Two Point Hospital has a terminal case of total brilliance.

From the digital-crack gameplay to the ocean-deep customization to the enjoyable Subspace Emissary, it's completely jam-packed with Nintendo love. The sights, the sounds, everything is an unfiltered pat on the back and incessant in-joke for longtime fans. For everyone else, it's a dependably solid fighter that destroys its predecessor in every way.

Intelligent, involved, and relentlessly exhilarating, now, just as in '93, the most exciting FPS around is a game called Doom.

Intelligent, fun, challenging and beautifully realized, DX:HR is an incredibly polished game that lives up to the impossibly high standard of its predecessor.

An astounding masterpiece that reaches new heights of brilliance thanks to the Nintendo Switch.

It will be like playing "SFII" for the first time all over again, only with the years of love and experience you've since gained already built in. To long-term Street Fighter fans, everything old is new again. To the new players, we simply say welcome to the party. You're going to have a hell of a good time.

With its riveting story, beautiful visuals and surprisingly lifelike world, Assassin's Creed is an incredibly deep, enjoyable game that kept us addicted from beginning to bizarre end.

Super Mario Odyssey successfully brings the series up to date and opens it up to a new audience, while still retaining every ounce of its nostalgia and retro charm.

For $10 more (and if you can find it) the Special Edition of Subsistence includes a third disc with all of Snake Eater's cinematics re-cut and re-edited into a three-hour movie, complete with new narration. It's an extra special bonus for an already extra-amazing game.

Beenox has managed to take the original Crash Team Racing, and somehow made it better. 20 years ago, this was the kart racer to play, but Mario Kart gradually usurped it and since the early 2000s, Crash has been laid dormant, waiting for its time to seize the throne and become the king of kart racers once more. That time is now, because Crash is back, baby.

Haunting, confrontational, and deeply cathartic all at once, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is a stunning feat of video game art. Ninja Theory doesn't tiptoe around its heavy themes but welcomes them with well-honed empathy, tempered by an even keener creative edge this time around to deliver an unforgettable narrative adventure experience that's hard to watch, yet harder to turn away from.

Aside from moaning about the shortcomings the Wii's technical limitations force upon the game, the only thing to complain about with Rock Band 2 – and it’s barely even a complaint - is that it polishes rather than reinvents.

Spelunky is for the West what Cave Story represents for Japan: the maximum expression of the indie philosophy. You shouldn't ask yourself if you want to play it. You absolutely have to, if you haven't yet.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was the greatest superhero game of all time. The sequel, Batman: Arkham City, is five times bigger and about a billion times better. You do the math.

The streamlined, focused structure eliminates potential tedium without dumbing anything down, and the battle system strikes an elegant balance between strategy and fast-paced action. Stunningly beautiful graphics and a pervasively meticulous level of polish throughout only add to the experience.

Sad Owl Studios has delivered a puzzling experience that's both instantly approachable and inventive enough to keep you guessing throughout. Viewfinder is simply wonderful – a breath of fresh air that shouldn't be ignored.

Half-Life 2: Episode One demonstrates how games ought to be made, forged by dedication, imagination and risk-taking. It's an outstanding, stirring experience.

What does make it great is that it actually delivers on nearly everything it promises while still being fun to just pick up and play.

What does make it great is that it actually delivers on nearly everything it promises while still being fun to just pick up and play.

Hilarious, heartfelt and high-octane, Tales from the Borderlands is a must-play game that sets a new standard for comedy games to come.

Adding so much as to be a little intimidating at first, LBP2 brings a slew of impressive new creator features, while still offering plenty of cool new things for those who just want to play. The basic, flawed platforming of the original is still there, but compared to the possibilities LBP2 opens up, it's insignificant.

Elden Ring is both a refinement and evolution of the Dark Souls formula, presenting an expansive world that's as hostile as it is inviting. Despite the occasional excess, suffering has never been as much fun as this.

