Despite being an undeniably beautiful piece of work, its identity as a weapon combat game lacks edge. I’m glad I stuck with it until the end – some of the late-game setpieces are certainly a sight to behold – but I left Trek to Yomi in a hungry search for something else that would give me the inherent satisfaction that comes from feeling the impact and hearing the sound of crossing blades.

The stories in Citizen Sleeper are worth hearing, but the fairly sparse and restrictive mechanics underpinning the game begin to buckle under the demands of that storytelling. More complications resulting from task categories may have expanded the possibilities here, but despite this, Citizen Sleeper remains a great cyberpunk diorama, and it’s well worth uncovering all its little details.

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.

A Memoir Blue isn’t a story that’s unworthy of being told. Rather, it doesn’t make full use of its chosen medium. Video games have the power to create an affecting emotional experience by making their audience active participants in the world. In A Memoir Blue, the interactive elements aren’t impactful, while the narrative is too metaphorical. Aesthetics aren’t enough to make up for that.

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.

These issues aside, Chinatown Detective Agency does some interesting and noteworthy things with its take on the point-and-click adventure game, between its reliance on external tools and your own deductive research ability, some solid story and character work, and a strong commitment to encapsulating a country and culture that is unique to video games by default. It’s a strong mixture of elements, and Chinatown Detective Agency will hopefully spark more adventures like it in our own unavoidably dystopian future.

Stranger of Paradise is a game where you revel in the ridiculousness of watching a grown man look character development in the face, call ‘bullshit’, and walk away with his airpods in. But you can also revel in the mindless enjoyment of hacking waves of classic Final Fantasy monsters apart and watching loot roll in, as well as the bittersweet content of acknowledging its flaws, and taking the end result for what it is.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition feels like an acceptable collection for a new generation, but it also serves as a reminder about the importance of being able to preserve video games as they originally were. Hold onto those CDs if you have them.

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.

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.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands boasts impressive sights, sounds and characters, with gorgeous worlds illuminated by the polish and performances backing the game.

Submerged: Hidden Depths succeeds in being a relaxing exploration game. With a gorgeous world, good puzzles, and an ample amount of collectables to uncover, it wouldn’t be surprising if it started appearing on those ‘top ten cosy games’ compilations on TikTok.

Ghostwire: Tokyo’s open world city is beautiful, and its world-building, environment and creature designs are also excellent. But even with a sensible runtime and a brisk plot, the game spends too much time engaging you in repeating, unchanging, and unexciting activities. It’s the terrible and taxing curse of open world monotony, plaguing a piece of work that otherwise has so many unique and original ideas.

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.

With lacklustre combat, serious flaws in visual design and clarity, and a complete absence of synergistic team-based gameplay, Babylon’s Fall is a disappointing attempt at a live-service game.

While I don’t believe it to be intentional, Martha is Dead seems to buck that relationship between the horrific and the comedic by steeping players in a narrative so hopeless, so nihilistic, so stripped of identity, that it almost begins to play a game of emotional ‘chicken’, daring you to flinch first.

While WWE 2K22 does suffer from content bloat, it’s a vast improvement on WWE 2K20, and one of the best games of the entire WWE 2K series. With a number of smart fixes, streamlined action gameplay, and a handful of engaging, well-designed modes, it has successfully shed the franchise’s bad reputation. A year off has certainly done the series good, and helped 2K Games and Visual Concepts rethink what makes wrestling so fun. WWE 2K22 is a game changer, and one that certainly does ‘hit different’.

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

That’s the problem with Shadow Warrior 3. For all it’s hay about subversiveness and whacked out combat, there was never a moment during its campaign where I didn’t know exactly what to do, the basic shape of what was to come, and the exact way I’d solve those problems once I got there. The game has a linear, flat trajectory all the way through – and its inability to truly bring its own world to life is a key failure in what could have been a far more charming, interesting experience.

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.

What’s important is that King of Fighters remains an exciting fighting game in XV. Visual style aside, the roster continues to be full of varied characters with interesting movesets, and the underlying mechanics make its matches fast-paced, explosive, and great to watch or play.

Dying Light 2 has a strong, if restrictive start and manages to pull you into an intriguing mystery that grows into a satisfying finale, with an engaging gameplay loop. However, the game also vastly overstays its welcome. With an overly drawn-out narrative and an irritating main character, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth by the time the credits roll.

The reverence for Asian martial arts films of all kinds is evident in Sifu. But in mixing ‘of all kinds’ together, it diminishes the individual identities of each. Just like martial arts films are more than a select sequence of fight scenes, culture is more than a cool aesthetic. Sifu uses homage to include everything, say nothing, and is ultimately just vexing.

Nobody Saves the World blends recognisable aspects from disparate works to create a wholly unique experience. Its systems will challenge you and make you think, and it’s easy to stay engaged while juggling the number of forms and abilities available to the player, while accounting for the variety in world, dungeon, and quest design throughout the adventure. The game enthusiastically discards well-trodden concepts shortly after they’re introduced, and rewards you for doing the same.

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.

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.

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!

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.