Frustratingly, though, you cannot see what feature you are paying for until after you have bought it – meaning that all your hard work will often wind up buying you a rubbish extra music track instead of something rather more exciting, like a new fatality.

Arc Raiders isn’t just fun to play. It’s a straight-up shot of serotonin.

This is the first game that Ninja Theory has produced where it can be said the mechanics are as compelling as the visuals they come packaged with. Like Dante, DmC isn't perfect and it's occasionally frustrating, but it's always appealing and it demands your attention. And damned, if it doesn't always look cool.

It's perfectly designed for DS and something the whole family can get sucked into.

Most of all, this is that rarest of things: a horror game that actually has something to say. Rather than simply throwing jumpscares and black-haired ghost maidens at you until you submit, it uses rural mythology and superstition as a lens through which to examine the harms of patriarchy and the rigidly gendered expectations it thrusts on to teenagers. It also proves that the survival horror genre still has so much to give, 30 years after its inception. You must come to Ebisugaoka as soon as you can, and stay at least a week, maybe longer.

The continual design evolution of one project split over three full games and dozens of expansions makes me hesitant to call Warhammer III a landmark strategy game in its own right. But looking back now at that very first trailer, it does feel like a promise kept.

Sonic Mania is what Sonic fans, both lapsed and unwavering since the Mega Drive days, have crying out for all these years. It is a celebration of Sonic history. It is the greatest possible gift to the video game ilegend after spending so many years in the abyss; so great, in fact, that it took someone other than Sonic Team to give it to him.

The city is so exquisitely designed, in fact, that it overshadows the rest of the game. Which is remarkable when your next destination is the Pyramids of Giza. Here The Great Circle shifts into a more traditional open-world mode, less intricate and holistic, with more siloed locations and objectives. That said, it does afford greater room to experiment with Indy’s abilities.

Yet this is comfortably the best Mortal Kombat in a long time. Played competitively against another person, it’s great, and the single-player experience is the most accomplished of any recent fighter.

The key to the game is the pitch perfect control system. A customisable auto-targetting system lets players select between hard or soft auto systems, the latter subtly guiding your reticule rather than aggressively yanking it toward specific enemies. Both are smart, seamless and intuitive, allowing newcomers to acclimatise to the turbo-charged pace.

A masterclass: breezily new, yet quintessentially in character with its illustrious forbearers.

A crowd-pleasing game, which offers only glimpses of what could be if this team were only allowed to take some braver risks with Croft’s next expedition.

The Horizon offshoot has unshackled the Forza franchise, letting it run free into the wild, and this new adventure ensures that we don’t take that freedom for granted. Everything is bigger and better, everything is designed to make damn well sure that we’re having fun.

It’s been a while since I’ve played a game that fostered such gentle intimacy between characters – and there’s cooperative multiplayer, too, if you fancy recruiting real-life friends as fellow adventurers.

Like many of Nintendo’s best-loved franchises, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is imaginative, humorous and highly inventive. It may be nearly two decades old but the series continues to evolve in pleasing ways.

For our money, this is the best rhythm-action game money can buy – it would be a travesty if it failed to find an audience this time around.

If this review feels chaotic, then that’s a fair reflection of the game. It is mad, fun, fantastical chaos and I honestly love it. Before I started writing this, I had left my Arisen and her endearingly incompetent pawn in an ancient battleground patrolled by a dragon. We blasted it with a couple of ballista bolts, and then it flew over and crushed the ballista with a claw, at which point I realised we were somewhat outgunned here and ran for some castle ruins to hide from the creature. This seemed like a good idea until skeletal warriors rose from the ground, and I realised the castle is extremely haunted. I don’t know how we’ll get out of this situation. But I do know it will be an adventure.

This mixtape, then, plays it safe, curating a crowd-pleasing compilation of teenage tropes and homages to coming-of-age cinema. It’s a beautiful and inventively silly series of musical vignettes – but without any real conflict at its core, the adventure fails to match the memorable heights of Life Is Strange. Much like an evening spent scrolling through classic music videos on YouTube, there’s a simple, nostalgic joy to be found. But once this four-hour spectacle is over, you might be left wishing that you’d spent your time more wisely.

The Taken King is the first time since launch that it’s been possible to say to new players that now is the time to start playing Destiny. The flaws have been ironed out, and the future’s bright.

