The name and the screenshots have probably put most people off already but this is a classic example of Cave's mastery of the 2D shooter.

The best Paper Mario game since The Thousand-Year Door, but also a charming adventure in its own right, with some surprisingly good storytelling and fun combat.

It’s an utterly charming experience whose only fault is that you’re always left wanting more.

Starting with a path a few squares long, clearing waves of mobs earns gold to buy fresh pieces of track and new turrets that are randomly selected from a gradually expanding range. Many turrets come with a conjoined grid square of water, which makes placing them on the game’s minimal islands an additional challenge. Soon more paths appear on neighbouring islands, forcing you to split your resources to defend them all simultaneously, in this sophisticated and engaging take on a well-established genre.

A truly wizard RPG, whose historical setting frees it from the limitations of the books and films, with an open world experience that entertains no matter how much you care about the source material.

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.

Another of Quest’s most important launch titles, this has long been championed as one of the best first person shooters for VR headsets. At heart it’s a fairly simple wave-based shooter, in some ways a modern day interpretation of dual-stick shooters such as Robotron: 2084 and Smash T.V. You’ve got two pistols and a heavy weapon and have to mow down hordes of malfunctioning robots, but somehow it’s a lot stranger than you’d imagine.

The touchscreen interface works well, even if a controller still trumps it, and for persistent players there are hundreds of hours of entertainment in this delightful and unassuming package. An inspiring addition to the Apple Arcade line-up.

A welcome return for multiplayer music games, even if there’s relatively little new to add to the experience – and a few things that have been taken out.

Unlock skills, nurture your commanders and do your very best to stay alive in this fascinatingly tricky game of tactics that if anything works even better on a touchscreen than it did on PC and consoles.

An odd couple crossover that is not only a loving homage to Star Wars but, more importantly, the best Angry Birds game so far.

One of the best remasters ever made, that actively improves the original game, in terms of graphics, AI, and the enormous volume of content.

As a junior UFO recently arrived on Earth, you need to find a job helping people using your giant mechanical claw. So begins this charming grabbing and balancing game, with graphics and soundtrack that will take you straight back to the best of the SNES. Mechanically perfect, but also fastidious in its attention to detail, each level’s three medals, awarded for completing specific details within each puzzle, elevate it to an entirely new plane, forcing you to think and practise enough to get everything right in a game with surprising and joyous hidden depths. The game is also notable for being the work of Kirby and Super Smash Bros. creators HAL Laboratory, who many assume are owned by Nintendo but are in fact an independent company.

Puzzle game meets narrative adventure in this funny, beautifully written, indie game whose unusual grid-sliding mechanic is elevated by its characters and story.

An excellent return to form for one of the most respected 2D fighters in the business, that makes a solid impact despite some gimmicky guest characters.

An excellent turn-based strategy that mixes tense battlefield tactics with an engrossing meta game of money-grabbing mercs and expensive-to-maintain mechs.

A work of devilish cleverness that’s both a mockery and celebration of collectible cards games and an increasingly disturbing horror story about the cost of victory.

One of the best new fighting games of the last several years, and all the more exciting because of its originality and accessibility.

A highly original puzzle game that turns the act of telling a story into an entertainingly convoluted process of logical deduction and amusing plot development.

It often lacks the accessibility and sense of fun of Birthright, but for Fire Emblem and strategy veterans this is still an excellent entry in the series.

The best turn-based tactics game since XCOM and a fantastic spy adventure that has an appeal that goes well beyond just strategy fans.

It does suffer the odd bug and seems a little battery hungry, given its lack of action, but the allure of Advance Wars’ immaculately honed turn based combat remains untouchable. It’s the perfect mobile catnip for strategy fans – or at least if you haven’t played the original.

One of the more ambitious and imaginative roguelikes of the last few years, that mixes the best of FTL, Tower Defense, and XCOM.

The Japanese role-playing game stripped back to its bare essentials and yet rather than an exercise in nostalgic pandering this is one of the most compelling and sharply designed dungeon crawlers of recent years.

Not only a return to form for Ninja Gaiden but for PlatinumGames as well, in a game that may lack in innovation, but makes up for it in mechanical complexity.

Splendid recreation of basketball with game-changing, innovative evolution cards – but it can’t escape the bad taste the microtransactions leave.

The best Pokémon clone by a significant margin and arguably a more enjoyable experience than the more recent 3D games, with some clever new ideas and fantastic visuals.

The best Amnesia game since The Dark Descent and a welcome spiritual successor to Alien Isolation, that makes darkness more terrifying than any video game before it.