A surprisingly conservative follow-up to Returnal but the transcendent third person action is so well orchestrated that qualms about the storytelling and lack of innovation seem like only minor concerns in comparison.

An impressively successful follow-up to Vampire Survivors, that features entirely different gameplay but a similarly deceptive sense of depth and nuance to its charmingly low-tech action.

The joy of playing something that isn’t a sequel or licensed tie-in is considerable in its own right but this tightly designed third person actioner is a pleasure from beginning to end.

A loving homage to the original X-COM, that’s far more interested in turning up the difficulty than coming up with any new ideas.

An impressive, near-essential expansion for Borderlands 4, with an excellent new vault hunter and some of the best level and mission design in the franchise.

Although the game moves fast, you don’t have to, gradually moving your avatar and adjusting their angle of fire as you smash your way through its stages. It lends itself well to mobile conversion and remains just as addictive as it was on PC and console.

A tough, flashy, and surprisingly versatile extraction shooter which houses a magnetic loop of death and loot beneath its occasionally obtuse idiosyncrasies.

An inessential but enjoyable expansion for the best 2D Mario game of the modern era, with some fun multiplayer distractions and a soupçon of new single-player content.

An anime-infused arcade racer with a full-blown story, cracking multiplayer, and an OTT driving model that gamifies every part of its tricky, knife edge races.

One of the best puzzle games of recent years is also one of the most empowering and cleverly designed, as its stretches seemingly simple mechanics to impressive lengths.

This release includes all seven DLC packs, comprising challenge tombs, new weapons, and outfits, making it a real value for money proposition. It’s great rediscovering Lara’s swift journey from ingénue to casual mass murderer, via a whole lot of looted historical relics.

Following up last year’s well-received game is an unenviable task, but WWE 2K26 manages to build on what’s come before with some game-changing mechanics and welcome refinements.

A welcome reminder of the origins of Pokémon and while the game’s age is obvious in more than just its graphics the unbounded sense of exploration and experimentation remains as compelling as always.

A welcome reminder of the origins of Pokémon and while the game’s age is obvious in more than just its graphics the unbounded sense of exploration and experimentation remains as compelling as always.

A wonderfully engrossing cosy game that combines the best of Minecraft and Fallout 4 to create a Pokémon spin-off that, for the first time in a long while, is constantly surprising you with its ambition and variety.

An excellent 3D platformer that rather than just trying to copy Nintendo has plenty of ideas of its own, with some thrilling freeform action.

The most entertaining new Resident Evil game in over two decades, with fantastic combat, amazing graphics, effective scares, and the most enjoyably bad one-liners in the business.

It’s spooky rather than scary but with a great script and characters, and some smart puzzles, this is a must-play for anyone who enjoys the kind of stories only video games can tell.

A deep, demanding turn-based strategy game-cum-deck builder whose Soulslike sensibilities leave you to uncover the complexities of its combat, story, and world on your own.

An excellent compilation of seven games from the heyday of Bomberman, but it’s a shame it doesn’t have more online options, to make joining in the multiplayer fun easier.

Suda51’s punk attitude results in another uniquely bizarre third person action game, but this one has more life and originality to it than most of his other more recent titles.

One of the most complex and rewarding strategy games of recent years, hidden behind a mask of weird humour, ugly visuals, and a lot of random number generation.

The best Mario Tennis game since the N64 era and a hugely enjoyable multiplayer game with a ton of single-player content, although there’ll still be too many gimmicks for some people.

The best Soulslike not made by FromSoftware, which expands and improves on the series’ exceptional combat with two separate play styles and a fantastically wide range of enemies and locations.

A fabulously imaginative and unique take on the budding detective genre, that mixes clever investigation work with an unpredictable but gripping story.

A welcome but very minor improvement for the best Animal Crossing game and while the free Update 3.0 adds plenty of new features the time seems ripe for a full-blown sequel.

A quietly powerful, deceptively smart narrative adventure about childhood and football which succeeds as a thoughtful reflection of not only a moment in time but memory itself.

A relaxing and nuanced survival city builder, that has plenty of depth and variety but also an unusually laidback and optimistic tone.