Having Patrick Stewart as your narrator is quite the selling point, but he seems oddly wasted here, in this otherwise fairly low budget, portal-filled puzzler. Before you get too excited this is really nothing like Valve’s classic and a much more slow-paced, story-based affair.

Another of Quest’s most important launch titles, this has long been championed as one of the best first person shooters for VR headsets. At heart it’s a fairly simple wave-based shooter, in some ways a modern day interpretation of dual-stick shooters such as Robotron: 2084 and Smash T.V. You’ve got two pistols and a heavy weapon and have to mow down hordes of malfunctioning robots, but somehow it’s a lot stranger than you’d imagine.

It’s an utterly charming experience whose only fault is that you’re always left wanting more.

We’re glad this is an Oculus Quest launch title because we never had the chance to review it when it first came out on PC and PlayStation 4, but it’s easily the most entertaining VR multiplayer game – multiplayer in the sense that you get to play it with other people not wearing a headset.

The Quest controllers are much more precise, and together with the lack of cables transforms this from a good game to a truly great one.

The Quest has to start somewhere with online multiplayer though and this is as good a place as any.

It’s actually quite hard, and has its own minor unlockables, which further justifies the already perfectly reasonable asking price.

A very compelling mix of roguelike and first person shooter, with highly distinctive visuals and pleasingly difficult tactical choices.

A blockbuster action movie in VR form that shows the abilities of PlayStation VR and Sony’s studios better than ever before, even if the experience is ultimately rather shallow.

Still one of the best action games ever made, but while this is a competent port/remaster the absurdly high price makes it an expensive novelty.

An excellent mix of turn-based dungeon crawler, roguelike, and card game whose perfectly balanced combat will have you constantly coming back for more.

An impressively unique stealth adventure which mixes a gothic horror atmosphere with a touching tale of two siblings surviving against the odds.

2001 is hardly the most obvious movie to use as inspiration for a video game and perhaps predictably the end result suffers from slow-pacing and a lack of meaningful interaction.

A likeable, car chase-riddled sandbox crime spree that updates the original pre-3D Grand Theft Auto games into a more modern play experience.

Colourful golfing action with a fascinating complexity to each swing – and a stealth workout – but relatively few courses.

A spirited attempt at innovation and some competent driving mechanics are not enough to escape the shadow of either Mario Kart or the previous Sonic & Sega racers.

A hugely enjoyable mix of historical realism and exaggerated action that is both surprisingly accessible and filled with an impressive depth of tactical options.

A surprisingly thorough compilation of 8 and 16-bit Castlevanias, that illustrates the early history of one of gaming’s most influential franchises.

An impressively original horror game whose doom-laden atmosphere and relentless day/night cycle is more terrifying than any jump scare.

As a first person shooter, Rage 2 has some of the best action of the year but as an open world adventure it squanders everything on a listless story campaign and banal mission design.

A terrible port of a game that is very much showing its age, and has no business being repackaged at anything close to full price.

There are still problems with artificial intelligence and level design, but despite its age this is still one of the best sniper games around.

Another slow-paced and only intermittently interesting episode, that underlines the fact that the story and characters are never going to be as engaging as the first episode suggested.

One of the most enjoyable roguelikes of recent years, with the heavy emphasis on RNG saved by some fun co-op options.

A survival game that, despite a few interesting ideas, struggles to provide any reason to persevere with its overfamiliar gameplay and poorly handled storytelling.

A mixture of roguelike and Zelda: A Link To The Past that looks and plays extremely well, but even with some notable improvements still doesn’t get the balance quite right.

An excellent remake that manages to overcome the flaws of the original and offer a glimpse at what a next gen Yakuza game might look like.

The gameplay, and some of the dialogue, could do with some refinement but this dystopian drinks-making game has some of the most interesting storytelling of the last few years.

Creators of Pokémon or not, some interesting ideas can’t override the terrible execution in this staggeringly ugly 2D platformer.

A well intentioned attempt to mix Ecco The Dolphin with a more urgent environmental message but the end result Iacks any real excitement or variety.

An elegant blend of 2D action and cyberpunk storytelling, that manages to make a very distinctive experience out of some very familiar indie tropes.

The weakest of the recent SteamWorld games but still an enjoyable, if rather unfair, mix of role-playing game and card-battler.

A welcome comeback for Nintendo’s most minimalist mascot, that justifies itself with an extremely entertaining co-op mode.

A peculiarly constructed open world zombie game that sidelines its most unique features in favour of generic action and unengaging storytelling.

A curate’s egg of zombie clichés and surprisingly solid multiplayer, with the movie’s undead hordes replicated in impressive fashion.

Despite borrowing so much from so many different games Capcom’s Western style role-player remains very much its own game – with plenty of interesting ideas of its own.

