A tight, funny, smart, focused, super-violent 2D cover-shooter that works a whole hell of a lot better than you might expect.

The game formerly known as Double Fine Adventure is a fine adventure, but definitely one best taken as a whole rather than in two parts.

Strong thematic hooks, well-written characters and reactive quest design, all resting on an original set of tabletop-inspired mechanics, make this a triumphant return.

The short version is this: Tales from the Borderlands' second episode is just as good as the first, and considering I'm not eager to pile on the praise for an episodic series that still has a long way to go, that's really saying something.

The city builder is back! Colossal Order has succeeded where others have failed. Cities: Skylines is a brilliant game.

An essential pair of games for your collection, beautifully remastered and enhanced.

A combat-heavy, side-scrolling jaunt through the wonderfully unhinged realm of Ancient Greek mythology. Apotheon unites presentation and theme to tremendous effect through its stylised, Grecian pottery worlds.

Pix the Cat isn't the sort of thing that'll keep you staring at your monitor until 6am, but it is the sort of thing that you'll open every half an hour for just one more go.

Grey Goo is an extremely well produced game. Fans of classic RTS games should sample the Goo for themselves because it's the best RTS released for quite some time.

Grim Fandango represents the pinnacle of 90s adventure games and is arguably the finest videogame noir created to date. This remastered edition stays largely faithful to the source material, preserving it in digital form with some worthwhile extras and tasteful improvements.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is a short, but mechanically very sound, sandbox stealth appetiser for The Phantom Pain. Just be aware that its value is in experimentation and replaying scenarios, rather than lasting narrative.

A well-paced, well-observed and suitably vicious opening episode, showing that Telltale’s latest series is up to the task of matching the theme and tone of the Game of Thrones source material.

An enjoyable single player space romp with a steep learning curve. Ignore the campaign and persevere with the sandbox for a rewarding experience.

It could so easily have gone very, very wrong, but if this episode is any indication then Tales from the Borderlands might wind up being one of their better series.

It's Far Cry 3 again, for people who don't want to play Far Cry 3 again. Far Cry 4 doesn't innovate much and so there are a fair few I've-Done-This-Before moments, but it's still just as well-crafted and just as much fun.

Assertive: The Sports Interactive lads have had a solid pre-season, I think Football Manager 2015 can really crack on for top honours from here.

A stealth-horror game designed, with precision, to make pretty much every single activity and objective as uncomfortable and tense as possible.

This remake of the legitimately classic Gabriel Knight takes a few missteps, but succeeds in putting the 90s adventure in contemporary digital hands.

Arrowhead has managed to capture the essence of the original Gauntlet in this fast and fun co-op experience.

Crown of the Ivory King’s snow-swept ramparts are an exemplary example of intricate, looping level design. This third and final release wraps up the most consistent set of DLC I’ve played since Fallout: New Vegas.

Crown of the Old Iron King is another accomplished and well-constructed addition to Dark Souls 2, with a pair of bosses who rank alongside the best the series has to offer.

Suitably self-contained and demonstrating some of the best level design in Dark Souls 2, Crown of the Sunken King suggests that FromSoft’s DLC team may well be up to the daunting task of creating three essential add-ons.

ACE Team’s mastery of visual imagery finds a welcome home in solid Roguelike(like) elements and capable, cancel-heavy Fighting mechanics. Abyss Odyssey is their most impressive all-round title to date.

I think I feel for The Wolf Among Us what most people feel about The Walking Dead‘s first season, insofar as I can forgive it pretty much every fault it has because of the way it perfectly blends characters, setting, atmosphere, and plot.

A touching and bold portrayal of World War One in wonderful animated style, Ubisoft Montpellier’s Valiant Hearts shows that videogaming doesn’t have to be an Anthem for Doomed Youth.

Perhaps a little short and a touch too narrow, but Sniper Elite 3 pretty much gives you a huge Nazi-filled playground, a sniper rifle, a satchel of explosives, and then waves its hand and lets you sort it out your own way.

If you like shooting infinite hordes of monsters from a top-down perspective, Crimsonland is one of the best options you have.

A simple to play but hard to master strategy game at an absolute bargain price. A must-have for strategy fans.

BattleBlock Theater’s second opening night (this time on PC,) is just as crude, unhinged and delightful as its first. Come for the platforming, stay for the absurdity.

In many ways Dark Souls 2 is the technical and functional superior of the first game, but it does lack some of the semi-intangible magic of the original like its superlative interconnected world. Nonetheless, an impressive and essential sequel.

Splitting it into two parts didn't do it any favours, but when taken as a whole, Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse is a gorgeous, clever, and witty adventure that skilfully follows in the footsteps of its forebears.

Telltale's profanity-laced murder investigation continues to balance the fantastic and the horrific with aplomb, and this episode provides some of the strongest character moments thus far.

