A fantastic blast from the past that remasters a long-forgotten classic that should now be recognised as one of the best scrolling beat ‘em-ups ever.

A tiresome and unforgiving survival game that purposefully makes things as difficult and repetitive as possible, while offering very little in the way of entertainment.

Combining Until Dawn’s style of mild horror with online multiplayer works great, but the actual story and characters fail to engage.

Not only one of the best racing games of the generation but for once one that feels genuinely different to any of its major rivals – unless you count spiritual predecessor FlatOut.

Another classic action game from Platinum that’s so full of ideas it seems fit to burst and yet everything not only works perfectly but is filled with an infectious sense of goofy fun.

The flawed storytelling squanders its full potential but even with a few missteps this is still one of the most enjoyable action games of the year.

Hotline Miami remains one of the best indie games of the last decade but its deeply disappointingly sequel drags down this otherwise welcome compilation.

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.

One of the best roguelikes for a long time, whose randomised abilities work perfectly to add variety and unpredictability to its tale of an 80s style post-apocalypse.

For better and worse, a near perfect replication of mid-90s first person shooters, that makes you wistful for the old days… and secretly glad things have moved on in the meantime.

The original version had the potential to be a classic multiplayer horror game, but this updated edition still feels as hokey and unrefined as the movies it’s based on.

A surprisingly good port of a purposefully old school computer role-player, that proves even the most PC of games can work on consoles.

Conventional Nintendo games want to make you happy, whereas Dr. Mario wants to take your money by providing an experience that’s just a touch sub-par. It’s oddly nauseating seeing Nintendo’s much-loved characters cynically shaking you down for spare change.

It’s an interesting idea let down by one-note gameplay, finicky onscreen joystick controls, and its habit of forcing you to replay levels after each mistake. It’s also significantly overpriced at £6.99.

It’s highly addictive, and even though it only takes a couple of hours to see everything, there’s a more demanding New Game+ that chops each life down to 40 seconds, and your energy bar down to a single heart.

Its mixture of inventive, challenging puzzle-solving and pixel perfect platform hopping works fine using touchscreen controls because interactions are generally undertaken with no time pressure. And if you don’t fancy watching an ad every three continues, removing them will cost you £3.99.

It might all seem amusingly camp watching it on YouTube but playing this outdated and clumsy action game is nowhere near as entertaining as it looks.

A complex strategy game with some severe accessibility issues, especially on consoles, but give it a chance and it’s a rewarding and deep sci-fi experience.

Funny, clever, and extremely complex mix of management simulator and survival game that manages to make abject failure almost as entertaining as success.

The casual fan will find plenty to enjoy but diehards will see Madden 20 as just another facelift to a franchise that knows how to succeed but struggles to innovate.

A monstrously awful game that is subject to so many bafflingly awful design decisions it’s lucky it doesn’t collapse into a black hole of its own ineptitude.

Another technical marvel for PlayStation VR that looks amazing and makes clever use of the tech – it’s just a shame the game is so incredibly short and so disappointingly dull.

A flawed but enjoyable co-op spin-off that’s unfocused and scrappy but still manages to find lots of entertainingly imaginative ways to kill Nazis.

A disappointingly clumsy attempt to evolve the Fire Emblem formula that takes little advantage of being on the Switch, but the anime melodrama and fun combat still entertains.

A director’s cut that for once makes a significant difference, with new levels and the return of co-op – although the underlying game is still slightly flawed.

It looks as boring as it sounds but Automachef is a surprisingly engrossing game of logic and planning that refuses to dumb down for its audience.

he name Tetris Effect was well chosen, because you really do feel the game altering your perception, as it and the Tetriminoes become your whole world. You play Tetris Effect but you also get the feeling that it is playing you, the blending of game and gamer reaching a peak in which they seem almost one and the same.

The best Advance Wars game never made, whose post-launch update smooths out the rough edges and creates a strategy game that’s more accessible and fun than ever.