To enjoy Returnal you have to abandon the idea of accomplishment, and stop looking for the breadcrumb trail of pleasing achievements that typically pulls you through a game. Forget about making progress. Forget about seeing the end. Once you do that, you can lose yourself in the near-infinite pleasure of the movement and combat, and the near-infinite mystery and creeping horror of Atropos. Every try is different, and yet also the same. But, with the right mindset, you can find meaning and pleasure in that instead of despair.

This is a rare example of racing fun for the masses and the maestros, one that’s expertly engineered and polished to a level that would make a Concours d’Elegance winner envious. It may make some controversial design choices, but in terms of the on-track experience, it’s the FM series’ most engaging drive yet.

Does Cyberpunk 2077 live up to the hype? Is it significantly deeper than Watch Dogs: Legion or Yakuza: Like a Dragon? Is it as good as Grand Theft Auto V? The answer to all of these questions is no. The sheer size of the world, its astonishing architecture, its set-piece battles, its stylistic bravado – all are testament to the efforts of a talented workforce. But you have to play by its rules, accepting Night City’s xenophobia and misogyny as unavoidable fictive components. Unlike Los Santos, this is not a multifaceted sandbox where you’re free to create whole new activities unforeseen by the designers. You’re there to do missions and side-missions, and the world only yields thus far. You’re always a tourist, never a citizen...In this way, Cyberpunk 2077 resembles a vast, futuristic Las Vegas. You come here and have a hell of a week, but then you wake up one morning feeling jaded and complicit, and you realise that the glitzy signs lead nowhere, the noise is meaningless, and when you look beyond the strip, there is only desert.

What has made this game special is the extra layer of polish on an idea that was already refined, and the resistance to adding unnecessary extras: in this way, it feels like a Nintendo game. Rocket League is simply a joy to play, win or lose. And with friends? Wow. This is the most fun you’ll ever have behind the wheel of a rocket powered football playing car.

Quarrel is just a lovely, skilfully-crafted joy. Denki's genius is in making you feel that hours in the game's company have been educational rather than a time-killing indulgence. That is the loftiest aim of all word games. Few really achieve it.

Cadence of Hyrule is a potent combination of nostalgic looks, creative takes on emotionally charged Zelda music and unusual, rhythm-powered moment-to-moment play. Stylish and excellent fun, this tribute captures the excitement and sense of discovery that makes Zelda what it is: a real adventure.

The sheer volume of quests and weapons and monsters also means that, quite apart from being a brilliant game, this has incalculable longevity. The life of a hunter isn’t for everyone. But if killing something massive, carving it up, and making a snazzy hat seems in any way appealing, then Monster Hunter Generations might be your game of the year.

There is a genuinely brilliant strategy game lurking under all this flimsy Nintendo wrapping. For younger audiences, these complaints probably won’t matter, but for the fully-grown Nintendo faithful, Sparks of Hope’s paper-thin narrative, juvenile jokes and disappointing hub worlds are hard to ignore, despite the fantastic fights.

Codemasters has been making rally games since the original PlayStation era, but it is now closer than ever to perfecting its craft.

We are admittedly right at the beginning of The War Within’s two-year life cycle, but this is the best that WoW has been performing in years. While Blizzard will surely continue to grapple with Warcraft’s place in the modern gaming landscape, especially ahead of WoW’s 20th anniversary, the game feels more relevant than it has in a long time.

It helps, too, that the music is superb, vaguely reminiscent of Blade Runner’s Vangelis soundtrack at times, and it changes subtly with the decisions that you make. It’s just a shame that Citizen Sleeper fizzles out at the point where it’s set to explode. There are far more stories to tell in this fascinating universe, and this is some of the finest video-game sci-fi writing out there.

Inquisition gets under your skull like red lyrium.

It’s great to finally get to play as Zelda, but working out how to take an active without being able to fight is rather hard work.

More than just Fallout in space, this action-RPG is a delightful sci-fi romp with razor-sharp writing, lashings of humour and enough content to entertain you for months.

Super Street Fighter IV 3D, despite being a beat-em-up, is one of the most grown-up-feeling games we have ever encountered on a handheld console. It is commendably lacking in compromise and makes good use of the 3DS's unique abilities.