Diablo is back! This expansion is exactly what the franchise needed and the future looks bright for Blizzard's ARPG.

BioShock Infinite adapts to stealth with surprising ease, and the art design is as spectacular as ever. Irrational's final release may somewhat lose the plot, but if you've been on board this long you can likely tolerate the incredible leaps of faith it demands.

If you want a complete reboot of the multiplayer shooter genre, you won’t find it here...But if you want a fast-paced, frenetic shooter with a set of mechanics that mesh surprisingly well; a strong David vs Goliath vibe; and a ridiculously polished experience? If you want a really good multiplayer shooter – and that’s coming from someone who generally gets bored with most after a few days? If you want a game with a design ethos that isn’t focused on just aping what’s already there, and – while not revolutionary – shakes things up enough that it feels wholly unique? If you want these things, Pilot, then prepare for Titanfall.

It would've been nice to have trickier combat or more real RPG bits and bobs, but as an interactive South Park title, this hits pretty much every mark. The Stick of Truth is puerile, authentic, and constantly hilarious.

Short, but beautiful. The Wolf Among Us continues to impress.

Hardship and displacement in a Nordic-inspired world make for a splendid, and splendid looking, RPG.

Whimsical, witty, and beautiful: this is a sumptuous adventure with all of Double Fine's usual care and attention lovingly lavished throughout.

For a game about dandy robot businessmen trying to fleece a robo-miner of his hard-earned gains, it’s surprisingly charismatic. A laid-back Dig Dug with a gentle scattering of Metroid.

A worthy expansion that refreshes and improves XCOM: Enemy Unknown in just about every way that matters.

A very solid ARPG that brings some of the genre's best elements together mashing them up into a melting pot of free to play goodness.

Like its winsome protagonist, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is fixated on pursuing the riches of high-seas piracy and seems reluctant to be drawn into convoluted Templar plots. The most self-aware Assassin’s Creed title to date, and one that makes the most of some aging mechanics.

A few technical problems mar what is otherwise a mix between a fantastic rhythm-action game and a fantastic method of learning an instrument.

A whimsical Roguelike(like) that’s as dangerously addictive as it is addicted to causing danger. To you. And all of your precious hats.

Rayman Legends is one of the finest platform games on any system. It's bright, colourful, clever, well-designed, and the vast majority of it is a sheer joy to experience.

I still haven't got the multiplayer working, but the single-player is good enough to be worth the asking price by itself.

Silly, exuberant, funny, chaotic: Saints Row 4 sets you loose in a virtual world and lets you cause havoc however you damn well please.

Payday 2 is what the first game should've been: a more than competent co-op shooter with replayable levels, multi-mission jobs, an option for stealth, and loot bags full of style.

The Brigmore Witches does honour to the base game it expands on.

Like Crusader Kings II, Europa Universalis IV retains the depth and complexity of its forebears while offering newcomers a way into the absorbing strategic shenanigans of 15th-18th Century power politics.

An invigorating mix of snooty lizardmen, jetpacking dragons, absorbing political decisions and strategy of both turn-based and real-time hues.

If there’s a better puzzle-platformer than Toki Tori 2+ released on the PC this year, someone please construct an elaborate series of events to lure it into a pipe leading directly to my house. Thanks.

Despite some annoyances, this is a fantastic close to Borderlands 2, and comes highly recommended.

As rewarding to play as it is mentally exhausting. Company of Heroes 2 consolidates the progress of its predecessor, expands into some new territory and keeps alive the grand tradition of major PC RTS releases.

A great strategy-RPG hybrid that’s a patch or two away from being an exceptional one.

A top-notch racing game that artfully straddles the line between arcade and simulation, without being either too daunting or too simplistic.

Anomaly: Warzone Earth was a well-designed and entertaining alternative to typical tower defence games, and Anomaly 2 is its bigger, badder sibling. Levels are better designed and more varied, you have more unique units and abilities at your disposal, towers are generally even bigger bastards than they were before, and the dev team’s experience means that the basic mechanics are generally more polished.

What could’ve so easily turned out to be disastrous piece of self-indulgent trash, replete with dumb “hey, remember the 80s, they were so 80s!!” referential humour, succeeds in paying worthy tribute to its subject matter. It’s trash alright; sublime, entertaining trash that lifts the desert chrome absurdity of VHS action movies and dumps it all over a compact version of Far Cry 3‘s open world and open choice combat.

£12 for this level of perfectly-crafted entertainment is an absolute steal.

Play it with care and attention, and this is another six hours or so of Dishonored for a mere £8. In short, this is the DLC I've been waiting for since October of last year.

Though it sometimes struggles to reconcile its genre-constrained combat with its lofty storytelling goals, BioShock Infinite exhibits ambition and a boldness of theme rarely seen in FPS titles.

