Poor pacing and the worst celebrity voiceovers of the year mar what could have been the definitive Lego game, but in the end is just another fun but shallow co-op game amongst many.

The sheer age of the games are beginning to count against them but Ace Attorney still remains exhibit A in how to make even the silliest story-based games fun and engaging.

An enjoyable reminder of one of the best ever portable role-playing series, although it’s really more a greatest hits compilation than a new game.

The Layton legacy continues with an endearing new lead and lots of new puzzles, but relatively few new ideas.

A prequel to Road 96, that adds skating mini-games but removes the procedural generation of the original – but it’s still engagingly written, and has a lot to say.

A clever and quietly innovative puzzlers, whose only flaw is too much of a good thing.

The execution isn’t quite as good as the central concept, but this is still a fun celebration of everything that’s great about split-screen gaming.

A delightful sojourn in bleakly beautiful landscapes, that has you steering a herd of giant yak-like beasts while gently wrestling with controls that aren’t afraid to embrace the organic waywardness of your charges.

An unexpected gift for fans of the SNES original and while the remake is seriously flawed in terms of both graphics and gameplay its sheer oddness is still highly compelling.

Not all of the game’s bold ideas are entirely successful but in terms of the visuals, music, and storytelling ambition this is one of the most absorbing indie adventures of the year.

Like everything to do with No Man’s Sky, the VR and multiplayer additions aren’t without their problems, but this is still a clear step forward for the constantly evolving sci-fi epic.

A cleverly orchestrated souvenir of Final Fantasy at its best, that also can't help but remind you of the series' most common failings.

It’s not short of spectacle but in terms of innovation and variety this is nowhere near as forward-thinking as Bungie would like to pretend.

Despite a highly emotional finale this is arguably the worst episode of the season, although the overall storytelling remains some of the strongest in gaming.

A fun action platformer with plenty of charm and some great visuals, that’s only let down by an uneven difficulty level that seems unsure exactly how hard it wants to be.

An understandable attempt to create a more accessible Total War experience, but it’s been streamlined so much it offers only a small taste of the series’ full potential.

Exactly the sort of fun, colourful, and purposefully silly multiplayer game the world needs right now, even if it’s not exactly the most polished video game of the year.

A great value aerial Mario Kart that flies rings round many other racers that cost ten times the price.

A full-on space opera looter shooter RPG, that is brimming with content and exciting combat set pieces, but which doesn’t quite know when to stop before it starts to feel repetitive.

An extremely slow start to Minecraft’s first story adventure, but it’s a game made with a clear love for the original and is bound to please most younger fans.

A spirited attempt to reinvent Guitar Hero and the music game genre, but the freemium approach to additional content has its obvious drawbacks.

Like its console older brother, the ‘nemesis’ inter-driver rivalry system doesn’t quite come off as intended, and it does drop the odd frame, but the port to mobile is another remarkable achievement for Feral Interactive.

Surprisingly dark, despite its protagonists’ youth and manga cuteness, the narrative branching in all sorts of semi-lethal directions as you test the game’s capacity for characters to lie, manipulate, and double cross their junior school chums.

One of the best post-Breath Of The Wild open world adventures, but while the game’s heavily influenced by Zelda it ultimately plumps for amiable exploration over more rugged adventure.

Nowhere close to a reinvention of the series but the more serious tone is mostly successful, with an ambitious story campaign and some entertaining new multiplayer modes.

SWERY’s latest work seems unusually derivative at times but the mix of disturbing atmosphere, surreal situations, and serious subject matter is still hugely engaging.

A superior Resident Evil spin-off that manages to mix old school horror and more modern combat better than almost any other entry in the series.

Whether it's more or less value for money than usual is up for debate but in purely game terms this is the best MX Vs. ATV yet.