Elden Ring is an exceptional, accomplished work that realises a fantasy world of solemnity, beauty, and menacing uncertainty you can’t help but lose yourself in.

Breath of the Wild reinvented The Legend of Zelda. Tears of the Kingdom reimagines it once more, as a somehow more ambitious, freeform and creative game, with even greater highs – literally and figuratively. It’s a staggeringly eye-opening game that expertly cultivates the joy of exploration, discovery and believing in your own abilities.

This is a game designed with purity at its heart. Really, it’s the cutest product placement you’ll ever see. While it is a celebration of PlayStation as a brand, and a pat on the back for years of good business, it’s one that feels well-earned. It’s a nod to the many adventures that PlayStation has created and supported, and a wonderful tribute to decades of positive memories.

It’s a magnificent piece of art, and does exactly what a DLC should do: accents the main game without feeling out of balance with the original’s level of flash, flair and creativity...The characters, landscapes and goals are all impactful in the right way, and truly there’s no other DLC in recent memory that has captured that essence. Devotees of Elden Ring will adore it, and who knows: maybe it will be just the right incentive for folks who haven’t finished the main game to get their characters into gear.

Nothing about God of War Ragnarok feels anything less than meaningful. Refined to the highest degree, every hour you spend with Kratos, Atreus, and the memorable characters of Ragnarok feels fulfilling – whether it be journeying across the Nordic realms with your companions, taking in the beautiful sights and enjoying idle chit chat, overcoming the odds in invigorating and varied melee combat encounters, or sharing in the deeply emotional connection between incredibly strong and nuanced characters.

The Resident Evil 4 remake features several smart choices that help it feel true to the original, but also shapes the adventure into something that overall feels more cohesive, modern, and thrilling than ever. It’s a stellar example of how to revitalise a classic.

It makes you feel. It makes you think. With grand set pieces and rich narrative turning points, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth consistently gives you reasons to care, to sit at the edge of your seat, wide-eyed, wondering what the future holds. Even with the groundwork laid by the original game, there is a sense that anything can happen, that the future remains unwritten.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is pure joy, through and through. From its expressive aesthetic to its whimsical stage designs, it delights you at virtually every step.

Forza Horizon 5 is the roadtrip holiday I’ve really needed after two years in and out of COVID-induced lockdowns. It brings me great solace to be behind the wheel, covering hundreds of kilometers of distance across an awe-inspiring piece of Earth. And even when I’m careening through the mud on a cross-country race, crashing into strangers on the internet, my mind is in an untroubled, fulfilling place. In 2021, Forza Horizon 5 is where I want to be.

Street Fighter 6 is an exceedingly good fighting game. But more than that, it’s an excellent training tool. It’s a fulfilling adventure. It’s a lively community gathering place. It’s an endearingly idealistic and inspiring world of appreciation for martial arts and friendly competition, exceptionally executed in every respect.

There is so much more I could praise Endwalker for – Masayoshi Soken’s incredible music, or the top-notch design of new character jobs, Reaper and Sage, are just a couple that spring to mind. Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and when this story ends, you’ll find another one just waiting to begin.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is truly unique and benefits from both a rock-solid development pedigree and a vision for original ideas. Genre connoisseurs will find more of what they love and newcomers will have a truly memorable first-time experience.

These small efforts to make the experience enjoyable mean the mechanics of the game receded as I played, allowing me to immerse myself in Exocolonist’s narrative and philosophical reflections. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is a beautiful game, a synth-laden ode to growing up and allowing yourself to fall, fail, succeed and explore in a posthuman world that asks thoughtful questions about what it means to exist alongside the natural environment.

While it’s not quite perfect, this is a really stunning showing from developer Sandfall Interactive. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had me feeling my own mortality (as someone in their early 30s, perhaps it hit a little close to home) and man, I love when a game has the narrative gumption to do that.

Rogue Legacy 2 is the perfect sequel. It retains the core of what made the original fantastic, with every feature adding tremendously to the experience. Its cleverly revised class system adds near-limitless gameplay variety, which makes each attempt fun – even when you fail abysmally. This game is everything I wanted from the follow-up, and then some.

As a sequel to one of the most impressive games of its era, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was weighed down by expectations. But Insomniac Games has turned these expectations on their head, spinning a Spider-story that brims with confidence, style, and most importantly – an essential human touch.

It’s everything something like this should be: A painstaking historical record of inspired creation that is engrossing in its sheer detail, and arranged in such a way that it tells a fascinating, approachable story that inspires you to know more, and do more.

