If you’re just in this for the puzzles, then The Talos Principle 2 is a fantastic puzzle game that, despite its difficulty, carefully crafts itself to be accessible to everyone with innovative mechanics that all interlink in ways that will keep surprising you. Taking the game as a whole package though, the narrative greatly drags it down both in terms of the quality of the writing and how it’s implemented as part of the experience.

It’s been a busy year for lengthy JRPGs, and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance isn’t the best of the bunch. It’s a solid JRPG adventure with a lot to love, but you’ll be sent back to your last save file pretty regularly, and depending on how long it’s been since your last save, that can suck the energy out of the room instantly. As a result, SMTV feels like stalling a classic car. Someone will tell you you’re an idiot for not understanding the gearbox’s nuances, but a smooth ride will be preferable to juddering down the road.

Final Fantasy 16 is an uneven game. There were moments – like the Platinum Games-tinged Eikon fight against Titan – where I was convinced that this was one of the best things I’ve ever played, but for every section as good as that, there are hours of drudgery. If you don’t think MMO-style fetch quests are the pinnacle of game design, you’re probably going to feel the same way.

Ex Astris is a very solid start for Nous Wave Studio and worth picking up for anyone willing to sink their teeth into a deep combat system on the go or wanting to experience a mobile JRPG without the gacha looming in the background.

Despite tackling so many sensitive topics, Closer the Distance never feels out of its depth and shows a surprisingly well-rounded understanding of human nature. Angie might push Conny to be the one who helps others, but her friends in the village have her needs in mind as well. And sometimes they don’t, because sometimes, people just suck. How you deal with that is up to you, and the way you do or don’t resolve the village’s issues will have lasting effects on the people who live there. There’s plenty of replay value, but like with Spiritfarer, I don’t think this is a game I can ever play again.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an improvement on Fallen Order, and while the highs are high, much of the game can feel monotonous or unsatisfying. One thing is certain: Respawn is inching closer than ever to making an excellent Star Wars game.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what it could be. Some tweaks to the formula would lead to a much stronger game, though the game at its core is a fantastic and innovative idea, and gave plenty of new concepts to excite me.

The part that felt they didn’t fit in with the rest of the game was the reliance on stealth. There are numerous stealth sections throughout, and I felt they were put there to make it feel more ‘gamey’. There should have been more faith in the words as the gameplay, as they are the strongest aspect, and the stealth is just a distraction. Clearer maps to work your way around also would have done a lot for the exploration and prevented some frustrating backtracking.

The Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters aren’t necessarily the perfect versions of the original six Final Fantasy games, but they’re the easiest to jump into and play right now, and they’re well worth it. If you’ve ever wanted to play the original games, this is how you should do it.

Football Manager 2024 is inevitably an end-of-cycle game. SI's passion meant that even this year, we got a number of decent innovations, some surprising like the improvements in animation. However, the outdated engine and gameplay patterns, more and more easy to read, are still there with them. You'll play it and enjoy it, but don't necessarily expect a memorable release.

The Murder of Sonic is a quirky addition to Sonic’s library, if not anything particularly ground-breaking. It might not make up for Sega trying to sell us the main menu and cutscenes for Sonic Origins separately, but it’s a nice gesture.

I so badly wanted to play the story of a teenager collecting a party of misfits, traveling all over the globe, throwing weapons into volcanos, and discovering the truth behind their father’s disappearance, and I wanted to do so with all of the comforts of modern gaming. I wanted to be able to save before a big boss fight, to quickly input the moves I wanted to make, and to keep in pace with enemy levels even without hours of grinding. I love Dragon Quest 3, I love the HD-2D art style, but I hate that the remake didn’t bring the quality-of-life changes the old boy so desperately needed.

There are moments where The Veilguard is BioWare’s best game, but it’s bogged down in everything else. I’d recommend skipping the throwaway side content and mainlining the brilliant main quests, but you’ll be punished in the final mission if you do. So you have no choice but to fast-travel from combat encounter to combat encounter, all while wondering where the moral dilemmas are in a series known for its player choice. Like the character I created at the start of this journey, I can’t separate The Veilguard from its history, and this isn’t the Dragon Age I remember.

