It has more new content than any other New Play Control! game but this is still inferior to the original.

It's unlikely to ever outsell Angry Birds, but Bad Piggies certainly outthinks it – with a clever mix of physics-based puzzling and experimentation.

Remakes so good they flatter the original games, but whether or not they deserve this level of star treatment the end result is three enjoyable and accessible 3D platformers for all ages.

Funnier, more imaginative and with 100% more Murray the talking skull, Monkey Island is back on course.

One of the best Aliens games ever made and a clever and innovative real-time strategy all of its own, that needs just a bit more polish and a lot less bugs.

A well executed and impressively detailed mix of Metroidvania exploration, Soulslike combat, and role-playing style customisation that’s marred only by its demanding controls.

It all still works on touchscreen, with a few inevitable compromises, making it viable to play while you’re out, before returning to your PC or console.

The mix of rhythm action and strategy gameplay is still as inspired as ever, with visuals that polish up impressively well on the PlayStation 4.

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.

Its attempted revolution of turn-based tactics isn’t quite as practical as it first seems but this is still an impressively fun, and funny, strategy game.

A brutal, albeit familiar, survival game that’s thoughtfully designed and elegantly refined, and as a result easily the best game of its type on PlayStation 4.

A highly enjoyable platform puzzler, with some cleverly complex set pieces and great presentation – but it lacks that final layer of polish that could have made it something really special.

A successful halfway house between a Command & Conquer style button-masher and a thoroughbred strategy game, with tense, fast-paced, but pleasingly tactical battles.

It’s a not a very good advert for the Wii U but this is still a hugely entertaining open world game, with one of the funniest video game scripts ever.

A highly competent platform puzzler that’s starting to play things a little too safe, especially as it refuses to address long-standing issues like the bland combat.

A charming, whimsical and very soothing life simulator that makes good use all of all its many influences and still feels refreshingly unique in itself.

Still one of the best entries in the series, but the comparisons to Monster Hunter: World are not kind – especially as this is essentially just a 3DS port.

Almost a great sequel, but the improvements to the sims are overshadowed by the shopping list of peculiarly random missing features.

One of the most unlikely remasters of 2016 is also one of the most enjoyable, as long as you like retro shooting, cowboys, and robots.

The story mode has some technical issues but overall this is an impressive effort for a launch game, with the GamePad adding some genuine value to the experience.

The best Tiger Woods game this generation and also the most obnoxiously cynical use of downloadable content.

One of the best Kirby games so far, although it still suffers from all the series’ usual faults – including the nagging concern that the whole concept could be so much more.

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.

The bizarre mix of influences and gameplay doesn’t always gel, but the visuals and writing help paper over the cracks in this admirably unique adventure.

A strikingly beautiful, sci-fi alternative to Hollow Knight: Silksong, but one which is consistently off the mark when it comes to the balance between difficulty and frustration.

An almost complete tour of Pac-Man’s more than 30 year history, but the problem is that the only missing piece is the most important.

As inessential as most story DLC tends to be, but despite a few unwanted encores this is still an entertaining, if unnecessary, story expansion.

As impossibly complex as it is deep, but running your own empire proves to be hugely engrossing for those that put in the man hours.

It's not as significant a departure from the original games as it first appears but the gravity gimmicks help ensure a series best for the world's most successful video game.

A charming puzzle platformer which makes great use of its puppet show concept but falls short in longevity.

That lack of co-op at launch is a baffling omission but otherwise this is a fun evolution of the Lego games, that’s superior to them in a number of ways.

Mr Driller is a great game, but this is not a great Mr Driller game - merely an expensive introduction.

The glory days of '80s/'90s wrestling is an appropriately arcade style affair and all the better for it.

Still one of the few video games to deal with love and relationships in anything like a realistic manner, but the attempts to shoehorn in an extra new character fall flat.

The comparisons to Portal are many, and obviously intentional, but this smart and ambitious first person puzzler is no mere clone.

