Despite many rough edges and a fumbled narrative few shooters feel as tense and unpredictable as this.

A significant improvement on previous entries, with better stealth and AI making the sport of Nazi-hunting more enjoyable than ever.

An inspired mix of graphic adventure and Majora’s Mask style time travel, that offers some of the year’s most inspired puzzle-solving.

An excellent conversion of the home console original, that actually seems more at home on the PS Vita than it did its original formats.

The mixture of old school, new school, and Metroidvania works surprisingly well – even if Strider’s long-awaited reboot still feels slightly too safe.

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 fascinating reimaging of an 80s classic that never quite existed, but as interestingly unique as it is, it lacks the elegant simplicity of its more famous stablemates.

An extremely workmanlike throwback to early generations of platform adventure, that completely wastes its interesting setting and gorgeous visual design.

A great value bundle that includes the original game, the new expansion, and some of the best action role-playing since Dark Souls.

One of the best real-time strategies for some time, although it’s a shame that despite a few new ideas it’s not really interested in pushing the genre forward.

Hitman returns to its puzzle-solving roots with an engrossing mix of stealth, violence, and very clever level design.

What starts as a fine homage to Super Metroid and ‘70s style sci-fi ends as a disappointing waste of both story and gameplay potential.

Adding a true open world to the Monster Hunter formula works just as well as you’d expect, even if this sequel is still a long way from perfecting the concept.

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.

The story campaign is a bit of a chore, but the multiplayer is an exciting mix of RTS and MOBA – and may just be the next big thing in strategy gaming.

One of the best offline multiplayer games of recent years, and proof that shouting at people sitting next to you is still one of gaming’s greatest pleasures.

First-person shooter meets survival horror, but the primary psychic phenomenon here is deja vu.

A surprisingly daring mix of interactive narrative, role-playing game and life simulator - and nothing like the lazy cash-in you'd expect.

An excellent sci-fi platformer with exquisite art design and sublime traversal mechanics, which finds distinctive ground among its obvious inspirations.

A colourful new puzzle idea used to its full potential in terms of gameplay and, surprisingly, storytelling.

For a Japanese role-player this is a fun, accessible romp, but it stops short of reinventing its ways out of any of the genre's more long-standing issues.

A strange choice of PSone update, but an enjoyable platformer only let down by its lack of challenge.

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.

Watching paint dry really can be entertaining, in this relentlessly cheerful mix of platformer and interactive colouring book.

A tense and dramatic interactive movie with superbly realised characters, a breathless plot, and a still-frame animation style that’s likely to prove extremely divisive.

A hugely effective interactive story that shows that video games don’t need big budgets or extreme violence to tell an emotional tale.

More of the same is perfectly acceptable when it’s as good as Peggle, but there’s a disappointing lack of both content and ambition here.

The best game about moving out there’s ever been but, more importantly, a fun four-player co-op game that’s perfect for causing family arguments everyone can enjoy.

Gorgeous pixel art graphics and one of the best turn-based combat systems of recent years can’t quite make up for an obnoxious script and frustrating role-playing elements.

You could just buy the classic Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands separately but while none of the other games in this retro arcade collection are anywhere near as good, they are all at least interesting.

More highly addictive Nazi cranium popping, that improves almost every aspect of the experience – especially in terms of the open world and expanded weapon options.

Bizarre, abstract, and completely beautiful. GNOG’s puzzles aren’t difficult but they are strangely entrancing, especially in VR.

A fun, cathartic romp through demonic armies, with two fun characters that offer plenty of personality and an interesting alternative to other Diablo style role-players.

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

Dragon Quest meets Pokémon but the resultant synthesis really only inherits the worst of both parents, despite some impressive visuals.

The best Advance Wars clone so far on the Switch, with tons of content, accessible controls, and deceptively deep gameplay.

A purposefully under-designed platformer that takes several cues from Pikmin but forges ahead with its own distinctive take on a platforming comfort game.

There’s no question that this is a great game, but the problem is that this is not the ideal way to experience it. The frame rate is uneven and while this isn’t a straight action game there’s a constant sense that it’s only barely managing to work on the Switch 2. The occasionally blurry visuals are also less impressive than other launch ports and while some of that may be fixed with a patch, it’s clear this is a fairly compromised port.

A super-authentic bike racing sim that the hardcore will love. And while less experienced players may struggle at first, the effort is worth it.

A strange set of priorities and a peculiarly high price make Nintendo’s big DLC experiment a hard sell for all but the most committed platform fans.

An impressively visual approach to building your own games, with a fully formed tutorial that demystifies complicated ideas with typical Nintendo charm and aplomb.

It's as gritty as a corporate luncheon, but this is a worthwhile, if lightweight, alternative to FIFA 12 - even if it still doesn't fulfil the potential of the concept.

A clever spin on the MOBA genre that strips away the complications and nerdy presentation to create a fast-paced but deceptively complex action strategy game.

One of the best looking games ever, but its awe for retro Zelda ruins hopes for similarly inspired gameplay.

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

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.

Despite the change in tone many things remain consistent, from Amanita’s trademark simple but infinitely expressive character design, to trial and error gameplay that has you tugging, pushing, and prodding things to solve puzzles, making this a perfect candidate for the move to mobile. It’s a brief experience, once you’ve figured out what you’re doing in each scene, but also an eerily atmospheric one.

