Inconsistent performance aside, Dishonored 2 is a marvel. It’s a magnet for positive adjectives, setting a new and extremely lofty bar for future stealth games.

A supercut of FromSoft's very best work, transported to a totally new space. Elden Ring is not only a masterpiece by its developer's lofty standards, but in packing so much density into the Lands Between, it lights the path ahead for open-world games in general.

For those coming fresh to the experience, you’re about to play one of the best games ever made. It’s still very much the Grand Theft Auto you’ve known and loved since the series transitioned to 3D open worlds in GTA3, but it has been enhanced and improved to dizzying heights.

It is a game crafted by those with an irrepressible love, and possibly hunger, for words and tales.

PC is the best place to play last year’s best game. It’s massive yet loses no focus, epic on every level, and combines Rockstar’s penchant for immense detail with a surprising amount of heart.

It is the final exam of Unity of Command, and a perfect capstone to one of the finest entry-level PC wargames since Panzer General 2.

A true tour de force from Arkane that is bound to be one of the year's best and most important games.

Team Cherry has done the impossible. In the face of colossal expectation, it has bottled lightning twice. Silksong is a masterpiece, not because it’s bigger and better than what came before, but because it doesn’t lose itself in trying to escape Hollow Knight’s shadow. Its massive scope extends beyond Team Cherry’s initial influences to become a definitive Metroidvania epic that challenges players to rise to the occasion.

Obsidian had a daunting task before them: to make a spiritual successor to a series of games that are inextricably tangled up in nostalgia, over a decade after the height of those games’ popularity. This is not the Baldur’s Gate of 2015, it’s Baldur’s Gate, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale, the best parts of the lot of them wrapped up in something new and brilliant.

To review it is to appraise the enormity of the human spirit of exploration, to rate the drive that spurred us to flop up out of the ocean and then up a tree and then back down again and then over some mountains and through some deserts and then off up into the heavens...I love space and Kerbal Space Program.

Where other South Park games have utterly failed to capture the crude, offensive, absurdly entertaining spark that has kept the cartoon running for 16 years, The Stick of Truth succeeds utterly. Not only is it series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker - who co-wrote the game - firing on all cylinders, it’s Obsidian’s most polished RPG. Not just a great South Park game, the Stick of Truth is simply a great game.

Diablo 4 embodies the essence of what makes Diablo so great, taking the best elements of its predecessors and sewing them together to create an ever-changing, ever-evolving chimera that we can’t wait to play for years to come.

You have to admire Blizzard's approach to Diablo III. They fixed it. The game itself now absolutely superb. Reaper of Souls finishes the job.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the end result of two decades of iteration from Ryu Ga Gotoku and the studio's best game yet. Sprawling but never bloated, it remains captivating from beginning to end across both its main narrative and bountiful side adventures, almost never missing a beat.

Infinity Nikki takes all the best bits of Genshin Impact to deliver the definitive dress-up game for girls. With a vast wardrobe of exquisite outfits to collect, its whimsical open world is a treasure trove of activities that distract from the gacha grind.

Familiar, excellent, and polished to a degree that hardly seems possible. If you love taking vintage Porsches for joyrides through environments that’d have a poet bawling then you're going to be very happy here.

Initially unwieldy but eventually engrossing, Age of Wonders' latest entry translates its Civ-meets-XCOM formula brilliantly to a new sci-fi setting. Even if the elements of that sci-fi are a bit rote.

After such a long wait for a successor to X-Wing and TIE Fighter, Star Wars: Squadrons feels like a lucky shot with a proton torpedo.

A host of minor and major improvements add up to make Battlefield 6 the smoothest, most bombastically entertaining entry in the series to date. A lacklustre campaign aside, this is a triumphant return and a must-play for both BF veterans and newcomers alike.

Amid the Ruins feels like the peak of the pint-sized survivor’s development. After the brutal trauma of the previous episode, we get to decide, or at least influence, what she will be like in the finale and how she’s been transformed by the events of this second season. Every moment is a struggle between Darwinism and kindness.

Thanks to a beautifully realised setting and some genuinely innovative combat additions, Monster Hunter Rise is fun from start to finish. If you haven’t played a Monster Hunter game yet, this is the best one to start with.

A scorching, over-the-top sendup of capital’s morbid contempt for labour, Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs adds a wild new unit roster and a fun new campaign, and is an essential addition to Total War: Warhammer 3.

In BattleTech, the persistence between battles lets you weave a whole new plot through the game, one filled with characters and stakes that are wholly your own.

An utterly original RPG that sets new genre standards for exploration and conversation systems, and a brilliantly written tragicomedy about our inability to release the linchpins of our identity. Even when they hurt us.

A marvellously accomplished realisation of RedLynx’s deranged vision for the series, which somehow manages to be both the most accessible and most unforgiving Trials game to date.

