Horizon: Zero Dawn is a stellar open world game. Guerrilla has crafted a magnificent and utterly gorgeous adventure game with surprising depth that rewards player skill and will more than likely prove to be PS4's next major action franchise. It's just a shame the game's open world is so desperate to validate its own existence that it never lets you truly enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

For Honor is bloated in a way it doesn't need to be, but in a way that's completely unsurprising for Ubisoft. A ton of cosmetic upgrades and progression rankings can't save it from being an ultimately narrow experience. It may not wholly satisfy anyone craving an enormous single-player campaign or competitive multiplayer, but if you want a surprisingly competent fighting game that's capable of offering some great, tense and skill-based encounters, For Honor has enough to offer. Ubisoft may have marketed the game as a big, broad battler, but in truth it's just about you and your opponent and that's where it is at its best.

Halo Wars 2 isn't a bad game, but compared to the wealth of excellent strategy games we've been spoilt by over the last few years, it feels positively ordinary. Exceptionally well-handled Halo fan service obfuscates a mediocre game that doesn't really have any new ideas. Fans of the franchise will appreciate what is here, but RTS buffs will be better served elsewhere.

Sniper Elite 4 is a good game by many metrics, and is the best in the series so far. It's a good shooter, a good stealth game and has exceptional shooting mechanics, but as a whole it's rarely exceptional. It's one of the better stealth games of the last few years, with several distinctive ideas combined to create a tense game that, while not all that much bigger in scope than its predecessor, feels bolder and more interesting. The generously sized levels and varied objectives offer a unique experience. The slow-motion carnage of the kill cam, in the era of Twitch and YouTube, will undoubtedly remain a big draw, but look away from the skeleton crushing rifle rounds for a minute and there's an intelligent stealth game with tons of content and plenty of replayability.

IO Interactive's new, episodic Hitman is a triumph. The developer knew how to revive its ailing series and did so with aplomb, crafting a robust set of core mechanics and designing superb levels around them. Reminiscent of everything Blood Money did so well, from its focus on gameplay over story to its cold, sardonic presentation and dark sense of humour, this is Hitman as it is and always should be.

Sloppy combat inherited from its handheld predecessor thankfully fails to smother Gravity Rush 2's gleefully avant-guarde design and its enigmatic leading lady. Kat and Dusty's sophomore outing sees the series' potential explode in vibrant, joyous fashion. The rough edges are still there, but you'll have to squint to see them as PlayStation's refreshingly eccentric franchise soars to spectacular new heights.

Despite some small niggles – such as stealth being so rudimentary it feels redundant, and the aforementioned uninspired late-game location – this is the best horror game since Creative Assembly's wonderful Alien Isolation. It's best if players slowly creak open the game's doors themselves, discovering the story and set-pieces on their own, as this is an experience that works best when it's free to surprise you, like a rotting doberman crashing through a window.

Considering its development history, it's unsurprising that Final Fantasy 15 lacks crucial focus and depth when it comes to its largely stodgy tale of Oracles and Crystals or its unspectacular combat, with both found particularly at fault during the game's dour concluding chapters. Yet like Prompto's incessant nagging to go ride Chocobos, it's easy to give in to the breezy charm of the game's luscious open-world and the whimsical antics of its Tumblr-baiting bro-tagonists.

In The Last Guardian players form an incredible bond with Trico, tested in an adventure worthy of Fumito Ueda's vision. The challenge of not just the puzzle-platforming obstacles, but of understanding this otherworldly creature, creates a connection more genuine than any players are likely to have experienced in other games. Everything that would make the game a beautiful and unique classic to match or even surpass its predecessors is here, but like its captivating star the game doesn't always perform as you'd hope. We hope the developers are able to remedy the bitterly disappointing frame-rate problems, but until such a time they cannot be ignored.

Despite the awkwardly linear path through Pokémon Sun and Moon's sumptuous tropical setting, the breadth of content, refreshed design and breezy humour make this sunny Alolan holiday one to remember. With the Nintendo Switch on the horizon, the latest set of Poké-adventures would make a tremendous swansong for Nintendo's dual-screened handheld, with Game Freak proving you can always teach an old Rockruff new tricks.

Despite the awkwardly linear path through Pokémon Sun and Moon's sumptuous tropical setting, the breadth of content, refreshed design and breezy humour make this sunny Alolan holiday one to remember. With the Nintendo Switch on the horizon, the latest set of Poké-adventures would make a tremendous swansong for Nintendo's dual-screened handheld, with Game Freak proving you can always teach an old Rockruff new tricks.

Combine this emergent excellence with some of the most intricate, memorable missions you've ever seen, and Dishonored 2 is a strong contender for game of the year.