It might not quite match the narrative prowess of BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic, but Jedi: Survivor has so much else going for it. Whether you’re tracking down optional bounty hunters, solving the puzzles in those Jedi temples, or searching Koboh’s many obscure thoroughfares for character upgrades, the game’s tactile controls and precisely balanced challenge make it consistently rewarding. Meanwhile, its biggest moments rival anything games like God of War or Elden Ring can throw at you. Be assured, this is the Star Wars game you’re looking for.

Neither of the two controller layouts felt particularly comfortable – particularly mapping Fire to the L/R1 buttons rather than the more comfortable/conventional L/R2. Also, compared to the open-plan nature of the original, Crysis 2 is decidedly more linear. It may focus attention on the action, but it's a pity the total freedom of Far Cry, compromised for the original Crysis, continues to be constrained here.

This prequel takes a blunt force trauma approach to problem-solving and demon-killing, with a slower pace but more spectacular weaponry.

Snake Eater is a melodramatic delight, offering a brilliant introduction to – or excuse to revisit – one of gaming’s most gloriously idiosyncratic masterpieces.

The game's most compelling aspect is its almost RPG-like popularity engine, which encourages you to see every slight kink in the road as a means to show off. If driving like a hooligan without having to face any consequences – in cars you'll never be able to afford – sounds appealing, then you'll love Forza Horizon. Whether by accident or design, Microsoft has hit upon a format that gives its flagship driving franchise the credibility it previously lacked.

It goes without saying that, yet again, Sports Interactive has released the best football management sim ever. It's just very hard work at times.

Despite its sparkling near-future setting, Pragmata succeeds because it feels like a throwback to gaming’s recent past. It’s a beautifully made, heartfelt single player adventure with a novel combat idea, and it prioritises storytelling and atmosphere. Where attempts at heartwarming games often come across as off-puttingly saccharine, Pragmata pulls off its father-daughter relationship with surprising deftness.

It’ll be tempting to reach for your phone and start looking for a solution when you get stuck in Tunic, but resist the impulse if you can. Just … be stuck for a while. The resultant wandering and thinking will lead you somewhere unexpected, and before you know it you’ll have found the way forward by yourself. It feels like a luxury to play a game that isn’t constantly prodding you towards the next objective, and that instead allows you the space to daydream.

For button-mashers and hardcore smashers alike.

In the areas that really matter – on the pitch – this year’s model is by far the best version of PES yet, and easily matches its rival.

Jusant is an eco-fable, and like other such titles you play the role of a restorer. What the game deftly tells us through its world-building, narrative, and exquisite climbing is that the role requires both ambition and imagination. This is no better summed up than by the jump your character must make from one handhold to another, an act that suspends them in midair for a perilous, heart-in-mouth moment. Lodged in this little leap of faith is the entire spirit of adventure, the quality that ultimately makes the rehabilitation of Jusant’s stricken mountain possible.

From Life Is Strange to Undertale to Knights and Bikes, independent games have proved a rich and evocative medium through which to explore the theme of friendship. Pieced Together is another example, a careful, beautiful little game that, in more ways than one, turns nostalgia into art. After finishing it, I was inspired to contact an old pal I haven’t spoken to in ages and wasn’t sure I ever would again. Good games can be like good friendships: they encourage us to see things anew.

Yet the characters are also the game’s greatest strength, and throughout they are expertly drawn, both literally (with comic book artist Guillaume Singelin once again providing some gorgeous portraits) and in terms of their compelling and heartfelt backstories. Despite its bleakness, the world of Citizen Sleeper 2 is full of compassion, and it’s a joy to return to the universe Gareth Damian Martin has created.

Robo Recall is an almost perfect VR arcade experience. The only downside is that the cost of entry for Oculus Rift and Touch – even with a new lower price of £598 – is still too high for many, when you include the cost of the PC needed to run it. But that’s not the game’s fault.

Everything you hated about the first three years of the game has been refined, removed, or reappraised, and the game that was left was one that makes sense from toe to tip.

If MK7 is so brilliant, though, where's that fifth star? I'm withholding it because the best thing you can say about this is that while it improves on a near-perfect 64-bit game, it doesn't make any major advances. The 3D is excellently done, but totally disposable (in fact, you probably will dispose of it before you get your first cup).

