You can’t fault its ambition, but this is too little game stretched across too much open world map, with repetitive enemy encounters and tedious storytelling.

A well-crafted remaster but this ancient real-time strategy has little to offer modern gamers, especially when the sequel is already readily available.

Unusually complex for a Tower Defence game, but also needlessly obscure and difficult to play.

For a 27-year-old game with only minor changes this is still an enjoyably taxing tactical role-player but it’s new games this series needs, not more remakes.

It often feels unrefined and unbalanced, but the uniquely tactical combat system, and Dark Souls influences, create one of the most enjoyably different fighting games of recent years.

One of the Amiga's favourite sons returns but with little of its original personality intact.

For once Sonic gets a spin-off that’s well suited to his talents, but this is an uninspired homage to his glory days – with little new to offer him or endless runners.

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.

A deceivingly original multiplayer shooter with plenty of unusual ideas for the committed player.

Easily the best of The Dark Pictures anthology series, with a horror story that is deliciously chilling, surprisingly well acted, and far more interesting to play than its predecessors.

Reasonably good value for money and a better open world environment than the original but with very little story or structure, Pokémon’s first expansion feels disappointingly hollow.

An improvement on the last Star Ocean game but Square Enix’s veteran sci-fi franchise still feels stuck in the past, rather than exploring new frontiers.

Macabrely original murder ’em-up that defies categorisation, and its numerous rough edges, to make being evil more fun than in almost any other game.

It looks like Metal Slug but it certainly doesn’t play like it, which would be fine if only the strategy gameplay had any real depth – or the microtransactions were less obnoxious.

It wants to be an interactive grindhouse movie and it is: derivative, repetitive but mindless fun anyway.

Dead Space 4 in all but name, except with no puzzles and surprisingly little suspense. The Callisto Protocol has plenty of gritty action but that’s not quite enough to sustain interest for its entire duration.

Stripped of its exploitative microtransactions, Pocket Camp returns as a paid-for app, bringing a superior, if abridged, Animal Crossing experience to mobile.

The Drudge are a sadly appropriate named for the enemy in this artless grind of a first person shooter.

A wasted opportunity to redeem PlayStation Move, with a horribly uninspired range of sports that barely work any better than back when they were Wii Sports games.

A better game than the original, but it still suffers from many of the same problems – with desperately uninteresting storytelling and combat.

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

It’s obviously intended primarily for parents and children to work through together but while the video game part may only amuse young minds the cardboard construction is fascinating for everyone.

Team Ninja has done everything to please fans short of making a brand new game, but despite its successes this too often feels like an awkward compromise.

The sort of expertly orchestrated action you’d expect from a team-up between Nintendo and Platinum, but the lack of innovation is a little disappointing.

The Duke himself is an outdated embarrassment, but his best game was always ahead of its time – and still has much to teach modern shooters.

Inspired at times but also badly inconsistent, this is certainly the best Shinobi game since the Mega Drive era but still not really it's own game.

The old school origins are rather too obvious in this competent but predictable Japanese role-player.

It might look like Portal but it certainly doesn't play like it, which is a good thing in terms of the puzzles but not the dour presentation and story.

There's plenty of potential and good ideas here but very little fun, in a game that tries to make a pirate's life seem as frustrating and repetitive as possible.

A noble attempt to offer an alternative to Smash Bros., and although there are some mechanical issues the multiplayer is still plenty of fun regardless.

An affectionately crafted prequel to The Expanse which, while worthwhile for fans, fails to evolve Telltale’s tired gameplay design in any meaningful manner.

Offensive both in terms of language and diluted potential, although saved to a degree by its strong team-based action.

More competent than incredible, this middle-of-the-road tie-in replicates the films well enough but doesn’t mesh with the Lego formula as well as some other properties.

Superior, but still badly flawed, portable real-time strategy that lacks both depth and variety.

On a technical level this is clearly a better game than its infamous predecessor, but it’s still nowhere near as fun as it should be thanks to its bland design and characters.

Not only is this is very clearly FIFA 12, not 13, but it's not even a very good version of last year's game – with missing features, pointless additions, and flawed visuals.

A uniquely open-ended online adventure with some of the best co-op of any game, but at the moment there’s not nearly enough content or variety to keep it interesting for long.

Not the most attention grabbing of the PSVR launch titles, but a competent puzzler, that offers a more mellow VR experience.

Although frequently compared to Zelda games, and indeed sharing a similar structure and pastoral charm, it unfortunately lacks Nintendo’s magic and feels plodding and workaday despite its undoubtedly lofty production values.

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

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

A genuinely funny Paper Mario style role-player, with entertaining puzzles and a welcome mockery of LinkedIn culture, let down by rhythm action battle mechanics that don’t quite work.

It's a clever idea but being in charge of a swarm of moronic blue midgets proves a fairly fleeting and frustrating pleasure.

360 owners might be less familiar with the original but this is still the most pointless remake ever.

It's not a game for the ages but it is a reasonable introduction to real-time strategy for action fans.

It pales next to other classic arcade racers, but at least this Need For Speed makes an effort.

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.

A 2D portable Pikmin was probably never a good idea, and this uninspiring effort does little to prove otherwise.