Runner 2 is a bit of a one-trick pony, but it’s a trick that’s done so flawlessly and with such variation that I don’t mind seeing it again and again.

This is the first entry of a rebooted franchise and it’s a really, really good one. There’s still plenty of room for both Lara and the game to grow, and I’m eager to see these mechanics – and Lara’s character – evolve as this series hopefully continues.

A puzzle title with the same careful attention to subverting perception, while adhering to its own strange set of rules, as the Escher drawings it emulates.

It might not be what Devil May Cry fans have been praying for, but it's a damn good game in its own right. It's like that, and that's the way it is.

Drox Operative shows that innovation in the genre doesn't have to be limited to twiddling around with how skill trees work, or crafting the perfect loot drop percentage; it can also be about introducing smart mechanics that give a renewed sense of consequence and purpose to a player's actions. If you can get beyond some rough edges, you'll find an aRPG quite unlike any other.

Putting aside nostalgia, and putting aside a genuine longing for more games in this vein - yes, Baldur's Gate really is that good.

So yes, if you can deal with some rather heavy themes which range through drugs/murder/prostitution/domestic abuse/slavery/rape, then Far Cry 3 is something you should absolutely buy. It's got flaws, but none of them change the fact that it's a fascinating exploration (both physical and analytical) of a beautiful environment that hides a rotten core. And if you're not into that, then hey, it's also a really good open-world shooter.

Fresh enough to be relevant, traditional enough to remain nostalgic.

There's enjoyment in the game's mechanics, in the way it hones your abilities until you're a taut, efficient, angel of death, but little joy to be found in the unraveling of your subconscious and the consequences of your new-found talents.

It's not easy to identify with specific characters as a result, meaning (despite their historical origins) they can feel throwaway because they don't stick around long enough to grab your attention and tickle your curiosity. That's not to say they're poorly written, there are just too many to make things feel cohesive. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sequences in Assassin's Creed 3 tend to feel like episodes of a TV show, rather scenes from a movie.

As enjoyable as it is reverential, Enemy Unknown is a superb reimagining of a favourite series from days past.

A heartfelt love letter to gaming's past that's sometimes a little more smitten than is healthy.

A brilliant example of how to blend gameplay, narrative and setting. Highly recommended.

The best the series has ever been at welcoming newcomers, but veterans might find the improvements lack impact.

Still the best game of footie around and the one the vast majority of people are going to be playing until this time next year.

An ARPG with something for everyone, and at this price, you really have no excuse.

Bigger, crazier and more diverse than original. A role-playing shooter that raises the bar for both RPGs and shooters. Wonderful.

A tense and engaging spaceship command roguelike, FTL's only real flaw is that it doesn't differ enough after multiple playthroughs.

Accessible but sophisticated, whacky yet charming. Best Tekken of this generation.

Another brilliant package, once again. A very serious contender for sports game of the year.

An exquisitely designed MMO that contains something for everyone, without charging a monthly fee.

The best Madden of this generation and the only one to have made genuine progress. Some new features still need work, but at least there finally are some new features.

The best episode so far and easily the most emotional, personal and affecting.

A bare-bones port can't sully one of the outstanding titles of this generation.

Arguably the best of this year's crop of Summer of Arcade games. Dust is a visually stunning love letter to gaming's past and a great Metroidvania game in its own right, and you shouldn't hesitate to pick it up.

As attractive in motion as it is in design, Unmechanical is a majestic 2.5D puzzler.

The nature of the title means repetition (both in the reuse of assets from the original and the game's mechanics getting a little over-familiar) will burn players out eventually, and for OMD veterans this may be accentuated by the short gap between releases.

It's inevitably going to be lumped together with other "zombie games" in the minds of some, but it actually does something fresh and unique both with the theme and with the inspirations it pulls together from games as disparate as Another World and Mirror's Edge, and it puts them together with enough aplomb that – for my money – it's certainly worth the asking price.

Not just another indie platformer, Thomas Was Alone is a unique narrative-driven experience that succeeds in combining its many different elements.

A unique, compelling experience that will reward your sense of adventure if you indulge its charms.

A rather good multiplayer first-person shooter which can be enjoyed without the need to plonk down any hard cash.

Veterans of this game type will rightly nit-pick at aspects of the combat, lack of espionage diplomacy options (this one does hurt a bit) and certain AI behaviours, but there should be no argument that Endless Space is one of the best 4X titles to appear for a good long while. It hasn't quite delivered the incredible potential it offers; but it's tantalizingly close.

A surprisingly successful effort at wrapping an RPG around a rhythm game. Come for the Final Fantasy name, stay for the music.

A very good example of why point-and-click adventures still deserve plenty of notice.

An intelligent and rewarding puzzler in the Portal mould, highly recommended for genre fans.

A largely successful spin-off for the series, and one that thrives in multiplayer.