The overall experience though is hypnotically beautiful, both visually and in terms of its almost transcendent ability to make you think and care about its virtual world. Forget the labels of it being an indie game or download, this is a great work of imagination and well worth the wait.

An excellent remake of a not-quite-classic survival horror, that nevertheless makes a convincing argument for the continuation of the series.

It offers little progress from the PC version, but then none is really needed in what is a masterclass in minimalist video game design.

Featuring a high degree of polish and a scattering of secrets and collectibles in each level, it may not be particularly original, and its cut scenes outstay their welcome, but this relatively short and highly entertaining game certainly does not.

Despite a highly emotional finale this is arguably the worst episode of the season, although the overall storytelling remains some of the strongest in gaming.

A fantastic detective adventure, that stands with the very best examples in gaming, thanks to a complex and intriguing mystery filled with interesting characters and puzzles.

More than just a retro compilation, this is a fascinating attempt to create an interactive history of Atari, that goes above and beyond in terms of trawling the archives and creating new remakes.

It’s already a miracle the remake works as well as it does but this PS5 remaster is excellent and while the new Intermission DLC isn’t essential it’s still an enjoyable diversion with a fun new character.

A disappointingly clumsy attempt to evolve the Fire Emblem formula that takes little advantage of being on the Switch, but the anime melodrama and fun combat still entertains.

More realistic than ever, but not necessarily a better game as a result of it - especially as the frontline features and options have seen little change.

A serious game for serious minds or a fun and surprisingly accessible stealth shooter. Just as it should be, the choice is always yours.

Still one of the most beautiful video games ever created, not to mention the best Zelda game that never was.

Still one of the best stealth games of recent years and an accomplished 2D platformer in its own right, with a near perfect balance of depth, accessibility, and bloodshed.

Patients’ stories are hilarious, as are the songs that pepper the game, and the appalling medical advice you offer based on observation of the zodiac. Even more bizarrely, it’s based on the life of real Elizabethan astrologer, Simon Forman, albeit jazzed up considerably for the game.

A surprisingly iterative sequel that’s nonetheless superior to its predecessor and despite some dull moment, and an incoherent narrative, this is still the best Metal Gear game in a decade.

Another perfectly constructed neo-arcade game from the makers of Luftrausers, which perfectly marries twin stick shooters with roguelike punishment.

A successful evolution of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, which makes great use of its Hawaiian setting and an almost endless array of distractions and mini-games.

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.

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.

Purely from a gameplay perspective, it’s the best first person battle royale title out there, and well worth dipping into a year on. It’s disappointing that Titanfall 3 seems further away than ever, but for now Apex Legends will do just as well.

The definitive version of one of the best video games of the last 10 years, as well as a perfect example of downloadable content done right.

A typically awful boxed set for such an influential series, but the games themselves work well in HD and this is still a useful primer for the series.

For a start, it’s the only current gen-only game available at launch. And while that’s not a particularly good indication of the Switch 2’s power, given that Split Fiction isn’t a very graphically demanding game, it’s still impressive that it works as well as it does. It’s capped at 30fps when docked but it looks almost indistinguishable from the PlayStation 5 version.

Some of the best multiplayer action ever seen on the PC, although not without its issues - as well as a deeply disappointing single-player campaign.

An improvement on the original but only in the details, not as a result of any big new ideas. Genre-starved survival horror fans should be well satisfied though.

Giving everyone the ability to create video games is a wonderful thing and Dreams is far easier to use, and adapt to your own requirements, than you might imagine. Although the one thing that it teaches above all is that no matter how easy the physical act of video game creation becomes, making a game that is enjoyable to play is something else entirely. That shouldn’t put anyone off though, but instead inspire you with the knowledge that, thanks to Dreams, all that is stopping you from becoming a world-renowned video game creator is hard graft and a vivid imagination.

A dream come true for Beatles fans, but viewed purely as a game it's not a patch on Rock Band 2.

One of the best and most original driving experiences on the iPhone, especially given the price and the instantly addictive multiplayer.

Considerably more depth and variety than the original, and with even more stunning visuals - this is as good as smartphone and tablet gaming gets.

