A cool idea with a well-realised theme, but this game would've benefitted from longer in Early Access.

With Definitive Editions of the later installments on the horizon, Age of Empires is once again poised to be overshadowed. If you have an overwhelming sense of nostalgia about the birth of the series, this does an excellent job of preserving it while making it considerably more palatable, but for a trip down memory lane, it sure is expensive.

Rust is a malicious experience rife with betrayal, cruelty and greed. That can make it both frustrating and sublime in equal doses.

A flimsy remake of a flawed 16-bit favourite that exacerbates all the original’s problems while failing to recapture its strengths.

A decent port of a great Final Fantasy with one of the cleverest combat systems in RPGs.

With a local co-op buddy Aegis Defenders becomes a fun mix of genres, but when playing solo it can be an exercise in frustration.

Kingdom Come is a mess of bugs, and there’s the constant feeling that independent developer Warhorse is biting off more than it can chew. But there’s a charm to its scrappiness, and it does enough interesting stuff that I’m willing to tolerate the creaky framework struggling to prop everything up. It’s one of the most satisfying, rewarding role-playing experiences I’ve enjoyed on PC for a while, but the inconsistent performance and the game’s tendency to completely break does test my patience from time to time.

Flat writing and a confused plot fail to deliver on some promising ideas.

A prickly 2D Metroidvania with a curious twist, Dandara admirably finds something new to do with the genre, but it's tough work to get onboard.

Rise and Fall is a great addition to Civilization 6 that doesn’t quite go far enough to be essential.

Bland and unambitious save for its combat, Lost Sphear draws so heavily from the traditions of past JPRGs that it fails to build a personality of its own.

Accessible yet complex, chaotic yet beautiful, this is the real fighting game deal.

A smattering of technical issues keep Subnautica from true legendary status, but only just.

In terms of the game experience, that’s great. In terms of labour politics, the substitution muddies how I feel about the studio and the game. It’s worth reading the various interviews and points of view online to make up your own mind whether you want to support the studio and this outing for the franchise. With that caveat in place, Before the Storm benefits from being more focused and more of a character piece than Life Is Strange. It gets rid of most of the clunky puzzling, provides emotional payoffs for Chloe fans, and puts a gay teenage girl front and centre in a valuable way.

Tartarus shows off some excellent puzzles aboard a disappointingly empty spaceship, but it’s usually more charming than frustrating.

An engaging, vibrant and challenging platformer that adds narrative to a genre often shy of it.

PUBG takes the tradition of big-map survival games like DayZ and compresses it into digestible, 3-to-30-minute sprints that are reliably scary and low-key.

Slick platforming, well-designed puzzles, and a huge, connected world, with occasional moments of frustration.

An atmospheric, imaginative cyberpunk adventure with a human heart beating beneath its metal exoskeleton.

An entertaining, light-hearted point-and-click adventure game full of memorable characters and wholesome British humor.

A one-trick pony of a multiplayer fighter, Gang Beasts is sometimes hilariously messy but often just a mess.

A beautiful exercise in freeform solutions, Zachtronics has created one of the most satisfying puzzle games ever made.

SpellForce 3 competently blends RPG and RTS games into a generally enjoyable package, but there’s not enough creative force to create a lasting spell.

Frustrating, buggy and overly dependent on trial-and-error, this is a missed opportunity.

Portal's systems, if not its clever humor, are put to good use in this fun physics-based puzzle game.

Not the most inventive MMO expansion, but a robust chunk of new maps that flesh out the best MMO around. [Christmas 2017, p.66]

A fantastic feat of interlocking storytelling and design.

An ambitious game but one which exposes and compounds the weaknesses of solitaire.

Occasionally languid to the point of lethargy, Okami is a gorgeous and unforgettable adventure all the same.

At last: royalty I feel emotionally invested in! Reigns: Her Majesty is a smart and surprising extension of the original swipe-'em narrative game.

Deep but accessible, Battlerite is packed with smart decisions and reliably creates great competitive moments.

A brilliant stealth sandbox and unconventional RPG in one very ambitious but buggy package.

Cute, with a battle system that has more depth than it lets on, but the game's tone gets rather irritating.

A fun take on a classic format, great to play with friends—hectic and unique, but easy to understand and play.

A great port of a brilliant fighter with a staggering amount of content beyond multiplayer brawling.

A fine remake of a game that deserves to be played as much as it gets fondly remembered.

A spectacular, occasionally very fun tour of Star Wars battles that disappoints with a boring story, crappy progression system, and endless grenade spam.

Wholly unique and deceptively punishing, Uurnog Uurnlimited is as clever as it is creative.

Enjoyable arcade handling packaged within a game that gets monotonous long before it rewards your time investment.

Sonic Forces is not, like several entries in the series, offensively bad. There are some stages where you can’t help but be swept up by its breakneck pace, pounding soundtrack, and chaotic pinball table levels. It’s just unfortunate that it was released so soon after Mania, which took the best of old Sonic and made it sparklingly relevant again. Forces, however, is plagued by inconsistent level design, floaty controls, and a risible Saturday morning cartoon storyline that only kids and rabid Sonic fans will find entertaining.

Nioh is hamstrung by a sloppy PC port, but still manages to bring new ideas to death-treadmill action RPGs.

The quintessential football management sim is back with its most ambitious undertaking in years.

Inventive in some ways and stagnant in others, Elex will appeal to die-hard RPG fans and few others.

Hand of Fate 2 is a satisfying sequel and a meatier dungeon crawler, but still somewhat hampered by limited combat.

A beautiful game with great flying, only held back by confusing interiors and a short duration.

A drab campaign doesn't do the history justice, but Call of Duty: WWII’s multiplayer recalls the glory days of Modern Warfare.

