It may be different to the other games in the MH series, but Stories is a lot of fun, and the JRPG mechanics are enjoyable, providing lots of different scenarios in its combat.

This is very much the Wii U version with a few bells and whistles, but it's still one of the best non-Mario platformers of the last ten years, and that's definitely worth shouting about.

The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ is my favourite version of the game having played it across literally everything it has released on.

Tokyo Dark blends visual novel with point and click to create a terrifically dark story, filled with mystery. With eleven endings and so many choices to make, it goes well beyond the four hours of that first playthrough.

There's a fantastic story here, filled with some great concepts and plenty of poignancy, ready to make you question the importance of life.

If you're looking for a great platformer to play on your own or with friends, this is the one for you. It's fun and it looks gorgeous, filled with combat that provides lots of options to defeat the goblins and the robots.

A beautiful mystery, with gorgeous visuals and a sublimely moving soundtrack.

Swap Quest is a cutesy, tile swapping RPG and puzzle hybrid with clear mobile roots. It doesn't feel robust enough on console and is better played on mobile.

Stylish, simplistic and a whole load of fun, get some mates round and have a tournament, you’ll thank me later.

The horror in this cyberpunk nightmare provides plenty of shocks, and the story is engaging, especially with Rutger Hauer at the helm.

It’s not unusual for a new series to have a slow start, and while this is borne from something else I’m going to grant it the leniency that a new series deserves. What we have here is a pilot episode that’s obviously building to something. There are missteps, but I’m hopeful that these will be either eradicated or negligible in the forthcoming episodes.

Rabi-Ribi is a brilliant blend of metroidvania and bullet hell with nice visuals and a catchy story and a great difficulty curve.

Ys VIII is a fantastic new action RPG from Falcom that is great for getting into the excellent Ys franchise and one that has a ton of quality content and sublime combat.

Not going to convert people to musou, but a nice, non-serious departure from the stewards of musou.

You'll enjoy exploring, and the bosses are tough nuts to crack, but frustrating controls and its difficulty may prove a little too much for some.

Obsidian’s modern masterpiece is less shiny on console, but still a sprawling RPG worth exploring.

Combining unique and rewarding combat with the freedom to explore its beautiful areas in any order you see fit, Absolver is one of the best adventures of the year.

A unique blend of marble madness and tower defence that does become repetitive after a while, but sits nicely in the spot reserved for games that are great to dip into now and again.

Easily the best game the Rabbids have ever been in and quite possibly Mario’s best non-Nintendo spin-off.

Not the most thrilling game, but a powerful, well-told story nonetheless.

In the absence of Meat Boy Slime-San stands unopposed, and excellent little bite of hyperactive platform action.

A decent strategy puzzle-RPG that displays all the good bits and mitigates the bad ones, pip pip.

It's good to see the cult classic on PlayStation 4, but there are certain flaws you can't excuse, and tropes which become overused after a while.

Escaping from a prison sounds like a great concept, but half the time The Escapists 2 is just a time management game. A sandbox without much content.

EA Tiburon has improved on last year, and Longshot is one of the finest additions to the series in a long time.

Zero Time Dilemma is a great but flawed end to the Zero Escape trilogy with a very good PS4 port.

Giant Consequences is a shorter episode, but a better one than the first with good pacing to the story and an interesting and amusing new baddie.

Collar x Malice is one of the best otome visual novels I’ve played with lots of things to shake up the formula for the better but some typos in the text sour the experience.

F1 2017 is perhaps the biggest game in the franchise to date, but still feels strangely empty as its new content doesn’t really change things enough from the previous games.

The start was always the best, and this extreme edition is a reminder of how fantastic this series has always been.

ICEY is a nice little adventure that blends in some great combat with a fourth wall breaking adventure and excellent visuals.

If you've missed the series, this is the perfect conclusion in every way, but I hope this is the start of a brand new saga in Uncharted's own legacy.

In a genre which is suffocating, The Long Dark stands out among the crowd as perhaps the best. Brutal, unforgiving survival wrapped up in a very plausible scenario where beauty kills.

Patapon Remastered is let down by an input lag issue and some low resolution assets ruining an otherwise fantastic game.

A game that held a lot of potential. Five or ten years ago, this game would have been an exceptional 2-player co-op brawler à la Gauntlet or Golden Axe. Today it’s a forgettable, short distraction that you’re unlikely to play through a second time.

The Saints Row vibe is strong, but Volition's latest is still a brilliantly bonkers blast-fest.