Easily the best detective game of the modern era, with challenging and rewarding gameplay combined with some of the most evocative visuals of the year.

A stunning technical achievement but also an evolutionarily leap in adult storytelling and intelligent action gameplay.

A stripped-down, glorious-looking remake that updates the original two games in just the right way to make them feel fresh and exciting again.

A peculiar sequel that at times seems to be purposefully undermining the best elements of the original, but it still gets just enough right to please both existing fans and potential newcomers.

Only the limiting nature of the PSP holds back the most ambitious and fully-featured Metal Gear ever.

A major update to the intricately plotted and highly detailed RPG, that gives players more of what they loved in the original release and the same amount of what they didn’t.

State-of-the-art visuals help create one of gaming’s most entertaining open worlds, even if the gameplay doesn’t quite reach the same standards.

An incredibly assured attempt to rewrite the rules of modern gaming, where even the smallest mistake can cost you dear but the tiniest victory seems like an epic achievement.

It might not change anything fundamental, but this special edition not only looks and plays better but has an impressive amount of new content too.

A completely pointless remake of one of the best games of the last decade, except with only half the content and at double the price.

An impressively ambitious attempt to make a VR-only action game that is both a visual spectacle and a highly enjoyable role-player, full of imaginative ideas.

Transplanting its action from the snow of Alto’s Adventure to a desert makes less difference than you might imagine to this beautiful-looking, almost meditative sandboarding game. Sharing a great deal with the first outing, you’ll once again be sliding down undulating, procedurally-generated terrain, popping tricks, hopping over rocks, chasms and bonfires and occasionally racing stray lemurs. Its perpetual magic hour lighting and immaculately drawn visuals complement the serene action, in which you can now wall-ride to extend your chain of tricks, even if players of the original may feel they’ve seen much of this before.

An utterly charming and perfectly paced mini-adventure that packs in more character, emotion, and sense of wonder than most 30 hour epics.

A fantastically strange and unique first person adventure that manages to make touchscreen controls seem fresh and interesting again.

A near perfect segue from console to iPhone, and a game that understands the pros and cons of touchscreen controls a lot better than most.

An excellent follow-up to Monster Hunter World, which expands the formula in a number of useful and exciting ways, without streamlining the heart out of the franchise.

Minimalist gaming at its finest, with graphics and presentation out of the Stone Age but evocative sci-fi action that’s tense, tactical and instantly addictive.

The greyification of gaming continues, but this new age Super Metroid is more fun than it looks.

Nothing less than a whole new genre of video game, that evolves the interactive movie into something that feels dynamic and excitingly different.

Easily the best toys-to-life game so far, with a great new gimmick that makes for one of the best family friendly titles this year – even on iOS.

As substantial as they are the changes won't silence committed critics, but for accessible, content-rich action this is still the best first person shooter of the year.

A compelling story well told, and although it’s still not very interactive the variety and artfulness of the presentation feels like something only a video game could do.

Arguably the definitive version of one of the most famous, and enduring, video games in history, with some very welcome new multiplayer features.

Bravely uncompromising in terms of the freedom it offers the player and its willingness to go against current trends in gaming, Dishonored is adult video-gaming at its best.

A gloriously surreal third person puzzle game, set in a hotel where everything from its rooms to its artwork is part of a multi-layered mystery of time travel, mazes, and the occult.

The best Mario Kart has ever been, with a near perfect blend of features and frequently astonishing visuals – despite some unnecessary repetition in track settings.

If you accept its purposeful limitations this is one of the few successful attempts to ensure creating your own games is as much fun as playing them.

It's a better shooter, but the overfamiliar plot and setting makes for a less interesting game overall.

An inspired mix of real science, sandbox gameplay, and space simulation – that is both a lot more entertaining and a lot more accessible than you’d expect.

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 original was good enough that a Definitive Edition seems unnecessary, but the small additions and improvements only make this gorgeous platformer even more essential.

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.

It was already a worthy follow-up to the Tomb Raider reboot, but with all the DLC, and some interesting new extras, this is not only a good game but also a great bargain.

A joyful, colourful, and hugely inventive cavalcade of co-op antics that makes superb use of having two players for both its unique challenges and unscripted hijinks.

