Ultimately, [NieR: Automata is] a game that will stay with you long after you’ve seen the credits roll for the second, third or even fourth time; the memories of its characters and music lingering in your head, reminding you of what games can be like if they dare to be different.

If you’re a fighting game fan then, Tekken 7 is absolutely essential in my book. Sure, it doesn’t offer the same value for money as the recently released Injustice 2, but the combat feels better. It’s more technical and has a greater flow. If you’re a fan of the series, Tekken 7 will blow your bloody socks off. And if not, well, it’s still likely to impress if you give it the chance.

11-11 takes things to the next level, with more realistic characters, brought to life in a way that makes us feel almost like we know them. It’s a tall order for a game to make us care so deeply about its protagonists – especially when it only has a few hours to do so – but 11-11: Memories Retold does so admirably. It’s compassionate, believable, beautiful and touching; it weaves a narrative that’s so carefully strung together.

Episode 2: The Pact far exceeded my expectations.

It might not propel the series forward by leaps and bounds, but it takes small meaningful steps that improve the formula nonetheless.

One of the best Picross games I've played, Squeakross deals up more than 600 engaging and intuitive puzzles alongside a fun little sub-game that has you decorating a home for a cartoon mouse. Each puzzle you solve unlocks a new piece of furniture, and you won't want to stop until your mouse has the best mouse-house on the street.

It provides the sort of addictive gameplay loop that you think you’ll get bored of after 10 minutes – yet four hours later you’re still there, continuing to decimate stick men with a huge grin on your face. Seriously, One Finger Death Punch 2 is a hell of a lot more fun than it has any right to be. And for such a cheap price, there’s absolutely no reason to not give it a go.

We loved it when we tried it in Early Access, and we still love it now: Warstride Challenges is a bit of a gem. This is a thrilling, fast-paced first-person shooter that’s rewarding to play and has that “just one more go” factor that keeps you playing until the early hours of the morning. Whether you’re simply a fan of the first-person genre and want something offers quick bursts of fun or are into speed-running, you’d be wise to consider this a must-have.

No two games of Balatro are ever the same, which is only one of the reasons why we love this poker roguelike so much. Sure, it’s annoying if your run doesn’t get off the ground — it’s easy to fail early on if you can’t get your hands on a good Joker. But when you’re in the swing of things, scoring tens of thousands with just one hand, you’ll feel like the most powerful card baron there ever was. Simple and devious, Balatro is, quite frankly, brilliant — and I’m going to be playing this for months to come.

What LKA has created here transcends being “just another video game”; The Town of Light is an incredibly important insight into a dark part of history that, thankfully, most of us are too young to have lived through.

Grindstone‘s premise is simple in the best way possible: this is the sort of puzzle game that really gets its claws into you and doesn’t let go. Getting a high score in a daily challenge is a thrill, and getting a record-breaking chain is oh-so-satisfying. It helps that it looks fantastic, too, with a sumptuous hand-drawn art style. If you’re after a casual puzzle game with some substance, you really can’t get any better than this. Just prepare yourself to be unable to put it down.

Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest costs a measly £9.99/$12.99, and for that, it packs in a few hours of fantastic exploration, genuine terror and perhaps even more atmosphere than the base game. If you loved Still Wakes the Deep, consider this an absolute must-play.

I absolutely recommend picking up K Station if you love a good mystery and you love solving puzzles.

Austin Wintory’s masterful and emotive score is ultimately the perfect accompaniment… the soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful from start to finish.

All three games in Borderlands Legendary Collection are very nearly flawless. There’s perhaps just a little too much to-ing and fro-ing; and as you go from one game to the other you’ll find that the series hasn’t evolved all that much over the years. Still, if you’re into looting and shooting, you really can’t go wrong. Gyro aiming is built into the Switch versions of these games, too, adding a new gameplay dimension. Needless to say, whether you’re a fan of the series or someone interested in jumping in, Borderlands Legendary Collection is outstanding.

It’s worth every penny.

Thanks to its revamped visuals and a wealth of meaningful gameplay improvements, Borderlands Game of the Year Edition is without a doubt the best way way to experience a classic.

Even with its lack of replayability, you should buy Katana Zero right now if you’re a fan of action games with great tales to tell. When its thumping music kicks in, you know it’s time for action of the highest calibre.

With Tales of Arise, I think the Tales series is finally ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the heavy hitters of the JRPG genre – Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. This is a masterfully crafted adventure, and the best JRPG I've played in a very long time. Combining stunning visuals with a gripping story and the most exciting combat system found in a JRPG yet, this is a must-have for fans of the genre. Its standalone story makes this a great entry point for those looking to get into the Tales series, too. Put simply, Tales of Arise is outstanding.

If you want to play Monster Hunter World: Iceborne at its prettiest, be warned that you need a beefy PC. With every graphical option set at max and at 4K resolution, my poor RTX 2070 struggles to provide a consistent 30fps experience. That is, unless I enable DLSS, which improves performance considerably. In the end, however, I’ve settled at 1440p, which still provides the eye candy but allows me to play at a pretty much constant 60fps.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is easily the best game in the series by far. Though surprisingly, it isn’t the fact that it looks jaw-droppingly gorgeous that impresses the most. Instead, it’s the sheer variety of gameplay that Insomniac Games has managed to cram into its running time, with each and every aspect of it flawlessly complementing the others. With effectively zero loading times, from the moment you boot up Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart you’re engrossed in its engaging story and eclectic mix of third-person shooting, platforming, dimensional shifting and a whole lot more. And it’s all so polished that you could see yourself in it. If you have a PS5, consider this essential.

Simply fantastic. Enhanced for Nintendo Switch, it's one of the best old-fashioned 2D platformers of recent years.

Thanks to meaningful new additions such as crossplay, rollback netcode, and a meaty single-player mode, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage cements itself as one of the very best fighting games currently available.

Harmonix Music VR might just be my new favourite application for VR.

Never would I have believed that in the year 2021 I’d be sat playing Diablo 2 on a console. And thanks to Diablo 2: Resurrected, with its wonderfully mapped controls and stunning visuals, it doesn’t have to be an eyesore or an ordeal. Some will instantly be put off by the lack of local co-op, but for those happy to play on their own or with others online, Diablo 2: Resurrected remains one of the best action RPGs of all time. It may be a bit clunkier than I remember it to be, but not offputtingly so, and once you’ve taken your first steps and started developing your character of choice, it’s hard to not be totally consumed by the game’s dark world and all that it offers. Diablo 2 is back, and until Diablo 4 emerges from the bowels of hell, it’ll do just nicely. Though I’ll probably be playing it beyond that, too.

I can’t think of many other open world games that pack in as much character, as much wonderfully crafted narrative that Days Gone does. Sure, it’s a story about a world overrun with a deadly virus. But it’s also a story about people, about hope, about survival. It's at times uplifting, others heartbreaking. Couple that with Days Gone's beautiful setting and a varied array of well-designed story missions, and you're left with something pretty special.

If you’re a fan of platform games or roguelikes, 20XX comes highly recommended. And if you’re a fan of Mega Man it’s pretty much essential.

PC Building Simulator 2 sets a new benchmark for simulation games. The attention to detail, the ease of play, the presentation – everything is second to none, and we can’t get enough. Even if you’ve never stared into the insides of a PC before, if you’re intrigued by the idea of tinkering with components, you owe it to yourself to give it a go. Just be sure to set yourself plenty of time aside, because you won’t be able to drag yourself away.