Again, good moves – and Madden 25 is a good game. But it isn't a great one. And with a more fun football experience now housed in the same building, it's tough to see how that changes anytime soon.

With strong combat and a fascinating world that mostly rewards exploration, Black Myth: Wukong is a fun action RPG that feels like the modern God of War games viewed through the lens of Chinese mythology.

Dustborn is a unique visual novel-style adventure that brings combat and even a rhythm game to its sometimes-intense choice-driven dystopian world, where your decisions matter. But it often gets in its own way, mechanically and otherwise.

Stormgate has the makings of a great RTS, but it needs a stronger identity of its own in its full release. [Early Access Review]

SteamWorld Heist 2 is a great sequel. While retaining the aiming system and side-on perspective that made the original a joy, it features a generously redesigned class system and new overworld to explore. However, old problems with mission repetition and stingy XP rewards deter you from experimenting with classes, pulling the game down from excellence.

Once Human offers a world full of strange creatures that's refreshingly unique in the survival MMO genre, but that world is populated by derivative gameplay and boring combat and never matches the potential of its premise.

Cataclismo needs a little more time in the oven to really polish up its systems, but it has great bones and Early Access will probably do it a ton of favors. [Early Access Review]

The best American football game in a decade, with a career mode which will take over your life – along with fabulous levels of college pageantry and authenticity.

While some puzzle games can feel a little too on-rails, Dungeons of Hinterberg gives you enough freedom to follow whichever sub narratives take your fancy, adopt a preferred fighting style, and choose which order to tackle puzzles. And with the ability to slow down for a moment of tranquility at any point, it really does feel like a holiday… except you also kill stuff.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an action-RPG that delivers on most of its promises, along with some solid side content that is well worth indulging in – even if the full game isn't anything particularly remarkable.

Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail is a slow start to the next narrative arc of the critically acclaimed MMORPG. Despite having a set of gorgeous new zones to explore, and some exciting new dungeons and Trials, the middling narrative holds this expansion back from being truly great.

Because of this, I feel I can forgive the hint of boredom that pops up every now and then. Zenless Zone Zero is an ARPG, but I'm playing it more for the 'RPG' part and less for the action, which is probably why I like it so much. If you're looking for a game to test the limits of your combat prowess, ZZZ isn't it, but if you want to experience wholesome stories in a stunning anime world with over a dozen different side activities, Zenless Zone Zero has got you covered.

Flock is a warm, wooly hug of a game, mixing vibrant views with moreish creature collection action to create an adventure that's as light as the clouds you glide over. While its structure can end up feeling repetitive, this doesn't dull its charm.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a gorgeously grotesque and endearingly cozy adventure that offers a gorgeous setting along with a satisfying blend of tower defense-style strategy and hack-and-slash combat.

The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expansion had a lot to live up to, but gorgeous vistas, superb boss fights, and a range of fun new gear sweep you through a massive expansion that feels half as long as it is. At this point, it's almost getting boring praising FromSoftware every time.

This is a great, if short, horror game with impeccable looks and fantastic atmosphere. It's scary and full of character, but with a barely five-hour run time your enjoyment could depend on what you paid for it.

With a confident and satisfying campaign, a fascinatingly well-designed destination, and several standout endgame pursuits, Destiny 2: The Final Shape is an excellent offering for veteran and returning players of the FPS. Even with some classic endgame grinding repetitiveness, it's an incredibly well-executed expansion that nicely rounds off a decade-long journey, making it Destiny 2's best.

Nine Sols is an enthralling combat gauntlet with death-defying moves and sleek systems for a rapturous experience, let down only slightly by its somewhat lacklustre pacing and focus, and tired fat-shaming quips.

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.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an intricate puzzle box of interconnected parts. At times it can feel overwhelming, but ultimately this stylish noir's captivating puzzle design anthology and spellbinding story feels like an entirely new and contemporary kind of puzzle game.

Homeworld's operatic space combat is as engrossing as ever in its third outing, although a weaker story and a slightly odd cover system dim the shine of its star.

Animal Well is stubbornly traditional in keeping you in the dark as you embark on your adventure, but that's firmly to its credit as you unravel the mysteries sprinkled around its map. Puzzles involving animals, toys and mechanical devices demand creative thinking, while the sense that nothing is quite as it seems never lets up. This is an endlessly inventive Metroidvania with unfathomable depth.

