Rockfish’s take on the space shooter is certainly different, and it’s a refreshing change for the genre. It’s not about exploring the vastness of space in an open world (though jumping into the unknown is certainly still a factor), it’s quite simply an arcade shooter. It’s also a great looking game with an easy to grasp flight model and a mystery waiting to be uncovered. If you enjoy action space sims or rogue-like games such as FTL then you’ll enjoy this. Even if you don’t, there’s a high chance you’ll still enjoy this. Everspace is a cracking game.

The Surge does a lot of things well, and has some pleasant and unique twists on the usual conventions of this relatively young genre. The problem is that it gets a lot of the basics and balance painfully wrong, resulting in an experience that’s a little dull, repeatedly infuriating, and frustrated by poor design decisions. It doesn’t do enough wrong to make it an outright bad game, but it’s one that should be approached with caution even by ardent fans of the genre.

Endless Space 2 bolsters Amplitude’s reputation for superb, unique 4X faction design. The interwoven narrative and management mechanics produce a universe within which its easy to lose yourself, but some lingering bugs suggest the game may have launched prematurely.

BattleZone VR is not the cheapest VR title around, but if you’re looking for a decent arcade shooter that isn’t just a shooting gallery then it’s worth the time and money.

Arkane’s tale of wrench-wielding, audio log sleuthing, and human hubris wears its videogame heritage on its bright red space suit sleeve. Until such time that System Shock 3 may challenge it, Prey is the worthy follow up to System Shock 2 in everything but name.

The fact that it's not as breathtaking as its predecessor shouldn't really stop horror fans from picking up this creepy run-and-hide simulator.

Relic reinvent Dawn of War once again, retaining many RTS staples and borrowing a little from their MOBA genre-cousins. It’s not a flawless mix, and the multiplayer contents are a bit lean; but distinctive factions, a solid campaign, and largely compatible mechanics give Dawn of War 3 a strong base of operations.

It takes a while to find its voice and stretches a three song soundtrack to near breaking point, but this first episode demonstrates a willingness to take a stand-alone Guardians of the Galaxy plot in intriguing directions. Most importantly: it pulls off just enough jokes.

In tandem, the (free) Banks 1.5 update and Utopia contribute a splendid set of features and mechanical changes to Stellaris. Taken alone, Utopia is more the luxury trimmings to Banks’ essentials, but it’s a fine package of unique species specialisation and mega-engineering all the same.

I really liked Thimbleweed Park. I loved its little references, I loved its knowing winks, and I loved the way it successfully feels like a game that’s timewarped out of the early 90s. Do you wistfully think back to those years and those games? Then you should definitely play this. It might not rank up there with the absolute best, but it captures the essence of the adventures of yesteryear and provides a sharp, witty, and genuinely puzzling experience.

Any player in search of a real platforming challenge should be playing Rain World. It can be brutal at times and it has its quirks, but it will keep you coming back. Plus, it has a Slugcat.

Familiar strengths and themes combine with FromSoftware’s apparently endless capacity for creative fantasy design in a finale of suitable grandeur and pathos.

In the end, NieR: Automata reflects what’s in your heart, and it’s possibly the most playable introduction to the glorious madness of Yoko Taro there is. Whether that’s worth something to you I couldn’t possibly say, but it’s left quite a mark on me.

VR Sports is aiming for the Wii Sports audience, and while most of the sports are okay, it’s let down by some quirks due to the way the mechanics work with the VR kit. It’s also not that visually impressive compared to other titles we have seen. Fortunately, the game is pretty cheap at the moment and it might be fine for some family fun – and it does at least offer a wide selection of sports in one package.

Thoughtful, bold (in colour and execution), and with absolute faith in its players to handle being cast into the glorious unknown, Future Unfolding is a rare delight. If these words inspired any desire to play it whatsoever, then do so; before you learn too much else about it.

This hopefully isn’t the last we’ll see of Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex, but if it is then A Criminal Past at least serves as a compact summary of their tenure at the helm. Nothing too radical here, just a well constructed prison level for Adam Jensen to be let loose upon.

Sometimes exceptional, always ambitious, but periodically falling short of its aims, Torment: Tides of Numenera is testament to the tribulations of following a universally established creative triumph. Well worth playing, nonetheless.

It executes its executions exquisitely, and I’m not yet at the point where I’m getting tired of it.

Alone With You joins the ranks of others who have used the sci-fi lens to successfully scrutinise the human condition, but does stumble in some of its endeavours. The decision to include actual, puzzle-based gameplay rather than presenting the narrative as pure visual novel was, I think, a good one, but the pacing falls victim to its own intended sense of routine. Ultimately, I found the story of the colony’s fate took precedence over any romantic entanglement hologram pals, but that 5-6 hour tale is a compelling essay on the anxieties of extreme isolation.

Over-linearity and rubbish dungeon design bog it down a bit, but the combat, characters, and rather unusual plot still make Tales of Berseria a tale worth experiencing.

Diluvion has an interesting art style but the repetitive gameplay, along with sometimes irritating navigation, checkpoints and controls, may put some players off.

The new money lives up to the Blood Money in this darkly comic, icy cool stealth/brain-teaser/drop-a-toilet-on-a-target's-head-'em-up. It's a hit, man.

While Resident Evil 7 has its issues, it’s actually better than I’d hoped. It’s tense and thrilling, varied, well-paced, and seems to be the revitalising shot in the arm the series needed. It’s far from the scariest of games I’ve played (it creeped me out, but I played it at night, for crying out loud) but it’s still a bloody good time.

Too many of the old adventure game stumbling blocks (inconsistent progression, unclear or obfuscating clues, unmarked dead ends) prevent this homage to Murakami’s short stories ever hitting the stride its aesthetics deserve.

Out on the plains and forest floors, the Wood Elf forces emphasise mobility, micro-management (which can just mean lots of using the pause button in single player), and, to perhaps a lesser extent than expected, archery prowess. They represent another smart translation from tabletop to Total War, and add further tactical challenges to Creative Assembly’s ever-evolving game through their expanded economy and unique campaign goal.

Fun, jolly, and with tongue planted firmly in cheek for most of the game: Watch Dogs 2 isn't a must-have, but it's still a rather good time.

As with Pacific before it, Order of Battle: Blitzkrieg is a refreshingly accessible hex-based war game. Maintaining supply lines, strategic use of terrain, and deft deployment of combined arms are once again the mechanics to master here.

Planet Coaster has been great to play. It’s been too long since there was a decent theme park sim and I think Frontier has nailed it. The only criticism I have is that it’s quite hard to fail at making a working park, even in hard mode, and hardcore sim fans may find the finance management a little lacking. That doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of creating park though, and difficulty is almost secondary here. Once you’ve played it for a while you just want to be creative.