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.