Filled with great puzzles and an engaging world, Crow Country is a well made recreation of how you remember classic 90s horror games. It's familiar enough to feel authentic but different enough to keep things mysterious.

Sand Land offers great vehicle combat and a strong array of customization options, but sluggish brawler combat and a vehicle imbalance with the tank let it down. It's a crying shame that character development gives way to boring corridor missions in the latter stages of the RPG.

Stellar Blade is more ambitious and varied than expected, but also about as clunky as expected, resulting in a stilted action RPG with a level of jank that you just have to accept. Meet it on its terms, and either tune out or embrace the odd sexual veneer, and it's a solid 20 to 30 hours of fun.

Harold Halibut's sunken spaceship adventure on an alien planet is a stop-motion-style delight filled with meticulously crafted models and surprisingly moving writing, but awkward controls and occasionally clunky animations mar an otherwise excellent title.

Broken Roads provides a strong draw with its Aussie take on the post-apocalypse and the philosophical strands running through its open-ended role-playing. Rather than leading to an interesting destination, however, these roads really are somewhat broken, with systems that don't feel properly integrated, bizarre leaps of logic and even bugs that lead you into dead ends.

Open Roads' mother-daughter travelog about discovering long-buried family secrets is heartfelt, but this lightweight driving adventure doesn't reach the momentum of the mystery it so carefully maps out.

Like the original game, Dragon's Dogma 2 excels when you're out in its open world with your pawn allies – finding hidden caves and treasure, fighting monsters, and generally losing track of time. Also like the original, it falls short in terms of quest design, convenience, and general polish. A somewhat conservative sequel, then, but one that retains the charm of its predecessor.

Showtime is completely entertaining from top to bottom, but while it has enough variety to avoid ever becoming boring, it doesn't have the depth for much lasting appeal. But hey, in a world where video games are demanding more and more of my time and energy, there's something to be said for an experience that cuts the filler to deliver polished charm in spades. Princess Peach: Showtime may not be an all-encompassing production, but the entire troupe has given its all to make sure the crowd goes home happy.

Its combat is fun, its world is worth exploring, and the game itself does a fine job of showing you just (and only just) what it needs to at any given moment. The problem is, it brings very little that's new to the table. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course, but it definitely doesn't match a game that clearly had ambitions to be something greater.

A lackluster and fragmented game that never really comes together in any meaningful way. In almost every sense that matters, from story to combat, horror, and atmosphere, Alone in the Dark leaves much to be desired.

Lightyear Frontier is a delightfully peaceful adventure in an inviting world that shows a lot of potential in Early Access. While it's in need of a little refinement to make the experience more streamlined overall, the mech offers up a fun, fresh approach to farming, with a variety of tools to play with and a satisfying sense of progression. [Review in Progress]

The Outlast Trials is a diabolical parade of terrors, riffing off the cult series to provide a chilling online multiplayer PvE experience that doubles as a prequel. With new maps and missions added as it leaves Early Access, Red Barrels makes a strong opening case for its live service horror game – but has yet to prove how this nightmare will keep us coming back for more than a one-off dose of shock therapy.

The most accomplished wrestling game of the last decade – only held back by gnawing MyFaction concerns. A shame.

Sons of the Forest is a great horror game and survival craft em up that balances a strong atmosphere and terrifying moments with player freedom. Whether you want to build a better tree house, or survive the story, there's something here for you.

Nightingale is an enchantingly pretty game that can't hide the fact that there's not much interesting beneath the surface. Those familiar with survival games may find this one too familiar, though it's rarely offensive - with the exception of some technical and server issues. [Early Access Review]

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth delivers all the charm of Remake while making the needed improvements to side-content to ensure the original's step-out moment is one worth taking once more.

With excellent sailing and naval combat mechanics, it's a shame that Skull and Bones is so hampered by its lack of diversity, odd developmental decisions, and minimal capacity to offer a true pirate fantasy.

As unpredictable as it is rewarding, Pacific Drive can be brilliant, infuriating, and frustrating in equal measure. There's a great idea here but much of its potential is burned up by a tough mid-game learning curve, and unpredictably cruel dangers.

Helldivers 2 is a fiercely challenging and visually breathtaking cooperative shooter where failure is funny and success feels magnificent. However, bugs and server issues hindered the initial experience, while there's a sense the game's full potential is yet to be realized.