There’s something to be said for remasters preserving games largely as they were with a higher resolution and image quality, bugs ironed out, and some optional quality-of-life additions. Sometimes you just want to play the game you remember, warts and all, and experiences like Tales of Graces f Remastered offer exactly that. While that may make for a great remaster, it doesn’t necessarily make for a great game in 2025.

Burning Shores doesn’t add a great deal to the story and character development is seemingly optional, but if you want more beasts to bash, more ways to bash them, and gorgeous scenery to ogle at, you won’t be disappointed.

In conclusion, F1 23 has few standout innovations compared to last year’s game, and is lucky enough to come along with a genuine revolution in the sport.

Arranger is a unique concept and adds something truly special to the puzzle genre. The level design and difficulty curve is excellent, adding just a little more challenge with every step. Movement is some of the best I’ve seen in puzzle games, and I wish more thought and attention had gone into other aspects of the design. A lot of my criticism comes down to respecting your audience. Respect them to draw their own conclusions, and to be able to solve puzzles themselves, even if they need a little nudge.

I often found myself lost for hours in the world of Stellar Blade, but I was also pining for what the game could’ve been. The world-building is excellent, but the dialogue is not up to the same standard, and the story’s illusion of choice funnels you down the same path. There is a lot of promise here, but it fails to convert that into excellence.

Senua’s Saga could stand to learn more from the giants it is inspired by.

The art style is beautiful, and the gameplay is in a form I have never encountered before.

Two years on, Stray is still a beautiful game. A point-and-click platformer with a unique concept. The Nintendo Switch is possibly the worst way to experience it, but if you value portability over performance then this is still the version you’ll want.

At its core, this is still Sonic Generations, so I can’t say I had a bad time playing it, and if you’ve never played it before then I’d absolutely recommend picking this up. However, if you already own Sonic Generations – which I’m willing to bet most people interested in this game do – then I certainly wouldn’t be willing to pay $50 for a handful of new levels that are okay at best.

It leaves me in a position where I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. I don’t actively hate it, and there are plenty of worse games that have come out this year, but “better than Forspoken” isn’t exactly a glowing compliment. There is something worthwhile in Remnant 2, but every time I started feeling it, something else would tick me off and snatch that feeling away.

Infold Games built a beautiful world I’d not be unhappy to live in. It’s a world in which creativity, passion, and empathy are the highest of virtues and can make a real difference – a message that’s more important than ever. Strolling through the landscapes of Miraland, you can forget about everything, reinvent yourself on the spot if you’d like, and simply space out as you veer from melancholy to wholesome vibes. If such a sandbox, such a retreat, is what you’re looking for, then Infinity Nikki hits the mark dead-on – but it falters the moment you crave a little more substance...For the moment, that is. Infinity Nikki will evolve over time, as live-service games tend to do, and many of its starting issues are in the realm of being fixable.

Planet of Lana does many things right, and there are certainly parts you’ll remember, it just doesn’t do too much different. It needed something more to subvert your expectations, but when the inspiration already did this, it’s harder to take it further. Still if you haven’t played these three games, you’ll definitely enjoy your time, or even be wowed by what you find.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink is brilliant, while it lasts. Part of me appreciates a shorter JRPG story instead of a 60-hour marathon, but there’s just not enough build and intrigue to make me care, and if you aren’t familiar with the cast ahead of time, you won’t be made to care about any of them either. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m both glad it’s done and sad it’s over. At least those cities look really nice.

Despite some of the innovations lacking, the hallmarks of the series are still very much here. Excellent characters, creepy visuals and sound design, a gripping story, and a hard-to-solve mystery with branching paths and multiple endings. I would recommend the other games in the series more, but Death Mark 2 is still very much worth your time.

V Rising has finally taken its final form on PS5, and it’s a fun survival crafting experience – if, for some reason, you’re looking for another one. And if you like the idea of V Rising, but you can’t quite get into it, there are literally dozens of other survival crafting games you can try instead.