An exceptionally good update to Codemasters' increasingly polished and wide-reaching racing series.

A triumph in both mechanics and delivery, Hitman turns its controversial episodic release model into a true strength that's suited to IO's vast and nuanced sandboxes.

Pacific Drive offers a road trip like no other, boasting immaculate sound design and a classic '90s conspiracy delivered through a compact survival-crafting roguelike loop.

A memorable core cast, often hilarious side quests, and a gripping main narrative make Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 a must-play medieval RPG, despite its late-game progression woes and rough edges.

Boasting the best swordfighting in the business, Sekiro is a game of rare but deserved self-assurance. You’ll despair as it breaks you down, but then you’ll exult as it builds you up. It’s a journey like little else in gaming, and if you’re up for the challenge, you absolutely have to play it.

Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail introduces some of the game’s best dungeons and trials yet alongside a compelling story that, while slow to ramp up, delivers resoundingly in its second act, setting a promising precedent for the future of the MMORPG on all counts.

An outstanding homage to Fire Emblem which, in its rich cast of characters and thoughtful tweaks to combat, occasionally surpasses its classic inspiration.

With more tools at your disposal than ever, this is a rich, realistic management simulation that delivers thrills both on and off the pitch.

Offering a stunning visual upgrade, a great new story, and a hugely rewarding combat system, Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance is officially the best and only way to play Atlus' beloved JRPG.

Calling Stellaris Europa Universalis in space is probably reductive, but it was the first thing I did in this review not because they are almost exactly alike, but because, when I put away my empires and get on with my day, the stories that have played out in these digital worlds embed themselves in my brain, and I so desperately want to tell people about them. Both games tickle the part of my brain that wants every battle to have some greater context, every move I make to be part of a larger narrative. Stellaris manages to do this without history to lean on, though, and does so with aplomb.

A masterclass in open-world game design and a thrilling samurai epic in its own right, Ghost of Tsushima is a must-play on PC.

Mythos is a fresh layer of paint for Troy, but also feels like the first step towards an exciting evolution for the Total War series.

Solium Infernum regards strategy as a game of intellect, patience, and observation. Put into those terms, it might sound dry, but its visual flair combined with the ingenious ways it turns abstract ideas into tangible, comprehensible, and thrilling game mechanics make it irresistibly playable.

Telltale’s trip back to its comedy roots is a triumph. Rhys and Fiona are a duo I want to spend more time with. Baker and Bailey do a phenomenal job of bringing them to life, with spot-on comic timing and just enough humanity so they don’t simply feel like vehicles for jokes.

An exceedingly complex, infinitely rewarding space strategy game. It’s made me more excited about the genre than any other game of its kind since Galactic Civilizations II.

An expansion that's better than it has any right to be, Endwalker succeeds at wrapping up a decade-long story arc providing a satisfying send-off for players.

Wolfenstein is a masterpiece of its genre. It does good shooting men. But it's more than that, it's an effortlessly melancholy adventure that doesn't drown in its own bombast. It's like finding out that a superstar footballer is a poet, or finding your dog pressing flowers. It's a game with hidden depths that you're invited to explore, but ones that never overshadow the thing it's best at...Which is shooting all the men so that all their blood comes out.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree sits proudly among the best videogame expansions of all time thanks to its sense of adventure, epic boss battles, and ambitious new additions.

Its approachability and poppy, colourful presentation make diving into densely packed levels and chasing high scores feel like a warm hug before the white-knuckle drop in.

A superb dungeon crawler that's held back from perfection by some crude monetisation practises and half-baked dialogue.

Big, brash, and surprisingly poignant, God of War arrives on PC in fine shape. Don't pass up this chance to play a console classic.

What Routine lacks in quantity, it makes up for in staggering quality. It’s cassette futurism at its most tactile, with an aesthetic direction that’s only matched by the novelty of its CAT tool. Lunar Software raises the bar in sound design to deliver a singular experience for sci-fi horror fans.

Challenges Forsaken for the title of best-ever Destiny expansion, and has much stronger foundations to build upon. Destiny 2 was already in a good spot, but Witch Queen represents a new peak for Bungie's oft-imitated, never-dethroned looter shooter.

It’s the most purely fun, accessible RTS I’ve played in years.

It was inevitable that The Witcher 3 would close on a high, but few will have expected what they’ll find in Blood & Wine.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 stands as a remarkable example of three genres: the classic roleplaying game, the online arena battler, and the tabletop-style adventure enabler. If its campaign fails to shake off some of Larian’s unfriendlier habits, those flaws are mitigated by the ways in which the studio have shaped a genre moulded by nostalgia into genuinely new forms - changing more than just the keyboard shortcuts for the better.

