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.