A likeable, car chase-riddled sandbox crime spree that updates the original pre-3D Grand Theft Auto games into a more modern play experience.

Colourful golfing action with a fascinating complexity to each swing – and a stealth workout – but relatively few courses.

A spirited attempt at innovation and some competent driving mechanics are not enough to escape the shadow of either Mario Kart or the previous Sonic & Sega racers.

A hugely enjoyable mix of historical realism and exaggerated action that is both surprisingly accessible and filled with an impressive depth of tactical options.

A surprisingly thorough compilation of 8 and 16-bit Castlevanias, that illustrates the early history of one of gaming’s most influential franchises.

An impressively original horror game whose doom-laden atmosphere and relentless day/night cycle is more terrifying than any jump scare.

As a first person shooter, Rage 2 has some of the best action of the year but as an open world adventure it squanders everything on a listless story campaign and banal mission design.

A terrible port of a game that is very much showing its age, and has no business being repackaged at anything close to full price.

There are still problems with artificial intelligence and level design, but despite its age this is still one of the best sniper games around.

Another slow-paced and only intermittently interesting episode, that underlines the fact that the story and characters are never going to be as engaging as the first episode suggested.

One of the most enjoyable roguelikes of recent years, with the heavy emphasis on RNG saved by some fun co-op options.

A survival game that, despite a few interesting ideas, struggles to provide any reason to persevere with its overfamiliar gameplay and poorly handled storytelling.

A mixture of roguelike and Zelda: A Link To The Past that looks and plays extremely well, but even with some notable improvements still doesn’t get the balance quite right.

An excellent remake that manages to overcome the flaws of the original and offer a glimpse at what a next gen Yakuza game might look like.

The gameplay, and some of the dialogue, could do with some refinement but this dystopian drinks-making game has some of the most interesting storytelling of the last few years.

Creators of Pokémon or not, some interesting ideas can’t override the terrible execution in this staggeringly ugly 2D platformer.

A well intentioned attempt to mix Ecco The Dolphin with a more urgent environmental message but the end result Iacks any real excitement or variety.

An elegant blend of 2D action and cyberpunk storytelling, that manages to make a very distinctive experience out of some very familiar indie tropes.

The weakest of the recent SteamWorld games but still an enjoyable, if rather unfair, mix of role-playing game and card-battler.

A welcome comeback for Nintendo’s most minimalist mascot, that justifies itself with an extremely entertaining co-op mode.

A peculiarly constructed open world zombie game that sidelines its most unique features in favour of generic action and unengaging storytelling.

A curate’s egg of zombie clichés and surprisingly solid multiplayer, with the movie’s undead hordes replicated in impressive fashion.

Despite borrowing so much from so many different games Capcom’s Western style role-player remains very much its own game – with plenty of interesting ideas of its own.

Mortal Kombat continues to excel in areas that other fighting games ignore, with a new sequel that impresses in terms of both visuals and gameplay.

A stunning work of imagination, with a collection of high quality boss battles to rival any other in gaming – and a difficultly level that’s equally hard to beat.

A seemingly random collection of Konami arcade games that’s so incoherent and bare bones it won’t please retro fans or newcomers.

A technical masterpiece with some of the best swordfighting combat in years, but the storytelling and puzzle elements come across as muddled and awkwardly mismatched.

An interesting but flawed attempt to tackle the selling and using of cannabis, that never has the courage to take itself entirely seriously.