The later stages of the game do sharpen the experience somewhat, at least. A full suite of powers gives you more to balance in combat, and some barriers require a modicum of acumen and skill to remove. But this isn't enough to stop Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden's from feeling leaden-paced. Its open world remains in the shadow of renowned predecessors, with few of the testing puzzles, fascinating landmarks or riveting combat situations that built their reputations. Having forged my way through to its ending, I doubt Banishers will haunt my thoughts for long.

Ultimately, Ultros is a deceptively deep and mechanical Metroidvania driven by its eye-watering psychedelic vibes. It's not easy to do something that feels unique and fresh in video games, especially within a genre that's thriving at the moment. With this in mind, I don't think I've ever played a game like Ultros, and for that alone it's worth recommending. I certainly haven't written the words "cosmic uterus-based horticulture" in anything I've published before, and, surely, will never do so again.

A wildly entertaining creative concept makes Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League a captivating prospect, but repetitive mission design, a messy confluence of combat systems, and the drive towards a cooperative live service structure ultimately undermine the game's strongest qualities.

Silent Hill: The Short Message is an interesting, if not amazing rebirth for the series that proves it can be reanimated for a modern audience. Atmospheric and full of potential it bodes well for future instalments.

Palworld is a strange and obliviously cruel game that nonetheless shows effort and some real thought running through its core design. Consequently, the end result (so far) is an arguably-functional hybrid of several proven formulas that still can't help feeling like a tonal car crash. [Early Access Review]

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a sublime RPG with a fantastic combat system, absorbing stories, and at-times fascinating story, if it wasn't let down by its drip-fed narrative nature and heavy nostalgic leanings.

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.

I'd still recommend Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to the Metroidvania heads among us, as well as longstanding Prince of Persia fans whose experience with the series stretches back to the late '80s/early '90s. For those wanting more in the same vein as 3D adventures like The Sands of Time, this ain't it. But it is a return to relative form for a series whose last mainline outing landed 14 years ago – it's just disappointing that this very good game was held back from true greatness.

Fntastic has confirmed that development has ceased on The Day Before, just four days on from its launch into Early Access. Steam has since stopped allowing anybody to purchase the game, although our review of The Day Before remains – giving you some insight into the state the extraction shooter was in at release. [Review in Progress]

House Flipper 2 takes what I loved about the first game and builds upon it. There are a lot of helpful new features, gorgeous new design options, and fun new jobs to complete. Developer Frozen District has managed to keep what makes the home renovation sim so enjoyable to play, its satisfying gameplay, and make it even more rewarding.

The world opens up nicely as you play as well, gaining things like a flying Ikran to soar high over the trees, or opening up the map to introduce new areas and ecosystems just as you're starting to get comfortable with what you know. There is an occasional lack of clarity with things like guidance not always being crystal – wooly tracking missions being a prime example. However, the vibrancy of the world and the pure alienness of almost everything you encounter make Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora an enjoyable place simply to exist in, with all its otherworldly environments and creatures adding freshness the mechanics lack.

SteamWorld Build is proof that the SteamWorld formula can be applied to almost any genre with its mix of city building and dungeon mining combining for quite the treat.

Modern Warfare 3 is one of the most underwhelming entries in Call of Duty's 20 year history. A lackluster campaign can't distract from the tired multiplayer formula. Decade old maps, messy progression, and misaligned changes to mobility and gunplay leaves MW3 lost trying to find an identity to call its own.

American Arcadia is a sharp, snappy production that could make for an entertaining film if it wasn't peppered with ingenious puzzles and platforming challenges. The dual character scenario is exploited brilliantly, adding variety, originality and humour, and even if some sections lack a real sense of participation, the visual design of Arcadia, along with some smart turns in the plot, ensure momentum through to the end.

Super Mario RPG is legendary for a reason, and that's never been clearer than with this remake. It looks great and smartly evolves the original combat system to make it even more engaging. While the game can't fully escape the limitations of '90s JRPG storytelling, it still offers a zany quest well worth undertaking today.

While not particularly revolutionary despite the theming, Persona 5 Tactica is certainly moving. It's easy to imagine it fanning the flames of rebellion (to use the game's own parlance) in the hearts of players. It's not as all-encompassing as a mainline Persona, and lacks some of the charming odds and ends usually present in them, but it's hard to fault a new kind of spinoff that is mechanically competent and features a compelling narrative.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a return to form for series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu with it’s beat’em up gameplay, but cheapens previous send offs by merit of existing.