If you like games that are so big you can immerse yourselves in them for months, The Master Chief Collection offers excellent value. It’s an absolute monolith of a package, beautifully presented for the 21st century. And with the remastered next-gen GTA V due to arrive shortly, it seems that, at least as far as video games are concerned, nostalgia is the future.

This is a very slow game, and while I enjoyed the gentle journey, the constant stream of new things to learn sometimes made me feel as though I were trapped in an endless tutorial. But breaking up your list of tasks with some independent creation and exploration time makes it a lot more tolerable. After completing a long series of main missions, I unwound by creating my own dream cabin and garden, as the villagers built a huge pyramid. (It was not lost on me that this division of labour seemed entirely unfair.) That gentle back-and-forth between idle creative play and world-saving missions makes Dragon Quest Builders 2 absorbing and likable.

The crime scenes are so weird that you never know where this game is going to take you, but you’ll always have what you need to figure it out.

If any game ever challenged the old distinction between graphics and gameplay this is it, because simple as its systems are, and even as dull as the fetch-questing can sometimes be, the look and script and voice-acting carry this rocketing over the finish line – as well as through the taste barrier. In some ways this game is to the RPG genre what the animated series is to celebrity voice overs: a comic impersonation.

A fun and life-absorbing game, yes, but a fickle one. In so many ways, it's like the real thing.

Characters are memorable and well drawn, literally and figuratively, and the game ably tackles thorny issues such as the consequences of school bullying, and the terrible toll taken by anxiety, depression and domestic abuse. For the most part, the 12-hour runtime flies by as you get to know every delightful nook and cranny of the cosy neighbourhood; only the final third drags a little. It feels worthwhile after the superb ending, though, which ensures that this game will live on in your memory for a long, long time after the credits roll.

In general, 2016’s Ratchet & Clank is a successful mixture of old and new, improved by the inclusion of features that came in later games in the series, and with a modern polish, but retaining its core of silly fun.

If you’re looking for a sliver of joy in bleak times, Nintendo always delivers.

Total War: Three Kingdoms is a wonderfully torrid period epic that understands the greatest stories are written about people, not empires.

Far Cry 4 truly shines in the almost bacchanalian sense of freedom it bestows on the player as they traverse through its environment.

Death Stranding remains kind of ridiculous: a bloated prog rock album of a game created by a man with a large film collection, an indulgent publisher and a budget few creators could ever dream of. But out of such ostentatious ingredients, astonishing moments can occasionally arise. If you were looking for a PS5 game that informs us that, yes, near-photorealistic visuals can lift a work in more than a surface aesthetic sense, this is it. The image of the dead rising as twisted smoking shadows above the gnarled countryside is something that will live with me for a long time. It all goes to show that sometimes, it really can take a £500 games console and a multimillionaire developer with an Ultravox fixation to make magical things happen.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown isn’t a sequel or a prequel to any of the other games, it is a new journey for the series, and its first step is a confident leap. It’s not only that the most notable elements of the series’ different iterations – its setting, traps, time powers, and combat – all find a natural home in this new shape, it’s that it plays like one of the best games in its newly chosen genre, as good as a game as Metroid Dread or Hollow Knight, not an imitation of them. It’s been 13 years since the last wholly new Prince of Persia game; if this is its new direction, it is exciting to see where it will land.

While it seems passé to mention licences, Fifa again dwarfs its rival where real kits, faces, stadia and presentation are concerned. Although some of these elements can be tackled in PES with a quick file download, this factor remains a deal-breaker for many fans, cementing Fifa 17’s status as the complete footballing package. The Journey, really, is just the beginning of what is on offer here.

Beneath the monotony of the dingy corridors, identikit jaw-flapping monsters and endless lava streams, the game routinely offers a masterclass in level design.

Marvel Snap is the perfect smartphone game: easy to get into, visually attractive, and simple to play in bite-size chunks, but it also offers masses of strategic depth.

The graphics are occasionally stunning – with long draw distances rendering outdoor and space locations particularly effective and, so far, relatively lag and glitch free – an achievement in itself for most MMOs.

Its gorgeously lush visuals are quite simply among the best ever seen in a game, offering an object lesson in how stylisation has the power to trump photorealism even in the 4K age. Some players will lack the time or patience to put in the effort that any heavyweight role-playing game demands – this is a 50-hour adventure at least – but it puts forward an irresistible case for your attention. As video games are once again weathering ignorance-fuelled attacks that paint them as universally gun-centric, violent and nihilistic, Ni no Kuni is a timely counterpoint.

