Its failures prevent Far Cry 5 from being a classic, but its successes mean it has plenty to keep you embroiled in its reactive world.

Just as Endless Legend and Civilization V are now far superior to how they started, so can Endless Space 2 be. It’s odd to talk of foundations in something so markedly floaty and space-based, so perhaps it’s better to think of this as an outpost, plonked down on a planet waiting to be colonised. It’s a fertile planet, sure, but one that’s yet to be fully exploited.

Pragmata is a truly unique and wonderful third-person shooter. It’s a throwback to linear action games of old, and thankfully its undercooked story isn't enough to diminish the quality of the brilliant hacking focused action.

The Evil Within 2 is entirely its own horror experience - part open-world survival game, part psychological horror. It is a bold, bloody evolution of the survival horror genre. Moreover, like its centipedal monstrosities, this is a game that excels at defying expectations. Scenery, gameplay, and pacing shift gears constantly, keeping me guessing nearly every minute of the 20 hours it took to reach the end of its story.

Revamps the endgame to give you a lot more choice, and is perhaps the most impactful expansion released in a while.

Opting for pulp fantasy over Spielbergian reverence for the era, Vanguard reinvigorates the World War II setting and charts a new path forward.

For fans of asymmetrical multiplayer games, Killer Klowns from Outer Space does what many others before have not, almost perfecting the likes of balance, down time, and match length, and it deserves to be considered among the best in the genre. Illfonic’s game fills the gap left by Friday the 13th and checks every box in style, but its lesser-known IP may prevent well-deserved longevity.

Its story doesn't quite stick the landing, but this is a beautiful game - not just in its look, sound, and feel, or even in its real and relatable characters, but in its message and its delivery.

A sweetly told tale of youth, travel, and self-discovery that's not afraid to wear its inspirations on its sleeve. In turbulent, inward-looking times, Sable is a true comfort.

The Expanse: A Telltale Series brings one of the best storytellers in videogames back to the forefront, producing a prequel that will delight fans as well as open up the universe to newcomers.

Faith is a sterling beginning to what looks to be another feather in Telltale’s cap; a confident, slick opener to a mystery that begs to be explored. I wait with bated breath and sweaty palms for the next installment, where I’m sure to discover how my choices have only made things worse, at least if The Walking Dead is anything to go by.

The completionist in me is nearly overwhelmed with the sheer amount of things to do in A Realm Reborn. Square Enix really do deserve praise for not only fixing the issues of the original game, but far exceeding their goal.

It can feel unbalanced and unfairly punishing at times, but when all of its systems click into place Back 4 Blood is a ton of fun.

With a beautiful Blighty and an innovative season-based online endgame, Horizon 4 is a wonderfully polished, thoroughly modern racer. Sadly, it doesn’t feel quite as progressive or impactful as its Aussie predecessor, and there’s a sense the sandbox series is ever so slightly coasting on its laurels.

It integrates the fighty and the talky enough to make Rapture feel a more dangerous and believable place, discards the impenetrable conceits with which the first DLC began, and brings an almost seven year old series full circle and to a satisfying end. What a wonderful trick, and a fitting note for one of PC gaming’s best loved studios (as we know them, at least) to bow out on.

Card Hunter is anything but inconsequential. It’s a top tier turn-based tactics game, a secret TCG, and the first RPG I’ve ever played to make a virtue of a generic fantasy setting. It’s the inspired XCOM variant that Space Hulk seems to have turned out not to be.

Frostpunk 2 makes clever reconsiderations of, and expansions on, the first game’s design, offering a better rounded, even harsher follow-up to the original’s concept.

Nexus 5X is a fun, breezy, and surprisingly nuanced spin on Stellaris that's perfect for an evening's gaming session with friends.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a masterful prequel, then.

The Banner Saga 2 captures much of what made the first game such a compelling fight for survival. It has a tendency to focus on the bigger picture and with the large number of characters that don’t have much to say, some of the emotional engagement from the original is lost, but both the management side of things and the tactical battles have been lavished with improvements. The journey is bleak and savage, but the game is great.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a thoroughly enjoyable Soulslike with intensely fun combat mechanics, slightly marred by jarring difficulty spikes and by-the-numbers music and sound.

Oblivion Remastered proves that The Elder Scrolls 4 has withstood the test of time. It’s the perfect opportunity for new audiences to discover why it’s so beloved, and a nostalgic throwback to Bethesda’s golden years for older fans. However, its extensive quality-of-life features aren’t enough to excuse the endemic performance woes of Unreal Engine 5.

It's an improvement on the scrappier feeling original, introducing that one tiny combo-blending manual trick that transforms the game into a profoundly new-feeling and lovely thing.

There’s endless hours of enjoyment in ArcheAge for just about anyone. If you can stomach a slightly stale questing experience, and get your head around the quite innocent labour system, it’s an MMO with near endless potential for player driven, organic content. And to be quite honest, it’s the closest thing to a true fantasy sandbox experience on the market, and will be for a good time yet.

An endearingly daft sequel that ditches the original's dour action for a brand of subversive play that squeezes the most out of some cracking gadgets and a brilliant map.

Stalker 2 is a punishing survival FPS that can be extremely rewarding for those who take the time to get comfortable in its playground. A few technical issues aside, there's not much else out there like this.

Nobody Wants to Die is a stunning homage to noir royalty that provides a fascinating retrofuturistic murder mystery experience. Though it’s brought down by more hand-holding than I’d like, and a few frayed narrative edges, Critical Hit Games has seriously impressed with its ambitious debut.

Sparking Zero takes the Budokai Tenkaichi series to new heights, successfully recreating the grand spectacle of an epic Dragon Ball fight. With plenty of single-player content to get through, a custom battle mode bursting with potential, and online multiplayer to challenge players around the world, Dragon Ball fans have never had it better than this.