There's no question Housemarque once again gets its own brand of chaos spot on, and you're going to love what they've got in store for you this time.

Sonic Mania is both fluid and fun, and reminds us all of what a Sonic game should be. This is a game by Sonic fans, for Sonic fans.

If you loved the original, this is just as good, with a great new art style and some nice changes to combat.

More than just another arena shooter, LawBreakers stands on its own to fill a niche that’s different to any other titles out there, and I am thoroughly pleased to have the game change my opinions on it. An essential shooter.

An unsurprising RTS in every sense of the word, but solidly entertaining and well-designed for console.

It’s a paid beta, though (which is iffy in itself in some ways), and so there’s lots of room and time for improvement. It’s just a shame that a game with such polished shooting and looting is bogged down by such clunky menus, tangled systems and tiresome mechanics. We’ll re-examine Fortnite as and when the big changes come, but for now it’s a lot of fun, once you’re comfortable with how it all works.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 offers four reasonably decent games for the price of one, but none of them really have any nostalgic value and so their obvious flaws become all the more apparent as a result.

One of the most inventive games of the year, showing that time and patience can be behind a challenging, smart, and incredibly interesting game.

It’s Spring Again is a lovely little interactive experience that lasts under 15 minutes teaching you about the seasons.

Graceful Explosion Machine is a must play for arcade shooters with its precision gameplay, accessibility, and presentation.

There’s a great balance of puzzles, investigations, combat, and story progression. I wasn’t bored for a second playing Episode One of The Enemy Within, and I’m really happy about the direction they’ve gone in. Telltale Games make fantastic adventures, but it’s been a while since I’ve been blown away by them. This is just what the series needed if it’s to be successful, and after an exciting reveal at the end, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

If you're a big believer in great storytelling in video games, Fullbright has once again nailed it, proving it can be done, and it can be done to the highest standard.

Flip Wars is not worth buying at all right now and it needs a lot of work to come close to being decent let alone good.

Namco Museum is a very good collection of some arcade classics that is let down by its asking price and two of the games included.

If you enjoyed Little Nightmares, this is for you, however, it isn't quite as engaging or as interesting this time around.

Miis aren’t for everyone, but Miitopia is easily the nicest and most accessible RPG ever made, and for that it deserves considerable praise.

Sundered is a beautiful-looking Metroidvania with interesting mechanics, let down slightly by performance issues and a difficulty curve that is simply too steep during its opening hours.

Hey! Pikmin isn’t a long game but throughout it’ll capture your heart just as regularly as Olimar captures Pikmin.

Aven Colony is a gentle city builder where you will be tasked with growing colonies in different locations each with their own challenges. Where it lacks in depth it more than makes up for it in accessible gameplay, perfect for dipping into.

Not only is it one of the most beautiful games I've played in recent memory, but it has some new mechanics and ideas to keep you playing.

Nurse Love Addiction is a wholesome visual novel about love blooming between nurses that is a must play for pure visual novel fans.

Infinite Minigolf sets out to do what it aims to do by giving you the tools to make the minigolf courses of your dreams, but while it’s good to make, it just isn’t fun to play.

Despite nailing the Pixar look and offering loads of content, Cars 3: Driven to Win heads off-track because of its unforgiving difficulty.

Stormblood is the perfect expansion for Final Fantasy XIV players who want something new and refreshing. With gorgeous visuals, new areas to explore and an immersive questline, it’s something players won’t want to miss.

Old skool gameplay with some new style twists, Mighty Gunvolt Burst is a more accessible slice of nostalgia style gaming.

There is so much to like about Splatoon 2. When it comes to the actual gameplay, I don't think there are many experiences that touch it right now. It's addictive and enjoyable. It's just a shame that history is repeating itself, and the stupid things surrounding the game let it down.

An in depth RPG that brings together the best mediums within the genre.

In a time of games that stretch into the tens of hours, it’s nice to have a game full of short gameplay bursts designed to be replayed over and over, Blowout Blast is a wonderful little distraction.

There may be a lot of first person puzzle games on the market, but this has something that warms the soul. The world is interesting, the puzzles are challenging, and there's always something to see.

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a lovely, sedate open world adventure game that inexplicably gates its crafting mechanic behind an obtuse, tiered system that renders it moot.

If you have a bunch of friends with high tolerance levels readily available then it might be worth giving this a punt, otherwise, if you’re the type that throws controllers then you may want to avoid.

