Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a genuine epic-action single-player experience with a campaign that’s not only the longest in the series’ history at 10 hours, but also full of Constant surprises. In addition to its thrilling action, the strong acting and the sometimes truly congenial mission designs are also impressive. Ultimately, Black Ops 6 delivers what we’ve been missing in recent years, complete with intelligent, emotional, and smart storytelling, well-written characters, and truly epic action that could well be a Game of the Year candidate.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is an atmospheric, intimate saga wrapped in a stunning setting, all at the expense of free and varied gameplay. If you don’t mind that playability takes a backseat, Hellblade II is a must-play for its exciting story and beautiful environments.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth builds on what made its predecessor so good — which is a long and exciting story, accompanied by hysterical side quests. The latter stands out even more this time, with deep side adventures inspired by Pokémon and Animal Crossing, among others. Don’t be put off by the fact that Infinite Wealth is the eighth instalment in the series; this is a must-have for all fans of story-driven action games.

With Tekken 8, Bandai Namco takes everything that was good about its predecessor and ups the ante on most things. While it’s not a revolutionary sequel, all the improvements make Tekken 8 a must-have for fighting fans – whether you play to be the best or just for fun.

With better track design, more balanced difficulty, and a couple of new game mechanics, this follow-up does enough to make the first feel limited. There’s certainly no shortage of good arcade racing games, but Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 stands out amongst the crowded field.

Narrative is the most sophisticated video game of recent years, blurring the genres of horror, psychological thriller and art house in an artistic way and never playing it safe, but always taking full creative risks. A masterpiece.

Phantom Liberty is CD Projekt RED’s masterpiece. Not only is Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty graphically easily three generations ahead of the entire industry and redefines how we experience video games with pathtracing, it’s also written even more thrillingly and staged even more explosively. Anyone who doesn’t enjoy this several times in different play styles has never loved video games. A clear must-play.

Bethesda has finally landed another hit. Starfield is the space RPG epic we’ve been wanting for so long. It has the incredible expansiveness and variance in design of No Man’s Sky mixed with the dialogue depth and creative quests of Fallout or even Mass Effect. The only thing that might bother some people is the heavy reliance on fast travel and that many planets only make sense when you build bases and production facilities there...Bethesda took its time, and rightly so: Starfield is currently the hottest Game of the Year candidate in 2023.

Half-Life: Alyx isn't quite as revolutionary as you might hope, particularly if you're already well-versed in virtual reality, but it's undoubtedly one of the best games on the platform and hopefully the start of a resurgence for both the series and the hardware.

Doom Eternal kicks ass. It's smarter than it looks, faster than it looks, and somehow even more fun than it looks. A triumph—except for the platforming.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is more than the sum of its parts. Is it just another Metroid homage, one among many? Absolutely. I think it’s one of the best-playing, sure, but it’s still well-trod territory of late. I found myself gripped by it though. As I said earlier, I wish it was longer. That’s usually the sign (or at least one sign) of a good game, in my experience.

Murder by Numbers isn’t perfect, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and hope there’s a sequel. Honor, Scout, Detective Cross, and the gang deserve a second outing, ideally with more of a focus on the detective work—and perhaps a few headache-inducing 25x25 Picross puzzles as well.

A magical adventure almost a decade in the making, Kentucky Route Zero is every bit as good as you've heard—and maybe more.

Jedi: Fallen Order borrows liberally from other games, but a strong supporting cast, clever level design, and a cute little droid companion make Respawn's Star Wars story more than the sum of its parts.

For all its problems—and there are many—Planet Zoo is one of the most satisfying builders I’ve ever played. Maybe not on the management side, which is still a thin and easily manipulated veneer. Guest opinions are weirdly arbitrary, as is cash flow. If you’re looking for a “difficult” builder, Planet Zoo ain’t it. I’m here to build my dream zoo though, and for that there’s no better option. After 30 hours I’ve yet to acquire some of the rarer animals—lions, orangutans, gorillas, rhinos. I’m also far from exhausting the themes, having barely touched the “New World” and “Indian” sets. There’s a lot here.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare tries to be a serious commentary on present-day conflicts, but is mostly just another Call of Duty game by nature of the series's longstanding blind spots.

While it bears surface-level similarities to Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian's created a deeper and more meaningful role-playing experience in The Outer Worlds, though it can still be frustratingly old-fashioned in regards to combat and exploration.

Power through, and John Wick Hex can be incredibly satisfying though. That’s the flip side of the perennial difficulty argument. I’ve rarely felt more relieved than completing a segment of John Wick Hex on my last bullet and Wick’s last legs.

Control is the culmination of Remedy's entire oeuvre to-date, pairing a top-tier action game with a dizzyingly dense and layered story about the Federal Bureau of Control, and the everyday horrors within. It's so good, you might even stop asking for Alan Wake 2.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is an impossibly ambitious game, attempting to summarize the whole of human evolution into the span of a few hours—and succeeding to a surprising degree.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall has its issues. I confess I haven’t cared very much though. The jank is usually a result of over-ambition, of Planetfall trying to let the player do too damn much where another game would’ve gone for a simpler (or “more elegant”) solution. I can’t fault Triumph for that, even if the holes are obvious when listed out.

Tetris Effect is more than a Tetris game. It's a work of art that you just happen to interact with by stacking blocks and clearing rows.

Full of emotion and high adventure, Final Fantasy XIV's Shadowbringers expansion brings MMORPG storytelling out of the shadows. Two great new combat classes, two cool new races, and a nifty system for running dungeons solo round out the experience of FFXIV's best expansion to date.

Elsweyr is full of all kinds of wonderful things from the Elder Scrolls series—ranging from dragons and necromancers to Khajiit and assassins—but the main story doesn't pack as much of a punch as what we saw in ESO's previous two expansions. Fortunately, there's still plenty to love about the memorable side quests and the fantastic new Necromancer class.

The jump scares are a bit overdone, same as the original Layers of Fear, and there’s an abysmal chase sequence in the second act that could’ve been cut completely. Still, Bloober Team’s rapidly proved itself as a master of psychological horror, using symbolism in ways most games don’t even attempt, let alone achieve. So what if it’s not very scary? There’s more important work to be done. Great work.

Observation is grander than Stories Untold, more ambitious by half, but equally fascinating and inventive. It’s a pastiche of science fiction new and old but knows when to lean into expectations and when to subvert them, and its approach to mechanical realism is so uncompromising it becomes an artistic statement instead of mere mimicry. I’m already curious what’s next.

A Plague Tale: Innocence would benefit from less busywork, but the grisly scenery and the sibling relationship at its core help make up for any shortcomings.

Forager simply does away with any pretense. It’s incredibly successful at what it does, and by that judgment I’d recommend it. That said, I was relieved when I finally hit max level and the bonds broke. I Alt-F4ed and uninstalled it.