No game is perfect, but the HD redux inches Wind Waker ever closer to that ideal.

Its storytelling is peerless, as affecting and multi-layered as it is grounded, underplayed and real. In terms of everything the modern action game has strived to be, The Last of Us is the full-stop at the end of the sentence, leaving no more to be said. Until next-gen. If this is our starting point for that, then the next five to ten years could be truly amazing.

A potent cocktail of authentic 1930s aesthetics, jazzy tunes, ingenious boss designs, and gameplay founded on the fundamentals inherent to the best 2D shooters. Cuphead sure is swell.

Anyone who already has issues with the single-player ‘style’ of IW’s games will still find fault with the scripted, linear experience, but in terms of sheer drama and show-stopping set-pieces accompanied by laser sharp FPS controls, Modern Warfare 2 is your daddy. And that’s without Spec Ops and Multiplayer.

Mario Kart 7 is THE game the 3DS has been in dire need of. Sadly, it raises the bar so high for almost everything else, most 3DS games don't even look like they belong on the same system.

Forza Motorsport 7 addresses every issue of its predecessor, turns the visual flair up to 11 and handles like a dream. An essential purchase.

Buy this game. The content is plentiful (and crucially, more is en route) and the fantasy experience is pure rock and roll excess. Your personal stairway to heaven awaits.

It feels as though Insomniac's writers have taken their cues from more recent Marvel movies, managing the tricky balancing act of cartoon mayhem and emotional payoffs. It made me, a casual lombax fancier, more invested in the series than ever before, and hoping we get to see a lot more of the fabulous foursome soon.

We would normally hesitate to give any rerelease such a high score, but this is the ultimate edition of a true classic.

A triumphant return for the strategy series, and well worth the wait.

A huge improvement over the first game, Assassin’s Creed II offers up an enormous, beautiful open world that’s easy to get lost in, an epic storyline and all the fun that comes from creatively killing villains and tearing across 15th-century rooftops at ridiculous speeds.

One of the best horror games ever made, this will scare you in incredibly clever ways and make you question everything you see.

The weapons are better. The plasmids are better. The enemies are better. At some points, even the storytelling is better. What's most amazing and surprising about BioShock 2, however, is that by diving deeper into Rapture's tortured history and exploring more of Rapture's haunted world, it actually manages to make the original BioShock better, too.

The world is massive and detailed, the gameplay is damn near perfect, and though there are some lackluster side missions, the actual story is filled with memorable personalities that feel more fully-realized than even the best of GTA's previous characters.

Not to get too lofty, but you know how a musician's ears have been trained to pick up elements in music – I honestly felt like that during the last stretch of Cocoon's puzzles. I knew what the game wanted from me and I followed. It's a silent language that you learn to translate. Cocoon cuts out all the noise, and the result is one of the best puzzle adventure games of 2023. I've learned to pick up Cocoon's silent harmonies, and they're beautiful.

It Takes Two is a Pixar-worthy adventure that consistently innovates, offering players an excellent co-op experience unlike any other.

It maintains the mechanics that made the prior games great while modernizing them to excellent effect. Between the arcade mode and multiplayer, there's enough substantive content to keep you hooked for some time.

The combination of sublime gameplay, unprecedented level of compelling historic team matchups, and an excellent update to My Player puts NBA 2K12 at a level no hoops game has ever been. The absolute mountaintop.

Huge, muscular combatants move like giant men wearing heavy gear, fine details are everywhere, and splattering blood never looked so beautiful - and we mean that in an uncreepy, non-Hannibal Lecter kind of way. It just looks incredible.

All the joy and satisfaction of the original, now with upgraded toys, a bigger world and a dog you can pet.

You've never seen a strategy game with combat as intense as Company of Heroes.

The streamlined, focused structure eliminates potential tedium without dumbing anything down, and the battle system strikes an elegant balance between strategy and fast-paced action. Stunningly beautiful graphics and a pervasively meticulous level of polish throughout only add to the experience.

