Red Dead Redemption 2 is a triumph in world-building, character craft and downright skulduggery. Being bad has never felt so good as Rockstar toe the realism line while still keeping their sharp, trademark tongue in cheek. It’s the keen attention to detail where Rockstar succeed and this outlaw prequel comfortably outperforms their best works and in time, I believe, will be regarded as a once in a generation game.

While it feels like the impact of Breath of the Wild is waning as the open world genre starts to stagnate again, Elden Ring stands out as not only an achievement in FromSoftware’s hall of fame, but also as an open-world RPG. Elden Ring is without a doubt, FromSoft’s most ambitious undertaking yet, and like Dark Souls before it, I believe it will leave a permanent mark on both the open-world genre and the games industry in general.

Baldur's Gate 3 is a landmark achievement for CRPGs and gaming at large. The only thing more staggering than its immense scope and density of systems is the quality in which it's all presented. Its unwavering flexibility and accommodation for player choice is intoxicating, and the replay value on offer here will no doubt cement Baldur's Gate 3 as a timeless and regularly revisited masterpiece. For a game as rich and complex as this, it also works surprisingly well on console.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom builds upon Breath of the Wild's robust systems to offer an experience that eclipses the original in practically every way. Not only that, but it works incredibly hard to restore some of the things lapsed players might've missed from the traditional Zelda experience, and it pays off in droves. While the novelty of its design will never be as impactful as Breath of the Wild's debut, Tears of the Kingdom is one of the best Zelda experiences you'll ever have.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom builds upon Breath of the Wild's robust systems to offer an experience that eclipses the original in practically every way. Not only that, but it works incredibly hard to restore some of the things lapsed players might've missed from the traditional Zelda experience, and it pays off in droves. While the novelty of its design will never be as impactful as Breath of the Wild's debut, Tears of the Kingdom is one of the best Zelda experiences you'll ever have.

Hades II is bigger and bolder than the original Hades. It's another adventure that will no doubt see players happy to welcome Melinoë and her unique moveset to the Hades family with open arms. It ambitiously but successfully doubles the content offering without sacrificing any of the quality we've come to know Supergiant for. And while it's different beast to the original Hades, Hades II builds such a strong identity for itself that it stands strongly beside its predecessor in ways you'd never expect.

The gist of it is though; this is more than just a few updates slapped on top of an existing game, it's a complete rethinking of the major and minor components that made the original what it was. For Persona 5 megafans who are ready to play through the game again, Royal is a very compelling package that more than justifies the double dip, and for curious newcomers it's an absolute no-brainer.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will go down as one of the best launch titles of all time. Yes, technically it's a Wii U game that was ported over to the Nintendo Switch, but Nintendo made the right decision in holding this game back. It perfectly compliments the Nintendo Switch and highlights why it has the potential to be such a great and versatile console. Many have doubted Nintendo's ability to bring this series into the modern age of gaming, but they've done that and taken it one step further in creating one of the best open-world action-adventure games ever made.

Astro's first fully-spec’d adventure might not move the needle forward for 3D platformers, but it's a triumphant effort from Team Asobi that stands toe-to-toe with some of the best in the genre. It's full of joy and surprise, and presented with an astonishing level of detail and tactility and packed to the rafters with reverence for PlayStation history. An easy pick for one of the year's best, if not the PS5’s as a whole.

God Of War is a cinematic masterpiece that manages to reinvent and push an already fantastic series to new heights. Barring some pacing issues in its narrative, Sony Santa Monica has breathed new life into Kratos and the God of War series, and I can't wait to see what's next.

Metroid Prime Remastered is, without a doubt, the best way to experience Metroid Prime. Its effortful visual overhaul, coupled with new control schemes, brings an already fantastic game into a new era for a new audience. Better still, it plays just as well as it did over two decades ago, offering a tremendous sense of atmosphere and wonder. It's often said it's tough to improve on a masterpiece, but Metroid Prime Remastered successfully meets the brief and then some.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is another banger RPG from ATLUS. It doesn't reinvent the wheel that Shin Megami Tensei and Persona have established as the studios bread and butter, but it iterates on them in unique ways with an undeniably fresh setting. It's hard not to applaud ATLUS for embracing something so tonally different from what they're known for nowadays.

God of War Ragnarok is a triumph. Santa Monica Studio has successfully taken everything that was great about the last game and amplified it while correcting just about every problem area and then some. There are slight stumbles, but it's a constantly surprising, epic adventure that shows genuine growth in its characters, backed up by best-in-class combat and a menagerie of breathtaking scenes. This makes Ragnarok an easy GOTY contender and one of the best games I've played in years.

