Thronebreaker struggles as a card game but excels as a Witcher game due to its rich narrative and excellent, if simple, worldbuilding.

Star Hammer’s combat systems are truly exceptional, but they’re trapped in a bland, forgettable campaign.

Wonderfully captures the atmosphere and combat of Souls games, but without enough tools to experiment with and an AI that’s easy to abuse, Mortal Shell lacks meat on its bones.

For better and for worse, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a faithful reimagining of Hideaki Itsuno’s flawed yet ambitious action-RPG. Those who rise to the challenge of meeting it on its own terms are suitably rewarded, but a deluge of trash mobs, restrictive fast travel, and endemic hardware issues will be a dealbreaker for many.

Sometimes repetitive, sometimes eye-rolling, and sometimes just plain busted, Saints Row 2022 is far from perfect, but that doesn't stop it from being a chaotic good time.

Firaxis combats the inherent bloat of the 4X genre with partial success. All of the big new ideas in Civilization 7 work well and it's tighter and more engaging than any of its predecessors. Nevertheless, your sense of connection still begins to wane by the midgame.

Two Point Campus certainly makes the passing grade thanks to its unrelenting sense of humour and occasionally brilliant level concepts, but too much repetitive busywork keeps it from getting top marks.

Total War fans after a bold twist on the High Elf or Greenskin campaigns will find this less creative than other Lord packs, but Warhammer fans excited to recreate this storied grudge match will find it no less essential.

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is an exceptional sandbox. There’s nothing in the entire medium that feels quite as unique as being able to sprint, duck, and dive towards the horizon, making the most of the many varied paths on offer in this superbly sculpted playground. But when the game tries to be more than that, it begins to fall apart. Catalyst is certainly a step forward for Mirror’s Edge, but not the leap that it could be. If this is the return of Faith on a regular basis though, DICE have created the foundations for a very strong sequel indeed.

While missions can be frustrating and the new diplomacy system is nothing to write home about, Stronghold: Warlords should satisfy devoted fans with its new, gorgeously realised setting.

While its predecessor's floaty, unsatisfying combat remains, and its enemy variety is lacking, Revenge of the Savage Planet's freedom of movement and exploration make this short-but-sweet, eccentric Metroidvania well worth a go.

Obsidian’s RPG fulfills its potential, but only in fits and starts. Sure, its worst moments are only ever as bad as workmanlike RPG-making, but they make the stretches between some instances of genuine greatness a little more disappointing.

Fast-paced, frenetic, and full of fur, Gori: Cuddly Carnage is one of the best hack-and-slash games around. Its highly-saturated, no-nonsense approach to fun is a fantastic execution for the genre.

The building tension and well-written characters make this small town mystery captivating, but it bites off more than it can chew in its rushed depiction of a man struggling with his mental health.

Civ VI is undoubtedly a better game with the addition of Rise and Fall - especially when you are struggling to hold everything together through a Dark Age. However, I do not think this expansion brings it to a place where all of its core ideas have really gelled yet.

Shadows of Doubt is an intricate simulation of a grim corporate world that handles player freedom on a level you rarely see. The fascination wears thin as you delve deeper into the seedy underworld, but the initial intrigue alone is worth the price of entry.

Solasta’s tactical battles shine brightly, even in the shadow of a drab and by-the-numbers fantasy story.

Though the natives still feel underdeveloped and the colonies don’t really become interesting until they attempt to gain independence, Conquest of Paradise is still a welcome addition to Europa Universalis IV. It adds more than it takes away.

Gripping supernatural subterfuge meets perfunctory mechanics. Worth it to explore the World of Darkness, though.

Intricate, intuitive, and ambitious, Cities Skylines 2 successfully integrates all the major improvements that players might have wanted. Something personal is lost in its larger scale, while performance problems spoil the beauty, but this could one day become the superior city building game.

While at first glance Lies of P is ‘Bloodborne at home,’ Round8 Studio’s clockwork adventure writes its own unique story, filled to bursting with expansive Steampunk-style environments and defined by impressive, well-balanced combat. In some cases, though, it gets a little too clever for its own good, tying itself up in the strings that it fights so hard to break free from.

With flavourful combat mechanics for each faction and a cast of bombastic characters, Storm Ground is a worthy introduction to the Age of Sigmar setting that's marred by some rough edges.

Guardians of the Galaxy mostly nails the quirky tone and characters that Marvel fans will be hoping for. Otherwise strong presentation is marred by a few too many visual glitches, but if you can tolerate these and some repetitive combat, it's worth a look.

Richly realised systems and empowering abilities create a tremendously fun sandbox to dig into, but another toothless story ensures these flashes of brilliance never cohere, leaving Legion feeling less than the sum of its parts.

A bombastic but simplified RTS with great set-pieces and interesting new ideas in Blitz mode, but a lack of depth that'll shorten its longevity with PC players.

Though not the most iconic rivalry, The Twisted and the Twilight offers the Wood Elves a crucial new lease of life, alongside some fun legendary heroes.

Your kingdom’s future can sometimes feel too predetermined, despite the hundreds of decisions you’ll have made along the way, but the relationship between your king and his family is really what counts.

A pretty decent start to Iron Harvest's RTS journey. Lacking some much needed additional content and the campaign could be better, but there's a solid foundation here.