An interesting and personal feeling set of first person histories that barely constitute a video game and yet wouldn’t really work in any other medium.

A time loop adventure with an interesting premise and characters, but a frustratingly rigid structure that fails to resolve most of the stories it sets up.

An awful campaign and a lack of innovation drag down the most content-stuffed Call Of Duty game to date, with an eye largely locked to past glories.

A raucous VR splatterfest that captures Deadpool’s brand of sardonic humour and gratuitous violence perfectly, with sky high production values largely making up for the overly simple combat.

One of the greatest twin-stick shooters ever made, with some clever and original ideas married to a thumping soundtrack and appropriately minimalist visuals.

The most baffling Nintendo release of recent years, with a quasi-remake of one of the GameCube’s worst games, that seems specifically designed to irritate and confuse would-be players.

The spirit of Telltale Games lives on, in this interactive superhero animation, with cynical humour, excellent voice acting, and decisions that give at least the illusion of consequence.

A dazzling new future racer that manages to outdo WipEout in terms of handling and graphics, while taking full advantage of VR’s potential.

A cute woodland survival game that looks like an illustrated children’s book but has a few too many rough edges to make full use of its charming setting.

A revamp of Lumines which, in the spirit of Tetris Effect, amplifies its puzzling core with slick visuals, fun new mechanics, and one of the best soundtracks of the year.

A co-op orientated platformer, with cute robots and a deliberately awkward control set-up, that purposefully makes its tough challenge as infuriating as possible.

It’s unexpectedly great, with a warm sense of humour, elegantly designed mini-challenges, and new photographic equipment to unlock. Its engaging, time pressure free interactions work brilliantly on a touchscreen.

Relying noticeably more on action, an automatic bullet time kicking in as you take aim with your silenced silver baller pistols, its colourful good looks and globetrotting look good on touchscreen, although its profusion of buttons are only really suitable for iPad. As ever with games that feature occasional frenzied action, a controller is your best bet. Its Achilles’ heel though, is that it doesn’t permanently save checkpoint data, so if you have to close the app and reopen it, you’ll need to restart the whole chapter from scratch, an egregious oversight for a mobile port with such long and involved missions.

Its eerie ambience and moments of existentialist angst will stay with you long after you’ve finished its five or so hours of lugubrious adventuring, its few buttons and straightforward controls translating neatly to touchscreen.

A massive and gloriously complex exploration, resource management, and factory-building extravaganza that takes hundreds of hours to unlock all its layers of possibilities.

It’s the very opposite of pick up and play but the level of detail and complexity in Europa Universalis 5 is truly staggering and matched only by the difficultly of learning how to play it.

Originally released on PC and consoles, its geometric world and point ‘n’ click interactions are right at home on a touchscreen, making this a wonderful way to introduce yourself to its estimable charms.

Insanely repetitive, horribly shallow, and pointlessly easy – this is the absolute least interesting thing to do with Zelda on the Switch 2 and bad even by the low standards of the Dynasty Warrior franchise.

Another top notch interactive documentary from Digital Eclipse, which explores the early days of Mortal Kombat in enjoyably forensic detail.

Compared to other extraction shooters, Arc Raiders is very accessible and welcoming, but compared to Fortnite or Call Of Duty, this asks a lot more of players than many will be willing to give. Some will become frustrated at the complex maps and aggressive enemies (there’s a lot more PvE than there is PvP, in the average match), while others will appreciate that this is genuinely something different from the norm, which is what most people claim to want...There’s no way of knowing whether Arc Raiders will be popular on consoles or whether its popularity will last, even if it is, but the initial signs are very positive. This isn’t something you just throw on of the evening, while playing on autopilot, but if you’re looking for something more than that, then Arc Raiders delivers. [Review in Progress]

A useful upgrade to previous iterations of Virtua Fighter 5 and while it still exhibits the same old flaws, it ably demonstrates why this is still one of the most revered fighting game series in history.

Excellent remakes of two of the most important games in JRPG history, with pitch perfect presentation and a substantial charm, despite the inherent simplicity.

