Probably the best Mario Party so far, with an impressive amount of content and gameplay that remains fun and accessible for absolutely everybody.

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.

A bafflingly pointless remake, that absolutely no one asked for, and which manages to introduce a number of new flaws while completely failing to justify its own existence.

From its knowing mock 16-bit art style to the perfectly metered sound effects and music, Balatro is rarely less than utterly compelling and playing on a touchscreen is, if anything, slightly more intuitive than using a mouse or controller.

Your castle itself may look unique, as you build eccentrically-shaped rooms and staircases, but your courtiers look like Wii-era Miis, and the fundamentally uncreative nature of its gameplay makes it a depressingly pedestrian experience.

An excellent Japanese role-player that is at least the equal to Persona, with an engagingly thoughtful story and enjoyably fast-paced combat.

Colourful VR platforming in the style of Astro Bot: Rescue Mission and while it can’t quite live up to its obvious inspirations it does come surprisingly close.

An excellent remake that does all it can to bring the classic original into the modern era, while maintaining the same nuanced levels of psychological horror.

The exact opposite of what Starfield needed, with a DLC expansion that magnifies the parent game’s failings and sidelines its more positive elements.

A clever and unusual indie detective story, but the emphasis on clunky stealth and samey cases quickly saps your enthusiasm for the pixelated noir setting.

A modern 16-bit role-playing with inspirations that range from Stranger Things to Persona 5, with elegant turn-based combat and a knowing wink to the genre’s more established tropes.

At times inconsistent and unrefined but the echoes concept is excellent and allows for one of the most innovative and open-ended 2D Zeldas of the modern era.

A fantastic sequel that refuses to be just the previous game but with more options, although in terms of scale and ambition it is most certainly bigger and better.

EA Sports FC 25 takes a useful step forward in simulating real football, with a new tactics system and smarter AI, but the improvements aren’t quite as effective as they could be.

A maximum effort compilation that includes some of the best crossover fighters ever made, with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 remaining an all-time classic.

While eFootball has made some great strides forward, it’s still held back by inferior graphics, gameplay, and game modes when compared to EA Sports FC.

A staggering achievement in indie gaming that offers almost too much value for its own good, with 50 superb indie games – many of which could be standalone games in their own right.

A beautiful but shallow experience that beguiles with its presentation and bores with its listless combat and long-winded puzzles.

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.

An open world massively multiplayer online racer with a decent handling model and an okay car list, that’s hampered by dated graphics, some baffling design choices, and a clutch of technical issues.

Polished, deep, and near-perfectly balanced, it’s possibly the only game to outshine Slay The Spire, itself a classic of its genre, and arrives on Apple Arcade with all content intact.

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.

Nicely designed, and benefitting from a wonderfully addictive upgrade path, its touchscreen controls work more than well enough in the slow-moving sub-aquatic environment.

A polished and well-engineered attempt at turning Quidditch into a real sport, which is only slightly marred by having to play as a less exciting seeker or keeper for portions of each round.

An excellent 3D platformer, with the best force feedback ever seen (or rather felt) in a video game, even if it’s a curiously flawed celebration of 30 years of PlayStation.

It comes frustratingly close to being the perfect Warhammer 40,000 action game but repetitive set pieces and a lack of crunch to the combat means that’ll have to wait for Space Marine 3.

The best Mana game in a long while but how it managed to leave out the one feature that should have come as standard is a complete mystery.

A Djokovic-centric tennis simulator that’s easy to pick up but lacks the polish and tactical complexity needed to make it great.