Sea of Stars may not truly recapture the magic of '90s RPGs, but it's still a polished, enjoyable blend of old and new.

This is Armored Core. We are blessed to have it back.

Immortals of Aveum tells a dull tale in an extremely irritating way, but at least has some fun, engaging shooting. I just wish it had a few ideas of its own.

If Fort Solis really was a Netflix series, it wouldn’t get a second season.

Baldur's Gate 3 is an unrivalled RPG that will swallow your life whole.

A genuinely thrilling, occasionally heartbreaking tale that shines a new light on well-known Greek gods. The musical aspect makes it one of the most unique visual novels you'll play, but its inconsistency in quality lets it down.

En Garde! flares brightly with its slick, slapstick combat, for a while at least.

On par with its (excellent) predecessors, Shadow Gambit trades some focused design for deeply compelling piratical freedom.

Beyond the shock value of its demonic horrors, this survivalist city-builder has little to recommend it.

Gorgeous and endearing, Rift Apart is a supremely likable adventure and a solid port—but at this price, it's hard to recommend over more substantial experiences.

This second attempt isn't going to convince anyone who wasn't won over by the first game, but for newcomers, anyone picking this up is still likely to be impressed by the TV presenters, impressive driver likenesses and depth of team simulation. Still, those key areas of racing and car damage need more obvious improvement next year or the series might start to flounder. Sadly, as with those infamous Mercedes sidepods, the new 'multiple lines' feature really isn't much of a step forward at all and it might be wise to revert to something a little more traditional sooner rather than later.

Remnant 2 is a dependable looter shooter made special by its boundless capacity to surprise.

The beginnings of a PvPvE cult hit. Extinct animal slaughter is fundamentally fun, but the foundations are sparse.

Lakeburg Legacies is an awkward, goalless mix of contradictions and impersonal systems.

Innovative puzzle design and truly astonishing visual trickery make this puzzle game a must-play—even if it doesn't quite have the space to make the most of its best ideas.

There's a few bolts that could be tightened up here and there, but Jagged Alliance is back in business.

Charming, deep, and constantly surprising, Dave the Diver is packed with activities and full of heart.

Oxenfree 2 is a more mature second run at the walk-and-talk formula.

Ghost Trick is an essential and engrossing experience for any PC gamer.

A Wonderful Life is the first that's properly forced me to settle down and I've found its focus on slowly and carefully tending my farm isn't defunct; it's a different strain of sim that deserves to bloom again after being left fallow for so many seasons.

This throwback management sim's incredible building tools are let down by a limp campaign and a serious lack of depth.

A powerful generator of gnawing tension and tough tactical decisions, Aliens: Dark Descent is a script pass away from being an all-timer.

Beautiful, horrifying, and impressively updated through the power of Unreal Engine 5, Layers of Fear is a deft upgrade for two horror gems.

The excellent story, still-superlative career and loot-based F1 World make for a convincing and gigantic F1 experience.

Diablo 4 is packed with powerful class builds and exciting loot to find, but clouds its most creative aspects with an overly bleak world and restrictive endgame systems.

Mask of the Rose's writing and characters shine, but the game underneath them never fully gels together.

Amnesia: The Bunker is an essential horror game and an inspired next step for the series.

Minor technical issues and questionable monetisation scuff what is otherwise one of the best fighting games we've seen in the last decade.