The 2022 release adds an Ultra Deluxe desert to the menu, elevating the night out from a lovely dinner to an indulgent feast. It’s a dining experience worth returning to for fans who already count The Stanley Parable among their favourite meals, balanced with providing the perfect place for new players to take a chance on something different. Regardless of which door you enter, the philosophical taste is likely to linger long after you’re finished.

With more accessible gameplay, very neat introductions to its array of fighters and their individual quirks, and new fighting styles for newbie players, Tekken 8 feels like an incredibly worthy fighting sequel geared to overtake its predecessors.

I’ve just rolled the credits as I write this review, and it feels like there’s a hole in me. It longs for more stages, it wants to chase that exhilaration. I’m hoping that someone goads me on Twitter tomorrow, to spur me into rushing back into the early stages. I can’t wait to get back out there with a purpose. Neon White has style. Neon White has intensity. Neon White makes me feel alive.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 explores change and stasis, and what kind of impact you can have on the world in a short time span. As the most recent addition to a trilogy itself only just over a decade old, this game – and the franchise at large – seem set to leave a lasting legacy, well beyond the end credits.

For my money, this is one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. It’s also one of those rare games that makes me think “oh, wow, games can do this, huh?” Its closest point of comparison is Untitled Goose Game, another lovely, short, funny game set in a quaint English village.

You will need an ocean of patience to unfold the many wrinkles of Infinite Wealth – to master its Sujimon battles, hamburger mini-games, arcade games, Dondoko Island management, and dating quests – but devote time to its intricacies, and you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful, frequently surprising game that brims with goodness and features a heartfelt, wholesome exploration of the true meaning of living.

In NORCO, past and present blend together; one moment you inhabit the shoes of the terminally diagnosed, and in another, learn in minute detail about how your childhood home will, in time, flood, become abandoned, and eventually be razed. All stories told in exquisite, beautiful detail, never pulling a punch.

Alan Wake 2 almost feels mad in its approach, with an overwhelming array of threads in the tale that threaten to collapse under pressure at any moment. Yet with clear and incisive logic, matched with a devotion to delightful absurdity, the team at Remedy has managed to craft a breathtaking story – one that plays out in clever, fascinating, and horrifying ways.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a game that unabashedly demands you meet it on its level, which I do find somewhat admirable. I just constantly found it to be a miserable slog to engage with, where everything was ten times more overblown than it had any business being. There’s a fascinating sandbox deep down within it, but digging through the mountain of muck to appreciate it was simply more than I could stand most of the time.

The Last of Us Part 1 doesn’t create any lasting memories about the experiences that weren’t already there from the beginning. For that reason, my thoughts about the game’s existence as a product remain dubious. But as a creative work in and of itself, The Last of Us is still exceptional, and I’m happy to have had reason to experience it again, in a new context and an updated format.

As the months and years roll by, you feel those layers settling in, the weight of decisions these people have made – and that you’ve made too – shaping the history of the place. When the paint dries, you can pick up the brush again and continue the story.

Monster Hunter Wilds continues to push Monster Hunter into the mainstream, unapologetically presenting all the weirdness and wonder of fighting giant monsters and inviting everyone from die-hands to first-timers to jump on board.

Horizon Forbidden West pulls players along on a breathtaking journey – one so lifelike and human it’s almost unbelievable just how good it really is.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch does an excellent job of letting the quirks of the original game shine, in a refreshed release that feels perfect for newcomers and Paper Mario veterans alike.

Pikmin 4 exhibits the most demanding and multifaceted use of the series mechanics yet, with several situations and game modes that push your ability to strategically think and plan ahead under pressure. Pikmin 4 deftly accomplishes several things: staying true to the challenge and identity of the Pikmin series while expanding its ideas, making its concepts and obstacles more approachable, and simply being a beautiful and charming realisation of the Pikmin world.

Final Fantasy 16 largely shines as an epic-length action game, though the places where it attempts to find a comfortable compromise between action game and RPG feel largely unambitious, and certainly fade into the background against aspects that are approached with gusto. But it’s difficult not to get swept up by the earnest saga that Final Fantasy 16 eagerly lays out for you, and the egregious heights of spectacle it displays.

A detailed driving simulation with impressive fidelity and presence in an approachable package, Gran Turismo 7 is confident, handsome, and endearing.

