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.

If Yakuza/LAD is the MCU of video games, then Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is its Thor: Ragnarok. It’s an enjoyably breezy romp that opens the property up in a fun new direction, but that still feels shackled to what came before.

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.

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.

At the end of the day, it’s a game about killing. But here, death and beauty are linked – and the act of killing is given a gravity that must be clearly understood. It’s not killing for the sake of killing, and while past games have tried the same tact in their depictions of death, the approach of Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels far more mature and interesting.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an absolute delight, all told. Strong themes and art direction buoy a light, well-meaning narrative that is further enhanced by dynamic combat, and a real sense of cohesion in overall game design. The Mario & Luigi franchise has a daunting legacy. Acquire has crafted a tale that more than lives up to it.

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.

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.

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.

The team at Leikir Studio have managed to transplant the spirit of Metal Slug into an entirely different type of game here – and it’s nothing short of miraculous. Metal Slug Tactics is a marvel of clever design, as well as an utter joy to play, and I really hope that it’s the start of a long-running sub-series for the Metal Slug franchise.

In the balance of these elements – the peace and novelty of investigation, and the immediate dread of enemy attacks – The Horror at Highrook is a wonderfully sharp horror game. It’s not outright scary, but its supernatural tone, and the well-crafted shifts in gameplay style make for a spooky, scary experience that keeps you locked into the action. Its simplicity, on the surface, is a smokescreen for deep mechanics that well-serve an enthralling story of dreadful consequences.

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.

Avowed is an incredibly dense game, and one that encourages you to invest in its world. You won’t need much pushing, though – its strengths sing on their own, and they’re easy to see from the jump. Those looking for the next big fantasy RPG, rich with lore and opportunities to engage, will find it here.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo says the iconic line, “Never tell me the odds.” In a year where we’ve all been waiting for a standout game to rise up, I feel like – at least for now, and without anyone saying it out loud – Star Wars Outlaws has beaten the odds.

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.

Developer Digixart has crafted a thoughtful look at what it’s like to live in tumultuous circumstances, and how it can affect people emotionally. It’s sadly prescient of the world we actually live in, and maybe that’s why Road 96’s message of survival and perseverance make the impact it does, at least the first time around.

Killer Frequency is an absolutely marvellous meeting of vision and execution that is engrossing from start to finish. It deftly manages to balance tense thrills with self-aware campiness, echoing the best traits from 1980s slasher movies. Problems unique to the Switch version aside, the fresh and unique qualities of the Killer Frequency experience still come through loud and clear.

Throwing the cast of Persona 5 into a world of turn-based tactics works incredibly well, and the mechanical twists made to support it pay off in a very gratifying way. Outside of that, there are very few risks taken in the narrative – it’s a low-stakes plot that bubbles along, gives the game a stop-start feel, and ultimately feels like the peripheral side-story that it is. But when your favourite characters are tearing up the battlefield and wiping out whole armies of enemies in a big All-out Attack, Persona 5 Tactica feels like the best interpretation of the Phantom Thieves spirit.

I certainly don’t enjoy Scorn in the way that I do most video games. The thought of revisiting its monstrous world makes me feel ill. But I respect Scorn for its technical artistry, design and environmental world-building that successfully encourages player agency, and how strong and cohesive it feels in its overall creative vision, despite its mentally and physically taxing nature.

This is inevitably going to be a divisive title. There’s no two ways about it – we’ve already seen exhaustive social posts bemoaning certain aspects (and assets) of the game. And while a lot of that criticism has justifiable ground, there is still a lot to enjoy once you get past the flashes of flesh. Personally, I found Stellar Blade to be a solid, engaging experience. Regardless of how often I booted it up, I’d still laugh at the fact that “ponytail length” found itself a home in the main settings menu (I’m on team Short Ponytail, for what it’s worth), and it’ll never get old seeing EVE draw a full-length sword out of said ponytail.

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.

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.

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

I’d like to say that Born Punk concluded how it began, with humour and alcohol, but that’s not the case. The ending was bold, but inconclusive. I’ve definitely been on a journey from humble beginnings, through finding a community of powerful and unlikely friends, to somewhere entirely unexpected. But aside from a few general criticisms, like how Eevi’s hacking interactions were rarely used, the creators can firmly count me in for whatever is next. I’ll have more of the same, please.

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.

I remember my grandpa telling stories about his beloved motorbike that he got as a teenager – the freedom he felt to explore the countryside, to map out the land he loved, knowing, perhaps, that one day he’d have to leave it. Decades later, he still remembered how the Abergavenny of his childhood looked, how it sounded, how it fit together. A Highland Song might not be Inkle’s best game, but it’s the studio’s most evocative work – it’s a reminder that wherever we are, we are surrounded by stories.

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.

The strange politics of its dystopia feel fresh. Numerous cuts to other points of view leave you disoriented in a way that only adds to the intrigue. There’s also a pleasing glitch aesthetic that permeates every aspect, from the writing to the art direction, raising doubts whenever something tangible threatens to materialise. It’s a mystery well worth falling headfirst into.