did twice more than a decade ago.

For a multitude of reasons this game is an absolute blast. But just because it has its strengths doesn't mean that The Lost Crown is a home run. There is room for improvement for this game and the way it is fundamentally designed, specifically in how the tale is weaved together in a narrative sense.

The style, writing, and visuals are pure McMillen and if you've been hankering for more of that gritty and sometimes puerile 2010s humour from The Binding of Isaac, Mewgenics delivers in spades.

I don't think anyone can disagree that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is the perfect place to start if you want to try one of the best tactical role-playing games of our time, as it is somewhat more accessible than the original. It still requires a lot of time and dedication from the player, but the time spent with the game will be less frustrating than it was 28 years ago.

It took me about four hours to play through Mullet Mad Jack and after about half of my playing time, I felt pretty fed up with the monotonous environments and the corridors that everything takes place in.

Megabonk is a smash hit. It's raw, addictive, and dangerously easy to lose yourself in. A game that steals your time and does so with such obvious arrogance that you almost thank and bow for being devoured by its machinery.

The sum of my opinions with The Talos Principle II is that you can buy it without the slightest concern. It is a clear improvement on one of my favourite games of 2014 in exactly every way.

Sword of the Sea is an easy recommendation for anyone who enjoyed Journey, Rime, Abzû, and other related titles. Carried by its visuals, which are beautifully accompanied by Austin Wintory's background music, it offers plenty of gameplay enjoyment and hits all the right emotional high points. However, this easy recommendation also comes with an inherent criticism, because it's also a little too predictable and familiar. We are now familiar with the tried and tested journey towards the monolith story and the crises and setbacks it brings before the ultimate triumph. Giant Squid also has new ideas - particularly the way you move through the world - but at times it feels as if they are remixing elements from other titles a little too much. On the other hand, they do so with great flair and unmistakable talent, which ultimately makes Sword of the Sea one of the best games in the subgenre.

It's at its best when it lets the yo-yo mechanics and puzzling take centre stage, which is perhaps a little ironic too as the game is at its most frustrating when the yo-yo mechanics fail and struggle in their precision. Typically speaking though, for an indie game and a very reasonably priced one at that, there's much more to celebrate than there is to bash.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is a fantastic RPG that stands out as a unique gem of the genre. It's not afraid to be whimsical and strange, nor does it compromise on making the theme of a Paper Mario game come to life with its interesting abilities and mechanics.

Externally, the PlayStation 5 version looks very good. The main characters, familiar from the movies, do not look exactly identical to their predecessors, but they still make their point, complementing the plot parts of the story during the dialogue sections. In terms of voice acting, the main attention is naturally focused on Indiana Jones, and Troy Baker succeeds in this area excellently, raising the atmosphere across the board. However, the supporting characters are not always up to the task, as the more open adventuring can sometimes cause unintentional repetition in dialogue or activation at the wrong moments.

Add to this the fact that the game includes local wireless combat, or that you can do the same with your avatar from World Tour mode, and you have an extremely versatile and functional version of what is one of the best fighting games of the moment.

You have to hand it to Sabotage, Sea of Stars is an immensely precise gaming experience from start to finish, whether it's progression, challenge, combat or the surprisingly fun Wheels minigame. It's all polished, honed and checked to make sure it all works together.

Pikmin 4 is simply a delight to play. Its world is effortlessly charming and its core gameplay is more than enough to keep you invested for hours on end. Combine that with the extras such as the Night Expeditions, and Nintendo has crafted another big winner in what is already an incredible 2023 for the company.