Stray merges feline mayhem with a classic cyberpunk setting, inviting you to explore its neon dystopia while never taking itself too seriously.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider captures everything that’s great about Arkane’s assassination series, while also showing that it can still surprise. Smart tweaks improve the core gameplay and, if you’re worried about having fewer powers to play with, you can always go back through it with Corvo’s moveset when you’re done. As far as mission quality goes, it peaks in the middle - the fourth mission has us revisit a location from Dishonored 2, albeit slightly reworked, and the final mission feels much more linear than what’s come before. Still, it all leads to a satisfying conclusion that neatly ties up every plot strand that’s been hanging since that political assassination, whoever you decide is responsible.

Cities: Skylines is absolutely the best city-builder I’ve played since SimCity 4. From macro to micro, from the sprawling transport networks and city-wide policies to the fine-tuned districts and street-level detail, it impresses.

I’m hooked in the same way I was with the last game, and not because it’s stayed the same, but because it’s managed to strike that balance between the comfortingly familiar and the refreshingly new.

Konami has taken great care with the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, bringing this legendary spy thriller to a new audience with a modernized play style and thoughtful QoL tweaks to suit today’s gamers. If you haven’t played Snake Eater or any of the MGS series before, this is the perfect entry point into Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus.

By opening it up and providing countless meaningful choices and random events, Relic has put the war in the players’ hands. It’s not a directed journey through a bunch of scenarios where winning is all that matters; it’s a persistent struggle where failure is always nipping at the Americans’ heels, where an entire company can be lost in battle, making the war seem even more desperate. It’s exhausting, and the best game in the Company of Heroes series.

Chapter Two was worth the two year wait. It’s comfortingly traditional if you pine for the old days, but not laden down with overly elaborate multi-layered puzzles that’ll keep you bashing your head against the wall for hours.

Few other roguelikes build around the genre's cyclical nature, both mechanically and narratively, as successfully as Hades. A punchy and fresh presentation of Greek myth is another touch that ensures its appeal will go well beyond genre fans.

An intricate and highly replayable game that shines across both of its genres, MegaCrit’s debut combines a simple premise with near-flawless mechanical execution.

Motive's Dead Space Remake is a gloriously grotesque glow-up that embraces the original horror game's robust formula, and only a slight amount of jank keeps it from achieving perfection.

Endless Legend combines fantastic fiction with compelling strategy. Underpinning it all is a strong design philosophy that connects the tenets of the 4X genre together seamlessly, while providing a plethora of options without being overwhelming. Even during a time when we’re seeing a lot of 4X offerings, it sets itself apart, promising something different from its contemporaries.

From giving PC players split-screen, to flawless frame-rates on mid-high-end rigs (Radeon R9 390X GPU, i7-4790k CPU, 16GB DDR3 RAM here) and bug-free performance, to a multiplayer mode that doesn't split its community with an insidious season pass, Gears of War 4 4 is progressive not only for its series, but for the entire industry.

A spiritual successor to Dead Space that blends and riffs on ideas from the best horror games of recent years, with plenty of blood and guts to go around, though a lacklustre plot is its one minor flaw.

Sports Interactive has exposed more of the game’s workings to players than ever. It feels both fresh and familiar at the same time, while being the best FM has ever played on day one.

Successfully modernises the medieval strategy series, preserving much of what's good and adding some interesting new ideas. While it still needs to iron out a few details, it's a worthy successor to the series' august crown.

A visionary, landmark release that's built with the long haul in mind. It will take a while for PC hardware to catch up with the game's potential, but despite some early technical turbulence the experience remains dazzling.

Silent Hill f skillfully reinterprets the iconic horror series for a modern audience, acting as both a stirring homage and a strong vision for Silent Hill’s future.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred takes everything that made Diablo 2 and 3 great, and modernizes for it the present day. Blending stunning visuals, musical majesty, and slick, gory combat, it surpasses the base game in every way, even if some may walk away from its story a little perplexed.

Monster Hunter Wilds is the successor that Capcom’s best-selling game deserves. It improves on almost every aspect of World to deliver a tremendous adventure that, if you can make it over the steep initial learning curve, remains the most rewarding action RPG around.

It’s an extraordinary game. One that you’ll feel faintly lost in at first, while its many systems permeate your grey matter. But all the while its story unfolds and reveals new wrinkles, the sense of place growing deeper. The mechanics underpinning everything in Pillars II have shifted marginally towards accessibility, but that still leaves a huge amount of room for brutal challenge levels to its combat - and, crucially, it’s scalable enough that you can whack down the challenge, ignore your party composition, leave the pause key unpressed, and enjoy the adventure.

Bandai Namco combines excellent writing, stunning anime visuals, and a deep, rewarding combat system to make one of the best JRPGs of the year.

Dungeons of Hinterberg is a wonderfully captivating trek through the gorgeous lands of its magical alpine setting, where a world of adventure, challenges, and intrigue stands at odds with the political machinations of a greedy government.

