The best puzzle games have the ability to make the player feel inversely smart and stupid. Fez takes this further than any game we've ever played, giving us the feeling of being both cackling genius and babbling idiot within minutes of each other. It's an absolute triumph in creating something new both in terms of its platforming and its puzzle solving; blending together genres in ways we've never seen.

Correcting seemingly every complaint critics had about Killzone 2, Killzone 3 is visually impressive, relentlessly entertaining and far more fun than we expected. This is everything a good sequel should be.

SoulCalibur 2 HD Online is everything the original was and more. Stunning full-screen, 1080p visuals and the inclusion of the full-fat single-player mission mode make this an essential download at $19.99/£15.99

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.

Hades 2 is a hugely ambitious sequel that occasionally stretches itself too thin in an attempt to make up for its increased scope, but that only distracts temporarily from a game that's intricately crafted in every facet of its existence. Impeccable combat and flawless characterization across a huge roster make for a follow-up that surpasses even its excellent predecessor.

Between its exceptional presentation, fair but firm gameplay challenges, and trophy requirements that ensure you'll get some significant mileage from the experience, there's no digital game in 2012 that's like Dyad.

A superb action game that does far, far more than just depend on the novelty of gravity switching. It deserved so much more than to be ignored on Vita, and you simply must play it on PS4.

Journey is an unforgettable experience. Even when the details fade, the emotions that it evoked will stay with us for years.

Brimming with positivity and encouragement, Super Mario Maker's brilliant toy box gives you everything you need to easily create and share some truly fantastic levels.

Metro Redux finally does the series justice on consoles, providing excellent visual and gameplay overhauls to both Metro 2033 and Last Light.

The ultimate descendant of classic console RPGs. It's what all RPGs might be like if Final Fantasy VII hadn't come along and changed everything.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope captures everything that made the original so special, all while delivering a more complex and complete experience. It offers a new level of strategic depth, with world-building that makes it more of a Super Mario game than you might expect.

Pikmin 3 is a game about nature, just as it always has been. But on Wii U it’s so believable it often feels like you’re sitting in a real garden, playing with ants and beetles in dappled sunlight. Despite the macabre undertones of the cruelty of nature, the game is charming, funny, and utterly captivating. It is without doubt yet another Miyamoto masterpiece, and one that the Wii U desperately needs.

Lord of the Rings Online is already huge, deep, enormously entertaining, and brimming with secrets to uncover, and with the first free content update already announced for June, should only improve with time.

Despite a few niggling issues, Out There's melancholy atmosphere and challenging resource management will have you coming back for seconds. And thirds.

With the long-overdue additions of a story-creation mode and an online community, SvR2010 is a massive step forward for the series’ already-rich feature set, while still continuing the steady improvement of its in-ring fundamentals.

By turning your every death into the start of a personal vendetta, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor makes you that much more invested in its open-world. The savage combat and satisfying stealth are just the means to exacting your ultimate revenge.

It's still not very accessible to non-grognards, and it's still fairly boring when it comes to multiplayer (turn-based games just involve too much waiting around for other people to finish up). But it's also still incredibly addictive, begging you to stay up just five minutes more, just to see what happens in the next turn.

With spectacular comic book presentation, some of the most chaotic action in any game ever and sufficient technical depth to keep even ultra hardcore fight fans happy, this is the impossible - a worthy successor to Marvel vs Capcom 2.

It's fantastic and it keeps us up at night. There's no better endorsement.

This game is a lot of things: thoroughly unique, frequently challenging, and sometimes quite disturbing. But most of all, it's a fantastic experience on many levels.

There are just enough new ideas to lure those in who’ve never cared, and just enough left alone to keep the fans happy. Pity all of the DS-minded bits drag the finished product down a notch.

While it's certainly not perfect, Nier: Automata is nonetheless a breath of fresh air that will challenge your thumbs as well as your thinking - a game with hydrocarbon heart and silicon soul that will stay with you long after you've set the controller down.

Intelligent, creative, and never less than thrilling, Titanfall 2 finally realises the series' true potential with verve and polish.

A very impressive game. Although there's an initial adjustment period for its controls, each stage is masterfully designed, rewarding exploration and experimentation, plus it's surprisingly deep.

The perfect blend of narrative and gameplay, coherency and strangeness, Control is a game we’ll be talking about for generations.

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.

Not only does it stack up to its handheld counterpart, the online multiplayer and upgraded audio/visuals help exceed it.