It’s highly inconsistent, but this is still one of the most daring co-op games of recent years and shows how well playing together can work for story-based games.

Another highly compromised VR remaster, that offers one of the best open world experiences so far and yet still manages to feel deeply flawed as it does so.

Its lack of longevity and ancillary options are an issue, but this still plays like a classic and is one of the best shooters of its generation.

There are ads to watch in return for gems and a fair few inducements to spend cash, but it’s a hugely involving and well-made game that does an amazing job of refining the classic MegaTen template into gameplay compact enough to be playable between train stops.

A perfectly competent platformer, perhaps Yoshi’s best since Super Mario World 2, but one that is far less unique than its visuals suggest.

A disappointingly flawed grand strategy game, which for every good idea seems to have another that works actively against it.

The best lightgun game never to have seen the inside of an arcade as Headstrong outdoes Sega Japan.

A hugely original and beautifully presented shooter sadly in search of proper difficulty curve.

The best WWE game of the generation… but only because it successfully pulls upon your nostalgia strings, helping you forgot how mediocre the gameplay is.

The best Dynasty Warriors style game ever made, which means it’s slightly north of mediocre, with simplistic combat, weak storytelling, and a whole lot of repetition.

Dontnod continues to lead the world in terms of character diversity and representation, and while Tell Me Why’s story can sometimes lack drama it’s still engagingly interactive.

The initial feelings of power and freedom hide another badly designed and unimaginative superhero sim.

A surprisingly unadventurous sequel, given the long years fans have been waiting for it, but the entertaining weaponry just about makes up for the overfamiliarity and obnoxious sense of humour.

Monetisation is a touch more forceful than you’ll be used to from Vampire Survivor, but it’s still a well-balanced and involving game.

A beautifully crafted survival horror game that knowingly harkens back to the original Resident Evil, while adding in some sympathetically designed modern touches.

Some minor improvements to the formula, but the dull combat remains an unresolved problem in this lighting fast sequel.

A great game for novice fighting game players, with some interestingly unique ideas, but the bland fantasy world and lack of playable characters lessen its impact.

Konami play Frankenstein with another old series, but even though the seams are showing the game's still fun.

The first Telltale finale where your choices carry true weight, but the inconsistent and contrived characterisation means it comes at considerable cost.

A bigger and better sequel which works as both a compelling management sim and a celebration of the Jurassic Park franchise.

A disappointing version of a (mostly) great game, brought low by both technical and control problems - and the general sense that the game doesn't fit the format.

One of the best offline multiplayer games of the year, and proof that shouting at people sitting next to you is still one of gaming’s greatest pleasures.

An unusual mixture of influences, that builds a pleasingly unique strategy role-player out of otherwise very familiar components.

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

It captures the soul of Jet Set Radio perfectly but with only a limited attempt to evolve the formula for modern times this feels uncomfortably trapped in the early 2000s.

A notable improvement on last year’s game and while it still has a way to go before it reaches its full potential, this is a fun and relatively realistic evocation of running a Formula One team.

Another Microsoft exclusive arrives on PlayStation 5 and this one is marginally superior to the Xbox version, with excellent DualSense support and ironed out performance.

The obsessions with realism and old school action don’t come at the cost you might imagine, in this tense and well-designed online shooter.