The Talos Principle 2 takes all the genre-defining traits its 2014 puzzle predecessor championed, and improves them. Those familiar with the original will fall in love all over again, while newcomers will be kept on their toes from beginning to end.

Thirsty Suitors dazzles with flair and wit, but underneath all the thirst humour is a heartfelt story of family, identity, and returning home.

WarioWare: Move It has proved itself a worthy spiritual successor to Smooth Moves. Thanks to motion controls, Wario's new collection of chaotic microgames will have you up and out of your seat and laughing the entire time. With over 200 microgames and a number of different modes to choose from, the latest Move It is the Wario party game that the Nintendo Switch deserves.

Robocop: Rogue City reflects its protagonist's qualities. It's well-built and robust, a few glitches aside, and capable of triggering explosive action. Yet it's also mechanical in its design, its dialogue slow and plodding, and limited in its forms of interaction. Short on engaging mission design and the film's punchy satire, Detroit's finest needs better backup to enliven this drawn out adventure.

Jusant is a wonderful, meditative puzzle adventure framed around climbing that effectively draws you into its mysterious world. With creative level designs that make the most of the vertical tower setting, the climbing mechanics are fun and intuitive, and the pacing keeps its feeling too repetitive overall.

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.

Building on the excellent cyberpunk parkour of its predecessor, Ghostrunner 2 is the best freerunning game available, despite some ill-advised attempts to push the boundaries of its world

Cities: Skylines 2 offers the foundation of a world-class city-building game, with a wide array of features, smart quality-of-life improvements, and a genuinely impressive simulation to help bring your town to life. But its promise is completely overshadowed by its technical problems, dragging a fantastic core experience down into frustration and disappointment.

Hellboy Web of Wyrd does a fantastic job of drawing you into the dark, sullen, and highly strange world born by Mike Mignola, but the roguelike structure that underpins this brawler's progression and structure doesn't offer enough challenge or variation to become truly compulsive. A solid first effort in need of refinement and iteration.

Move over Elephant Mario, the true star of Super Mario Bros. Wonder are the Wonder Flowers themselves, which continuously add the unexpected to an altogether brilliant 2D platformer. Okay, Elephant Mario's pretty amazing too.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 improves on its predecessor across the board, while saluting the superhero genre over the last 30 years as a whole. With a captivating narrative and unrivaled spectacle, it's the quintessential superhero game, in story and mechanical terms.

Endless Dungeon is an entertaining, polished, and finely-tuned roguelike, expertly blending action and tactics to fill each trip with dozens of impactful micro-decisions. While visibility can be an issue during packed battles, presentation overall is bright and clean, and supported by some classy character design. Co-op play is the icing on an already tasty cake.

Sonic Superstars is like a modern version of the Genesis classics, with all the good and bad that entails. The four-player, same-screen co-op functionality works surprisingly well, and the new Emerald powers keep things fresh. While it isn't as good as Sonic Mania, Superstars is a fresh twist on classic Sonic action.

Lords of the Fallen just about justifies the return of this forgotten franchise by being basically fine. It has a few clever ideas and a whole bunch of very predictable ones, ultimately resulting in a soulslike experience that won't feel particularly new or fresh, but rarely offends or goes too far wrong.

Not just great for a free-to-play game, Honkai: Star Rail is a genuinely fantastic RPG with slick combat and an engaging story loaded with content. The biggest caveat is, while generous, its gacha system may tempt some players into unwise purchases.

Detective Pikachu Returns is more adventures with the charming electric mouse from the original, but the straightforward investigation mechanics can be incredibly frustrating in a game that wouldn't look out of place on the Wii U.

Ubisoft Bordeaux has delivered exactly what it promised. Assassin's Creed Mirage is a compact, stealth-focused adventure that punishes anyone trying to go in loud, and it does so in a world that's always a delight to explore (and be chased through).

The game engine here is demonstrably better than Forza Motorsport 7's but, in terms of breadth of gameplay, presentation, general excitement, and enjoyment gleaned from racing the AI cars, the older, now-deleted Forza Motorsport 7 is clearly superior. More content including tracks and event series will be added over time, so it will certainly improve, but right now the career mode here is so sedate and one-note, it's hard to recommend Forza Motorsport's offline mode over any of its peers.