Another excellent download that's arguably more entertaining than the main game, with an improved co-op mode and a more focused adventure.

As graceful a marriage of old school action and modern sensibilities as you could probably hope for, despite the so-so multiplayer and repetitive setting.

A studied recreation of Crash Bandicoot’s halcyon days, that does little to innovate the formula but still offers a fun and varied slice of 90s style platforming.

Poor pacing and the worst celebrity voiceovers of the year mar what could have been the definitive Lego game, but in the end is just another fun but shallow co-op game amongst many.

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.

An enjoyable reminder of one of the best ever portable role-playing series, although it’s really more a greatest hits compilation than a new game.

The Layton legacy continues with an endearing new lead and lots of new puzzles, but relatively few new ideas.

A prequel to Road 96, that adds skating mini-games but removes the procedural generation of the original – but it’s still engagingly written, and has a lot to say.

A clever and quietly innovative puzzlers, whose only flaw is too much of a good thing.

The execution isn’t quite as good as the central concept, but this is still a fun celebration of everything that’s great about split-screen gaming.

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.

An unexpected gift for fans of the SNES original and while the remake is seriously flawed in terms of both graphics and gameplay its sheer oddness is still highly compelling.

Not all of the game’s bold ideas are entirely successful but in terms of the visuals, music, and storytelling ambition this is one of the most absorbing indie adventures of the year.

Like everything to do with No Man’s Sky, the VR and multiplayer additions aren’t without their problems, but this is still a clear step forward for the constantly evolving sci-fi epic.

A cleverly orchestrated souvenir of Final Fantasy at its best, that also can't help but remind you of the series' most common failings.

It’s not short of spectacle but in terms of innovation and variety this is nowhere near as forward-thinking as Bungie would like to pretend.

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 fun action platformer with plenty of charm and some great visuals, that’s only let down by an uneven difficulty level that seems unsure exactly how hard it wants to be.

An understandable attempt to create a more accessible Total War experience, but it’s been streamlined so much it offers only a small taste of the series’ full potential.

Exactly the sort of fun, colourful, and purposefully silly multiplayer game the world needs right now, even if it’s not exactly the most polished video game of the year.

A great value aerial Mario Kart that flies rings round many other racers that cost ten times the price.

A full-on space opera looter shooter RPG, that is brimming with content and exciting combat set pieces, but which doesn’t quite know when to stop before it starts to feel repetitive.

An extremely slow start to Minecraft’s first story adventure, but it’s a game made with a clear love for the original and is bound to please most younger fans.

A spirited attempt to reinvent Guitar Hero and the music game genre, but the freemium approach to additional content has its obvious drawbacks.

Like its console older brother, the ‘nemesis’ inter-driver rivalry system doesn’t quite come off as intended, and it does drop the odd frame, but the port to mobile is another remarkable achievement for Feral Interactive.

Surprisingly dark, despite its protagonists’ youth and manga cuteness, the narrative branching in all sorts of semi-lethal directions as you test the game’s capacity for characters to lie, manipulate, and double cross their junior school chums.

One of the best post-Breath Of The Wild open world adventures, but while the game’s heavily influenced by Zelda it ultimately plumps for amiable exploration over more rugged adventure.

Nowhere close to a reinvention of the series but the more serious tone is mostly successful, with an ambitious story campaign and some entertaining new multiplayer modes.

SWERY’s latest work seems unusually derivative at times but the mix of disturbing atmosphere, surreal situations, and serious subject matter is still hugely engaging.

A superior Resident Evil spin-off that manages to mix old school horror and more modern combat better than almost any other entry in the series.

Whether it's more or less value for money than usual is up for debate but in purely game terms this is the best MX Vs. ATV yet.

Some of the best dialogue of the year and an interestingly original portrayal of Hell overcome a slightly undercooked take on classic graphic adventures.

An admirably imaginative approach to downloadable content that has a better story than the main game, but not quite enough variety in action and missions.

Old school graphic adventure that doesn't pull its punches with either the puzzles or the gorgeous art.