Under a critical light, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle shines for me. It’s clear the MachineGames team has done its due diligence in making sure that no matter how stark a light you cast upon it, the excitement and nostalgic joy you get from playing the game speaks for itself.

Immortality is a game that will haunt you. Its sinister atmosphere is exceptionally powerful. Its layered narrative about art and artists will leave you with more thoughts, ideas, and questions than answers. It will have you clambering for someone to seek solace with afterwards. It may very well see you diving back in, hunting for closure with any clues you may have missed – just a few more hints. Something, anything. Immortality is a remarkable piece of work, and an outstanding example of the potency interactive storytelling can have.

It can’t be overstated just how much a Dead Space remake always seemed like a sure thing, and after my time with it, that perspective hasn’t changed. It’s easily one of the best modern horror games, and the fresh lick of paint to really bring its grimy, snarling interpretation of sci-fi horror into sharp new relief is very welcome, especially when it maintains such faith in the source material.

Return to Monkey Island isn’t a grand reinvention of point-and-click adventure games in mechanical or narrative ambition. It is, quite literally, a return. It sticks to its own identity, and aims to be the best version of itself – a comforting, charming game with great characters and amusingly esoteric puzzles. That a new Monkey Island game exists with Gilbert and Grossman at the helm makes Return to Monkey Island an attraction well worth the curiosity. And that this traditional format still satisfies while remaining largely unchanged, several decades later, speaks volumes about how timeless their ideas and this world have always been.

Botany Manor really surprised me. It’s a small game, comprising of around five or six hours, but one without an ounce of fat on it. The team at Balloon Studios designed a faultlessly tight experience that I really cannot say anything negative about.

While it leans heavily on spy genre tropes, and appears to be determined to separate itself from the wilder, futuristic ideas of its base game counterpart by focussing on more familiar, socially relevant political themes, Phantom Liberty is a compelling, cinematic story that expands the world of Cyberpunk 2077.

A half-dozen hours with Hi-Fi Rush so far, and I can’t stop smiling...It’s a game that’s easy to love, difficult to put down, and just an utter delight to spend time with. What a great way to start 2023. [Review in Progress]

Even after dozens of hours, the dance of movement and gunplay still feels wonderful to perform. It’s not a revolutionary redo of Halo’s principles, but rather, a refreshing revival that’s come at the perfect time.

Diablo 4 is a behemoth of a game, boasting a gothic world that goes beyond the engaging hack-and-slash gameplay loop, and brings Sanctuary well and truly to life.

OlliOlli World embodies that positive attitude with its vibrant world and encouraging approach to its challenges. After finishing it, I immediately found myself getting pangs of nostalgia, pining to revisit Radlandia. Time to hit those side quests!

With a rock-solid foundation and a roadmap of promising post-launch additions on the horizon, Sunbreak is quite simply an excellent Monster Hunter expansion.

When considering the PC version of Rise, it’s hard not to compare it directly to the as-yet unmatched juggernaut that is Monster Hunter World – a competition that I don’t think Rise wins. That said, Monster Hunter Rise is still an enjoyable, well-crafted game with some compelling innovations that make it a wonderful addition to the Monster Hunter franchise. Plus, you can make a fire-breathing T-Rex suplex a dragon. If that doesn’t persuade you, nothing will.

I feel like I could write 5000 words about 1000xRESIST and still feel like I hadn’t really properly conveyed what kind of game this is, or why, exactly, I came away from it with such fond feelings. All I can say, really, is that I think it’s great. Shaggy, weird, a little annoying sometimes… but nevertheless, truly great. Glory to the ALLMOTHER.

As a layered platformer, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown rocks that tangible sense of cool that’s so hard to define and grasp. It packs in style, and satisfaction, and consistently rewards you for exploring further, challenging yourself, and surmounting its vast wave of puzzles.

There’s secrets upon secrets in this expansion pack, and revealing them makes for a wonderfully scandalous, but entirely satisfying time. It’s appropriate that one of the new features in The Sims 4 Life and Death is rebirth, because that’s exactly what this expansion pack delivers.

Some people feel that we live on through what they leave behind; coming back to Ghost Trick on Switch and seeing Missile again makes me feel like, at the very least, a temporary resurrection is possible if the thing we leave behind is special enough. Rest in peace, little buddy.

With an entertaining selection of factions, an interesting new game mode, and great onboarding, Total War: Warhammer 3 is a grand strategy well worth the time.

