Despite its many and obvious influences this is an impressively unique vision that offers excellent value for money and one of the best surprises on the 3DS’s eShop.

It’s great to see the creators of Disgaea trying something new but this charmless, needlessly confusing, action role-player is a failure on almost every level.

A fascinating look at the early days of one of the most consistently interesting Japanese role-playing franchises, although for many it will be just a little too old school.

Not just the worst game of the year but such a wretched failure of an action game that it’s in the running for the worst of the generation.

One of the best offline multiplayer games for years and yet more proof that the bow and arrow is gaming’s most entertaining weapon of choice.

The graphics are a great advert for the power of the PlayStation 4, but in terms of gameplay and story this hasn’t moved on at all from the previous generation.

The spirit of the arcade will never die thanks to games like this, as Vlambeer demonstrate their mastery of minimalist action.

Probably the most satisfying video games crossover ever made, and one that plays with the conventions of both franchises and still delivers a funny and touching story.

A brief but entertaining prologue that is marred by the question of value for money and an empty story that has no resolution unless you buy the next game.

A superb remake of two flawed but still interesting entries in the Final Fantasy canon – and certainly far better games than any of the last three.

As bland and unmemorable as 3D platforming gets, and clearly not a Pac-Man game at all – just a cynical piece of tie-in merchandise.

About as new as a fossilised dinosaur egg and just about as fast and exciting, this is a depressingly poor degradation of a once great original.

Not a very good argument for why Nintendo shouldn’t make smartphone games, but an imaginative and enjoyable take on Candy Crush Saga and its ilk.

An expansion that improves on almost every aspect of the original, fixing obvious flaws and adding a much greater sense of variety to what is now one of the best retro role-players around.

A carefully considered sequel that avoids upsetting existing fans and offers an olive branch to newcomers – all the while retaining its position as one of the most challenging, and rewarding, video games of modern times.

It could do with a few more ancillary options, and a more interesting backstory, but in terms of online gameplay Titanfall is now the game to beat this gen.

An excellent conversion of the original iOS hit, and a wonderfully disturbing horror story that innovates in terms of everything from visuals and interface to its macabre narrative.

Never mind the sexism, the awful gameplay is the primary reason you should be avoiding this shockingly poor beat ‘em-up.

Roguelike fans will appreciate the persistence needed to get anywhere but this is a mediocre example of the genre and not nearly as much fun as it could’ve been.

A slight improvement on the first episode, but still basically just plot set-up for a story that too often feels out of your hands.

Still the same lacklustre combination of Left 4 Dead with a twin-stick shooter, where only the status of PlayStation Plus freebie prevents further criticism.

A good, solid action role-player and a fantastic South Park tie-in, with the same caustic wit and an unashamed embrace of video game and role-playing obsessions.

Still one of the best action games ever made and although this is technically the best-looking version it still doesn’t really feel like the definitive one.

An excellent hybrid of role-playing staples that although it lacks new ideas of its own is able to use existing ones in a variety of entertaining ways – except when it comes to the story.

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.

Another amusing look behind the veil of role-playing conventions, although it’s a shame the experience feels so slight and insubstantial.

The least brown shooter ever made, with the colourful graphics and accessible controls supported by an imaginative and surprisingly well-crafted online experience.

Lords Of Shadow 2 waddles on for 20-odd hours and would’ve been twice the game if it was half the length, with the all the unwanted padding and repetition taken out. It’s such a shame because the first game, and MercurySteam, showed such promise. But this is a huge backwards step and we fear the undead charms of Castlevania may finally have been killed off once and for all.

Series fans may view it as a disaster but the problem is that Thief isn’t even interesting enough to get angry about, despite the well hewn stealth gameplay.

Not nearly as awful as it first appears and a surprisingly effective movie adaptation, that channels much of the same mindless energy as the first two sequels.

Far Cry is a series that’s gone on to much better things since the flawed original, and revisiting it 10 years later almost feels like pointing and laughing at the afflicted.

