The Crew Motorfest has really surprised us. Not since the Test Drive Unlimited days have we had this much fun with an open world racer outside of the industry-leading Forza Horizon series, and that can only be good for competition going forward. The jury is still out on whether Motorfest, and any potential sequels, will have the stopping power that FH does, but Ubisoft's history with updating and adding to The Crew 2 bodes well for this title's future. Motorfest isn't fully refined just yet but the game feels like a hugely successful reset button for The Crew series, and we're now totally invested in where things go next.

Destiny feels like the key elements of an FPS and an MMO gently resting shoulder to shoulder, instead of being fused together in a truly creative way. It plays and looks great, and offers many, many hours of entertainment to anyone okay with repeating the same tasks, but it isn’t exactly the game-changing science fiction epic we felt it was aspiring to.

While the combat is undoubtedly satisfying and rewarding, the sense of repetition, the last-gen visuals, and the brevity of the adventure feel more matched for a budget price.

The terrific melee combat system and intriguing story are more than enough to warrant a recommendation to anyone yet to play it, but if you’ve experienced the streets of Hong Kong before then the slightly sharper visuals and included DLC are a tougher sell.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora sticks closely to the established Ubisoft open world formula, serving up a lush environment in which players can get busy skulking around, levelling up, gathering resources and taking out enemy compounds. Stealth and ground combat get the job done without any surprises, aerial combat is turgid, and there's a reasonable parkour system in the mix. However, the narrative here is a letdown; it's bland stuff all the way along, side missions are cookie-cutter stuff and really - unless you're a huge Avatar/Far Cry Primal fan or a younger gamer, there isn't much here you haven't seen before from this dev.

F1 24 gives fans of cool dad energy another superbly polished racer to indulge in for the upcoming season of loud car driving. The new "dynamic handling" system makes things feel nicer whilst using a gamepad, and Challenge Career feels like a genuinely great addition that we'll continue to play over the year. It looks and sounds as good as ever, there's plenty of fun to be had in co-op and online modes, and if you dig deep you'll find a fiendishly exciting and incredibly fast racer that can test your skills to the max if you let it - whilst remaining welcoming for newbies who need to tone things down a bit. That's pretty much all we could have asked for.

Rematch is an addictive blend of Rocket League and real football that's sure to prove a hit on Xbox Game Pass and beyond. The difficult controls might put some people off in the early hours, but its "just one more game" feel should keep most people playing beyond the teething period - and that's when it really comes into its own. The developers have done a fantastic job with this one, and I can't wait to see how it evolves in the weeks, months and years to come.

While Echo Generation stumbles a few times, our time with the game was never squandered. It's a testament to how wonderful its world is to explore, along with its engaging RPG systems. You never quite know what surprise will be in the next frame of the game. Will it be a mysterious alien spaceship? Or will you stumble across the legendary monster in the woods? The intrigue never lets up, and while the narrative itself doesn't quite land as well as you may hope, Echo Generation delivers an exciting adventure that Xbox Game Pass subscribers are not going to want to miss out on.

Although it's easy to pick up, Tropico 5 is a deep and complex strategy title which keeps things interesting by throwing ever-changing challenges in to the story structure to mix things up.

Evil West is a thoroughly old-fashioned shooter that manages to entertain in short bursts but can't overcome how lacklustre and unoriginal its level design and narrative feels. If you've got a pal to play through this one with in co-op you could probably stick another star on the final score, otherwise we'd steer clear unless you absolutely must indulge in some seriously last-gen cowboy vs. vampire action.

When Evolve is at its best, it is one of the greatest co-op experiences ever crafted. Few games require so much teamwork and are as satisfying when everything falls into place. Conversely, it can be a complete mess when played with hunters that are incompetent or not playing their position.

We feel like we’ve only scratched the surface with Ara: History Untold even after thousands of turns and multiple games, but this is a fun take on this type of experience and a great choice if you’re looking for an engaging PC game to pull you in. If you don’t mind history with a bit of a twist and want a game where you can sink hours into each session as you overcome all sorts of challenges and triumph as a nation, Ara is well worth a look.

The Outlast Trials is a cool idea, a spin-off that funnels players through a gauntlet of twisted levels with a gameshow/Saw movie vibe. However, as good as it all looks and sounds, with plenty of levels and tons of customisation to dig into, the core gameplay here is just way too bland and repetitive, it's in no way scary, and the only real fun to be had is in getting a bunch of pals together to laugh at your misfortunes and all of the violence that ensues.

Episode Two: Contemplation is hands down, a better, stronger, and more satisfying entry than the Revelations 2 premiere episode was.

EA Sports PGA Tour is an excellent return to the fairways for the studio, delivering the most realistic and deep golfing action currently available on consoles. There's a slick and rewarding sim to dig into here and, with recent new additions to the choice of control set-ups, it's an experience we thoroughly recommend to golfing pros and newcomers alike. With plenty of modes, top-notch presentation, best-in-class ball physics and a fine selection of courses to master, we can see ourselves spending plenty of time with this one in the weeks and months ahead.

