It's a classic that's been lovingly brought back to life by Rebellion.

While “one of the most inventive typing games out there” is a summary in danger of being mistaken for faint praise, Epistory’s wonderful, paper-craft design and smart, word-based battle system combine to make it exactly that.

With Souls titles now a pseudo-genre of their own, there’s an inevitable familiarity to the rewarding challenges, deft storytelling, and intricate, shortcut-laden level design of Dark Souls 3. But familiarity alone should not detract from this third title’s fine implementation of ideas and mechanics. The enigma may be waning, but there’s still nothing quite like a Souls game.

Quirky, funny, demanding, and requiring an awful lot of skill: Enter the Gungeon is one of the best action-roguelites in years.

This second, short, episode in Telltale’s latest Walking Dead series continues to be a fairly engaging study of Michonne’s character, but struggles to generate much attachment to the other players in its familiar tale of capture-and-pursuit.

Not a good reason for seasoned explorers to head back to the Commonwealth, but it adds a fair bit for anyone who's still got an active game going. Pricey for what it is, though.

It’s still the same compulsive, time-attack Trackmania, but some of the beautifully chaotic edges (particularly regarding custom online multiplayer) that made it a cult hit on PC have been dulled.

Decent third-person shooting mechanics, geared strongly toward co-op; but unless your brain is tickled by colour-tiered items the rote repetition will eventually drive you from Manhattan. The Division’s speculative catastrophe fiction never sits convincingly with its pure, stat-based loot grind.

Like the stereotypical school heartthrob, Need for Speed is vapid but beautiful and strangely exciting. It's a surprisingly enjoyable arcade racer, but one that's more for casual downtime than for a serious commitment.

Destination one in Agent 47's now-episodic global travelogue shows IO Interactive know how to get Hitman back in fashion. A strong, stylish opening to the new game.

A perfectly enjoyable adventure through a dystopian wasteland, though one that misses a lot of opportunities and leaves a lot of tantalising threads dangling. Tasty, but not quite satisfying.

Environmentally diverse, and largely consistent in the quality of its conundrums, Soul Axiom is an imperfect but distinct first-person puzzler.

A decent game, but nothing more. Far Cry Primal tries to differentiate itself from past Far Cry games with mixed success, managing some clever new tricks, but losing a lot of what made Far Cry feel special in the process.

A concise central mechanic, framed by a clever, form-twisting premise and outstanding design in art and sound. Other games wish they could be this cool.

Cleverly designed and rather lovely to look at, though a little slight, and not something that'll keep you occupied for long stints.

A well-written character in desperate need of a plot more compelling than this laboured retread of the captured-by-authoritarian-jerks Walking Dead staple.

Winter can be miserable, but Snowfall is a worthwhile addition to the finest city builder available.

The White March Part 2 brings this multi-part expansion to a satisfying, and typically well-constructed, conclusion; solidifying Pillars of Eternity as one of the best CRPG titles of recent years.

XCOM 2 successfully straddles the line between being familiar and being new. A few design choices will divide people, and there are bugs and issues that will need patching or modding, but for the most part it's a sterling return to the gruelling decision-making of its predecessor.

Arslan aims to pepper a re-telling of its anime source material with familiar Warriors-style battles, and that, for better or worse, is what it does. But this release lacks some of the absurd character flair, goofy thrash-rock soundtrack, and (dare I say) depth of the mainstream series.

A solid, lengthy, entertaining romp across both tombs and not-tombs, with a quality PC port. If you want more Tomb Raider 2013, this offers improvements on most of that game's mechanics and is unlikely to disappoint.

Deserts of Kharak is a worthy addition to the Homeworld series, but as a unit-focused RTS it can feel a little flat and predictable until about three quarters of the way through the thirteen missions. It’s really not until late in the game that the missions become more challenging and interesting.

The Deadly Tower of Monsters is not the tightest 3D hack-and-blast arcade homage you’ll ever play, but it is the only one to feature puppies dressed as deadly hoovers, amazing stop-motion dinosaurs, and set design to rival Forbidden Planet.

This Indian Chronicle holds few surprises for those who played China, meaning frustration and contentment in roughly equal measure. Plus some half-decent artistic flair.

A fantastic new addition to the Dirt franchise. Less approachable for new players but clearly the best outing from Codemasters in years.

Musou-slashing meets light tower defense and the effortlessly heartwarming world of Dragon Quest; with all the vivid art direction, retro audio, and somewhat repetitive questing that implies.

Just Cause 3 pretty much raises explosions and physics-based destruction to the level of an art form, and a few annoyances with gunplay and repetition don't do much to detract from that.

It'll do nothing to shake the series' reputation for check-box collectibles and all-too-familiar mission types, but Assassin's Creed: Syndicate plays to the structural strengths of a terrific Victorian London setting, enjoyable characters, and a few smart, iterative design changes.