Mortal Kombat continues to excel in areas that other fighting games ignore, with a new sequel that impresses in terms of both visuals and gameplay.

A stunning work of imagination, with a collection of high quality boss battles to rival any other in gaming – and a difficultly level that’s equally hard to beat.

A seemingly random collection of Konami arcade games that’s so incoherent and bare bones it won’t please retro fans or newcomers.

A technical masterpiece with some of the best swordfighting combat in years, but the storytelling and puzzle elements come across as muddled and awkwardly mismatched.

An interesting but flawed attempt to tackle the selling and using of cannabis, that never has the courage to take itself entirely seriously.

A wonderful mix of cutting edge technology and nuanced storytelling that instantly becomes one of the best games for PlayStation VR.

Despite what you might imagine when you hear that Nintendo’s VR goggles are made out of cardboard this latest Nintendo Labo kit is able to replicate all those sensations and more, in what sounds like it should be a laughing stock but is actually a thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly engrossing mix of VR, handicraft, and edutainment.

A more grounded approach and a fresh coat of paint fail to address the series’ inherent flaws, as the cheesy charm of fighting giant insects is lost in the process.

In spite of the shortcomings of its control scheme, Skyworld is a solid and good looking real-time strategy game. It’s also a neat use of VR and something of a dream come true for those used to playing tabletop games that demand more than a little suspension of disbelief.

The sheer age of the games are beginning to count against them but Ace Attorney still remains exhibit A in how to make even the silliest story-based games fun and engaging.

Relaxing, aesthetically pleasing, and giving you just enough room to feel creative with your flower arrangements, this suffers from the usual idle game problems – no threat, zero difficulty, mostly a waiting game – but makes up for it with charm and good looks.

As far as it goes, this is a reasonable game of cards, but like last month’s Knights Of The Card Table its lack of depth makes it instantly accessible but less interesting in the medium to long term. It also has very long grinds and a lurch in difficulty, which may or may not be designed to tilt you in the direction of its in-app purchases, something that feels beyond cheeky in a paid-for game. There are much better card battlers available, the best of which is still the brilliant Card Thief.

With any luck the legion of glitches will be fixed in an update, but even with all that Powernode manages to be engrossing and addictive.

It’s played in real-time, a countdown appearing on each move you make, with new cards to collect when it’s finished. It also has a branching narrative with the powerful and evocative prose you’d expect from the founder of Failbetter Games. If you like being flung headlong into deep and esoteric mysteries there are few games that do a better job of it, or reward you as much when you figure them out.

It’s fun while it lasts, but we very comfortably finished the game on our first run, which took about half an hour, and while you can just keep going round and beating it again and again, there’s very little inducement to do so; the procedurally generated maps varying so little as to make them effectively identical.

Emotive, melancholy, and thought provoking, Photographs creates a striking balance between game and story that will leave you considering its themes long after you’ve put away your phone.

Its limited budget is obvious but as an unofficial reboot for the Burnout series this is one of the best arcade racers for a long time.

An enjoyable companion piece to Cuphead, but despite some fantastic enemy designs the single-mindedness and lack of visual variety doesn’t have quite the same charm.

A deeply flawed open world role-player but also an extremely ambitious and unique one, whose approach to co-op play and survival deserves further iteration.

Not a game that particularly needed a remaster but that in itself speaks to the quality of the original and the potential of the new sequel.

Even a high-quality remaster such as this can’t hide the fact that Assassin’s Creed III is too much a product of its time and has little to offer modern gaming.

An ashamedly old school role-player that nevertheless does its best to attract new players and entertain existing fans.

Another highly competent Yoshi platformer that looks great and plays well, especially in co-op, but there’s a disappointing lack of innovation beyond the charming visuals.

The Walking Dead finishes much as it began, with believable characters making heartbreaking choices, interspersed with flounderingly inept, QTE-laden attempts at action.

Its demands on players is as great as any FromSoftware game but persevere and Sekiro reveals itself as the most rewarding and nuanced ninja game in decades.

A perfectly constructed neo-arcade game from genre master Vlambeer, which perfectly marries twin-stick shooters with roguelike punishment.

An inspired homage to old school Ninja Gaiden games, with a clever blending of genres and near perfect retro graphics and music.

An unambitious but competent sequel that already has some of the best endgame content of any similar game… if you can stomach the offensively apolitical, and thoroughly boring, storytelling.

A hugely original puzzler that relies on raw logic in a way only a video game could, providing some of the most satisfyingly open-ended challenges of the generation.

A loving piece of fan service that looks and sounds just like the anime, but unfortunately it plays like a bad Xbox 360 era open world game.