Though it’s destined to displease those who built Ellie and Joel up as infallible, as an observation of impermanence, tribalism and the terrible cycle of violence that exists at the centre of what’s left of the human experience in this world. The Last of Us Part II is a spectacular sequel, it’s a brave and unexpected direction for the series, expanding on the world both narratively and mechanically, producing a far sounder and rounded experience that never falters or gets in the way of the game’s clear storytelling strength.

I'd declare Half-Life: Alyx the new age of the first-person shooter, if the uptake of virtual reality had been a little more promising so far. It is a cut above everything I've ever played within a headset and it's a brave, risky step for a long-dormant series to take. It takes a special team to withhold for thirteen years and deliver on an impossible hype and yet Half-Life: Alyx was worth every one of those 4,548 days.

Whenever I play a new Supergiant title, I always find myself absolutely enthralled with it, transfixed by its visual allure and engaging gameplay. After playing their second title Transistor, I was convinced that they wouldn’t be able to top themselves, but I stand corrected. Hades is a perfect amalgamation of everything that makes Supergiant Games one of the best independent developers out there, with a killer gameplay loop, heartfelt story, and writing that will have you hinging on every single word. This game deserves all the attention it’s getting and more, and I implore you to play it for yourself.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is ultimate in every sense of the word. World of Light is fantastic, Challenge Mode is satisfying and there's so much love and detail in absolutely everything in the game... Whilst having 60+ characters and 100+ stages sounds overwhelming, it's the perfect celebration of everything Nintendo and will be hard to top going forward.

Resident Evil 2 takes a masterpiece and twists it until it resembles something completely new without betraying the spirit of the original. There’s some very, very minor cuts that’ll no doubt upset some fans; but these are ultimately unnoticeable as what Capcom has offered up is an absolute triumph. Resident Evil 2 provides a new way to experience a classic and a very welcome reminder that the old style of Resident Evil is not dead. If anything, it’s finally back.

Forza Horizon 4 offers racing fans endless, ever-changing amounts of fun.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an immense and expansive middle chapter of this ambitious remake trilogy. A reimagined and redefined behemoth of a game that simultaneously plays on nostalgia and forces you to question your memories of the original. While it suffers from some rote open world elements and a few technical issues, Rebirth is another magnificent entry into the gilded halls of Final Fantasy.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is just that. A wonder. It leverages tight and concise platforming with a robust set of power-ups and skills to offer a degree of flexibility to players like never before. While it’s still slightly easier than I’d like, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an incredibly engaging Mario game and one of the best platformers available on the Switch, if not ever.

I’ve played a few open-world racers in my time, but I’m not sure I’ve ever come across one so feature-rich. It really is comprehensive, nailing the scope of its world while filling the world with meaningful things to do, offering a suite of multiplayer and co-op possibilities, and free-roam of a boiled-down vision of Mexico that’s begging to be explored.

Celeste not only joins a long list of phenomenal platforming royalty, but it stands as a mighty pillar among the very best of them.

Though it’s iterative in a lot of ways, Forza Horizon 5 is a near-faultless open-world racing experience that’s so sure of itself and its offerings that it goes the extra mile to sprinkle in the kinds of fan service that people go wild for. As a game it’s tremendous, but it’s also a brilliant, interactive postcard for a culture that is passionate about few things more than their country and their cars.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is yet another masterpiece by FROMSOFTWARE. It doubles down on all of the best parts of Elden Ring and bolsters them through an inviting new world, an engaging story, and a ridiculously moreish gameplay loop. It won't change your mind on Elden Ring if it never clicked for you, but will undoubtedly wow you if it did.

Demon's Soul is without a doubt one of the strongest PS5 launch titles, providing one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences. Bluepoint's treatment, although controversial, is immaculate and represents the best way to experience the classic that started it all.

On the Xbox One X, late-game save files for Ori would tend to boot in at around ten seconds which, granted, isn’t even that bad in retrospect. Despite this, Series X still bests those times significantly, bringing it down to only about five seconds. It’s an undoubted improvement across the board, as the game’s now far more optimised than it was at launch. If you’ve managed to avoid Ori and the Will of the Wisps up until this point, I absolutely implore you to take a chance on one of the year’s most beautiful platforming games. Now even prettier and more stable, it’s sure to light a fire in your heart.

Like the franchise’s other many iterations, Forza Horizon 6 is an exceptional masterclass of car racing, genre-defining in terms of both arcade and simulation, set within a spectacular, abridged open-world of Japan that’s begging to be explored. Although it’s not an all-expenses paid return trip, the game not only bulges at the seams with its usual, familiar checklist of things to do, but it serves as a wonderful snapshot of Japan’s people, its sights, and its love for car culture.