EA clearly know what they’re doing here and there’s little obvious to complain about right now. It’s always impossible to predict the future success of an online game, no matter how good or bad it might be, but at the moment Redsec seems to be doing everything right and it’s very hard to imagine it not being a massive, and well deserved, hit. [Review in Progress]

A polished and charmingly drawn action role-player, whose straightforward battles, simple puzzles, and elementary but prolific dialogue will appeal to children more than it will seasoned players.

A beautifully crafted survival horror game that knowingly harkens back to the original Resident Evil, while adding in some sympathetically designed modern touches.

A deep, funny, and systemically complex role-playing game, built around wry satire and a far-reaching sense of consequence, where conversation is at least as important as combat.

Yet another entirely unnecessary sequel to a classic game that should never have got any follow-ups at all. But if you want even more of the same old thing there are few small sparks of imagination here and there.

A parkour and puzzle game that is not quite as action-packed as its marketing suggests but still represents a superior VR experience, that wouldn’t be nearly as captivating on a flat screen.

The best and most versatile Jurassic World Evolution title yet, even if it’s only a compsognathus sized step up from its predecessor, rather than a brachiosaurus length stride.

Not only a return to form for Ninja Gaiden but for PlatinumGames as well, in a game that may lack in innovation, but makes up for it in mechanical complexity.

A nostalgia trip with a distinctly British flavour, that blends various brands of platform gaming with references to 1980s games, films, and TV shows – and despite some frustrations keeps it accessible for every age of gamer.

A laudable achievement in terms of visual design and general ambience but the complete lack of challenge, and short length, reduces its overall impact.

In gameplay terms it has little to do with the original Bloodlines, and it’s not really a role-playing game either, but this is an enjoyable and atmospheric action adventure that stands on its merits.

A thoroughly 21st century take on Breakout that may just be a classic in the making, mixing 70s style bat and ball mechanics with a succession of insane power-ups and a deeply interlinked resource generation minigame.

It’s still as embarrassingly low-tech as ever but this is easily the best of the 3D games, with a surprising amount of ambition and invention, not to mention real-time combat that actually works.

A very peculiar platformer, whose wonky mechanics never fully deliver on the fever dream promise of its ambience, but at least it plays better on more modern formats.

A refined but unadventurous restart for the Battlefield series, which returns to the thrilling spectacle of the classic entries, even if it doesn’t do very much that is new.

A fun roguelike beat ’em-up that manages to expand the genre beyond its arcade roots, with relatively deep combat, excellent animation, and four very different playable characters.

The new developer perfectly recreates the art direction and atmosphere of the originals, but there’s a lack of innovation and variety in this otherwise enjoyable quasi-horror sequel.

An extremely insubstantial Star Wars pod racing themed VR and mixed reality experience, that is technically competent but whose greatest value is in demonstrating the limitations of AR as a concept.

It’s atrocious, failing both as a tactical combat game and a whodunnit, instead settling for charging you to win more frequently via its paid battle pass.

A multiplayer driven dungeon crawler with flashes of comical entertainment, but which neither excels as a party game or as a captivating solo grind.

The quintessential tactical role-playing game is revived for a new generation and while it still has its flaws, the bedrock of both the gameplay and the narrative remain as solid as ever.

Both games are not only Nintendo at their peak (as good as Odyssey is, we consider both Galaxy games to be superior) but the whole art of video games. The creativity, the craft, and the bond between your simple control inputs and the magic happening on-screen has never been bettered. A decade and a half ago, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 stood as two of the best video games ever made and that is absolutely still the case now.

A well-meaning Zero Escape expy that’s too simple for puzzle fiends and too shallow for anyone looking for a nuanced examination of dealing with one’s trauma.

A decently tweaked iteration of EA’s domineering football sim, but while the changes might not be seismic they are all positive.

One of the best-looking open world games ever but the formula is beginning to feel increasingly outdated, despite the cool visuals, fun samurai gear, and surprisingly good plot.

A beautiful, meditative Lego-based puzzle game for two, that emphasises playful fun over challenge, although to such a degree that it’s all over a bit too soon.

