It’s true that the single player portion is a let down considering the massive amount of potential that peeks through, but the high-quality multiplayer manages to make up the difference. The only real question is in how quick and efficiently the final glitches can be resolved. Even with these present, the title is well worth a player’s time. Once the wrinkles get ironed out, the Battlefield V will be required playing for anyone with even a passing interest in throwing down online.

Necrobarista may have changed since it was first seen, but the end result is still an engrossing visual novel that succeeds thanks to a cast of memorable and fun characters, a stylish and cool presentation, and a well-crafted story that hits all the right notes, providing a terrific tale of having to move on that has room for bits of both laughter and tears in your coffee. Despite a few hiccups along the way, it’s an adventure that was both worth the wait and visiting the Terminal for.

The majority of this review may carry a negative, disappointed tone, but allow me to stress that Ninja Gaiden II is not a bad game, nor is it a broken one. It's actually one of the best that the Xbox 360 has to offer, and easily worth your money.

The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is a title that everyone who loves a great well-written story should have and one that current fans can still enjoy returning to once more.

This is a developer that understands and loves their source material, which very evidently comes out in their work. Consequently, Shadowrun: Dragonfall is another home run for the up-and-coming studio.

Relic has taken everything that makes the first two games great and made sufficient additions to help Company of Heroes 3 succeed in this renaissance of RTS titles. While the visuals are improved and more detailed effects are there, the overall look still feels dated and the lacking performance hampers the experience. Having two campaigns is an awesome direction and while one is more streamlined than the other, the Italian Campaign revolutionizes the way to do a single player campaign for an RTS. The AI in skirmish is downright frustrating and the trouble with online multiplayer is unfortunate. What makes Company of Heroes 3 great is the growth within the actual gameplay and the subtle details experienced along the way.

Exactly what fans of the series have come to expect, whilst still providing one or two interesting deviations in gameplay along the way, Like A Dragon: Ishin! fuses familiar traits with a delightfully-versatile combat system to great effect. Those worried that a game both spin-off in nature and far-flung from the series’ present day roots would feel too isolated should take comfort from the fact this year’s remake of a pre-0 entrant remains quintessentially Yakuza in all the right ways. And while the take on style-switching, combo-chasing combat this time round is admittedly imperfect and far from the most fluid system to engage with, some occasional scuffs and rough edges aren’t enough to deter Like A Dragon: Ishin! from coming away as one more worthwhile and thoroughly-entertaining spin-off in the Yakuza series.

Stellar Blade delivers masterclass gameplay, spectacular visuals and a compelling universe. It no doubt will draw comparisons to Nier and its successor, but what Shift Up has done is improved upon the formula greatly in creating one of the best action games of the year.

Fans will be satisfied with how the tale running through Steins;Gate 0 is told with a narrative that rarely stands still in the present without coming off confusing. That said, the original’s degree of tension and regret over gameplay decisions are lost a little here and because of it, 0 — despite its successful transitioning, coming off more like a second half to a much grander tale as opposed to a totally sectioned-off story — often finds comfort in retreating to old techniques and former narrative inclusions to fill in the rare instances of figurative gaps.

It might not have the unbridled thrills of World of Warplanes nor does it possess the immediacy of World of Tanks, but World of Warships manages to fill a special spot for action gamers.

At 1000 points, Rage of the Gladiator brings just enough content and old-fashioned fun to warrant adding it to your WiiWare library.

Held back by one too many erroneous factors unfortunate that may be, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is still by far Image & Form’s most fascinating and mechanically-impressive entry in the series to date.

This is basically five standalone games wrapped into one deep package. While it will have DLC released for it, there’s enough content out of the box to keep players busy until the next Call of Duty and probably some time after that. The campaign is perfectly paced and entertaining throughout, the multiplayer is rich with customization and Zombies is refreshingly challenging. The only real black mark is a story teetering on the on the brink of pretension, but the existentialism of it is undeniably fascinating.

Gonner is a single gameplay mechanic away from being a fantastic run & gun roguelike, and if you don’t mind passing up a set of options, that problem can be ignored. It has a wonderful aesthetic, blending cute and cartoon-creepy, rendered in a unique art style that does a wonderful job of tying all the elements together.

The game is not without some salvageable bursts of satisfaction, of which there are plenty to just about counter its middling level design and uneventful narrative alike. It’s for that reason why Sifu is spared from any less graceful a status than that of being inconsistent, rather than wholly underwhelming.

Atlas Reactor is a fun game for people who love blasting the hell out of their friends. The large variety of Freelancers, both in appearance and play style, present the opportunity to try out several different strategies and help keep things interesting.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about creating a map and feeling as though the exploration is just as important as the combat when every little thing matters.

Despite its low price tag, the vague roadmap and bare bones nature of Fall Guys is hard to ignore, raising some sustainability questions as the game aims to remain relevant in a crowded market in the weeks and months to come. But for now, Fall Guys is easily one of the most widely accessible and consistently amusing massive multiplayer games of this year, as the race for the next crown continues to remain just as thrilling after hours of matches.

There’s never a moment that pushes the boundaries of the console, but it feels like a 2015 PS4 title through and through. The main issue with this release is the fact that there’s not a whole lot of value here.

Black Myth: Wukong took us by surprise. It had a lot of potential from its initial reveal, but what Game Science has been able to create is nothing short of greatness. This is a visual treat that brings ancient China and Chinese mythology to life like never before, crafting a story that, while somewhat vague, will have you compelled to progress further thanks to its creative presentation values.

HAL may not be so easily swayed to shake up the visual aesthetic of the series, but with a latter-half that opens up creatively as well as an easy-to-grasp control scheme, BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! in the end manages to rise above the similarities to end up a worthwhile compilation of conundrums to crack.

Overall, Affordable Space Adventures is a journey well worth embarking on, especially with a few friends.

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past takes a fragment of gaming’s forgotten past and breathes new life into it. Some of the more hardcore Dragon Quest fans may find the reduction in job grinding time and streamlining the intro a negative change that dumbs down the game, but I would argue that it also makes the title more accessible and more fun.

Whether you’re a fan of the original Hellblade or a newcomer to the series, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 offers a deeply engaging and unforgettable experience. Its blend of realistic graphics, compelling narrative and innovative sound design makes it a standout title of the year.

Score-chasers, 16-bit enthusiasts, arcade-game aficionados and Sega addicts all need apply for this one; anyone outside of those groups may not get as much from it, but even still there’s fun to be had.

1P2P have delivered a stylish and superb adventure with Young Souls, a dazzling hybrid of brawlers and crawlers (dungeon, that is) that’s perfectly suited for all players while delivering an amazing and challenging experience, one that will have you searching every path and going over every weapon, with every trip into a level leading to some form of satisfaction in one one way or another. Whether you enjoy hack-and-slash or punch-and-kick, or just any game in general, Jenn and Tristan’s journey is one more than worth taking.

Eyes in the Dark: The Curious Case of One Victoria Bloom is an inviting and likeable journey into a cursed mansion and the family history of holding back the darkness, beating back the worst the void has to offer with bravery and a bizarrely tricked-out flashlight.

If you’re new and love challenging hack-and-slash adventures, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is worth a look -- it’ll just take time to acclimate to the controls and combat. With a little luck, players might be seeing more from the Onimusha series soon.