This journey through a dreamscape of loss and absolution is unique, if a bit uneven at times.

Naturally, once you've beaten the main quests you can continue exploring the world, and the biggest compliment I can give Origins is that I'd much rather be playing it than writing about it. It's a got a dazzling and beautiful setting, lots of enjoyable systems for mischief and mayhem, and has just the right amount of diversions and distractions to keep you busy without ever feeling like busywork. The extra year Ubisoft took with Origins didn't result in a completely new and novel experience, but it did provide one of the best games in the Assassin's Creed series.

A horror game with few scares, Inmates is imprisoned by its lack of ambition.

Wunderdoktor's beautiful handmade world is a delight to travel through, but beneath that charming exterior lies a twitchy, unforgiving, and sometimes unrewarding puzzle game.

If you're after an infinite action RPG then Destiny 2 is a few DLC packs and expansions away from that, but if you're after a regular light dose of beautiful sci-fi shooter fun, the perfect post-pub co-op jolly, or the game that will have your fireteam shouting in joy at your monitors when a raid boss goes down, Destiny 2 is a very well-made shooter and one of the best co-op games on PC.

A perfectly good 4X game with an innovative combat system that feels a bit bland when framed against the richness of its setting.

The New Colossus is a fun and frantic FPS, even if it doesn't feel quite as fresh as The New Order did.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a gorgeous, challenging RPG that’s light on story but big on tactically satisfying battles.

An approachable and thought-provoking meditation on life's only certainty.

Rogue Trooper Redux is crude, repetitive, and still looks rather dour, yet it manages to retain a certain lo-fi charm and never overstays its welcome.

A slick RPG with superb tactical combat, a detailed world to explore, and a gleefully crude sense of humour.

An intense and thrilling psychological survival horror sequel that improves on its forerunner in almost every way.

A streamlined, easy-to-play strategy game with a uniquely dark premise that's ideal for sporadic sessions. [Nov 2017, p.83]

A smart but simple adventure that's exactly the right kind of spooky. It's short, but superb. More please. [Nov 2017, p.81]

Some scuff-marks aside, A Hat in Time is a creative, playful, and polished tribute to a genre that doesn’t get nearly enough love on PC.

Deadbeat Heroes' might sometimes be unintuitive, but emphasizing player experience, challenge, and aesthetics isn't a bad approach.

An improvement in every area, including The Journey mode.

The nemesis system shines in this unwieldy, bloated, and occasionally magnificent fantasy epic.

Light performance problems and a poor loot box system can't quite distract from Forza Motorsport 7's accommodating difficulty, stunning beauty, and lavish racing options.

Tooth and Tail is an elegantly simple RTS that’s perfect for newcomers or anyone wanting to play on the couch.

Not just for the masochists, Cuphead is a demanding but supremely rewarding modern 2D shooter that looks and sounds fantastic.

A gorgeous world eager to be explored with satisfying puzzles and fun, if occasionally clumsy, action.

An instantly likeable game hiding a brutal edge that demands mastery. Balance is concerning, but partially mitigated by an extensive roster.

Dazzling, dangerous, and dripping in style, Ruiner is a superb, if short, whirlwind of cyber-violence and sightseeing.

A maximalist sequel that improves on almost every aspect of the first game.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a sprawling, inventive adventure and one of the best RPGs ever made.

By making excellent use of its procedurally generated world and wacky gadgets, Heat Signature is a mission worth taking.

A joy to view but sometimes a chore to play, Last Day of June delivers a touching story that’s worth finishing.

The definitive PES on PC, if you can get a game online.

Not as consistently intricate or surprising as Dishonored 2, but still a worthy epilogue that adds depth and atmosphere to the series' world.

Serious racing for serious racers. Extraordinarily convincing at each of the disciplines on offer.

A bloated, grindy mess, but so packed with options that a better game is hidden inside it.

A breakneck platformer that uses classic Sonic as a foundation for something fresh and exciting.

A great customizable fighting system and a cooperative spirit fill the empty spaces in a bleak open world.

The new classes and super villains are excellent, even if the expansion bloats the campaign a little.

Brainhacking will blow your mind, but you'll want to get the cop out of your head by the end.

As close as you can get to an F1 driver’s life without being cussed by Sebastian Vettel.

It's like, how much more Nidhogg could this be? And the answer is none. None more Nidhogg.

Like having a drunken conversation with a friend who really loves music, but it's a videogame and good.

Serves up a generous range of play styles, but it’s hampered by repetitive levels and a few uninspired design choices.

Nimble, graceful, and original, LawBreakers' movement sets it apart from other FPSes despite a few aesthetic weaknesses.

The turn-based combat isn't the best, but it's a delightfully written RPG absolutely packed with humor.

Hellblade could benefit from more exploration and enemy variety, but it's a powerful portrait of the strength of will over personal demons.

Fortnite suffocates what could be an incredible tower defense game beneath the some of the most tangential, egregious, impersonal progression systems we’ve seen.

A slight and repetitive but cute farming game, Slime Rancher doesn't quite reach the heights of its sub-genre.

Deep, brutal, and hauntingly atmospheric, The Long Dark is a survival game done right.

A smart and thoughtful science fiction mystery featuring a cast of believable, nuanced characters.

A misguided attempt at parody, underpinned by a poor sports game by anyone’s standards.

While it succeeds in being a happy, positive game, Dream Daddy's simulation doesn’t go far enough.

Like a board game you play to death then put on the shelf to bring out on special occasions, but with street urchins and priest-stabbing.

Pyre's campaign is repetitive and its combat never quite clicks, but a touching and thoughtful story makes it worth sticking through to the end.

At best, Bokida's story is effective at linking visuals. [Aug 2017, p.87]