The best version of Control so far, that makes good use of the PlayStation 5’s features and leaves plenty of hope and anticipation for a future sequel.

An ingenious, colourful, and gloriously framed platform puzzle game that effortlessly blends 2D puzzles with the 3D world that surrounds them.

A surprisingly deep and absorbing cyberpunk stealth-action role-player that transcends its low-tech visuals and basic presentation.

Instead of high-tech thrills and survival horror chills, this disappointingly mundane thriller struggles to impress with a muddled narrative and unengaging gameplay,

A welcome return for a beloved Amiga classic but while this compilation proves the games still have charm it lacks accessibility and features, especially given the high price.

The interface works well and the extra tasks prove a welcome addition to the time honoured bridge building mechanics, and while it never gets especially taxing it remains engaging throughout.

Its cute art style and endearing English translation belie serious depth, with the potential for powerful buffs if you concentrate your efforts and enjoy a modicum of luck. Satisfying, funny, and enormously addictive, Million Dungeon is a true App and Play Store gem.

Fun, silly, and flammable, this is the very antithesis of a simulation, and all the better for it.

It looks good, moves fast, and you can pull off satisfying drifts going once you get used to the racers’ handling, but the touchscreen controls are easy to miss in the heat of battle, and there’s never quite enough going on to make it compelling.

It’s extremely short, but this is one of those rarities that is actually free, with no advertising or microtransactions, just a hugely offbeat and entertaining few minutes’ worth of non-gaming.

Its graphics and mechanics are starting to seem a little creaky after 20 years, but the small screen is forgiving, cloud saves let you play across multiple devices, and the allure of labyrinthine tales inside the Star Wars universe remains powerful.

There’s not much to it, and it’s infested with ads until you cough up 99p to get rid of them, but its absurdity and charm carry what is at heart a very simple game.

There are secret passages to be found in the bland, procedurally-generated levels, but all the enemies do is vaguely wander towards you, adding to a pervasive sense of playing a prototype rather than a fully-fledged game. For most players one run will be more than enough.

A great finale to the World of Assassination trilogy and the perfect time to end the reboot era, as the once revolutionary formula begins to show its age.

A hugely disappointing sequel, where the high difficulty, restrictive controls, and randomly-generated levels all contribute to a thoroughly miserable platforming experience.

Whatever your preconceptions may be about a free-to-play gacha game made in China it’s nothing short of stunning, presenting you with a sprawling Zelda-esque open world to explore, the green grass and blue skies looking beautiful thanks to console-grade production values. Even the monetisation isn’t too in-your-face, although it does eventually start to get a bit grindy in the late game. Genshin Impact is easily the most accomplished and alluring Zelda-alike available for mobiles, easily outstripping paid-for rival Oceanhorn and its sequel.

As well as selecting extremely funny idioms from around the world, the way words have been dismantled and rearranged is in itself artistically brilliant, making this a relaxing and amusing joy to play through.

One of the best puzzle games of the last decade and a perfect fit for the Switch, with its mix of tactical puzzle-solving, extreme violence, and charming visuals.

A stunning achievement in open world gameplay but one whose tonal inconsistencies and weak narrative undermines what could have been an all-time classic.

An extraordinarily good port that seems physically impossible given the modest abilities of the Switch but is just as playable and enjoyable as the other console versions.

Temtem still isn’t finished, which is why there’s no score here, but Crema are making good on their promise of constant improvements and additions; so when it does come out of early access next year The Pokémon Company is going to have their most serious rival for a very long time. [Early Access Review]

A surprisingly successful reinvention of the Worms formula that turns the more slow-paced originals into an engagingly silly multiplayer free-for-all.

The potential for an exciting period strategy game is clear but that only makes the buggy mess of unbalanced combat and simplistic tactical decisions all the more frustrating.

It’s hard to know which is more impressive here, the complete lack of shame in how much Ubisoft copies Zelda: Breath Of The Wild or the fact that Immortals suffers the comparison so impressively well.

A dramatic, emotive and affecting interactive drama that shows Dontnod are still the masters of branching narrative and serious-minded storytelling.

One of Destiny 2’s best expansions thus far, providing an assured roadmap for the series to move into. It is just more Destiny though.

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]

If there is a complaint, it’s that the aiming mechanic, where you drag your finger in the direction you want to shoot and then release to fire, is prone to inaccuracy, but honestly it’s just nice to have new levels to play through.