Dragon's Dogma fans rejoice! This second entry in the series, as much a remake as it is a sequel, absolutely nails everything it sets out to achieve. You can feel the desire to perfect every aspect of the game that we got in 2012 here, with slicker combat, a more engaging pawn system, an incredible world stuffed full of amazing beasties and a general vibe that just begs you to slow down, take your time, and enjoy the majestic adventure ahead. If you're in the market for a fantastic RPG with the power to fully transport you to a world of gritty fantasy and magical friends, we reckon this might just be right up your street.

Alone in the Dark is back, and frankly, it may have been better left alone. THQ Nordic's revival isn't a bad game — we enjoyed chunks of it especially towards the beginning of the adventure — but it doesn't stand out in any meaningful way, and ultimately feels a little pointless in the end. We'd recommend keeping an eye on that launch patch to see how the game is shaping up on release, but it's best not to expect a Resident Evil-level reimagining from this Alone in the Dark reboot - even if it stands as a serviceable third-person adventure.

On Xbox, there is definitely going to be some debate about whether or not fans should consider checking out the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection. If you’re not in it for online play, and only want to participate in solo and local play, we would argue the affordably priced backward compatibility versions offer more than enough. If you do want to relive the glorious online battles of yesteryear in a fresh package though, the extra credits of the Classic Collection may be worth the asking price. [Review in Progress]

Easy Red 2 is a cheap as chips WW2 shooter that serves up a bloody good time amidst all of the expected micro-budget jank. There's a genuinely solid FPS here, with an atmospheric bunch of battle maps and shooter mechanics that require just a little more thought than usual. With tons of period-specific weapons and vehicles, impressively large arenas of engagement and zero bloat, battle passes or micro-transactions, this is a cracking slice of old-school WW2 action for the cost of a cheap lunch. Just ignore the awful menus.

Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator is a pretty addictive new addition to the genre, but it's giving us a rough ride at launch. It does the basics well for the most part, and features an impressively large and detailed version of Barcelona to cruise around in, but the unintelligent AI drivers, poor performance and various other irritations are significant drawbacks. This has all the potential to be a good (or even great) game, but it's going to take a few patches to get there.

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.

WWE 2K24 is undoubtedly one of the best wrestling games in Xbox history, but it's also a game that prioritises incremental upgrades over any kind of major overhauls, so casual fans may struggle to justify a full-price purchase. As dedicated wrestling "marks" though, we think the new MyRise stories, superb improvements to MyGM, nostalgia-driven Showcase mode, additional match types and various gameplay adjustments are all worth the price of admission.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a super-slick boomer shooter that serves up one of the best Warhammer-themed games we've played thus far. The oppressive vibes and stompy violent silliness of space marines has been recreated faithfully here in a FPS that's every bit as perfectly pitched and polished as the very best recent examples of this rejuvenated genre. We'd have loved to see some multiplayer or different modes to muck around with, yes, but there's no knocking how fast and fun this retro shooter's campaign is. For old-school FPS fans, this is the good stuff.

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game shifts the slow-moving action of its predecessors from small scale levels full of straightforward challenges to a set of large open world maps designed specifically for freewheeling offroad exploration. The magic of SnowRunner et al remains intact here, with a gloriously atmospheric bunch of regions to get busy taming as you push forward through swamps, across rivers and over mountains in a game that genuinely feels like Death Stranding in a truck at points. Co-op mode may be missing at launch, which is a real shame, and there's a few graphical issues to sort just now, but we reckon this is still Saber Interactive's best crack at the offroad sim yet, and that's saying something.

Nightdive Studios serves up another fantastically thorough revamp of a retro classic with Star Wars: Dark Forces. It may not quite have the reputation of the likes of Quake 2 or System Shock, but this is a fun Star Wars shooter nevertheless, one of the better efforts from the '90s, and a game that looks and feels the absolute business thanks to enhanced graphics, modernised controls, fancy lighting techniques and all manner of other bells and whistles. Not quite essential, then, but a damn good time regardless, especially for fans of the original Star Wars franchise.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is a short, snappy puzzle platformer that's definitely worth playing - if just for the game's engaging, emotional familial tale. Having said that, this remake isn't the biggest technical upgrade we've ever seen, and unless you're desperate to play in local co-op we think the original still holds up mighty fine. However you choose to experience Brothers, it provides some great Sunday afternoon entertainment in a bite-sized package, even if it doesn't have quite the same impact 10 years later. Newcomers will likely have a great time with this one, but returning players shouldn't feel the need to rush out and pick up this remake right away.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a super solid action-RPG that delivers an absorbing and emotional ghost story on top of combat that, well, it gets the job done. Antea and Red are a fantastic pair of leads, the writing and acting are on point and 17th New England is every bit as effective a setting as you would hope for a spooky tale of lovers torn apart. If you can make do with a world that's more linear than most modern efforts and combat that isn't going to give Geralt of Rivia any sleepless nights, you're in for a right treat.

Balatro is an incredibly clever indie gem that uses the bones of regular poker to build an incredibly approachable and fiendishly addictive new experience. There's a wonderfully slick core to this one, building decks and taking on dealers as you add wild special cards and variables to your pack is trance-inducing stuff and, backed by a fantastically understated soundtrack and perfect visuals, it makes for one of the first proper, actual, absolute must-play games of 2024.

Skull & Bones isn't the disaster we feared, nor is it the definitive take on the genre we hoped it could be given all the money and time that's been pumped into it. Ubisoft has served up reliably decent naval combat, trading and exploration here, but it's marred by a lack of overall direction, by far too many bland early hours, and by endgame fun that requires a whole lot of plodding to reach. If you love the pirate life you will find enough here to keep you entertained, it all looks and feels suitably good, but it's gonna need more content and reasons to stick at it before it earns a more hearty recommendation from us.