Another masterful mix of interactive story and brutal action, and which despite the short running time still packs an emotional punch.

Wii MotionPlus delivers once more, turning the solid but flawed game into probably the best golf sim ever.

The graphics are absolutely stunning but the gameplay is predictable and surprisingly uneventful, as the game fails to leverage its technical achievements for anything more than straightforward spectacle.

The landmark script and puzzles override the bland artwork as the classic graphic adventure returns.

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.

It's one step forward and two back in a sequel that seems almost ashamed of its own unique features.

Probably the best dungeon crawler in the world, including Diablo III. And what it lacks in storytelling and originality it makes up with pitch perfect design and pacing.

A superb sequel that improves on every aspect of the already excellent originals, and offers one of the most absorbing and unpredictable strategy experiences ever seen.

Every bit as intelligent and daring as its predecessor, and if you’re prepared to be equally creative while playing it then Dishonored 2 offers almost endless rewards.

An excellent expansion to the already superb original, that cleverly weaves in new features that force you to relearn and adapt everything you thought you knew about Enemy Unknown.

A longer running time helps address one of the few flaws with the original game, and single-handedly makes up for the lack of official new Metroid and Castlevania games.

The best computer role-player of the modern era, whose fantastically complex world and combat works unexpectedly well on consoles.

Probably the best single-player experience ever in a fighting game, on top of being an extremely accessible and highly technical multiplayer brawler.

A compelling story well told, and although it’s still not very interactive the variety and artfulness of the presentation feels like something only a video game could do.

It also fully recreates one of the best AAA games of the last few years on a phone, and while your handset may get a bit warm during play, in the winter months, and provided you’re near a power outlet, that’s almost comforting.

A solid sequel to the crowd-pleasing original, which still doesn’t make enough of its unique setting but manages to add an impressive amount of depth to its combat and side content.

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.

New Pokémon games often introduce minor features like this but they often feel like slim justification for a new game, and are abandoned the instant a new sequel comes out. Most of X and Y’s new ideas are more substantial, or at least more fun, and help to cement this as the definitive Pokémon game of the modern age.

Not quite a misfire but while the action is highly entertaining this time-looping adventure squanders much of its premise on disappointingly straightforward objectives and a curiously tame portrayal of unchecked hedonism.

Gorgeous visuals and some sublime visual storytelling, Ori And The Blind Forest might not do much that is genuinely new but almost everything it does attempt is genuinely great.

Developed by Simogo, whose spine-tingling Year Walk, and expectation subverting Device 6 have rightly become landmarks in mobile gaming, this is another one. It’s a shame it will be denied to Android users, but for Arcade subscribers it’s possibly the first unequivocally essential download.

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

The difficultly curve and arcane interface and mechanics will still sadly limit the game's appeal, but CD Projekt has never given the impression that they're chasing a mainstream audience. And that's probably the attitude that is needed in order to create one of the few adult video games that doesn't feel like it was made purely for teenagers.

One of the best Metroid games ever made and a thrilling restatement of everything that makes the series, and the genre it inspired, great.

The best episode yet, that ups the ante in terms of not just the zombie threat but how you interact with some of gaming's most convincing characters.

Not just one of the most versatile 2D game creation tools on consoles but the best collection of new Super Mario courses since the 90s.

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.

There might not be any slow motion door breaches but this is the smartest and funniest first person game since Portal, with an interactive script that is as a profound as it is constantly amusing.

Vengeance’s 12 or so hours of entertainment are joyous, and speeding through them with paid upgrades is a fool’s errand. This is still the very pinnacle of the Tower Defense genre and even if you completely ignore its microtransactions, it’s a superb game.

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

A fantastic tour de force for the Switch and arguably the best Monster Hunter game ever, with a huge range of features and monsters, both new and old, and great co-op gameplay.

One of the best smartphone games of the year, with stunning cartoon visuals and gameplay that's as easy to control as it is to become addicted to.

The best of the Fire Emblem Fates trilogy and one of the best portable strategy games ever made, with a perfect blend of the best elements of the first two chapters.

An excellent sequel, that manages to evolve the series in terms of both accessibility and complexity, and maintain its place as one of the best strategy games of all time.