But pushing all naysayers aside, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has arrived as a brilliant, well-rounded RPG with clever mechanics, and an ambitious story driving it to greatness. It captures everything that made Fantasy Life memorable, and pushes it even further...More than ten years on from the original Fantasy Life, Level-5 has definitively proven there’s plenty more life and vigour in this long-running franchise.

Fans of the original will see growth, while newcomers will be treated to an extremely fulfilling journey through the world – where there’s aught to see around every corner of the map.

Armored Core 6 is an unsympathetic and cold-blooded game. It's a cup of bitter, black coffee – and thankfully, that suits my palate perfectly. It's full of moments that make you feel very powerful – in both effortless and hard-fought ways – and moments that make you very, very small. In the face of it all, you're pushed to overcome the impossible. And you'll come out on the other end wearing an exhausted, wry smile.

Humanity is an incredibly alluring piece of work. It’s a puzzle game of strong design and concept, evident in how it stretches and bends your method of mental approach in a variety of different ways – sometimes to the point of frustration, often to the point of elation. Visually striking and aurally satisfying, at times it felt like I could watch the endless bodies flow through its levels forever.

Sparks of Hope has a real sense of twinkling charm – one that could pull a smile from even the most hardened heart. There’s a vivacious, beating heart at the centre of this adventure, and it makes every new world, and every new fight a veritable joy to complete.

This isn’t the swashbuckling, swords-first sort of game that The Legend of Zelda players have been given in the past, and that’s a wonderful thing. With a dose of whimsy and some very clever ideas, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom makes a memorable, exceedingly lovely impression.

While the action remains reliant on puzzle mechanics that occasionally bog down the main story, improvements across the board – including stunningly deft writing, and a sharp narrative – contribute to a more confident, and wildly more engaging sequel.

I’ve never played anything quite like it, and I absolutely adore it. It feels destined to become an overlooked gem but frankly, it deserves better. It is a game of specific scope and vision that’s executed upon perfectly. Take the chance on it, and it may just surprise and delight you as much as it did me.

Tunic is an adventure that’s crafted with care and consideration, with a beautifully detailed, charming, and challenging world. Whether you’re looking for some cosy exploration, or to hack-and-slash through hordes of enemies, the world of Tunic is a lovely place to do it in.

In Stars and Time is the type of game that is excellent to discuss theories and nitty gritty details with a friend, an element which adds to an already thought provoking experience. With a cast of exceptionally loveable characters to tether you to its remarkable world, it will stick in your mind long after you’ve put it down.

Seeing Jusant to the end felt like returning from a brisk walk in the woods, your lungs full of fresh air, and your mind alert from a cool breeze – which is an astute achievement for a game with such deep connections to the natural environment, and the act of physical human movement. You come away feeling sated, satisfied, and refreshed, the sense of achievement and clarity of thought it offers clearing your headspace for whatever challenge comes next.

If you haven’t already, though, play through Overboard! first. Just trust me on this and don’t ask any questions.

A Space for the Unbound only looks pixels deep, but it is a masterpiece for its breadth of storytelling, its authenticity, and how it tackles difficult topics, from cultural expectations, to mental health. As the game ended, it left me with a beautiful feeling of closure, accompanied by a hankering for cherry-chocolate-flavoured cake and Indonesian food.

From the distinct, sprawling domains of your three primary marks, to the adorably avian way your crow tilts and juts their head around, the game never misses a moment to delight you with some new wonder, and just when you think it’s run out of surprises; whether it’s a new tune, a beautiful vignette, or a quiet moment of empathy, it’s always got something else tucked underneath its wing.

In relying on tried-and-true platforming, developer HAL Laboratory has been given sufficient rope to make a wacky and weird little gem of a game, one that’s extremely charming, warm and approachable for everyone. It doesn’t quite tread new ground, but its slick gameplay and sense of oddness makes it a fascinating and engaging platformer that really makes you wonder why it took so long for Kirby to journey through the 3D realm.

A Plague Tale: Requiem has a strong identity and a good degree of allowance for player creativity and expression. Moving through its stunning world and spending time with its characters is gratifying – even if many of its setpieces are terrifying or grim, even if its inhabitants are a bit too chatty, and even if there are far, far too many rats. The hope you find on the other side is usually worth the struggle.

Whether in sandbox or campaign modes, Two Point Museum lets you dream up your perfect museum, and gives you the tools to realise your creative vision. While it does occasionally force you to pump the breaks on your ambitions, with a focus on careful placement and research over easy wins, this pacing makes the entire game a more thoughtful, deep experience. Take your time, smell the roses and dinosaur bones, and Two Point Museum will open your eyes to the possibilities of your imagination.

