Bear and Breakfast offers players a pleasant collection of activities, interlaced with a wholesome story and loveable characters in a whimsical nature-filled world.

Stray is a wonderful exercise in organic worldbuilding with enough heart to hold its own against the best of this year. Despite having no people in it, Stray is one of the most human games I've played this year.

Live a Live puts together many of the things that put people off from playing JRPGs but makes it surprisingly accessible. It gives you several lives worth living and rewards you for really exploring every one of them.

While As Dusk Falls’ story is full of thriller cliches and tropes, if you can look past the unique animation style, playing around with the well-written characters’ lives can be a lot of fun.

Ever wanted to try escape rooms but never got around to it? Well, Escape Academy is a real treat to tease your brain, especially in co-op. It's approachable with a great hint system, whilst providing a decent challenge for more seasoned puzzlers.

It's a shame, but Matchpoint Tennis Championships just didn't quite get there on most aspects of its tennis simulation. A lack of licenced players and UI bugs only compound the core issues with the controls being far too simplistic and repetition setting in extremely quickly.

While the core racing and range of vehicles in MX vs ATV Legends are undeniably fun, the overall lack of polish and utterly disappointing online modes make it tough to recommend over its rivals.

Taking after fairy tales, Witch Strandings manages to tell a predictable story in unpredictable ways. It can often be painful to play but the experience is one I won't forget soon. Witch Strandings is a game I'm glad exists, even if I'm not sure I enjoyed it all that much.

Dread Delusion has launched into early access and this shows. There are some bugs, only a handful of central areas and some of the game's mechanics could do with a little more depth. This being said, it is a great blueprint for what could be an excellent game. With some good community feedback and an attentive ear, it has the potential to capture an audience as weird as the game itself. [Early Access Review]

The core gameplay and design of Itadaki Smash make for a zippy beat 'em up, but the lack of extra servings may leave you wanting a bit more.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course strips away some of the less interesting scenarios and polishes what made it a standout success. It’s a little on the short side given the long wait time, but it’s justified by its bargain price and immediately obvious love and attention for its addictive and fair gameplay loop.

Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to survival horror, but it's an engrossing thrill ride nonetheless.

Playing in VR for the first time is a thrill, but the other new features haven’t been implemented well.

OlliOlli World’s Void Riders Expansion isn’t long, but the new mechanic is implemented seamlessly. Who doesn’t want more levels, anyway?

Although Neon White goes by in a blur, that fast pace is only made greater with excellent level design, fun characterisation, and so many little secrets to find. Though I was expecting to be entertained by Neon White's gameplay for a few hours, its likeable cast and surprisingly sincere geekiness has managed to stay in my mind long after the credits have rolled. It's hard to really grasp its long-term staying power but Neon White has secured its place on many lists for the end of the year.

With endlessly stylish and deceptively simple skirmishes at its core, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is a surprisingly well-rounded power trip that, needlessly deep systems and sluggish opening chapters aside, should easily captivate franchise fans and anyone looking to finally meet its popular cast of characters. It’s the most genuine fun I’ve had with a story-driven game in ages, and one that’s a great entryway into a beloved franchise.

The Quarry is the Supermassive game I've been looking for since Until Dawn. It is well-paced, well-told, and - most importantly - genuinely spooky. Some odd characterisations and inconsistent graphics let it down slightly, but this is the most fun I've had with a game like this in some time.

Mario Strikers: Battle League is a welcome return for the sub-series, with engaging gameplay that papers over the thin variety of modes.

With its unique hook, surprisingly in-depth gameplay, and fascinating mystery, Card Shark is an absolute delight.

The sniping in Sniper Elite 5 is still as gruesomely satisfying as in previous games, but various aspects of the game’s design actively take the spotlight away from it, making for a clunky and frustrating shooter.

Gibbon: Beyond the Trees tells a hugely important story wordlessly and effortlessly, combining the gameplay and story in ways that inspire both powerlessness and hope.

MotoGP 22 is a faithful and challenging entry in the two-wheeler series, though it may not convert those put off by its gruelling difficulty spike.

Trek to Yomi is a reverent homage to Kurosawa and samurai cinema that, while effortlessly stylish, only attempts to get weird with it on a superficial level.

Nintendo Switch Sports is an admirable attempt to fill the void left by the Wii Sports series, but a lack of offline progression and small selection of sports means it doesn't quite reach those heights.

After years of always feeling like he's never quite reached his potential, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the sort of series-defining triumph worthy of Nintendo's flagship blob. Kirby finally has his Super Mario Galaxy, his Sonic Mania, his Star Fox 64. And I for one, am delighted by that.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the perfect Lego game, the perfect Star Wars game, and a fantastic sendoff to an illustrious series as a whole.

Aside from that, though, Rune Factory 5 is a solid revival of a franchise without a new entry for the best part of ten years. It pushes the formula forwards thanks to its 3D perspective, and nails the gameplay that made the series such a hit in the first place.

As much as I want to love this game as a whole, the story lets it down. As a newcomer to the Final Fantasy franchise, the storyline would put me off of playing any more if I didn’t know that some of the other games are renowned for being incredible. Having a story that I can be invested in from the very beginning is what makes a great RPG. That being said, the combat and build up to the various boss fights were unarguably brilliant. I haven’t experienced such joy from the intelligent use of repetition in any other fighting game. From being able to tailor the intensity of each battle to my own experience level to building Jack to be a character I enjoyed, combat is truly where this game shines.