Competent and stylish in its real-time strategy, The Lamplighters League puts an art deco spin on a simplified XCOM formula, but is let down by real-time segments that dilute and distract from its core offering.

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.

The Expanse: A Telltale Series makes for a compelling prequel to the show with a few glaring issues outshone by complex, engaging characters.

Despite leaning a little too heavily on fan-servicing familiarity, Payday 3 proves there's still fun to be squeezed from its well-honed heisting template yet.

The most playable FIFA – oops! – in years. This is an encouraging new start for the EA Sports FC franchise, with Ultimate Team innovations truly standing out, and PlayStyles adding a smart new wrinkle to the on-turf action.

Witchfire enters early access with a bright future ahead of it. While there's certainly some rough edges, The Astronauts has assembled the skeleton of a capable fusion between FPS sensibilities and roguelite punishments, and I'm keen to see how it evolves over time from here. [Early Access review]

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty is the culmination of CD Projekt Red's efforts to right the wrongs of a challenging launch, with this premium expansion combining with Update 2.0 for a total revitalization of Night City. This is Cyberpunk 2077 at its best, and with the price of entry this low you've got no excuse not to dive back in.

A fizzy addition to the party game canon, Party Animals brings ample amounts of chaos and chuckles, with an uneven mix of modes highlighting the physic fighting shortcomings. Still, it's never not fun to hurl a friend off a speeding train and see them shrink into the distance.

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.

For those migrating away from Friday the 13th: The Game, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre could prove to be a welcome alternative. While this new multiplayer horror game certainly shows promise, my earliest hours with the family have been hindered by needless friction. It's occasionally thrilling, but often frustrating.

An open world racer that gets better the more you play it, revealing a wealth of high-quality racing in a beautiful, technically spectacular Hawaii. While it lacks originality, it is better than Forza Horizon 5 in several ways.

Inventive, challenging, and deliciously dark, Lies of P retains the core structures of similar action RPGs while adding new surprises to the mix. The potential for richer character builds and depth of choice for the player is bolstered by a haunting narrative that, despite the clunk of certain new mechanics, cements the experience as a powerful contender on the Soulslike scene.

Fae Farm is a low-stakes, inclusive, and supremely cozy farming sim that delivers some uniquely interconnected features in a neat and accessible way. It's a narratively charged, explorative experience, and a shining example of devs having learned from the mistakes of other farming sims.

Goodbye Volcano High is a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about a group of teen dinosaurs confronted with an uncertain future. Dreamy pop ballads and an absorbing dialogue system offer a gateway into an introspective story about being young, queer, and chasing your dreams in the face of impending disaster.

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

A deep dive into an emotionally resonant, thematically intriguing, and visually striking abyss, Under the Waves' waters are choppy at times, but there's pearls to be found amidst the turbulence of its enthralling ocean.

It's a joy and a relief to realise that Sabotage hasn't merely mimicked classic '90s JRPG, but committed to understanding what makes them tick. Its nostalgia is neither gratuitous nor cynical, instead working disparate references together with original ideas into a coherent whole. While it's a little disappointing to discover that there's isn't great depth to the turn-based battles and other systems, the immense quality and detail in the pixel art, soundtrack, location design, characters and plot ensure that Sea of Stars remains a stunning achievement to the end.

No matter what nominally noticeable technical changes are happening under Madden 24's hood, they don't represent the gargantuan changes needed to bring the NFL series in line with various yearly sports game competition.

Armored Core 6 is FromSoftware like we've never seen it, back on its mech beat with renewed vigor after 10 years away. It's an exhilarating game that lives up to the promise of action that only mechs can deliver, and it's a refreshingly short and easily replayed experience that still manages heaps of depth.

Fort Solis starts strong but quickly struggles to circumvent its shortcomings. Despite the strong visual identity and drive towards absolute immersion, this narrative-adventure ultimately suffers due to its glacial movement and finicky controls. There's promise in the concept, but a lack of refinement is palpable in the execution.

It's a stark demonstration of what a lack of confidence in your core vision can do. There is a good shooter in Immortals of Aveum, maybe even a great one, but you'll have to do some digging to find it.

Blasphemous 2 leans heavily into its inspirations, and therefore doesn't reinvent the wheel – but with more to see, more to do, and, of course, more to slaughter, it improves on its forerunner's familiar formula across the board with devastating results.