Shin Megami Tensei V is easily the most approachable series entry to date. Traditional mechanics have been carefully updated, adding new ideas to provide additional layers of strategy for players to discover and capitalise on. The game’s all-encompassing tension, infrequent story beats, and exciting systems all add up to an experience that effectively satisfies the challenging RPG niche that Shin Megami Tensei first carved out in the late 90s.

It’s a game that absolutely warrants being back in the conversation in 2022, and seeing a stack of familiar faces again is a lovely bonus.

Beacon Pines is an unexpected horror-filled romp – one that’ll keep you locked in suspense for as long as loveable protagonist Luka is in danger. Keep your mind on the branching paths, and eventually you’ll discover a way out of this strange, body horror-infused nightmare. But be wary – the paths off the beaten tracks will stay with you long after the game is over.

Oxenfree 2 is an easy recommendation if you loved the first game as much as I did. While the original is definitely my preference between the two, the sequel expands the series’ lore and is packed full of callbacks, while also featuring a lot of the quirks that made the first so interesting. Oxenfree 2 is, fundamentally, more of a good thing.

From the moment you first charge an object and cause your own electric destruction, to the last time you throw your head across a pile of spikes and frantically chase after it with your tiny headless body, ElecHead will keep teaching and challenging you with its creative tricks as it fosters a sense of wonder that’s rarely felt.

While dated design means other parts of the tale don’t hold up quite as well as its biting comedy, Super Mario RPG remains a strong adventure with challenging combat, and plenty of unique quirks. By maintaining its spirit beneath a fresh lick of paint, Nintendo has created a welcome opportunity to experience or re-experience one of the most important games in Super Mario history.

The game may not be perfect, but it is a really meaty fiesta of fighting. Tearing demons asunder will never not be cool as hell, and for that reason alone, I can easily see myself coming back to DOOM: The Dark Ages time and time again – especially after a particularly stressful week.

Challenge and satisfaction go hand-in-hand in this sim, making each choice anxiety-induced and rewarding in equal measure. In that regard, Two Point Campus gets so much right about university life – and the management simulator genre.

Unpacking captured and recalled that messy abundance of emotions precisely. It’s a special game. It drew me in, it pushed me away. It was a chore at times. But its thematic strength and effectiveness in conveying that is incredible. Unpacking is a remarkable piece of work that elegantly evokes the ebbs and flows of life. A game that evokes a very special brand of nostalgia that is yours, and no-one else’s.

World’s Edge and Forgotten Empires have done it again with this remaster. After the quality of the Age of Empires remasters, it should come as no surprise – but the balance of old features and new twists is marvellous. Together, they make Age of Mythology: Retold a lovely, worthy remaster perfect for all players – experienced, nostalgic, or otherwise.

While that spells intrigue for the future of Stray Gods, we’ll have to wait to see whether its core threads are laced together in further chapters. I’d love to see Orpheus again in future, and after such an endearing encore, I’m sure there will be others that feel the same.

It's the static and mechanical elements of Starfield that shine the brightest – the art, the environments, the combat systems. They make up the strong foundations of a playset with a very intriguing scenario. But you need to mentally meet Starfield partway to complete its vision of a vast, living universe. You need to stretch out the expanse and envision the journey. You need to look past the menus and form the fantasy. You need to help breathe life into its paper dolls. You need to add your own dash of wonder, and imagine your own unknowns. Truly, Starfield is a role-playing game, through and through.

If this is the future of the franchise, it’s a very welcome change – and while the game is certainly in need of some visual improvements, there’s promise and excitement here that shines through every pore.

Mortal Kombat 1 has proven itself to be continually compelling throughout its early access and launch period, a remarkably refined and confident instalment of a series that had already secured its strong identity long ago. The story campaign is an entertaining rollercoaster ride, its foundational fighting mechanics remain strong, and the game’s focus on wide-ranging approachability and accessibility in service of broadening the fighting game community must be applauded.

It hauls you along its journey with a bright spark in its eye, and it shows you sights you’ll have rarely seen in other games. For that, it should be applauded. There’s so little that’s new under the sun, but The Plucky Squire has earned the right to claim this accolade. In its bright-eyed approach to platforming, and its inventive nature, it’s an enthralling and smile-inducing triumph.