Treasure’s cult 2D shooter remains as uniquely entertaining as always, and surprisingly well adapted for a modern PC.

Don’t let the name or presentation put you off: this is an impressive piece of interactive storytelling that gets more right than most other games with 10 times its budget.

No longer the Deadly Premonition of action games, just an outdated, half-broken, shooter that offers only glimpses of what it could’ve been.

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

Tropical Freeze is a good game, and aficionados of the genre will love it, but it does absolutely nothing to move forward either the Donkey franchise, 2D platformers in general, or the case for buying a Wii U.

It goes completely against the spirit of the movie but at least the game is able to celebrate the creativity of its developers, if not its players.

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

The definitive version of Tempest and as such one of the best arcade games ever made, even if it’s only a minor improvement on previous versions.

There’s no attempt at pretence: this is a Monster Hunter clone through and through, but such a good one it actually does some things better than its inspiration.

Compounded by the nonsensical script and one-dimensional characters it’s as if the game is specifically designed to feel as shallow and disconnected as possible. Lightning Returns might be an enjoyable enough folly for fans, but there’s very little here for anyone else.

Not quite Scary Movie but certainly not the video game equivalent of Airplane, although the fact that it even tries to be is almost recommendation enough.

Spring cleaning has never been so entertaining in this well presented and cunningly addictive physics-based platformer.

The storytelling is as well up to Telltale’s usual standards, but waiting three months for such a short and relatively uneventful episode is unavoidably anticlimactic.

Repetition and overfamiliarity are always the best ways to nullify fear, but until they set in this is one of the most effectively scary video games ever made.

A great alternative to Candy Crush and its clones, that’s just a few tweaks – and a visual makeover – away from being a classic puzzler.

Dungeon Keeper is not a video game, not any more. Instead it’s just a virtual beggar, constantly demanding your spare change and offering nothing in return.

A good HD remake but the game itself doesn’t really warrant the attention, with too many unfulfilled promises that even its sequels failed to make good on.

That the controls are frustrating and imprecise is kind of the point, but what’s less forgiveable is how poorly Octodad seems to understand its own premise.

A disappointing evolution of the Budokai Tenkaichi template, which despite some interesting ideas seems intent on making itself as shallow and simplistic as possible.

Not one of the best map packs Call Of Duty has ever seen, and yet for some reason one of the most expensive. Being Michael Myers is fun though.

A great cinematic action adventure, with one of gaming’s great lead performances, although its Tomb Raider DNA seems fragmented and even degenerative in parts.

Authentically retro but then many games are these days and Legacy’s dungeon-crawling action is not nearly as entertaining as the best of its rivals.

Clever, funny, and thought-provoking, but even without the weight of expectations this is a surprisingly insubstantial and ephemeral experience.

Extremely short, extremely dull, and extremely expensive for what it is. Dead Rising 3 may not be the greatest launch game ever but it deserves better than this.

A surprise new champion for the PS Vita and a cleverly designed mix of skateboarding and 2D platforming that will appeal to everyone.

Much more than just a homage, Consortium might be rough around the edges but the dialogue system and freedom of choice rivals that of any other game.

The original 3DS game is sacrificed on the altar of microtransactions and grubby monetisation, almost erasing any sense of fun in the process.

A superb multiplayer game with some of the best virtual sword-fighting ever seen, giving you the best reason to crowd round a PC since a kitten did something cute on YouTube.

A competent and unexciting update to a competent and unexciting puzzler, which is not nearly praise enough to forgive the optimistically high price.

Some of the most difficult decision-making in gaming, both tactically and morally, but occasional rough edges betray the game’s small budget and short development time.

The story set-up is good and there are some interesting new gameplay features, but almost all of them are squandered by sloppy design and inconsequential action.

Microtransactions rear their ugly head once again, but they’re not enough to take the shine off one of the best portable Ridge Racers so far.

The action side of things is weak but as an interactive meditation on mortality and predestination this is an impressively thought-provoking indie experiment.