I was expecting Watch Dogs 2 to be more enjoyable than its predecessor, but I didn't expect it to be so well designed and full of heart. Watch Dogs 2 isn't reinventing the open-world game and fans of Ubisoft's special brand of go-places-and-pick-things-up gameplay will feel right at home, but it's one of the best examples the genre has to offer – as long as you don't want to shoot anything.

The best single player campaign Call of Duty has produced in years provides a decent story with some really impactful moments. The set pieces are as good as ever and the cinematics look phenomenal. Zombies in Space is a nice idea and well-implemented, but will be a disappointment to hardcore fans of the mode due to its relative simplicity. Unfortunately the multiplayer is a bit of a let down. Too few changes make this feel like a rehash of Black Ops 3 and the new ideas fail to hit the mark.

The bare-bones PvP arena offers a fleeting blast of adrenaline and the painted world's gorgeous wintry landscapes are enchantingly brutal, yet as a whole, Dark Souls 3's first expansion colours within deeply worn lines and falls short of FromSoftware's illustrious history of unforgettable, industry-leading DLC.

Titanfall 2 boasts the best FPS campaign since Modern Warfare, and it comes bundled with an exciting, hyper-fast multiplayer that will keep you entertained for months. This is proof that Respawn is still the best shooter developer in the business. Like a Pilot zipping along a vertical surface, I can only hope the developer maintains its impressive momentum.

EVE Valkyrie is a simple game, but keeping the scope small has allowed CCP to achieve something special. This is the space dogfighting game, and I can't imagine playing another space combat game now I've experienced Valkyrie. The microtransactions are a particularly gross negative from CCP, but it's the only misstep in a near flawless dance.

Battlefield 1 is a bold reinvention of the Battlefield series, proving not only that DICE aren't afraid to move in brave new directions, but also that they have a genuine understanding of what makes a Battlefield game really tick. Series veterans will feel immediately at home in the multiplayer, while those scared by the online battlefields will find the campaign, while short, provides a great diversion and a good way to ease yourself into the chaotic world of Battlefield.

WWE 2K17's adherence to 'realism' brings notable gameplay improvements, but ultimately comes up short when it comes to the main event. MyCareer continues to be an unpolished, unfocused chore and is indicative of a WWE game that forgets that why two testosterone-fuelled titans enter the ring is as important as the action between the ropes.

Gears of War 4 offers everything you'd expect from a Gears title, and a surprising amount of great new ideas that enhance the core gameplay. Its campaign has problems in terms of story and characterisation, but in terms of fun is up there with the best the series has produced. The overall impression is that Gears of War is in thoroughly capable hands The Coalition. With more confident storytelling the studio could well produce a classic.

RIGS is suffering from a content deficit and made me feel sick every time I've played it, but as a competitive game it's compelling, albeit frequently frustrating. It's a bold step towards the sort of content VR needs, even if it falters in its execution.

Mafia 3 is a game of real gravitas in terms of its story, which tackles some serious subject matter. However, the efforts and intentions of Hangar 13 here are let down by repetitive gameplay, a lack of side missions, and some embarrassing glitches that sadly leave the whole experience lacking.

Lovingly remade in high definition and enhanced via optional PlayStation VR support, Rez Infinite crystallises, polishes and preserves Rez's legacy, making it an essential purchase for PSVR adopters and standard PS4 owners alike. The untethered 3D-cyberspace of Area X presents a tantalising vision of the IP's potential future and adds an extra layer to what is undoubtedly the definitive edition of Mizuguchi's masterpiece.

PlayStation VR Worlds is a great idea, but essentially it's just a bunch of completely separate tech demos that have been chucked together and branded as a game. There's a lot of promise in the concepts explored, but none of them have really been fleshed out properly. If you were wanting to demo PSVR to an event visitor, it's great, but this is a pricey novelty to play at home.

Arkham VR is a limited game but a robust experience, with only some replay value through collectable Riddler trophies dotted around subsequent playthroughs. Like many other VR games it serves well as a showcase for the possibilities of virtual reality, but doesn't offer players an experience with any real depth.

Tumble VR is easily one of the most comprehensive games among the PSVR's launch line-up, both in terms of longevity and mechanical depth. While not the kind of quintessential puzzle game that can stack up to this year's best (The Witness), Supermassive Games' virtual reality stack-a-thon stands tall on Sony's virtual reality machine.

It's the same game as Hustle Kings PS4, only with the addition of rudimentary virtual reality support and irritating Move control support. Unless you're a particularly obsessed with video game pool, Hustle Kings VR offers little more than the ability to look at balls closer than you ever have before.

Stripped down, Headmaster is a simple game, but it's well-made and presents itself in a fun, light-hearted way. As a launch game it fulfils its purpose and then some, providing a sizeable challenge but one requiring a level of fidelity the headset itself isn't quite capable of replicating.