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.