One of the best looking point ‘n’ click adventures ever made, but the unique visuals don’t compensate for illogical puzzles and a weak script.

One of the best Kirby games becomes frayed around the edges on the 3DS, with no co-op mode and some poorly thought out extras that would be better off left out.

A staggeringly ambitious, gun-free immersive reality detective game set in an alternate 1980s Britain, whose admirable intentions are undermined by technical problems.

A game bursting with interesting ideas but dragged down by a lack of technical competence and some very outdated ideas about game design and controls.

A cheap and nasty film tie-in that reaches a new low for Lego games and stands in stark contrast to the creativity of the movie and the toys.

A perfectly judged comeback that’s full of all the wild invention and stylish mayhem fans demand but proves surprisingly accessible and varied for everyone else.

Sadly, with only 41 puzzles – more are coming soon – it’s over too quickly, but while it lasts this is a highly amusing and completely free slice of mobile gaming goodness.

Its pleasing synth tunes and unusual gameplay are immediately alluring, but that optimism is swiftly trampled by a difficulty level that starts tricky and rapidly becomes sadistic, the overwhelming flurry of notes requiring taps so fast that the music gets lost under an ecstasy of fumbling. It’s always a pity when fresh and interesting ideas don’t quite work, but unfortunately Sonar Beat never manages to live up to its considerable promise.

The Trese Brothers have done an excellent job porting this from PC, and none of its wonderful depth and complexity has been lost in translation. Like FTL, this feels as though it was made to be played on an iPad. Whether you decide to work as a trader, explorer, glorified taxi driver, or become a pirate yourself, the sheer scale and open-endedness of Star Traders: Frontiers is never less than inspiring.

Although instantly gripping, its heavy reliance on chance and your limited agency – you only ever decide which order to play the five cards you’re randomly dealt – make it feel a little too much like gambling rather than a game of skill. With no deck building and encounters decided on die rolls, Knights Of The Card Table struggles to sustain its appeal.

The lack of challenge and the fact that you can complete the campaign for free but get roasted in multiplayer without paid upgrades are symptoms of a deep-seated mediocrity. It may be slick, but it’s a peculiarly empty experience.

A sequel that seems somewhat embarrassed of the series’ sexist past and shallow combat but fails to do anything meaningful about either.

As loving a recreation of the Mega Drive original as fans could ever hope for, but without any major evolution of the concept it has far less to offer anyone else.

A fantastically entertaining action game that combines gameplay, visuals, and audio into an irresistible orgy of violence and… improvisational jazz.

An already flawed game struggles with the limitations of joypad controls – but it’s a spirited effort and further proof that strategy titles do work on consoles.

Some unfortunate flaws unnecessarily sour the experience, but this is a welcome return for the Trials series and its unique approach to motorcycle action.

A fantastic mix of explosive action and thoughtful storytelling, that results in one of the most unpredictable and ambitious action role-players of the modern era.

One of the best survival horror games of the generation, that’s frequently terrifying but also surprisingly nuanced and intelligent when it comes to its storytelling.

There are flashes of brilliance, especially when it comes to the flying, but confused storytelling, boring loot, and unsatisfying missions don’t justify the game’s massive time investment.

An unapologetically hardcore sequel that sacrifices accessibility to appease fans of Codemasters’ fledgling racing sim series.

An inspired mix of skateboarding and 2D platforming that manages to combine a surprising level of realism with some enjoyably impossible level design.

Despite improvements the debt to Portal cannot be fully repaid in this cleverly-constructed by staid first person puzzler.

The imaginative puzzles occasionally come close to replicating the genius of Portal but the bad jokes and repetitive gameplay make this a poor substitute for the real thing.

Tetris and battle royale turn out to be a perfect match with probably the best multiplayer version of the game ever made.

A crossover between the world’s most famous manga characters results in a peculiarly underdeveloped fighter, with an especially disappointing story mode.

A tragic end to Crackdown 3’s long and painful journey, with an unremarkable campaign mode and a multiplayer that is a disaster in terms of tech and design.

A direct-to-video style sequel to Far Cry 5 that’s still perfectly playable but fails to make use of its own premise in any interesting way.

The best post-apocalyptic survival game of the generation, that innovates in terms of both its varied gameplay mechanics and its incisive storytelling.

An impressive blend of old school cyberpunk and modern survival horror, that manages to overcome a bad celebrity voiceover and some distracting technical issues.

The latest Civilization VI expansion handles a difficult subject matter with great insight and in a way that improves the game and makes you think of the world beyond it.

The original Yakuza has been remade into a sequel to its own prequel, but although it’s perfectly competent it feels outdated compared to the newer entries.

BlazBlue goes out in a blaze of glory, and although it lacks new ideas it certainly isn’t short of characters, game modes, or thrilling action.