A co-op Metroid seemed like a bad idea from the start, but while Federation Force has its moments they’re overshadowed by sloppy implementation and bland design.

A colourful new puzzle idea used to its full potential in terms of gameplay and, surprisingly, storytelling.

The comparisons to Portal are many, and obviously intentional, but this smart and ambitious first person puzzler is no mere clone.

A worthy follow-up to Limbo, that challenges in terms of both its fiendish puzzles and its harrowing storytelling.

A successful soft reboot for the venerable fighting game series, and a great jumping on point for those dissatisfied by Street Fighter V.

An impressively complex action role-player, where every problem has multiple solutions, but it’s not always quite as smart as it thinks it is.

Some of the new features could’ve done with pruning, but Ubisoft’s willingness to nurture indie style experiments continues to bear fruit.

A fantastically strange and unique first person adventure that manages to make touchscreen controls seem fresh and interesting again.

Another disappointing port of one of the Wii’s best games, although still a clever and entertaining mix of Pikmin and The Settlers.

A stunning technical achievement and a mesmerisingly addictive one, even after you realise how simplistic and repetitive it really is.

The visual look of the game is novel and fun, but underneath it is a shallow and only intermittently enjoyable dungeon crawler.

Still a little unpolished in places, but with its huge variety of locations and gameplay elements this already stands toe-to-toe with both Terraria and Minecraft.

One of the best offline multiplayer games of the year, and proof that shouting at people sitting next to you is still one of gaming’s greatest pleasures.

A disappointingly direct copy of Journey that offers an incredible audio and visual treat, but lacks the deeper meaning of the original.

A disappointing start to what should be a potential rich concept, with an overfamiliar storyline and bland presentation.

More than just a tech demo, but still far from a defining VR experience – especially given the plain visuals and unfocused story and gameplay.

One of the best hacking-themed video games ever, and a clever puzzler with some surprisingly successful storytelling elements.

Beautiful presentation and an intriguing open world environment, but the misjudged difficultly level is just too punishing – even with co-op.

What starts as a fine homage to Super Metroid and ‘70s style sci-fi ends as a disappointing waste of both story and gameplay potential.

Without virtual reality support to increase the novelty this this would-be walking sim proves a disappointingly bland experience.

The best Lemmings game since the Amiga days, except with flesh-eating zombies instead of mindless mammals.

An inspired mix of real science, sandbox gameplay, and space simulation – that is both a lot more entertaining and a lot more accessible than you’d expect.

A well-crafted homage to Chrono Trigger, which isn’t scared to add its own ideas – ensuring this is far more than just a nostalgic novelty.

Whatever controversy there might be about the movie, there can be little argument that this spiritless cash-in is one of the worst video games of 2016.

An interesting attempt to cross Dark Souls with a roguelike, but it’s not a very well mixed cocktail and the ingredients really needed to be chosen with more care.

The best Monster Hunter yet, with some useful improvements in terms of combat variety and accessibility for new players – even if it still falls short of the series’ full potential.

The best Kinect-only game ever, and if nothing else that proves that an inspired developer can make a great game with even the most unpromising of hardware.

A different take on the usual Metroidvania formula, but while the story and setting are charming the puzzles are rarely anything other than frustrating.