Whether you're a hardcore fighting game player or a casual Street Fighter fan who hasn't touched the series for a generation or so, Street Fighter 6 has something for you and, not only that, manages to offer enough reason for both sides to dip their toes into the other side's water. It's a strong package – arguably the best overall fighting game package ever made – but it'd all be for naught if the fighting system that underpins it all wasn't up to much. It just happens to be the most flexible, versatile and expressive combat in a Street Fighter game to date. Street Fighter 6 is a perfect place to start or a brilliant continuation, an exceptional time for those who are looking to play 30 hours or 3000 hours.

Truthfully, the entire game feels like a defiantly kickass celebration of music. Combined with the complete success and undeniable innovation of Pro Mode, how could anyone resist Rock Band 3?

Truthfully, the entire game feels like a defiantly kickass celebration of music. Combined with the complete success and undeniable innovation of Pro Mode, how could anyone resist Rock Band 3?

What Cyberpunk 2077 lacks in campaign length, it makes up for with breadth and soul, offering a world of intrigue and violence unlike any other.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a superbly presented fighting game with something to offer players of all experience and familiarity with NetherRealm's sprawling MK universe. The Kameo fighter system injects new strategic depth into combat, the rebooted timeline feeds a ridiculous story, and the suite of game modes are both varied and well made.

Naughty Dog's PS4 swansong is an astonishing, absurdly ambitious epic that goes far and beyond what we could have imagined for a sequel to an all-time classic.

An immaculate battle royale that could be sold at a premium price point, but instead is one of the best free-to-play games ever.

It will be like playing SFII for the first time all over again, only with the years of love and experience you've since gained already built in. To long-term Street Fighter fans, everything old is new again. To the new players, we simply say welcome to the party. You're going to have a hell of a good time.

This is how you do a next-gen remaster. Rockstar has pulled out all the stops to bring GTA V up to speed on PS4 and Xbox One. Beautiful, immersive, essential - it begs to be played all over again.

Alan Wake 2 is a strange, imaginative, and truly ambitious sequel that never fails to upend your expectations. While some of the bigger concepts presented by Remedy Entertainment lack refinement, a few rough edges don't detract from a consistently confident and startlingly original adventure. You won't find anything else quite like Alan Wake 2 this generation.

Truly a labor of love, this amazing sequel fortifies the foundations laid down by a flawed classic and creates a brilliant masterpiece. Visceral combat, dizzying player customization and a truly immersive story all come together to create one of the best role-playing experiences of the year.

One of PlayStation’s finest moments, Kratos has been reimagined for a new audience while keeping the best bits of what originally made him great.

An amazing marriage of world-class storytelling and strategic card gaming, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a fantastic RPG in its own right.

The weapons are better. The plasmids are better. The enemies are better. At some points, even the storytelling is better. What’s most amazing and surprising about BioShock 2, however, is that by diving deeper into Rapture’s tortured history and exploring more of Rapture’s haunted world, it actually manages to make the original BioShock better, too.

With its riveting story, beautiful visuals and surprisingly lifelike world, Assassin's Creed is an incredibly deep, enjoyable game that kept us addicted from beginning to bizarre end.

Starfield is an expansive and beautifully crafted open world experience full of endless discovery and opportunities.

Bravely Default 2 is one of the best games to point to when people ask what makes JRPGs fun.

The voice acting is outstanding, the music is genius, the art style is so slick it'll raise your personal coolness level just from being in close proximity to it. Playing Persona 5 will make your hair glossier, increase your vocal range by an octave and add 7.32 years to your overall life expectancy. Play it enough times and you'll likely not only be able to levitate but also make a perfect omelette while in midair. It's THAT good.