Aspyr's remastered collection doesn't reinvent these classics by any means, and that was probably the best route to take here. While we don't agree with every decision the team has made, these remasters manage to retain the feel of the original trilogy, and options like the classic visuals toggle and a modern control scheme make this well worth a play - especially on Xbox where all three games are making their debuts.

Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, despite all of the wailing and gnashing of teeth pre-release, has arrived in perfectly fine form. This is, at launch, one of the most polished looter shooters we've played, an action-packed superhero adventure that dishes up top-notch combat, tons of fan-service, excellent traversal (important for superheroes!), addicting loot, and plenty of surprises and shocks to boot. Yes, the story is artificially dragged out, mission types are repetitive and the store is a right royal rip-off, but the writing, the performances, core mechanics and incredible attention to detail here ensure that this is one squad of misfits who've managed to take the heat and survive intact.

Persona 3 Reload is a stunner. This is how you do remakes, folks, keeping the heart and soul intact whilst adding all the slick graphics, cutscenes, new mechanics, dialogue and voice-acting fans can handle. Everything that's been changed has been done so with the upmost care, every new addition sings and newcomers and diehards alike should find themselves absolutely glued to this one when it hits Game Pass. Yes, we'd have loved to see the option for a female protagonist added, but beyond this one niggle, what we've got here is very hard to find fault with.

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes the fresh start provided by its predecessor and runs riot. This is a gangster epic that sees two fantastic protagonists join forces in a story that delivers the goods in terms of emotion, action, ridiculous revelations and madcap humour. Massively expanded side activities, series-best combat, a fun new location and unexpected adventures around every single corner make for our favourite RGG Studio joint to date. 2024 is barely started and we've got an all-timer RPG to dig into.

Tekken 8 is a little light on single-player content in comparison to some of the other big fighters out there right now, and it does give off the initial impression of being super-slick over strategically balanced early on. Stick with it though, dig down beneath all the fancy new heat moves and screen-shaking rage attacks, and you'll find a classic fighting system that feels better now than it ever has. Once you're in the zone, pulling off Phoenix smashers, dashing fists and sandwich claps whilst side-stepping like a pro, any slight shortcomings this game may have are left at the entrance to the arena.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a fantastically clever return to the franchise that serves up slick 2.5D action wrapped up in a delightful art style and satisfying story. There's a smart balance here between old-school levels of action and challenge, moreish combat and neat puzzles, mixed with accessibility options and fine-tuning that open this traditionally tough genre up to newcomers. We knew Ubisoft Montpellier was a pair of safe hands, and it's not let us down here, serving up the first must-play of 2024, and we're only just getting started.

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.

SteamWorld Build is yet another triumph from the maestros at Thunderful. Here we have a slick and addictive addition to a wonderful steampunk franchise that manages to meld elements from across the entire series into one cohesive whole. You've got wonderfully detailed city-building, addictive mining action and intense tower-defense aspects all in the mix here, and it tells you everything you need to know about this one that all of these elements work in harmony. Xbox Game Pass just netted itself another banger.

Teardown is a surprisingly addictive and compelling experience that takes the very simple concept of breaking stuff into bits and runs with it, serving up some of the best-looking destruction we've ever clapped eyes on. Yes, the lack of multiplayer modes is a bit of a sore point, but a well-designed and surprisingly meaty main campaign, alongside curated mod packs, means there's still plenty to dive into here for solo players. If you like wrecking stuff it's hard to knock what's on offer here, especially at the smart budget price point.

Persona 5 Tactica is another very solid and self-assured spin-off for Atlus' stellar RPG franchise. Placing the Phantom Thieves in tactical turn-based battles works a treat here, with addictive and challenging strategy complimented by a slick sense of style, strong writing and a campaign narrative that will keep fans happy. Whether you're here for Persona specifically or you're just wanting a solid slice of tactical action to dig into, this one has got you well and truly covered.

Modern Warfare 3 is quite a tough game to judge. Its campaign is good old Call of Duty fun, even if it's too short, and the game's multiplayer is a great time - built on the solid foundations of two different versions of Modern Warfare 2. However, Zombies is a complete miss this year, and the admittedly-great multiplayer is based on past triumphs more than anything else. If you love playing some CoD multiplayer every year then MW3 is another solid entry in that regard, but if you usually stick to one of the other modes or are looking for a more complete Call of Duty experience, we don't recommend picking this one up just yet. Either wait for a price drop, or bide your time in anticipation of its eventual arrival on Xbox Game Pass.

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.

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is another fine slice of Yakuza action from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio thart serves up a little bit of everything over the course of 15 or so hours. This may be a shorter affair than usual by quite some margin, but what's here still manages to deliver lots of exciting action, very silly gadgets, drama and deep cuts for the fans. If the intent was to whet our appetites for Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, then consider that mission well and truly complete. Roll on January 2024.

RoboCop: Rogue City is a very average shooter that becomes more than the sum of its parts through an exacting attention to detail displayed by its developers. There's some excellent world-building here, lovingly crafted recreations of places, people, cars and weapons that'll immediately excite fans and, although it's hardly electrifying, the shooter action undeniably gives you RoboCop in all his slow-moving, smart-assed glory. If you've got a love for the movie, you'll likely have a good time roleplaying here, and it's great to see Peter Weller reprise his role. However, if you've got no stake in the franchise, you may be left wondering what any of the fuss is about as this one deals in wholesale nostalgia.