The longer you spend in New Bordeaux, the more exasperating you'll find its stylish flourishes. Worthy topics and good kill list missions mask a so-so open world. [Dec 2016, p.67]

A fantastic game that makes smart, surprisingly comfortable use of PS VR. RIGS might just be the long-hoped-for killer app that VR needs to reach mainstream. [Dec 2016, p.90]

An intense hit for Batfans, this is an incredible example of what PS VR is capable of. You'll want more, of course, but this is clearly Rocksteady's love letter to the series. [Dec 2016, p.84]

The series is back on form. Bangkok's the most challenging level so far (note the electronic locks that render 47's lockpick useless), but also the most rewarding. [Nov 2016, p.95]

This year's career mode has everything else you could want. [Nov 2016, p.94]

The biggest puzzle of all is how this beautiful adventure all about the colours of the rainbow has resulted in an experience that's uniformly beige. [Nov 2016, p.94]

It's a wonderfully tactile, funny and warmhearted toy that's worth playing with. [Nov 2016, p.94]

An absurd, slapstick adventure that puts laughs above all else. Jazzpunk's a smartly penned palate-cleanser that shines all the more brightly due to the lack of decent comedy competition on PS4. [Nov 2016, p.92]

It may be built from pretty basic building blocks, but Inversus combines them into satisfying and strategic shapes. [Nov 2016, p.91]

A new madden that genuinely feels fresh rather than a half-hearted, contractually-binding annual roster update. [Nov 2016, p.91]

A rare RPG that gives you freedom - real freedom - in a world that feels truly alive. [Nov 2016, p.91]

The faithful obsessives will love it, of course, but others will ask why they should persist with a game that does so little to help them - and isn't exactly easy on the eye. [Nov 2016, p.90]

This certainly isn't the shale-up to the formula that veteran players will want, but bring a newbie to the table and you'll find a feast of fun. [Nov 2016, p.89]

This sombre evocation of history can feel silly and contrived. [Nov 2016, p.88]

Like the game that started all those decades ago, this is a puzzler at heart, but one played out at a lightning pace. A brave, loving, essential update to a bonafide classic. [Nov 2016, p.87]

A small but mesmerising Firewalk-esque tale inspired by Twin Peaks and The Outer Limits. Just beware: unpicking the ending is a case for Mulder and Scully. [Nov 2016, p.86]

The rejuvination you've waited a decade for: PES gets everything right on the park, and only off-field gripes prevent this top, top player from earning the top, top score. [Nov 2016, p.83]

A promising, if not stellar start. It may be wise to see if the rest of the season soars before putting your faith in this particular version of the Caped Crusader. [Oct 2016, p.95]

A severe lack of polish. [Oct 2016, p.94]

This installment lacks the humour, thrill and charm of any of its franchise's predecessors. [Oct 2016, p.94]

Weirdly compelling. [Oct 2016, p.94]

A focused and nuanced game that addresses the majority of Human Revolution's flaws without feeling like a retread. There's a real experimental thrill, but niggles with the story and engine weaken the experience. [Oct 2016, p.88]

It may not live up to the standards of its own impeccable presentation, but Hyper Light Drifter is still an intense and affecting retro adventure with lots to love. [Oct 2016, p.87]

A fantastic idea that looks to the past for both its visuals and mechanics. The underlying roguelike itself is solid, but the eye-catching ASCII style is a big part of its appeal. [Oct 2016, p.86]

With a wheel and pedals, Assetto Corsa offers the finest, smoothest simulation of real driving yet. But as an actual racing game, it's rather sedate, feature-light and often unfairly difficult. [Oct 2016, p.84]

An undoubtedly captivating experience that has some of the strongest art design on PlayStation 4. While not quite as groundbreaking as Journey, every single fan should give Abzu their time. [Oct 2016, p.82]

Gamers who hold speedrunning and time trial challenges close to their hearts will be in heaven here. [Oct 2016, p.81]

Some will bounce off it within the first half-hour; those prepared to persevere and adapt will find an astonishingly deep and rewarding game of almost limitless longevity. [Oct 2016, p.81]

It's heady stuff. It's head and shoulders above the competition. [Oct 2016, p.81]

Colossal fun for the duration of its story mode, it's core mechanics thrill though variety is a bit of a sticking point. Yet for the most part, this licensed gem shines. [Oct 2016, p.80]