The single player is bigger and brawnier than anything that's been attempted on a console before. The multiplayer, which already shadowed the competition, has improved to the point of ridiculousness. The new features - Forge, Saved Films, Coop - are frighteningly addictive. And if you don't like any of that, you're always welcome to edit it until you do.

Forza Horizon 5 is a stunning and beautifully crafted entry in the series that's full of memorable races, creativity, and fantastic additions.

In the rush of next-gen hype, I hadn't expected Sackboy: A Big Adventure to be the game that grabbed my heart (and my strained attention) in a big warm hug and didn't let go, but it's just hours of pure happiness. I don't care if you're nine or ninety, or a ghost who hangs around the living room, you can't help but be won over by it. Even when you're done with the story, there are so many reasons to go back in just to try and ace a level, or beat your time in a Knight trial, or keep adding to your costumes, or to try some offline co-op with a friend. If you're a hardened gamer who is more interested in the brutality of Demon's Souls or the street swinging of Spider-Man: Mile Morales, know that Sackboy can hold his own with both of them and deserves a place in your PS5 must play list.

One of the best action titles on the PS2, God of War stands out as an ultraviolent masterpiece.

The Walking Dead deals in a spectrum of emotion that few other games dare to take on, and it does so with aplomb. It's utterly triumphant, crafting a narrative that proves the power of the medium by embracing what makes it unique, leading to one of the most memorable gameplay experiences ever created.

The best Tekken to date proves that plenty of depth makes for a vibrant fighter, justifying its current-gen exclusivity to deliver a skull-thrasher that really feels like an evolution rather than a simple update.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is a masterwork of narrative and character, positing impactful questions while grounding everything against a backdrop of superb card-building intertwining with its story and moral dilemmas.

Mass Effect 2 strikes a perfect balance between intense shooter action and gut-wrenching drama, set in a richly textured world on the brink of destruction. It's a must-own for science fiction fans, who will love exploring the depths of the galaxy and fighting to save humanity.

A huge improvement over the first game, Assassin’s Creed II offers up an enormous, beautiful open world that’s easy to get lost in, an epic storyline and all the fun that comes from creatively killing villains and tearing across 15th-century rooftops at ridiculous speeds.

Sky-lines, the suspended tracks you can use to ride through levels like a rollercoaster, turn the first-person shooting into a first-person thrillride. It delivers a new FPS experience entirely, where you hold your breath at the apex of a sky-line before screaming down the rail so fast that no bullet can touch you. You won’t have access to sky-line mobility in the lion’s share of the fights--but when you do, it’s an absolute rush.

Portal 2 couldn't be Portal, but it's the next best thing. It's a longer, funnier, more emotional plummet through Aperture's perplexing laboratory, and its meticulous detail, perfect pacing, and kinetic, mind-expanding puzzles make it a blazingly memorable experience. It's so damn memorable, already feel nostalgic about it.

Anyone who already has issues with the single-player ‘style’ of IW’s games will still find fault with the scripted, linear experience, but in terms of sheer drama and show-stopping set-pieces accompanied by laser sharp FPS controls, Modern Warfare 2 is your daddy. And that’s without Spec Ops and Multiplayer.

The experience is well worth its $170 asking price (for a guitar/drum/mic/game bundle, which is the only way you’ll be able to buy Rock Band for months anyway) and makes for one of the most rewarding co-op events you could ask for. This is the perfectly polished, logical extension of what Guitar Hero started and where the music genre needed to go. It just rocks.

Portal 2 couldn't be Portal, but it's the next best thing. It's a longer, funnier, more emotional plummet through Aperture's perplexing laboratory, and its meticulous detail, perfect pacing, and kinetic, mind-expanding puzzles make it a blazingly memorable experience. It's so damn memorable, already feel nostalgic about it.

One of the top three open-worlds of all time, and the best game Rockstar has ever made. An all-time Old West masterpiece.

