Hunt: Showdown is a clever, hard-nosed FPS that doesn't have enough substance to be truly essential yet.

Headspun is a well-meaning attempt at exploring a fascinating topic. Wandering around certain rooms like the Dream Theater and Memory Bank, you see some some vivid imagery, and are faced with interesting questions about the relationship between memories and identity. But it never delves deeper, restricting you to tedious minigames and superfluous base-building while you wait to see how story pans out. Headspun failed to entrench itself in my memory, and I wouldn't feel differently even if its swarms of bugs were squashed.

World of Warcraft Classic is still the exact same MMO I remembered losing so many nights to as a teenager, and 15 years later it's still just as fun and as frustrating as I'd hoped it would be.

Man of Medan tells a familiar story in a fascinating way, and even moreso with a partner.

Knights and Bikes tells a touching, albeit overlong, coming of age story about friendship and grief.

A novel premise wrapped in an awkward and repetitive survival slog.

Control's thin protagonist and abrupt ending are propped up by an abundance of mystery, wonder, and glorious room-destroying combat.

It’s not just cashing in on a fad—there’s a genuine love for everything '80s that seeps into every fuzz-filtered sound and every crunchy pixel. But there are so many games like this around right now. They’re doing fantastic things with the genre, to boot. Unless you’re screaming for a synth-tracked adventure, it’s hard to recommend Rad over its more contemporary counterparts.

An atmospheric, brilliantly written and acted detective thriller that tells a compelling story in a unique way.

Endearing, compulsive, and just weird enough to want to keep exploring.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw lives up to its name among space sims. It’s spirited, good-looking and vibrant, effectively spraying several cans of blue and pink graffiti over the existing space sim template. None of its systems are particularly deep, but skimming along over them can be an exhilarating journey.

A flawed but fascinating hybrid, Remnant: From the Ashes is a looter-shooter charged with potential.

Even alongside other recent, excellent retro FPSes, Ion Fury reminds us of how much this period of PC gaming has to offer. It's surely the best thing that's ever happened in the Build Engine, and although limitations of enemy and weapon design reveal themselves over time, the swift movement and sleek maps make Ion Fury a worthy indulgence in the past.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall, while a bit opaque in some areas, is the most entertaining 4X I've played in years.

Sticking points aside, Streets of Rogue is absolutely worth playing, and once you start, it’s hard to stop. It gives you more freedom than almost any roguelike, and its varied cast of characters, combined with the randomness of traits and mutators, mean no two runs play out the same way.

A refreshing hybrid of Metroidvania and roguelite, unfortunately hampered by inconsequential power-ups.

Maybe Tetris Effect is just Tetris, but it masterfully does what so many other game remakes aim for—an experience suitable for seasoned players as well as beginners, which enhances what’s already good and offers new reasons to love a classic.

Youngblood's gorgeous, terrible world is worth exploring, despite a slight narrative and oppressively boring progression systems.

Final Fantasy 14 is quietly one of the best games in the series, but Shadowbringers elevates it even further by telling a bleak and heartfelt tale that generously rewards the investment made by its most hardcore fans.

Haphazard gameplay and varying narrative quality put a damper on Night Call's strong mood and hints of brilliance.

Sea of Solitude is a gorgeous adventure that knows its way around mental illness, but doesn't make great use of the medium to tell its story.

Heavy Rain is poorly written and not as smart as it thinks it is, but has a genuine sense of choice and consequence.

Weighed down by a terrible campaign, this is still a superb multiplayer WW2 tactical RTS.

At its best when the screen is full of enemies, Amid Evil is a badass monster mash.

Bloodstained: ROTN faithfully recreates the metroidvania experience of the 2000s—a feast for fans of a very specific experience; a bit too old-fashioned for anyone else.

An occasionally entertaining detective game blighted by poor writing, rote combat, and a dreary open world.

Breezy fun that also rewards combo-chasing mastery. Barrel through the story once for a laugh, then replay the best levels until you are John Wick on a skateboard.

F1 2019 retains immaculate handling and visuals while adding cinematic spectacle and junior series racing.

Never quite the sum of its parts, Octopath Traveler is a game with brilliant moments rather than a brilliant game.

Mediocre and repetitive, there are far better options for action RPGs out there.

Beneath its charming and inventive worlds, Outer Wilds hides a cleverly unfolding mystery.

A slightly messy first-person shooter lifted by some excellent weapons and a gorgeous art style.

A gruelling mystery game that smothers its big ideas with dour survival mechanics.

Visually beautiful and emotionally affecting thanks to strong characters, A Plague Tale suffers from missing gameplay variety and tonal inconsistencies.

In expanding on its predecessor, Layers of Fear 2 sinks into a state of deep confusion.

A stylish, understated, and subtly chilling psychological thriller with a compelling mystery at its core.

High skill cap melee combat is equally rewarding and daunting, though the archery and support roles could use some work.

Not the best Total War game but not the worst by a long shot.

Some of the best first-person shooting on PC, but the rest of the game struggles to keep up with it.

Beautiful style, polished interactions, but ultimately it just runs out of things to do.

In all things, World War Z takes ideas that I've already seen done better elsewhere, gives them an interesting little twist—and then makes that twist not matter. It treads familiar ground, but it's not as clever or fun as what's come before it.

A triumphant remake of Yakuza 2, full of fun diversions and featuring one of the series' best stories.