A solid roguelike with a fun and well-balanced challenge, but it does little to move the formula forward and in certain respects is actually inferior to its predecessor.

An excellent extension to an already large and polished game, with welcome new gameplay additions and a whole new island to explore.

Disturbing yet thought-provoking survival horror sequel, that stumbles slightly in terms of the repetitive combat but is easily the best new entry in the series since the PS2 era.

In its current early access state, Skate is a contradiction. It tows the line between giving just enough of what we asked for by bringing the Flick-It system to modern platforms, while also being something of a storefront on wheels. It has the mechanics to last forever, being an outright hoot with friends, but the infrastructure could vanish overnight. 15 years on, EA has delivered a game that captures the joy of skating, but whether it can capture the heart of skateboarding remains very much in question. [Early Access Review]

The Beast still feels like an extended piece of DLC, which while entertaining in itself lacks any new innovations and has an unwelcome clutch of bugs.

It’s not quite the same calibre as Mario Kart World, but those disappointed by Nintendo’s racer will find Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds an ideal alternative, thanks to its heart-pumping action and unique ideas that make it more than just a carbon copy.

A relatively entertaining new mode and a mostly empty new island result in one of the most overpriced releases Nintendo has ever produced.

A fun, extra slice of Indiana Jones’ familiar brawling, puzzling, and tomb raiding that sits comfortably inside the Raiders canon without adding anything distinctive of its own.

Gearbox’s venerable looter shooter has finally developed a modicum of maturity, with improved gunplay, a proper open world, and some half-decent storytelling.

A beautifully executed and immaculately polished continuation of Hollow Knight’s Metroidvania artistry, with a similarly lugubrious art style and occasionally rage-inducing difficulty.

After a few dozen rounds the jaunty but unremittingly insistent music is enough to trigger homicidal rage, but once that’s switched off it’s a breeze, to the extent that our first non-three-star performance was the boss fight on stage 30. If you like your challenges gentle or have a game-curious preschooler in the house, this might be just what you’re after.

Released in 2019, Wargroove is what can politely be called a homage, and less politely a blatant copy, of Advance Wars. It borrows its cartoon styling, turn-based tactical gameplay, and at least some of its sense of balance between units. Just swapping a semi-real world setting for a Tolkien-esque fantasy world. Its sequel doesn’t for one moment try and reinvent the wheel, instead providing a massive additional dose of the same thing. This time its campaign is split into three sizeable parts, each of which focuses on a different faction, with its own units and variations in terrain. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s the roguelike Conquest Mode, and a souped-up map creator. It’s a huge game, and just as polished and entertaining as its predecessor.

While it’s perfectly playable as a freebie, its monetisation is aggressive, from the recharging energy required to play levels, to repeated entreaties to buy upgrade packs, even if underneath all the sales effort its gameplay remains mildly diverting, and its artwork sublime.

Fortunately, it’s great fun anyway and avoids some of the frankly exhausting grind of Destiny 2. It’s constantly tempting to drop real cash, but even without giving in to that, there’s lots to explore and do, and a hefty chunk of plot to get your teeth into.

After the career high of Silent Hill 2, Bloober Team return to their usual routine, with a Frankenstein’s monster of other people’s ideas – all of which are expressed better elsewhere.

A lovely looking origami-themed 3D platformer that’s let down by dull combat and pedestrian puzzle design, and then positively ruined by its use of fixed camera angles.

A ruthlessly hard parkour shooter, with impressive visuals, frantic firefights, and a truly punishing difficultly level.

A largely successful experiment in limiting the amount of onscreen help given for exploration and navigation, but the game it’s tied to is far less interesting and wastes some interesting story elements.

A remaster too far for a game that, through no fault of its own, is showing its age and is further encouraging the franchise’s reliance on nostalgia instead of innovation.

Remaking Metal Gear without its creator seems foolhardy but this is as good an effort as could be imagined, without completely redesigning the original game.

An unnecessary but well-made expansion for what remains Kirby’s best platform adventure, with plenty of neat new extras and a peculiarly difficult final boss.

A well made and fun 2D Metroidvania game that despite having a sprinkling of new ideas, looks, plays, and behaves like a clone of Dead Cells.