The level of whimsy may seem artificially high but this is an inventive and fun puzzler - and a great opening salvo for Xbox Live Arcade in 2011.

An enjoyable homage to old school Metal Gear Solid, but a lack of challenge and an overbearing story means it isn’t quite a stealth classic in its own right.

It’s the same old EDF in terms of graphics, gameplay, and the swarm of (mostly intentional) bugs but online co-op and a mountain of content means it still holds a special charm.

We’ve enjoyed Odyssey more than any entry since Assassin’s Creed II but it’s still frustrating that the franchise has done so little to improve the gameplay fundamentals upon which everything else depends. Although at least the one thing you can always say about Assassin’s Creed is that it definitely offers value for money.

It’s not the world’s most radical sequel but Train Sim World 4 is a sizeable update for the virtual train set, with plenty to please new fans and old.

If there is a complaint it’s that Tessa has a severe case of verbal diarrhoea, but you can tap to skip dialogue if it gets too much. It’s a good story with original music and pleasing sci-fi artwork.

A competent Left 4 Dead clone that seems to have gained little from the association with John Carpenter, but it is a sensibly priced diversion for those that want a new co-op shooter to play with friends.

It’s a strange and beautiful game, although one you’ll need to approach with an open mind and absolutely no sense of hurry.

The worst FIFA game for over half a decade, and clearly inferior to PES 2016. And yet it’s still not a bad game in itself, with some welcome new features.

Still a courageously original action role-player that breaks almost every rule in the role-playing book. Although what it really needs is a sequel, not another remaster.

A useful expansion that unlike most doesn’t ignore the failings of the original, although even with the improvements Beyond Earth still isn’t as engrossing as the real Civilization.

Still the same innovative-but-flawed puzzler as on the DS, but now far cheaper and with even more attractive visuals.

A clever reinterpretation of classic Monster Hunter action in the form of a Japanese role-playing game. Although it can often seem a little too oversimplified compared to the mainline titles.

Another engrossing example of traditional Japanese role-playing, that’s still accessible enough for anyone to enjoy – as long as they’ve played the first one.

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

The mismatched marriage of Mario Kart and PGR results in a racer that's less than the sum of its parts.

An uneven mix of the overfamiliar and the surprisingly inspired, but the gorgeous graphics alone make this a Metroidvania to remember.

The Darkness II is a good game, but whether you consider it a good sequel will depend entirely on what you liked best about the original. If it was the storytelling and exploration then you may find this disappointing, if it was the OTT violence and bizarre Darkness powers then this is still a hell of a lot of fun.

The cops ‘n’ robbers theme often does more harm than good to the Battlefield formula, but this peculiar spin-off has just enough tricks of is own to be worth a collar.

Probably the best Mario Tennis game since the N64 era, but the trick shots can still frustrate and the story campaign is a disappointment.

The Layton legacy works perfectly well on mobile, with an endearing new lead and what by all rights should be regarded as a great value-for-money download.

One of the best remasters so far makes surviving the Russian apocalypse more horrifying than ever, although none of the changes address the games’ more fundamental issues.

An improvement on the earlier echochrome and another abstract but engaging puzzler for the PSP.

The most enjoyably one-note VR game for a long time, that turns its simplicity into a virtue and whose cathartic ultra-violence is strangely therapeutic in these difficult times.

A trip down wrestling's memory lane that ends up being a lot more fun than any of the more serious sims of recent years.

Loud, brash, brightly coloured tracks with a rousing selection of cars and racing styles in a game that’s much more about fun than serious simulation.

Some of the best car chases in recent gaming memory and a stunning post-apocalyptic world, although when Max gets out of his car he becomes more mediocre than mad.

The gimmick is great, and playing as a villain works extremely well, but as a game this doesn’t play as fair or as fun as previous instalments.

It has its flaws but this inspired mix of first person shooter and traditional roguelike offers a level of freedom and tactical decision making that many bigger budget games can only dream of.