Portal 2 couldn't be Portal, but it's the next best thing. It's a longer, funnier, more emotional plummet through Aperture's perplexing laboratory, and its meticulous detail, perfect pacing, and kinetic, mind-expanding puzzles make it a blazingly memorable experience. It's so damn memorable, already feel nostalgic about it.

A new standard for open-world interaction, and an incredible sign-off to a spectacular, often infuriating, series. This is one of the most ingenious, lovingly crafted games of all time.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the best adventure this character has embarked on in over 30 years. Developer MachineGames has leveraged its expertise in the FPS space to deliver an immersive, authentic first-person adventure that is quite unlike anything you’ve played before.

One of the most stirring, rewarding gaming experiences in history.

With so many modes and diverse rewards to uncover in Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, it almost feels like 2.5 games in one package. Plus, the fact that the online component works so incredibly, and we still can't pick a favorite between playing as a cop or racer speaks volumes to the game's quality. Quite simply, there is no better, more accessible racing game out there.

It’s an almost flawless exhibition of gaming greatness, which can effortlessly make even the most ham-fisted of gamers feel like they’ve got elite skills. Bayonetta is already an early contender for GOTY for 2010.

The Rewind addition removes the most agonizing aspect of the modern racing sim, while the ridiculous level of customization and online support keeps the experience fluid and rewarding. And at 60 bucks, Forza 3 presents more value than just about any other game in any genre.

The most freeform Zelda yet, without sacrificing the charm, fun or quality you expect from the series. Nintendo’s finest work since Super Mario Galaxy.

A triumph for the series and one of this generation's greatest games yet. Monster Hunter World takes the beating heart of a vital, niche franchise and elevates it toward universal appeal.

Shameless developers trotting out shallow minigame anthologies and SNES era RPGs should stand in embarrassment at just how much potential Rockstar Leeds managed to wring from a console this late in its lifespan. Gentlemen, it’s time to beg your girlfriend for that DS back. Perhaps you could trade in your PS3 - it’s not like that’s getting more GTA anytime soon.

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. It looks amazing, plays like a dream and the voice-acting/story-telling will hook you in right from the off. PS3 officially has it's a killer-app and a million tears are shed by 360 fanboys.

Astro Bot doesn't just deliver on the promise and potential displayed in PS5 pack-in demo Astro's Playroom, but soars above and beyond to serve up a near-perfect platformer to rival – and possibly surpass – the best of Super Mario's Mushroom Kingdom romps.

Ninja Gaiden 4 takes the torch from the second game, runs with it, and impales the nearest hulking demon. This is a genre triumph that delivers slick, over-the-top action that rewards patience and mastery, and a blood power system that adds a combat layer that allows you to push yourself beyond your limits. A deadly delight, action doesn't get much better than this.

Perfects everything Origins did and enhances them in ways you never thought an Assassin's Creed game could. Odyssey has it all.

Evolved beyond what anyone imagined, Destiny 2 realises the FPS-RPG dream with a richness, warmth, and player-minded benevolence that needs to be played to be truly understood.

As beautiful as it is deadly, Origins’ Egyptian playground is finally everything you wanted the Creed to be.

Three years on: still a classic, and with its biggest weakness fixed. If you own a Switch it’s a no-brainer – especially if it’s your first time.

With so many modes and diverse rewards to uncover in Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, it almost feels like 2.5 games in one package. Plus, the fact that the online component works so incredibly, and we still can't pick a favorite between playing as a cop or racer speaks volumes to the game's quality. Quite simply, there is no better, more accessible racing game out there.

A game of monolithic proportions... It is the best use of your 360 currently on the market and, whether you know it yet or not, the reason you bought one in the first place.

Football Manager 2021 may not revolutionise the series, but instead it adds countless quality-of-life improvements – including ones to the match engine – that make it the best Football Manager game to date.

Skyrim is sprawling, generous, gorgeous and ambitious. It does what few games can: thoroughly follow through on its ambitions. It could be possible to play only this game for the next year and still not discover all of its mysteries.