A successful relaunch of the Shinobi franchise that doesn’t attempt to do anything startlingly new but instead makes do with being a very well-constructed action adventure.

A glorious, symphonic, jet-powered hover sword exploration of desert landscapes, filled with secrets and infused with riotously colourful sea life and Tony Hawk style tricks.

A delightful sojourn in bleakly beautiful landscapes, that has you steering a herd of giant yak-like beasts while gently wrestling with controls that aren’t afraid to embrace the organic waywardness of your charges.

A charming pixel art retail management sim with a surprisingly involved plot, whose well-structured gameplay keeps you engaged right up until the disappointingly abrupt ending.

A bafflingly under-designed multiplayer game that features some classic Nintendo innovation in terms of controls, but deeply unengaging presentation and zero longevity or variety.

The most cinematic entry in the series so far but no matter how good the visuals or acting are, the story is clichéd and predictable, and the gameplay feels like barely an afterthought.

A loving tribute to Gradius and its spin-off series, with some of M2’s best archaeological work and an excellent retro sequel in Salamander 3.

A short, surreal roguelike puzzler that proves a video game doesn’t have to be 60 hours long or feature photorealistic graphics to be entertaining and thought-provoking.

A fun restatement of the Ninja Gaiden 2D formula, that is just complex enough to engage both new and old fans, while being surprisingly accessible in terms of its difficulty level.

A wearingly competent Soulslike that seems to have no interest in inventing anything of its own and which is nowhere near as refined as FromSoftware’s best games.

A cosy hobbit-themed life simulator that can look pretty but is almost entirely made up of thinly veiled multi-part fetch quests and drab, under-developed minigames.

A competently made but disappointingly inferior follow-up to the excellent AI: The Somnium Files games, featuring mediocre puzzles and an uncharacteristically simple mystery for a game with Kotaro Uchikoshi’s name in the credits.

The original game remains the best entry in the series but Jamboree TV on its own adds little of value and isn’t worth the upgrade.

A quirky and offbeat open world biking RPG that works nicely until races get more taxing, at which point its mechanical limitations make it frustrating to play

A thrillingly uncompromising racing simulator, that is easily the best endurance racer of the modern era, even if it’s got a way to go before it’s feature complete.

Mixing Pac-Man with Metroid seems like an enjoyably strange idea at first, until you realise just how bland and unimaginative the end result is.

An inspired new point ‘n’ click adventure that proves impressively daring with its dark storytelling and retro style presentation.

Another loving homage to the glory of RoboCop and despite only being a standalone expansion this features quite a few new ideas, as well as some hugely satisfying combat.

An engrossing stealth action game, featuring incredible scenery and facial animation that shames many triple-A games, never mind other indie titles.

A triumphant return to centre court for Donkey Kong, with the best destruction effects in gaming and mountains of bizarre and wonderful ideas - and a surprising amount of jank when it comes to the camera.

A relaxing, minimalist and deceptively complex puzzle-style city builder, with surprisingly challenging gameplay if you decide to test yourself against its global leaderboards.

A welcome new remaster of two of the PSP’s most iconic exclusives and while they’re as flawed as ever this is arguably the definitive version of the games.

Another excellent remake, in the vein of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, this retains the glorious character of the original games, while adding a coat of modern polish and a smattering of new content.

There’s such a huge range of combinations of brawlers, perks, attacks, status effects, and buffs that you’ll keep discovering new approaches to even after many hours of play. A genuinely deep and complex mobile strategy game, with pleasing handcrafted visuals.

If you love Persona, this supplies a new set of interesting characters and successfully translates the flair of Persona 5 into a portable format, although it also features cross-save functionality with the PC version.

A meticulous and polished remaster of the classic sci-fi survival horror, which retains the original’s atmosphere and complexity while adding new mod cons, most of which enhance the experience.

A clever and hugely enjoyable online team game, even at this early stage in its career -although it feels more like a rival to Rocket League than EA Sports FC.

A disappointingly drab Tron tie-in that wastes some interesting ideas on dull and repetitive combat and an unequally unengaging story.