Certain standout moments play unlike any other game. Your first play-through may frustrate but the emotional aftermath hammers home the depth of the achievement. It's the nightmare cousin of Journey. [Oct 2016, p.78]

Postcard-worthy space tourism, best dipped in and out of in short spells to avoid mechanical frustrations. It's an otherworldly achievement of an insane scale, with tons of genuinely special moments to offer - but also an acquired taste. [Oct 2016, p.72]

It's ambitious, but there's no real spark of life. [Sept 2016, p.111]

An ill-conceived mess that goes down as the worst PlayStation game to besmirch the Resident Evil name. [Sept 2016, p.110]

A first-person experience that nails the experience part, but - despite flashes of brilliance - reminds you all too often that an astronaut's job can be...well, a bit dull. [Sept 2016, p.109]

It perfectly combines the classic's simple appeal with a quicker pace and slick new moves, making it more addictive than ever. [Sept 2016, p.108]

A package that makes the simple act of stacking utterly cracking. [Sept 2016, p.108]

This may not be the worst Kick Off game ever, but even blind nostalgia can't redeem its many faults. [Sept 2016, p.108]

Traditional to a fault, 505 hits every target on the JRPG dartboard...except the bullseye. [Sept 2016, p.107]

Trials of the Not-Very-Good Dragon, more like. A collection of mismatched parts, haphazardly assembled, this has to be one of 2016's biggest disappointments so far. [Sept 2016, p.106]

A fantastically outrageous conclusion to a remarkable story, albeit one that doesn't quote recapture the highs of Virtue's Last Reward. Don't even contemplate playing until you've finished VLR. [Sept 2016, p.104]

It's an enormous game, but a bit of a shambles. [Sept 2016, p.103]

Basic but beautifully crafted JRPG in the vein of the pre-PS2 Final Fantasy games. If you reminisce fondly about the genre's Golden Era, this is essential. [Sept 2016, p.102]

A super likeable (if padded) take on Episode VII...mixes belly laughs, block-smashing silliness and ace aerial combat. [Sept 2016, p.99]

Dangerous Golf is so desperate for you to have a good time that it keeps heaping new elements onto the premise. A robust "less" would have offered so much "more". [Aug 2016, p.95]

Largely decent, if derivative, but glinting away in the torchlight are constant hints of what might have been. [Aug 2016, p.94]

One afterlife that's plain hard to enjoy. [Aug 2016, p.94]

A trip down memory lane that's more of a stumble. [Aug 2016, p.94]

A festering corpse given an unnecessary kiss of life. [Aug 2016, p.93]

Frogwares doubles down on the interactive mystery format of the last game with a more lavish outing featuring newly charming leads. The story's tremendously entertaining. [Aug 2016, p.82]

Weirdly passionless, with rough edges at all corners that leave you wondering where all that money went. Current sequel talk is bonkers. [Aug 2016, p.90]

Almost every idea included here is a strong one - yet they've all been exectured terribly. A patch to slow the entire game down by 50% would immediately elevate that score. [Aug 2016, p.89]

Easily confused AI and faltering tech, however, mean it largely struggles to find its voice. [Aug 2016, p.88]

One of this year's best indie offerings so far. [Aug 2016, p.88]

One of the best high-score chasing concepts ever hosted on Playstation. [Aug 2016, p.88]

Underneath the cute exterior lies a tough-as-nails sim exposing the realities of prison life. If you can see past a few offences, lock your door and lose the key. [Aug 2016, p.86]

A perfectly serviceable level concept and map with a few neat ideas, but its balance is off and replay value is much lower than that of the other episodes in the series. [Aug 2016, p.84]

Blizzard's addictive and tactical team-based shooter is essential - the character-switching mechanic sweetens the genre. Group up with friends to avoid clueless carnage and enjoy the true game. [Aug 2016, p.82]

Mirror's Edge Catalyst offers free-running fun like no other game, but overly long fights and a truly sticking story force Faith to lose her footing along the way. [Aug 2016, p.78]

Falls well short of the bar set by Everybody's Gone To The Rapture, but this mini-mystery is drowning in atmosphere. The final 20 minutes are great. [July 2016, p.95]

As levels progress, the collateral damage skyrockets, which sadly, gets a little tiring. [July 2016, p.94]

Lamely executed. [July 2016, p.94]

With a juicy campaign, snappy shooting and ambitious (if glitchy) co-op, this is one piece of poultry you can happily devour. [July 2016, p.94]