Lies of P is a sublime Souls-like experience that has studied every lesson taught by the genre, and then iterated on them all. It’s an earnest, existential, but optimistic take on an old classic fairy tale, in a nightmarish world that’s a dream to play in.

While its ideas may be supernaturally-charged, and inspired by one of the strangest periods in Marvel Comics, it remains grounded and personal – imbuing its excellent tactical combat with high emotions and stakes. In dark times, light can still shine – and in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, you and your team of heroes are that light.

Helldivers 2 is extremely silly. It’s utterly over the top, and it’s not very deep, but GOOD GOD, I have had a ball with it this past week. Its general simplicity may end up dooming it to be a short-lived flash in the pan… But what a brilliantly bright flash it would be.

In Wylde Flowers, the days clip past at speed, revealing more with every sunrise. For anyone who’s dreamed of moving to the country, starting their own farm, or just having more time in every day, it’s a balm for the soul; a game where you can live out your dreams in a sandbox of colour, mystery, and wholesomeness. One day, you just might end up in the countryside, breathing the smells of overturned soil and manure – but until then, there’s always Wylde Flowers.

Stray gets so much right about being a cat. It's not just the way you travel through the world. There are moments when you stop to rub your side against someone's legs. You can press a button to scratch the carpet and there are even a couple of puzzles that make smart use of this ability. The way you stretch out one paw to tentatively bat at a suspicious object or how you curl up on a cushion in the perfect pretzel… it's just so exquisitely, believably cat-like.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is an epic that certainly lives up to the Star Wars name. While its humour is occasionally a bit childish, effective writing and voice acting helps to keep the action fresh and snappy as this wacky interpretation of the Star Wars mythos plays out. Don’t take it too seriously, and it’s a real blast.

Cult of the Lamb is a unique experience bursting with personality. It looks and sounds gorgeous, and the gameplay loop is engaging, rewarding, and highly enjoyable from start to finish. Sacrifices and rituals to maintain your faith in the game aren’t necessary, given Massive Monster has created such a shining, standout piece of work.

It simultaneously tries to be as ‘mature’ as possible through constant depictions of excessive brutality while also being stubbornly unwilling to engage with its source material beyond the aspects most problematically aimed at 12 year olds. It is in the most basic of senses very fun, and I will be coming back to it again when new Operations missions drop for free over the next year. Its combat loop is exhilarating and its visual splendor immaculate. Its entire package just sits in such tonal disharmony within itself and worse so still when compared to other recent 40k video games...Perhaps ironically that makes Space Marine 2 the truest and most immersive satire of fascism in gaming yet though. Just a whole lot of hollow sound and fury.

Long may the Duck Detective franchise continue. If this game is anything to go by, it has a bright, compelling future ahead.

Shadows over Loathing will put a smile on your face, and keep it there. It’s a detailed and endlessly amusing RPG, with a delightfully lighthearted vibe and a constant stream of delightful, funny gaffs for you to nourish yourself on. Asymmetric knows how to make a good comedy game, and it’s well worth getting in on the joke.

Nostalgia aside, this is the most feature-rich and engaging Mario Party we’ve seen yet, with each of its many facets combining to make a layered party game perfect for multiplayer or solo rounds. Mario Party is officially back, and everyone is invited to join in.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure presents strong reasons to return daily, with story hooks, moreish quests, and fun bite-sized puzzles to romp through. It struggles to retain the excitement of its opening pace in later-stage gameplay, where quests become more reliant on higher, more difficult-to-obtain friendship levels – but beyond this foible, it maintains a warm and wholesome charm that should keep fans of cosy adventure games enthralled.

While this expansion pack does present a whole new array of challenges – from diaper blowouts to random morning temper tantrums – it adds a much-needed sense of wholesomeness and realism to The Sims 4. It enhances the quirks of Sim relationships, provides goalposts for every Sim to strive towards, and provides a narrative-less game with a real sense of shape. With plenty of new achievements to nab and activities to enjoy, Growing Together breathes new life and vigour into The Sims 4.

Whether you’re lured by a host of familiar food-based faces, or you’re a complete newcomer to the world that Snoozy Kazoo have created, it’s safe to say that this game will give you a taste for veggie rebellion – though perhaps not for a veggie dinner.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard feels like it ticks almost all my boxes. It's fun, it's grippy, it's cheeky. There are steamy moments. There are freaks. It's a game that feels like it was almost entirely made for me, and while it may not be perfect on a clinical level, it's deeply satisfying to explore.