Square Enix's addiction to microtransactions ruins another WiiWare release, in this 17-year-late sequel.

It's not Sonic and it's not meant to be, but this dowdy little platformer puzzler is uncomplicated to a fault.

A serviceable mini-game compilation with some moderately interesting highlights, held back by peculiar design decisions and little replay value.

One of the most successfully depressing survival games ever made, and a fascinating portrayal of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.

The fundamentals haven't changed from the Dreamcast days but the new online mode and other refinements make this the best Phantasy Star for some time.

A brief, joyous exercise in curiosity and exploration, that’s at least as much about atmosphere and the feeling of traversal, as it is about your destination.

The granddaddy of online first person shooters returns and although you could quibble over the price the classic gameplay is as solid as ever.

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 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.

The multiplayer options are impressively comprehensive and as Diablo clones go this ticks all the necessary boxes, except the ones for imagination and innovation.

As a 2D interpretation of Assassin’s Creed this works perfectly well, but the workmanlike design and bland atmosphere makes it hard to get excited about.

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

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 great concept with a perfect mix of retro modern gameplay and aesthetics, even if the idea never evolves to have real legs.

One of the least-demanded Nintendo sequels of recent years has relatively high production values but it’s still a dull, repetitive mix of tower defence and overly-simplistic action.

Top Spin 4 wins this year's tennis trophy but this more arcade style alternative is still a valid alternative with some great gimmicks.

Not a particularly auspicious start to Fallout 4’s season pass, but the chance to build your own robots is at least more interesting than the new story.

The original version had the potential to be a classic multiplayer horror game, but this updated edition still feels as hokey and unrefined as the movies it’s based on.

No doubt a dream come true for fans, but with so little innovation in the core gameplay the boast of being an interactive cartoon seems more like a liability than a positive.

A thoroughly uninteresting roguelike that undermines the most compelling elements of both the genre and the Pokémon universe.

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.

Not one of Call Of Duty’s better map packs, but there are still some highlights and plenty to keep fans playing for just a few more months.

They may not be directly related but Mario’s would-be siblings have some interesting ideas of their own, although they lack refinement to make the most of them.

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.

Definitely the best Spider-Man game for several years, but it falls short of the character's full potential and the high watermark of Spider-Man 2.

Arguably the last great Sonic The Hedgehog game, even if it's not necessarily one of the best.

In pure gameplay terms this is one of Suda51's most accessible and entertaining games for years, but it's badly devalued by its extreme brevity.

A thoughtful exploration of the monsters people can unwittingly become, although it often struggles to offer a compelling gameplay experience.

An inferior experience to PC and Oculus, not in terms of graphics but the frustrating PlayStation Move controllers that make wielding a lightsaber more a pain than a pleasure.

The combat is a lot of fun and the visuals are dynamic and exciting, but repetitive missions and dire storytelling ruin what is otherwise a mechanically superior giant robot game.

The forward momentum from last year’s improvements already seems to be faltering, as the weight of bugs and glitches ruin many of the new features.

A good excuse to experiment with BioShock Infinite’s often underrated combat, but the overall experience still feels somewhat underwhelming.

It looks as boring as it sounds but Automachef is a surprisingly engrossing game of logic and planning that refuses to dumb down for its audience.

Old school JRPG fans will find much to enjoy here, but the refusal to innovate does more harm than good for the genre’s reputation.

The presentation is excellent but by trying to use every trick in the PS Vita’s book the game does far more harm than good to the portable’s reputation.

It’s a pity the pricing isn’t as accessible as the action, but this is a fun and unusual online shooter that suits PlayStation VR surprisingly well.

A few baby steps forwards for the granddaddy of farming sims, but not enough to deserve a new game or your time and money.

Bustin’ will not make you feel good in this shallow and repetitive asymmetric multiplayer, that is one of the worst of the recent crop of 80s movie homages.

A fun demonstration of the Xbox One’s capabilities but unfortunately much more a stealth sequel to Kinectimals than it is a proper Tycoon game.

Not everything works as promised but somehow that doesn’t really matter when the never-ending platform action remains as entertaining as this.

The end product is still several features short of classic status but it's not as dry as January's "Lonpos" and yet just as addictive a time-waster.

The price prevents any serious criticism but this is still one of the best-looking and most accessible Tower Defence games around.

Another failed attempt to get a traditional first person shooter working in VR, although the online co-op option keeps the novelty going for longer than it should.

While it’s perfectly playable as a freebie, its monetisation is aggressive, from the recharging energy required to play levels, to repeated entreaties to buy upgrade packs, even if underneath all the sales effort its gameplay remains mildly diverting, and its artwork sublime.

It’s still going to be a long hard struggle to turn Dynasty Warriors into a top quality action game, but this is the first sequel in a long time to feel like it’s actually trying.

The controls are superior to Overlord II, but the gameplay and difficulty is even more simplified.

One of the best Kinect games so far and also one of the most successful Pixar tie-ins. Kids will love it and it'd take a seriously cynical adult not to feel the same way.

The best Bubble Bobble game in over two decades and while it isn’t quite as perfectly formed as the original it is one of the best couch co-op games of the year.

A bizarre mix of influences and a great script still can't save this inventive but flawed role-player.

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