Thoughtfully-designed levels and versatile combat abilities make Katana Zero worthy of a rewind despite cookie-cutter characters.

Unique folkloric inspiration and interesting tactical considerations are let down by a slow second half.

Whispers of a Machine is like a good episode of your favorite police procedural: familiar and fun, no more and no less.

A deep, customisable fighter that just happens to include the best video game movie never made.

Huge, inventive and the reason I'm sleep deprived. It's brilliant.

Weedcraft, Inc is a tricky tycoon game that overextends itself—but almost nails it.

Heaven's Vault communicates the beauty of assigning meaning to symbols, and thus the people who wrote them.

Crisp combat let down by boring enemies, repetitive missions and a disconnected story.

Despite an annoying story mode, Anno 1800 is the biggest and best entry in the series to date.

Just what a visual novel should be—fun characters and the rush of solving mysteries make you eager to keep going.

Outward is harsh and occasionally frustrating, but it does what so few games do. It requires you to put real thought into the choices you make, and it makes those choices feel like they really matter. Most of all, it makes you approach each and every encounter as if your life depended on it—even though you never die.

An entertaining but unambitious sequel that collects up the best features of previous games and adds in some interesting new twists.

Menacing robots, a gorgeous world, and an intriguing premise, but ultimately too minimalist for its own good.

An otherwise strong season drops the ball at the death. Clementine deserved better.

A brutal, uncompromising action game with sensational sword combat. From Software has done it again.

A packed, rewarding, and frequently thrilling looter shooter that should have a bright future.

Baba is You manages to take the familiar idea of nudging blocks and solving puzzles in a fresh direction. Brilliant.

A satisfying detective adventure based around a weird and wonderfully imaginative retro internet.

A sensational audiovisual experience that starts to drag around halfway in.

Three great characters and a beautiful, fluid combat system make this a must-buy for hack-and-slash fans.

An occasionally brilliant immersive sim blighted by bugs and a restrictive save system.

Genesis Alpha One splices the DNA of some good ideas, but doesn’t execute any of them well enough.

Anthem's disjointed story, boring loot, repetitive missions, and shallow endgame are all disappointing. At least it's pretty.

An epic clash between the some of manga’s most famous characters shouldn’t be this dull, frankly.

Simply the best rally sim around, building on its predecessor’s already fine foundations.

Repetitive and middling, Crackdown 3 is a totally average open-world game that doesn't give itself a way to stand out.

A charming traveling artist adventure which uses image capture in interesting ways.

It's Far Cry 5 again, on a smaller scale and with a post-apocalyptic paint job.

An incredible trip through a stunning post-apocalyptic world, let down by some uninspiring FPS combat.

Apex Legends is a quiet revolution in how we communicate in games, and an excellent team-based battle royale I can recommend to anyone, caveat-free.

Suffers in comparison to Yakuza 0, but is still a compelling drama and an important part of the series as a whole.

Gathering Storm is an ambitious expansion full of welcome additions, even if it does falter at the end.

Involved, spectacular, space battles packaged into satisfying campaigns, and great fan service too.

A glacial pace and abundance of busywork make My Time At Portia a tough recommendation.

The sharpest writing around, wrapped inside a surprising adventure that’s tough but rarely unfair. Failbetter’s finest hour.

Brimming character and imagination, Wargroove occasionally loses its groove over long-winded core gameplay.

A strategically deep deckbuilder that, with any luck, has spawned a brilliant new subgenre.

Passive AI and a flawed economy ruin what could have been a refreshing 4X experiment.

A tense, challenging, and beautiful remake of a classic survival horror game, and with enough fresh ideas to make it feel excitingly new.

A wonderfully absurd tale of insurrection and kicking stuff in a cheery-looking world.

Uncomplicated but gratifying flying, in scenarios of increasing silliness and therefore likeability.

A fun relic of the early PS2 days that I still like a lot, but slightly too dated for most players to enjoy.

An odd hybrid of life sim and puzzle game where both flawed halves somehow work well together.

Work through the presentational ugliness and technical awkwardness, and you’ll find an experience of frightening depth.

An imaginative management game but a weak story generator.

Gris’s visual appeal hinders as much as it helps its exploration of grief.

DayZ has the power to create incredible stories, but the twitchy, weightless combat and buggy zombies let it down.

Somehow in this most well-travelled of multiplayer FPS paths, Insurgency: Sandstorm feels fresh and innovative at every turn.

Ashen's slant on the Soulslike subgenre isn't revolutionary, but is a wonderful example of the familiar formula executed well. It's thoughtful, gorgeous, challenging and a dream to explore.

Capy’s tough-love approach and well-worn survival systems makes it harder to appreciate Below’s singular look and feel.

Parkitect, for all its quality, is content to be a fairground attraction: fun and mechanically sound, but not something you’re going to queue up hours for.

A obsessively tuned, finely crafted shooter that more than recreates the speed and pure joy of '90s classics.

Building the best decks will cost you, but Artifact is an intricate and rewarding card game.

Wonderfully weird and inventive. Katamari Damacy isn’t perfect, but it holds its own impressively well 14 years on.

While it lasts, Mutant Year Zero is a tense, absorbing and atmospheric new member of the XCOM family. I suppose wanting more of it is a good problem to have.

Imaginative, beautiful, and utterly strange, but you’ll need to really love the story to endure its idiosyncratic combat.