Somewhere in the confusion of half-baked genres, messy visuals and flawed design are some great features. Battleborn does itself no favours trying to convey them. For the persistent only. [July 2016, p.92]

Not a lot has changed, but then not a lot had to. The characters remain the best reason to get stuck into some dastardly tactical combat. [July 2016, p.91]

Sweet, small, but imperfectly formed. [July 2016, p.90]

Agent 47's chrome dome has been polished until it positively squeaks. [July 2016, p.88]

Another addictive twin-stick blaster enhanced by chasing XP and loot. But a gang of mates is a necessity, as difficulty spikes quickly and brutally. [July 2016, p.87]

Forward thinking but roughly executed. Lacklustre shooting and winning base-building aren't the best of bedfellows, but they make an interesting couple. [July 2016, p.86]

An interesting misfire. [July 2016, p.84]

Reinventing the multiplayer sports game as a squirmily tactile wrestling bout between humanoid worms, Push Me Pull You is bizarre, baffling and kind of brilliant. [July 2016, p.83]

An inventive puzzler built around using pseudo code to fight enemies and overcome obstacles. It's no more than an evening's play, but a brilliantly unusual one. [July 2016, p.82]

As thin as the walkers you're outrunning and with some glaring flaws, this unnecessary spin-off is ill-suited to Telltale's strengths, only exacerbating its weaknesses. [July 2016, p.80]

An important, palate-cleansing release in a crowded genre, Doom is essential playing for anyone who registers as a shooter fan. Heed the call of the FPS daddy and get your ass to Mars, pronto.[July 2016, p.78]

Botched and broken, irritating and offensive, this samey, soulless sandbox fails to overthrow the old regime's ruling shooters. Good guns, mind. [July 2016, p.75]

You need to know the sport to master it - hence no 10/10 this year - but PS3's greatest sports series is on the verge of once more dominating all contemporaries. [June 2016, p.94]

It just feels like it was made by children. And not in a cute way. [June 2016, p.94]

The best couchplay game since TowerFall. [June 2016, p.94]

Despite its awkwardness and repetitiveness scenarios, Republique has heart and a rich, slow burn plot that keeps you guessing. [June 2016, p.94]

Beguiling and unique. [June 2016, p.93]

Promise in spades, but I'm glad Season One's kicked the bucket. [June 2016, p.92]

A familiarly average start, but with sharp writing and dramatic set-pieces. [June 2016, p.92]

Despite stumbles, it's a gleeful party with old friends and otherworldly levels of gorgeous, all at a piffling price point. [June 2016, p.89]

On a technical level, the game is simply a shambles, with amateurish animation and obtrusive texture pop-in accompanying your every step. [June 2016, p.87]

This booby fighter's got a great personality. [June 2016, p.87]

It's a minor tragedy that there are so many false starts within. [June 2016, p.87]

Enjoyably challenging. [June 2016, p.86]

A princely suite of tracks, modes and features all wrapped up in a colourfully boisterous package. It's fast, frenetic and occasionally just a bit bloody frustrating. [June 2016, p.85]

The quality of the footy secures Euro 2016 a big score, but presentation and licensing issues see Konami very nearly make a hash of an open goal. [June 2016, p.84]

Dark Souls III rarely innovates, but it experiments within the Souls parameters to grotesque and glorious effect. Another Game of The Year contender, then. [June 2016, p.81]

Naughty Dog's victory lap is a celebration of its past, present and future, with clever pacing and thrilling set-pieces surpassing expectations in its most exhilarating Uncharted to date. No PS4 should be without this. [June 2016, p.74]

A charming, uncommonly smart spiritual sibling to Contra, full of awesomely crafted homages to action cinema, but troubled on PS4 by a few bugs I'd like to nuke from Orbit. [May 2016, p.95]

Despite the token attempts at longevity, the romance won't linger. [May 2016, p.94]

Quietly confident and perfectly suited for Vita. [May 2016, p.94]

Its childish veneer won't win over Call of Duty vets, but the open-minded will find a shooter that's sweet in all the right ways. [May 2016, p.94]

Parts of the script are, sadly, not as timeless as I'd imagined in the '90s, but in all other areas this deserves its classic status. Keep the remasters coming, Double Fine. [May 2016, p.93]

While this unlikely combination works well enough in quick bursts, you'll breeze through the quest in around six hours. [May 2016, p.92]

While what you do is adequately diverting, it's why you do it that keeps you coming back. [May 2016, p.92]