A viable alternative to the old guard of driving simulators, that values freedom of choice and gritty realism over needless feature creep.

A peculiar but well-conceived concept that brings together multiple disparate gameplay elements, to create a highly customisable, but occasionally somewhat shallow, vampire sim.

It might be a clone but none have copied Diablo more expertly than this bargain-priced tribute.

A great simulation game that recalls the glory days of Theme Hospital et al. Although at times it almost feels like a psychology study of the player rather than the inmates.

The best new Mortal Kombat for years, with a fighting game experience that’s as generous with the content as it is with the gore.

The loss of London Life leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, but its absence doesn't affect the main game which is probably the best of the series so far.

A very welcome compilation of two of the best story-based games of recent years, that manage to transcend their anime presentation and apparent absurdity.

In some ways a backwards step from its immediate predecessor, but this is still a fascinatingly complex Japanese role-player with the best open world since Breath Of The Wild.

So far Shadowlands does not disappoint, with the question of which of the four covenants to soul-bind to being a particularly tricky one, as you get to grips with the endgame content of world quests and dailies. Shadowlands is reminiscent of aspects from earlier expansions, such as Wrath Of The Lich King (even including the grind), but it has a style all of its own and a good sense of momentum that, so far at least, makes it great fun to play. [Review-in-Progress]

An excellent remake of one of the best strategy games of all time, that is as accessible and versatile as an action game but has some of the most deceptively deep tactical combat ever seen in a console release.

Playing one of the decade’s most influential video games on a handheld proves a welcome novelty, as the Switch version of Dark Souls makes the most of the existing remaster.

Something close to a minimal effort, but with FIFA 10 powering the action it's still hard to resist.

Its flaws are frustratingly obvious, but this has some of the most enjoyably original gameplay and visuals of any game this year - on the PS Vita or otherwise.

A perfectly good 3D remake of Ruby and Sapphire, the only problem being that Ruby and Sapphire were never that great – and this is still not as good as the recent X and Y.

A generous expansion that through its stunning visuals and inspired creature design showcases the best features of the original, even if it doesn’t fix many of its flaws.

It may well end up being Nintendo's last game on the Wii, but it's an impressively subversive swansong that is neither as crude - nor as easy - as it looks.

With myriad graphical touches, from the creepy crawlies that infest many levels to your character’s tiny, bloody footprints as she wanders away from the scene of a battle, it’s clearly a labour of love.

Some may see it as dumbing down but for most this will be the most accessible and fun Ninja Gaiden yet.

A slightly disappointing sequel, but still an addictively bizarre musical mini-game collection.

Another excellent addition to the Two Point series, bringing the customary levels of refinement and charm to simulating the business of museum creation and management.

A superb mix of action and strategy that should be enough to convince everyone that turn-based doesn’t have to mean slow or serious.

It’s a battery annihilator, especially with the graphics settings turned up, and it needs some balance tweaks – casual mode offers no challenge, while hard and expert are possibly a little too slow burn – but this is the nearest we’ve ever been to a proper touchscreen city builder.

In many ways Absolution is as effective a franchise reboot as we've ever seen, retaining almost everything that was good about the originals and while making the game more accessible for new players. It also has most of the same problems, or at least swaps them out for new ones, but maybe that at least will convince sceptics that IO hasn't sold out.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement but this is easily the best Pokémon game for several years and a positive new direction that the mainline games would be wise to follow.

A surprisingly fitting end to Nintendo's legacy on the DS, with one of the best ever uses of the touchscreen and the best Kirby game since Epic Yarn.

For a game five years in the making this is a disappointingly trivial and repetitive actioner.

Although relatively short and easy, Donut Country is an immensely satisfying and warm-hearted game that’s quite unlike anything else available on the App Store, or indeed anywhere.

One of the best survival horror games of the year and an impressively disturbing mix of EarthBound and The Thing, that also happens to be one of the best bargains of 2025.