A wasted and over-egged sequel to what was an innovative mix of rhythm action and real-time strategy.

A hugely entertaining, if slightly uneven, roller coaster ride of gorgeously stylised ultra violence.

Interesting plot and story concept, fantastically versatile 2D combat, and some of the best dungeon puzzling outside of a Zelda game. Gorgeous graphics and soundtrack.

One of the few slices of DLC that can claim to be better than the parent game, as the gameplay of Frontiers Of Pandora is tightened up and the graphics pushed even further.

Destined to be as divisive as all modern Final Fantasy games, but it’s the story and characters that disappoint more than the capable combat and exploration.

Despite borrowing so much from so many different games Capcom’s Western style role-player is still very much its own game – with plenty of interesting ideas of its own.

The crossover between the two classic puzzlers is a bit of a gimmick, but the huge range of modes for both games makes this the best version of either for years.

A surprisingly successful mobile spin-off that uses the key elements of Hitman to good effect but remains perfectly playable to those new to the franchise.

A finale that only exacerbates the faults of the series up till now but the sheer audacity of the storytelling, and the goodwill built up over so many years, pushes it over the finishing line.

Its attempted revolution of turn-based tactics isn't quite as practical as it first seems but this is still an impressively fun, and funny, strategy game.

Another inspired attempt to modernise old school Japanese role-players, while retaining all the charm and depth of early era Final Fantasies.

An excellent spin-off that uses the science fiction setting to focus and expand the gameplay in interesting new ways, and yet remains as accessible and thoughtful as ever.

EA beats Nintendo at its own game with a keep-fit package that seems substantially more useful than Wii Fit.

Although touchscreen outings for first person shooters are normally riddled with wearying compromises, this looks and plays like the full game, even if you can never quite recreate the precision of mouse or even joypad control using touch alone. Of course there are still glitches and places where characters merge alarmingly with scenery, but compared with the Xbox One version of PUBG it’s a technical tour de force.

A modern era dungeon adventure with mythical monsters, political corruption, and a slight lack of polish – that’s at least partly compensated for by its charming idiosyncrasies and spirit of invention.

Not the greatest, or best value for money, version of the game but a surprisingly decent port that still has all the same undead charm.

Another indie classic makes the successful leap from PC to console, in this masterful mix of Minecraft and Metroid.

A missed opportunity to reinvent the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which offers only incremental improvement and too many old problems.

Formulaic but not always predictable, this remains the best of the Tales series and one of the definitive Japanese role-players of the 2000s.

Great value download, with an excellent capture the flag game that it would be positively rude not to try.

Later revisions may improve the bugs and lack of variety, but for now this is just another VR tech demo that’s all promise and too little polish. [HTC Vive tested]

Prettier, more accessible, and more varied than ever. This is one of the best new 3D fighters of recent years, even with a horribly disappointing story mode.

It's only a slightly better game than last time but that's almost irrelevant given the impossible range and complexity of virtual objects at your command.

The most uneven of the 3D Zeldas but its highs soar well above its immediate contemporaries and while the motion controls are still hit or miss at least there’s now an alternative.

It’s a little too zealous in its old school approach, but this is still a great computer role-playing game and a welcome, if unofficial, part of the Fallout family.

Dazzlingly gorgeous 2D graphics cannot hide Vanillaware's merely competent beat 'em-up gameplay.

It might be allergic to innovation but there's no denying the enthusiasm and attention to detail that's been lavished on this defiantly traditionalist role-player.

Minit offers a wonderfully minimalist adventure with not an inch of bloat. Instead, it’s a game where it seems like every tiny detail has been handcrafted and placed in the world only after careful thought from the creators. So while the lifespan of your hero, and the retro visuals, may seem very limiting they help to enable one of the most inventive and imaginative indie games of the year.