It'll take a few balance patches and expansions before it achieves absolute perfection, but the list of wholesale changes Civ VI brings to the storied formula makes for an instantly sumptuous strategy treat.

In general, what all of this adds up to is a more sensitive game. All of the depth is there as before, but the humanity of football is represented in a greater way - whether that is through players striking up bromances that lead to goals on the pitch or you personally getting involved in pricing wars with clubs from Europe and, increasingly, China.

You start off as a weak, undead wanderer and eventually grow into a being that can kill god-like monsters, and it’s not because the game’s narrative needs you to be that powerful, but because you’ve worked so very hard to get to that point. It’s an incredible feeling, and makes Dark Souls III an incredible game.

Respawn’s game elevates its entire genre, doing away with its failings while innovating upon its strengths. From out of nowhere, it’s become the prodigious new face of a worldwide phenomenon.

Confidently serves as both a vindication for the magic VR can bring to gaming, and a satisfying new entry in the beloved Half-Life series.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is a shot of pure positivity to the heart, delivered with excellence, fun, and finesse through a staggeringly bold and bop-worthy soundtrack.

This is the first Street Fighter game in a long time where it feels like players of all skill levels are welcome. While World Tour mode is disappointing, the sheer scope of SF6 means you don’t need to wait for the inevitable Ultra Edition before jumping in.

A beautiful-looking simulation with very specific appeal that will likely turn off as many people as it interests. If you’re in the latter group, however, this is an indispensable physics toybox.

Id stumbles very occasionally in its ambition to expand on 2016, but you won’t care when you’re enjoying the best combat in shooters. Pure, animalistic catharsis.

Simply put, Monster Hunter: World is one the finest action RPGs ever made and a unique, rich co-op title to boot. Spectacular and deep in equal measure, with the technical improvements of the PC version, it's happy hunting all round.

An expansion that makes arguably the best game in the series, even if it was a tad conservative, better and more exciting. But the real coup is how it makes every turn feel important. There’s always a new deal to be made, more citizens to groom, burgeoning worlds to fine-tune and enemies to spy on. Crusade’s tireless pursuit to make the moment-to-moment management as engaging as a galactic war is the real headline feature.

Never before has a game felt more at home on VR when compared to its PC counterpart. PowerWash Sim VR sets a new standard for the care and attention to detail that devs must now meet when porting their games into virtual reality. [Meta Quest 3]

This is undoubtedly the best 4X game I’ve played in years, delivering top-notch exploration, combat, and diplomacy alongside a rewarding and dynamic customisation system.

The '90s have nothing on this. Torment: Tides of Numenera might have been fuelled by nostalgia but outstrips its contemporary peers in reactivity, writing and invention.

Skate Story takes the familiar and flips it, elevating itself beyond a skateboarding game. Its ethereal, thumping soundtrack propels when it wants to, with each new chapter surprising with its visual inventiveness and off-the-wall, abstract ideas. It's like peeling off a bit of wallpaper and finding a whole new world behind it.

Wildly inventive, tantalisingly mysterious, and ethereally beautiful, Blue Prince is easily one of the best puzzle games I've ever played.

The best Three Kingdoms DLC so far - a stirring rendition of the final days of the Han, the people who rose against them, and the humble heroes whose ambitions would change China forever.

In Blackout, Treyarch has proved the series can still be agile and forward-thinking, while smart changes to Zombies and multiplayer show there's still plenty of life in these old bones.

Sega’s original sequel has received the remake it’s due. The story fumbles in places, but its high points allow it to sit next to Yakuza 0 as the best the series has to offer.

Perhaps The Witcher 3 could have done with another month or so of extra development to work out the kinks, but even without the extra time it’s an enormously impressive game that proves, in case there was any doubt, that gargantuan games don’t need to be stuffed with forgettable filler guff.

Phoenix Point may not meet the legacy of its celebrated forebear X-Com, but then few games ever will. Elegant, atmospheric, and energetic, Gollop’s latest remains remarkably hard to put down.

A well-judged modern adaptation of one of gaming’s all-time great adventures. The PC port doesn’t push beyond the PS5’s limits though, and who knows how many releases will conclude this remake.

Ghostrunner 2 improves upon everything that made its predecessor great. Framed by a stunning, neon-bathed city with a soundtrack that’s to die for, One More Level’s latest is a high-octane parkour adventure that you really don’t want to miss.

Groundbreaking, but not quite as much as you're hoping it is. Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't surpass its brilliant influences, but in Night City, Johnny Silverhand, and its chilling vision of hyper-capitalism, it claims territory of its own.

Riven's remake somehow achieves the impossible - all at once rewarding the nostalgia and support of long-time fans, embracing wild creativity, and fully realizing the needs of a modern audience. The 1997 classic is reborn as one of the year's best puzzle games.