I have become obsessed with this game in the last week, with the moments of quiet, uninterrupted, intense concentration it has given me at a time when focusing is difficult. The game has a simple concept, executed very well, with precise controls and finely balanced difficulty, but it is the magical ambience and an urge towards self-mastery that keep drawing me back, hurtling downhill with my heart in my mouth.

The final part of the modern Hitman trilogy is a minor masterpiece, a treasure trove of unforgettable player-generated moments. It doesn’t add any new ideas to the series, but perhaps it didn’t need to – because this is a game that lets you come up with the ideas, whether good, bad, deadly or ridiculous.

If you’re feeling understandably worn down by the monotony of the daily grind, OlliOlli World is the charming virtual alternative.

Two Point Museum takes all the lessons from the previous games and builds on them to make a thoughtful and hugely entertaining contribution to the management sim genre.

Right now, it’s my main contender for game of the year, simply because, in its lack of pretension, its attention to detail and its understanding that video games first and foremost should be fun, it puts everything else I’ve played recently in its long shadow.

Despite its heavy themes, the game exudes fondness for the region it depicts. Wind whips across sandy beaches, chippies host late-night chats between friends, and Kasio gazes at stars through a broken roof while a house party rages below. Gaelic and local slang pepper the dialogue, alongside a helpful glossary. The sense of place, strength of writing, evocative art and elegant interactions make If Found … a moving drama, beautifully capturing the growing pains of early adulthood.

The Case of the Golden Idol is a game of reasoning, elegantly modest in execution – the artwork is rudimentary, but strikingly so – but one that often requires extravagant feats of deduction. Genuinely new and inventive forms of play are relatively rare in video games, a medium that more often trades in refinement than revolution. Which makes this even more thrilling. Its puzzles are inventive, but so too is the way they must be solved, allowing both a trial-and-error approach and pure deductive reasoning. A game of wondrous, Sherlockian texture that plays out in our own imagination as much as on screen.

If you want to visit Lordran and enjoy a straight-up bash-the-baddies quest, then you’ll find no better collection of bosses than this. If a new kind of adventure appeals, however, one in which quick fingers matter less than brains and human cunning, there’s still nothing like Dark Souls. After seven years its mystery has diminished, but it’s still among the best of the best.

Battlefield 3 was supposed to bring down CoD, and without a campaign – which seems to be DICE's approximation of a CoD experience – this wouldn't have been possible. This is unfortunate, because the instances in which DICE seem to have tried to beat their rivals at their own game have resulted in Battlefield 3's weakest content.

It's possible to lose days in Assassin's Creed 3, although if players stick doggedly to the campaign, they'll clock in about 20 hours. On top of that, there's a multiplayer – and for a game where the focus for most of the fanbase will be the single-player, this one's actually rather good.

In the background, the mystery at the heart of the game is subtly introduced and there’s much to anticipate from the second part. Mostly though, it’s the characters and their brittle relationships that stick with you. Three days after finishing the game I’m still thinking about them, worrying about them, inhabiting that old shack with them. Unless you simply refuse to indulge in emotional young adult drama, you will be right there, too.

Gears of War 4 may adhere to a seemingly old-fashioned template but, in practice, it feels anything but archaic. Its single-player campaign is much more varied and engaging than those of its predecessors and the online mode is exhilarating, catering for all shades of gamers, from the less adept to those with pro-gamer aspirations. The horde thoroughly deserves its 3.0 designation upgrade and as a whole, the fourth iteration gives the Gears of War template the rejuvenating shot in the arm it sorely needed.

With so much at stake, Halo 5 needed to be a new perfection of old triumphs, or a landscape-altering revolution. In terms of its campaign it falls short of both of these ideals. Online, however, 343 has taken more significant risks, of the sort that first convinced Apple and Microsoft to place bets on the series. Warzone, in particular, is a kind of bold design that we almost never see in expensive FPS game-making any more.

F1 2018 is a very, very good racing game. The authenticity is exceptional, whether you’re twiddling with the ERS system’s electronic boost-delivery as you figure out a way past the car in front, or trying not to get penalised for driving too quickly in a virtual safety car situation. For die-hard Formula One fans, it’s essential, but an abundance of driver aids make it forgiving enough to welcome more casual motor-racing fans, too.

