Solid. Dependable. This edition of Football Manager has set itself up not to concede, and to make occasional expressive forays into new territory. The scattering of innovations (hilarious character creator aside) are worthwhile, but some old, persistent quirks still rankle.

The fact that it's heavier on combat than stats is sure to annoy RPG classicists, but the fact that the combat is fantastic helps a lot. So, too, does the intriguing world, the excellent characters, the hidden secrets, and the difficult decisions.

I've made it pretty clear that it's hardly a flawless game, but that doesn't change the fact that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is something pretty bloody special and you should absolutely play it.

Porting issues aside, Batman: Arkham Knight is a decent enough game. It's not the spectacular swansong we hoped for from Rocksteady, but it's another solid - if predictable - slice of Arkham gameplay, with a couple of great sections along the way.

Eschewing complex 3D flight models for whiskey and galactic broadsides, Rebel Galaxy takes the traditional space trading model, dresses it in spurs, and sets it loose on a frontier that’s dynamic, dangerous and unashamedly fun.

A beautiful, heartbreaking, and surprisingly dark Telltale-esque adventure that betters pretty much every Telltale-esque adventure that's come before it and has enough twists to make it unique. Life is Strange has a few flaws, but that shouldn't dissuade you from hopping on this emotional rollercoaster. And it's okay: you're allowed to cry.

This new installment from Wargaming is a breath of fresh air. The gameplay may seem slow for newcomers, but in the end you will likely sink hours into this game without even realising it.

Flawed in a lot of ways and with some ideas that don't seem fully fleshed out, but a gorgeous and idly entertaining roguelike romp nonetheless.

Something of a return to form after 15, but sooner rather than later EA will need to stop re-arranging pieces of their existing code and actually develop a properly new and substantial FIFA engine.

Entertaining, surprising, mind-breaking: Undertale is a labour of love that inspires exactly that emotion.

An open, responsive football title with a lot of individual player freedom, but one that also has dodgy keepers, absent fouls, and the usual iffy online environment. The PC community may bring it up to scratch, but at release it’s an ugly port that does a disservice to the game within.

Flawed in many, many ways, but none of those ways impact a glorious, emergent, open-world experience.

A chaotic dust bowl of an open world, rendered and recorded with Avalanche's usual technical excellence on PC. Like Max's car some parts are a little ramshackle, but if you stick to causing bedlam there's plenty of fun to be had.

Eugen have taken the classic RTS formula and created a compelling and fun strategy game. Well worth your money.

The White March is an expansion of gorgeous new landscapes, new companions, and new challenges. It should push players out of their combat comfort zones, and is a fine excuse for some familiar PoE questing, but doesn’t yet feel essential.

Syndicate’s amoral corporate violence meets a more lenient version of Commandos’ ability-centric squad tactics, in this on-point cyberpunk sandbox.

A must-have samurai sandbox title for those who treasure player agency and reactive narrative above high-level production values. WotS 4’s absurdist videogame take on Yojimbo is surreal, funny and magnificent.

The penultimate episode of Telltale’s Game of Thrones may be A Nest of Vipers, but, though it’s consistently well-performed and presented throughout, this is looking like another series where the implied player agency lacks any real bite.

A sturdy conversion of a robust set of board game rules. The top-down, corridor-heavy setting is reminiscent of Space Hulk, but Legions of Steel places more emphasis on equal fire-fights between the competing factions.

Though it doesn't seem to do as much as it could with its 'critical' dialogue choices, Knee Deep's (literal) theatrical staging and quirky, pseudo-noir plot make it a compelling curiosity in the Telltale vein.

Ronin has little plot to speak of, but is focused like it’s own motorcycle helmeted avenger on a tight and tactical turn-ish-based combat mechanic. Looks a little like Gunpoint. Plays like Ronin.

A mid-season episode which keeps the narrative wheels turning, steps up the action in places, and (at last) gives the Ironrath Forresters some brief moments of triumph.

Swery does Telltale, by way of an obsessed, time-travelling detective and lots of references to Boston. D4 is as unique and strange as you’d hope; and (unlike Deadly Premonition,) a decent enough PC version.