It is, put plainly, a game of enormous scope; one that feels remarkably original in both its setting and presentation. It’s a work of grand imagination. And Aloy – a strong, confident, and captivating heroine who gradually earns and commands the respect of everyone around her, from matriarchs all the way up to a king – serves as a delightfully likeable anchor around which everything is spun.

There is, in other words, a lot more to this seemingly casual console RTS than meets the eye. Legions of Halo fans are likely to drive its initial popularity. They won’t have any trouble figuring out the basics and giving the Banished a good pounding. And a few months from now many of them may still be playing Blitz. But I won’t be surprised if Halo Wars 2 also develops a strong and faithful following of serious RTS fans who regularly wage epic multiplayer matches well into the wee hours.

It might not be my first pick if I were in the mood for something to put my grey matter to the test, but I don’t regret the time I’ve spent with it.

As heartbreaking as it is in places, A Normal Lost Phone is, ultimately, a story of optimism. And stories with positive messages are absolutely vital to the community this game addresses. It deserves to be played.

Double Dragon IV serves as an inelegant reminder that sometimes the past is better left in the past.

All of this is well and good. It’s what I’d expect of a Fire Emblem game on any platform, mobile or otherwise. And it’s plenty to keep me playing. For now. But my concern, as already mentioned, is what happens once I start to encounter anything that feels like a payment barrier. And I can see them coming.

One thing is certain: Nioh isn’t just Dark Souls with Samurai and Yokai. It’s more than that. For those up to the challenge, it’s the first essential PlayStation 4 game of 2017.

Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World on 3DS is a great way to play what might be the green dinosaur’s best adventure yet.

Rave in the Redwoods is only the best part of an all-around solid bit of DLC. If Infinity Ward can keep it up for three more instalments it ought to have no trouble retaining fans’ attention all the way through to the next Call of Duty this fall.

A horror game, through and through. And it’s twice as terrifying when played in virtual reality.

What really impresses me about Rez Infinite, though, is that its immersive cacophony of light and music often manages to pull me out of the physical realm so completely that I find myself forgetting meatspace even exists. That’s what VR is all about, really. Losing yourself in another world.

Headmaster is a fleeting but fun little virtual reality romp.

It’s an astoundingly basic game.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom remains a flashy fun time for fighting game fans and pop culture junkies who love “who would win in a fight between X and Y” arguments.

The second season and occasional special episodes haven’t managed to recapture the emotional peaks of the series’ devastatingly emotional first season, and I’ve yet to see anything to suggest that this season will be any more successful. But it’s still well written, expertly acted, and filled with tense moments dealing with both the zombies and the true monsters of Kirkman’s world, humans.

The second season and occasional special episodes haven’t managed to recapture the emotional peaks of the series’ devastatingly emotional first season, and I’ve yet to see anything to suggest that this season will be any more successful. But it’s still well written, expertly acted, and filled with tense moments dealing with both the zombies and the true monsters of Kirkman’s world, humans.

This seeming brevity will undoubtedly miff some customers. The question you’ll need to ask yourself before making the spend is this: What do I want from a Mario game? If it’s simply to jam through courses, Super Mario Run‘s value proposition probably won’t make sense. You’d be better off with the virtually limitless array of courses available in a Super Mario Maker game, even though it costs five times as much. But if you’re looking to play the way kids did back in the day – repeating courses again and again until thoroughly mastered, every secret found and every trick jump carved into your grey matter like grooves on a record – then Super Mario Run becomes infinitely more appealing....It is, in fact, designed to make players want to play this way.

I ended up having a fantastic time with Final Fantasy XV. I’m not blind to its many problems and faults, but they didn’t keep me from eagerly playing through to its conclusion, and they won’t keep me from heading back in and maybe one day levelling up my crew to the point that it can take on that mountainous level 99 monster lurking in the desert outside the Crown City...All of which is to say that, at least from my perspective, Final Fantasy has finally returned. It has reinserted itself as a relevant topic in the modern video game conversation.

Dead Rising 4 is a passably entertaining and wholly unnecessary return to a series that’s growing more redundant with each succeeding release.

The Last Guardian is, in the end, a game of enormous ambition, unique vision, and substantial risk-taking. It was never going to be perfect. But it’s well worth enduring the problems. My year in gaming was enormously enriched for having experienced this one-of-a-kind adventure, which – like Ueda’s other works – stands as a beacon for other game designer who would dare to be bold. It’s far from flawless and its appeal will not be universal, but the medium of games is wealthier for its existence.

My biggest gripe with Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is that it’s not designed to be shared between more than one person playing on different consoles.

Dishonored 2 is the sort of experience that validates and reaffirms my choice to continue playing and being passionate about games as an adult...I just wish there were more like it.

Getting the most out of Watch Dogs 2 requires a good deal of patience and the resolve to play the way you’re supposed to play – especially when you first start out.

Like so many other early virtual reality games, Eagle Flight feels less like a game and more like an experiment that was polished up and given a price tag. It’s a fun experiment worth experiencing, but it’s not worth $60.

This is a sci-fi game for Call of Duty fans, not a Call of Duty game for sci-fi fans. Make your purchasing decision accordingly.

Battlefield 1 is one of this fall’s biggest surprises with a very compelling campaign, strategic gameplay and solid multiplayer effort. The game is a refreshing change of pace in an industry currently filled with futuristic shooters that emphasize running around guns blazing.

Titanfall 2 is likely pretty close to the game the original Titanfall would have been if we lived in a perfect world where deadlines did not exist and developers didn’t need to put a product on shelves in a timely fashion in order to stay in business and feed their families. It’s a complete package, it’s polished and pretty, and it’s super fun.

The best I can say of it is that it’s left me curious as to what might come next. If nothing else, it illustrates how the unparalleled immersive properties of virtual reality make possible some truly unsettling interactive horror experiences...Now someone needs to create a horror game that’s not just scary, but also fun to play and has a good story.