The Fidelio Incident offered little beyond a well-written and well-acted story that was far too sparsely scattered around disappointingly uninspiring gameplay.

With its 70s setting and great soundtrack, Serial Cleaner is a unique blend of styles that might not be full of variety but it does offer a decent amount of fun.

If you're looking for a smart turn-based strategy with plenty of ways to play, I'd certainly recommend playing this.

Put aside any misconceptions you may have about the idea of re-selling old games in shinier coats, this is no lazy rehash and it was always a dang fine game to boot!

A slow start, but Hero in Residence ends on a high note with an interesting new enemy and a very funny new character.

If you can push through some frustrating moments during the opening hour, Black The Fall offers challenging puzzles with a thought-provoking narrative.

Just a little bit of handholding wouldn’t have gone amiss, but spend some time working out what GoNNER is about and you’ll find a dark yet warm hearted bullet ballet.

Whilst it may not be the best party game on the market, it's still fun for the time you'll spend playing it.

God Wars: Future Past features basic gameplay and simplistic visuals but an intriguing, well told story based around Japanese folklore that makes it a worthwhile experience.

RPG Maker FES really wants you to make the games you want, but doesn’t want to help you out in any way.

Chess will always be chess, but with its glorious presentation and wealth of options, Chess Ultra is a Queen in a genre filled with Pawns.

Deemo is a worthy addition to the Vita’s growing collection of music games.

A quiz game that does little to hold your attention after the initial impressions.

This isn't a bad game, but there are some omissions that have been with the series forever which are strangely missing.

Tokyo Xanadu is basically Falcom trying to create a Persona like game with their own signature flavour and a pretty damn good experience overall.

It's a real pleasure to play through three games that defined a console, and seeing Crash on PS4 is great. He's finally home, and right where he should be.

Valkyria Revolution is an average action RPG with some strategy elements that is held back by way too many issues and only really has its soundtrack working in its favour.

There're some great ideas in Perception, and with an interesting protagonist and some great voice acting, there's a lot to enjoy, even if it is a bit too easy.

A few technical issues aside, this is a great expansion that will please fans of the original Morrowind, as well as allowing new players to finally experience Vvardenfell for themselves.

Ever Oasis is basically a Harvest Moon-esque game with semi-open world roaming and Zelda-like dungeons. It’s nice, aesthetically and thematically, with lovely solid chibi style characters and some wonderfully twee music that I just can’t stop humming. It falls down somewhat with the adventuring, what with the AI issues and slightly simplistic combat, but the town management side of things can really get its hooks into you. There’s a serious buzz to be had whenever your Oasis gets a big transformation. This is a game that wants to make you smile, and it will do just that; just don’t expect a champagne supernova.

Get Even tries to do too much, but rather than getting it wrong, it succeeds on many different levels. It blends styles within the first-person genre seamlessly, tells an ambitious story without tripping over itself, manages to scare you, and connect with you emotionally. The shooting is satisfying and exhilarating thanks to some smart enemy AI, and the Cornergun is a great weapon to use. I enjoyed Get Even a great deal; it takes you to a place you weren’t prepared for, and whether you’re happy about that or not, there’s no denying that this is a unique and fantastic video game you should all play.

Randall is buggy, loose, and unresponsive, but worst of all a completely boring platformer that isn’t worth your time.

With its fun gameplay and interesting take on the online shooter genre, Crossout is a decent idea that sadly lacks depth.

With two career modes and a buttload of customisation options, combined with exciting racing at any level, MotoGP ‘17 is another success for the series.

Nex Machina is shoot-em-up kings Housemarque's latest game, and it might just be their best. A top-down Resogun that takes all that was good from that, improves on it and then adds so much more. Tight and responsive controls and great visuals make up for some exhilarating action.

It’s not feature rich, but Astro Duel Deluxe is another title making excellent use of Nintendo’s console vision.

There's no denying Tekken 7 is one of the best fighters around, and once the online servers are fixed, it has the potential to be the best fighters out there.

Much better than the first, episode two features better pacing and more time being given to the supporting characters. I'm now excited to see where things go for the series.

The fighting game that everyone can play, ARMS is Nintendo multiplayer gaming at its best.

Despite some issues that will turn off many regular gamers, MXGP3 makes great use of the official licensing and will certainly please fans of the sport.

The Town of Light is a powerful experience and you’ll certainly be affected by its story. There are a few issues with music breaks and some of the things you’ll see may provide too upsetting, but overall you’ll never forget your time in Volterra.