Top Spin 4 was so good that it continued to thrive for 10 years past its sell-by date, and TopSpin 2K25 feels just as enjoyable to play in 2024. Sure, the character models don't look great, and the game could do with a few tweaks and additions in certain areas, but the key thing is that developer Hangar 13 has nailed the gameplay. We've been waiting such a long time for a tennis title to really grab our attention like Top Spin 4 did back in the day, and we're pleased to say that TopSpin 2K25 is comfortably the best tennis game we've played in over a decade.

Regardless of if we preferred Wild West Rampage to CastleStorm, or vice versa, the fact remains that both delivered the kind of thrills and sense of reward we like to see attached to a game of pinball. We think it's time you consider loading your catapult and six-shooter.

The Escapists is not a game for those who get frustrated easily.

All in all, Isonzo is very good at what it sets out to do, which is provide an authentic WW1 battlefield for players to experience, this time way up in the Italian Alps. The series' new setting does add some nice visual variety to proceedings, and the extra verticality has a pretty major impact on gameplay and match flow, but ultimately, we would like a little more meat on the bone, whether that be more online modes, gameplay options or even a single player campaign one day. What's here though is bloody brutally brilliant, and if you enjoy a more tactical approach to online warfare, Isonzo is definitely worth a shot - just remember to rechamber that rifle!

It may sound like we're being a bit down on this year's Call of Duty, but it's only because we know the franchise has potential. Warzone has proved it with multiplayer and Black Ops Cold War showcased it with its campaign. We hoped this would build upon those foundations, but instead it steps back into familiar territory. It's not a bad game by any means - in fact, even at its worst it's better than most first-person shooters out there - but as the games industry evolves, it's time for Call of Duty to bring something new to the table, and this isn't it.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 presents Kojima's genius in a package that could, and should, have been so much more. There's a bunch of stellar games to dig into here, you're guaranteed a great time once you're actually playing this iconic series, but this is a franchise that deserved more. Where's the TLC? Where's the resolution bumps, refined controls, visual upgrades and so on? Konami has managed to add a few nice extras, and there's a good showing in terms of how many titles are packed in here, but the overall performance and presentation, given the power and potential at the dev's disposal, leaves much to be desired.

Steelrising is a super solid soulslike that incorporates a wonderfully unique setting and lots of well-designed battle and traversal mechanics into the mix. There's tons of lovely little details in the world and characters here and the combat is addictive, crunchy stuff that gives you lots of cool weapons to toy around with. The story may not be the strongest, it all takes a while to get going properly and the scraps can get a little rough around the edges from time to time, but overall this is an impressive new entry in the genre that fans should absolutely make some time to check out.

Episode 4: Metamorphosis has a lot resting on its rotting shoulders and, for the most part, it does an adequate job tying up all the loose ends.

Ultratron is a slick twin-stick shooter with some great and novel ideas at its core. The initially laid out challenge is a pretty simple one, meaning that some players will ultimately be left wanting. Achievement hunters and score hunters will absolutely relish what's in front of them, however.

Watch Dogs: Legion sees DedSec return to a hugely impressive representation of near-future London that looks and sounds amazing but can't long cover for the fact the core gameplay here is repetitive, janky stuff that's barely evolved since the days of Aiden Pearce. Traversal is hampered by uninspired, tanky vehicles, combat is scruffy, enemy AI disappointing, and hacking and sneaking highly repetitive. The "play as anyone" mechanic too, much vaunted pre-release, starts out fun but soon reveals itself to be a superfluous addition whose main effect is to rob the narrative of a proper central protagonist. Fans of the series may well still find plenty to enjoy here but in the end this is an old-fashioned, run-of-the-mill open world offering dressed up as something altogether more futuristic and fascinating.

The Big Con presents a fun, addictive gameplay loop to embrace - despite never truly sitting right with us narratively. Its world is a delight to explore, the characters are fun and the 90s vibes wrap around you like a warm winter's blanket. It's a shame its morals are never presented in a truly challenging way, but if you can look past its messy narrative, you'll find a fun, charming indie adventure that's hard to put down.

Despite these hurdles, we hold no doubt they'll be ironed out in the coming weeks. What will be left is an underrated gem that has unfortunately slipped under the radar. Coming out the same week as Tales of Arise, Life is Strange: True Colors and Sonic Colors: Ultimate, the game appears to have been lost in the noise. It's a shame, but we're confident an audience will be found of people such as us who will love and embrace this game - warts and all. Lost in Random may not strike a chord with everyone, but for those it does, they will absolutely love it.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök easily eclipses both The Siege of Paris and Wrath of the Druids, serving up a good 40 hours-worth of top-notch action, exploration and challenges across a huge new world map. Combat here is enlivened by Eivor's new Hugr-Rip abilities, skills which also freshen up the game's puzzles and traversal, and the fantastical nature of the story leads to some of the biggest and best boss face-offs we've seen in the series to date. Newcomers may feel a little lost to begin with, there's a lot to get your head around here, but fans of Valhalla should be delighted with this deliciously fantastical new addition to the base game.