Offering a unique brand of tongue-in-cheek escapism that should induce a laugh roughly every five minutes, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a perfect lockdown game. The one unintentionally amusing element is the voice acting, which you can thankfully eliminate by opting to keep the original Japanese dialogue with subtitles. Sega’s Yakuza games have always seemed like a well-kept secret, but they’ve recently been enjoying much more appreciation abroad. If you like the idea of a very Japanese, gangster-themed, interactive comedy soap opera, you’ll absolutely adore it.

Darkest Dungeon is something fresh in one of gaming’s most overdone genres, and the stress system is a winner – a particular delight being how a long-lived character will accumulate various mental scars.

Online, Killzone 3 isn't going to cause mass outbreaks of tumbleweed on CoD and Battlefield servers but, once again, it improves on Killzones 1 and 2.

Stacking is right up there with the likes of Braid and Limbo as an absolute must-download.

Pretty much an essential purchase for any self-respecting petrol-head, and a lot more compelling and enticing than those who don't dream about lap times might imagine. If he played it (it's not easy to imagine him sat in front of a games console), Bernie Ecclestone would surely approve.

There is plenty of novelty here to attract seasoned F1 game pros and newcomers, who may start off with F1 World. It’s technically magnificent: it looks and feels incredible, and its off-track production values are sky-high. Sure, the continued presence of loot boxes – seemingly de rigueur in any EA Sports game these days – cheapens it slightly, but at least it doesn’t force them upon you too brashly.

Criterion has done it again, setting a new standard for arcade-style racing games which won't be surpassed until the next generation of consoles has been on sale for a while. It actually leaves one feeling a bit sorry for Forza Horizon, which is a very good game, and infinitely superior to its predecessors. But Need For Speed: Most Wanted is, by whatever criteria you may see fit to apply, a great game.

Though The Lost Legacy boasts beautiful new environments to explore and for Chloe to take collectible photos of on her smartphone, the journey through them feels very familiar. The only thing that’s truly fresh about this game is the protagonists, but they’re a promising pair, and those who don’t mind a formulaic sequel should take the chance to get to know them. They’ve certainly proved that we don’t need Drake.

Size Five delivers both classic platforming and point-and-click adventuring in this self-aware and deeply anglocentric caper.

Hogwarts Legacy starts to feel like countless open-world games of the past decade once you’ve been playing it for more than 15 hours. However, you get to ride a Hippogriff. It’s those magical moments and the setting that rescue it from mediocrity, but only if the Wizarding World still has you under its spell.

The brilliance here – as with all the best Resident Evil games – is the way it switches modes when you least expect it. You can be deep in thought, wandering familiar corridors searching for the solution to a puzzle, when suddenly a werewolf leaps out at you from a previously safe place, or a creepy doll falls from a shelf, and you jump five feet off the sofa. At the same time, it is rife with the ludicrous: weird voice acting, an unfathomable plot, hokey environmental storytelling – but none of it really matters when you’re being chased up some stairs by a gigantic slime creature that giggles like a baby.

With Casualty levels of gore, Itchy and Scratchy levels of violent humour and many, many hours of multi-player testosterone-fuelled fun, if Bulletstorm's not a classic in the making, it's not far off.

The map, though similar-sized to Fallout 3's, seems more jam-packed than ever – New Vegas is less a sandbox game than whole beach to play around in.

Viewfinder is magical, then, but also short-lived. Even with the optional puzzles, you can easily finish the whole thing over two or three evenings, and it never quite capitalises on the promise of the camera, the promise of getting lost inside picture after picture after picture. Each level is bespoke, tiny; although the very final sequence, a timed dash through puzzle after puzzle, hints at a grander potential. I’m left dazzled by the possibilities, but ultimately wanting more.

Soma tells an affective tale and carries the horror genre a few steps forward. Had Frictional shown the courage to shake off tradition entirely, it could have carried it further still.

Venba is a great example of stories we need to see more of. It would just have been nice to see more of this particular story, too.

But it has a sheer appreciation, and love, for cars and driving that is difficult to resist. At times it feels less like playing a game and more like indulging in a hobby.