Exactly as entertaining as you’d expect from a collaboration between two of Japan’s most talented developers, and a relatively good – if extremely belated – PC port.

In many ways just a bog standard movie tie-in, but the potential of the licence and the unscrupulousness of the microtransactions make it seem even worse than it is.

Plenty of honest effort has been expended here, but Mario Party has never seemed like a sensible kind of game to turn into a portable title.

The best Joe Danger yet, with some fun new gimmick and some of the best touchscreen controls ever seen in an action game.

An interesting stew of ideas and great presentation can’t make up for a game that goes out of its way to frustrate and discourage its players.

PC purists may still scoff but this is an excellent version of one of gaming’s most open-ended and creative experiences.

Still essentially the same game as released on mobile, but at twice the price and with microtransactions that are even more cynically-designed than usual.

A solid idea but the implementation, especially on a standard controller, doesn’t really work – leaving with you increasingly little incentive to save Max or his brother.

A great idea that fails to capitalise on the full extent of Nintendo’s 8-bit legacy, although whether that’s through greed or foolishness isn’t yet clear.

It can be a little inconsistent in terms of both actions and puzzles but late entry or not this is one of the funniest and best-presented adventures of the year.

One step forward in terms of story and two back when it comes to gameplay, Black Flag’s first story expansion has its heart in the right place but that’s about all.

Not a bad start to the second season but not a great one either, with a formless plot and unusually weak characterisation.

Cute and silly but also impressively insightful when it comes to ordinary people’s wants and desires – even if those ordinary people are portrayed as talking sushi rolls.

Sickeningly offensive use of not just microtransactions but every underhand trick in the marketing handbook, which is a shame as the underlying game isn’t bad.

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 still seems bizarre there’s no console version but if you must play a PlayStation 2 era GTA game on a touchscreen then this is a good as you can ever imagining it working.

There’s not a lot that the Wii U can really do to improve the Wii Fit experience but this is still a useful entry point for the exercise averse.

It seems very unfair to suddenly thrust such a dated game back into the limelight, but it ready would’ve been better if Putty Squad had stayed in retirement.

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 fact that it’s free-to-play is almost the only point of interest in this derivative shooter – and even that is far less appealing once you get into the details.

A useful improvement over the last game but one that still avoids instituting any of the serious changes that the series now desperately needs.

A reasonable Puzzle & Dragon clone, but matching gems and punching bad guys does nothing to honour the legacy of the TV show.

Pure fan service in every sense, which ensures an enjoyably nostalgic adventure but also means a number of flaws that wouldn’t be tolerated in other circumstances.

There are minor improvements here but the next gen versions of Lego Marvel still rely on charm and fan service more than technical finesse.

It may be the same game yet again but gorgeous visuals and cunning puzzles make Trine 2 a great showcase for the PlayStation 4 and its online store.

A brave game indeed as it attempts to marry the best of old school Japanese role-players with new and modern ideas… and generally succeeds.

The visuals may make even Knack look like a system seller, but there’s a quiet pleasure to Super Motherload’s simple but addictive gameplay.

A good start to free-to-play games on the PlayStation 4, with a fun co-op shooter that doesn’t feel like it’s solely out to gouge its player’s wallets.

Some useful improvements to the already solid current gen versions, although the loss of some game modes means it’s not the ultimate edition it could’ve been.

A bad game and a very poor start for next generation Kinect games, even if there is still some small cause for optimism beneath the bland fighting action.

It’d be nice to say that at least it’s something different but Contrast is far more mundane and derivative than it first appears. It’s also a near farce on a technical level.

The best Defender clone for years and arguably the best next gen launch title on any console, although that says far more about its rivals than it does Resogun itself.

A charming vindication of the PS Vita, that uses the console’s many abilities to the fullest – even if that does mean you’re left wanting more.

Low on innovation but high on spectacle, as the cumulation of the last several years of Need For Speed games the first entry on the next gen is already one of the best.