It copies and borrows from the best - and often very well - but competence is no substitute for character in this forgettable 2D adventure.

A poignant, slow-paced but ultimately shallow exploration of memory and legacy in a changing world, that also manages to be the world’s first cycle-based walking simulator.

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.

On the PC there are too few new features to satisfy existing fans, but on the PlayStation 4 the joys of being an island dictator still feel enjoyably fresh.

A disappointing waste of a fun combat system and an impressive graphics engine, with ugly artwork and unremarkable storytelling that expends all its goodwill disappointingly quickly.

The excellent multiplayer deserves to be the focus here, rather than the repetitive, humourless, and largely artless first person shooting of the single-player campaign.

It’s great fun, the refined and challenging shooting mechanics and enormous assortment of gun configurations proving highly entertaining.

A worthy follow-up to Deadly Premonition, although whether it earns the same classic status will depend largely on the subsequent episodes.

A mild improvement on the season one debut, but while the first episode offers some shock value it still lacks depth in both storytelling and gameplay.

Even as a beta release this is an impressively entertaining, and accessible, combat flight simulator, and a welcome break from the shoot ‘em-up norm.

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.

Still one of the best strategy role-playing games ever made and a great place for newcomers to the franchise to start – assuming they’ve got the dedication necessary.

An unfairly neglected part of the Doom canon is given the remaster it most certainly deserves, in what is one of the most welcome retro remasters of recent years.

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.

With a few, surprisingly minor, disadvantages brought about by touchscreen controls, Call Of Duty: Warzone Mobile does exactly what it says on the tin.

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.

It's not subtle or clever, but this unashamedly uncomplicated shooter is one of the best of the year.

Dragon Quest continues to be the most successful partner for Dynasty Warriors, but the pace of improvement remains painfully slow.

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.

A disappointing follow-up to Gone Home that tells a less interesting and less focused tale, while failing to advance the art of interactive storytelling.

The name and the screenshots have probably put most people off already but this is a classic example of Cave's mastery of the 2D shooter.

Playing as an alien monstrosity is a great idea, and at times works well, but the fiddly controls and awkward mix of gameplay ideas doesn’t gel together well.

An ambitious but uneven action role-player, with impressive visuals and excellent boss battles, that are held back by an inherent shallowness – particularly in the lack of meaningful exploration.

A mediocre rhythm action game that is not made any better by tacking on a silly and insubstantial Persona story mode.

Assassin’s Creed gets back-to-basics with a shorter, more focused – if slightly less polished -campaign, and a return to an impossibly beautiful looking early-era Middle East.

One of the most daring marriages of narrative and action game ever seen, and yet still the end result never fully satisfies as either a game or story.

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

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

An inventive action platformer that manages to be both cute and gory in equal measure and where it seems absolutely impossible that it could be the work of primarily just two people.

Another sub-par remaster of Super Monkey Ball that ruins the precision and elegance of the originals and replaces it with janky, unpredictable controls and shoddy presentation.

That Torment: Tides Of Numenera is still a thoroughly engrossing experience despite its issues speaks volumes, and we’ve no hesitation in describing it as a worthy sequel to the original. But even so, this does not seem the best vehicle for its story or gameplay ideas. And it’s ironic that a game set so far in the future is relying on technology and concepts that are clearly decades out of date.

Like most DLC it doesn’t introduce much in the way of new ideas but if you enjoyed Doom Eternal you’re going to love these new levels and their uncompromising challenge.

Although its addition of plot and characters doesn’t quite work the racing action is as thrilling as ever, with a huge diversity of vehicles and the compelling handling fans have come to expect from the series.

The new gold standard in console real-time strategies, and one that isn't afraid to invent new ideas as well as reinterpret old ones.

Technically impeccable and fantastic to behold, 2K’s first PGA Tour game is already the best golf sim currently available.

Beneath its cute exterior beats the heart of a demandingly difficult brainteaser which rewards invention and persistence, but has no time for trivial puzzles – or gamers.

Slick, high-tech, and impeccably well designed; this is the best golf game of the modern era and the new standard for others to aspire to.

R-Type journeys into the third dimensions but a lack of control and high entry fee spoils the trip.

It owes an obvious debt to Mirror’s Edge but this impressive new cyberpunk game surpasses its inspiration in terms of both combat and first person parkour.

The scuba diving sim isn't a crowded genre but this makes a good effort to dominate it all the same.

A loving, and genuinely funny, homage to old school role-players and the people that play them.

A low-brow mix of Resident Evil 4 and No More Heroes, that is far from the best from either creator but still a fun and subversive shooter.

A polished Metroidvania infused with Africana, whose linearity and overreliance on rote-learning action sequences undermine its otherwise high standards.

It has its flaws but this is still one of the most interesting and original multiplayer games of the year.

A well designed, technical tour de force that lives up to the enticing prospect of an officially licensed Codemasters rally game.

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 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.

It may just be a cynical re-branding of Guitar Hero 5 but if you prefer pop to rock this is still fun.

Another genuinely great PlayStation VR title, that offers innovative gameplay and presentation rather than just tech demo novelty.

Konami's role-player is a frustratingly uneven mix of great graphics, dull combat and fun questing.

It’s still the same old imperfections holding it back, but that doesn’t stop Rome II being the best Total War so far – and one of the most accomplished strategy games of recent years.