Becoming one of the best city builders on consoles is the least of Frostpunk’s achievements in this thought-provoking parable about the true cost of being in charge.

An agreeably peculiar mix of role-playing game and Metroidvania but whose best feature is its charming visuals and one of the most endearing cast of characters seen in a long time.

A polished, challenging and colourful 2D platform game that recalls the best of Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, even if it doesn’t really move beyond it.

One of the best movie adaptations of all time and an impressively original strategy game that manages to rival even the best action titles in terms of tension and adrenaline rush.

Some of the finest simulated driving you can find on PC and console, but with a single-player career mode that’s not as fully fleshed out as you’d expect for the money.

A peculiarly underdeveloped riff on Jet Set Radio that never manages to find anything interesting to do with any of its many gameplay mechanics and story ideas.

It always put nostalgia first and gameplay second, but 10 years on and Ghostbusters: The Video Game just feels like mediocre fan fiction.

A disappointingly backwards-looking expansion that rather than signal a new era for Destiny and Bungie is just more of the same empty teases and recycled content.

One of the best narrative-based games of the year, that tackles a number of contemporary issues in an original and entertaining manner and whose main fault is merely a lack of budget.

Something of a greatest hits collection of ideas from Ubisoft’s other open world games but it also has some fun new ideas of its own… as well as a mountain of glitches and microtransactions.

Extremely rough around the edges but even in its current state this is an engrossing and tension-filled strategy role-playing game that offers a very different perspective of WWII.

It’s still not as good as Sniper Elite 4, but years of patches and DLC have improved it to the point where this is a viable alternative for Switch owners.

Gorgeous visuals and some sublime visual storytelling, Ori And The Blind Forest might not do much that is genuinely new but almost everything it does attempt is genuinely great.

Old school to a fault, but fans of the series – and anyone else that appreciates its honest charms – will find much to love in this simplistic but heart-warming role-player.

A good looking but shallow repurposing of Nintendo’s classic kart racers, transforming it form the world’s favourite racing game to a cynical, and disturbingly persistent, cash grab.

A muddled and underwhelming Dark Souls clone that has a few unique ideas but fails to back them up with compelling combat or exploration.

It isn’t a masterpiece but it’s a massive improvement on FIFA 19, with a sprinkling of new features – Volta in particular – that should lay the foundations for the series’ future.

The worst Contra game ever made and an object lesson in how not to revive a classic franchise, especially as there are multiple unofficial homages that are far superior.

With a script that’s got its moments, and some good, solid sarcasm from your protagonist, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son tells an engaging story of cynicism lost and superficiality seen through. Some of its mini-games are best forgotten, and the problem of repeating dialogue is never completely sorted out, but as sequel to a film that seemingly defied follow-ups, this is a brave and at times entertaining result.

A disappointing sequel that offers few new ideas as either a Dark Souls clone or a follow-up to the original, with a less interesting setting and story.

Completely charming and wonderfully presented stealth puzzle game, that turns a horrible goose into one of the year’s most endearing video game stars.

One of the best Japanese role-players of the generation and a gloriously beautiful game by any standard, both visually and emotionally.

The lack of any meaningful additions is a surprise, but it only underlines what a fantastic game the Game Boy original was, in what is still a classic Zelda title that thoroughly deserves the star treatment.

It’s a shame it isn’t a full remake, but The Dark Descent remains one of the most frightening and atmospheric video games ever made.

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

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.

As unique a vision as video gaming has ever seen and one able to use its many incompetencies – including an unfortunate number of new ones – to entertain and surprise.

It may sound like a copout, but it makes swords and daggers (and combat sandals) viable and maintains the sense of speed without having to repeatedly stab at the screen. It also supports MFI controllers for those preferring the original experience, and remains a defining and hugely addictive piece of entertainment.