MLB The Show 25’s refinements to Road to the Show and Diamond Dynasty make this another superb baseball sim. The on-field gameplay may feel largely familiar, but it’s already so well executed that it staves off any feeling of samey-ness. Some great new modes and another enjoyable set of documentary-esque storylines round out a package that’s still quite comfortably at the top of its game.

For the love of the game, Bend Studio has proudly brought back Days Gone with a PS5 version that truly shines on Sony’s current-gen system — and even brighter on PS5 Pro. It’s shrugged off the original PS4 launch to prove the title has always been great, and now with Horde Assault, it delivers a comprehensive package coursing with quality. If the original game released like this, perhaps we really would have a sequel by now.

Lies of P feels like the result of a developer having already taken multiple stabs at the Souls-like genre, so it's impressive that Round8 Studio has accomplished so much on its first attempt. By fully embracing its dark take on the Pinocchio story, it sets itself apart from anything else available. Elevating it above other games are quality combat and extensive, satisfying customisation, turning Lies of P into a first-class experience for FromSoftware fanatics.

Fun gameplay and decent level design mean that it's well worth checking out, but rushing in again at full price may end up being a risk that even the bravest stunt rider should think twice about.

This title expertly fuses classic arcade staples with modern game design to provide a sleek gaming rush right in the palms of your hands.

It could very well be the best psychological horror experience on the console.

While many of the included games may border on unplayable from a modern perspective, the painstaking attention to detail in Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is extremely easy to appreciate. The museum-like carousel of content, from interviews through to original artwork, is presented so handsomely that you can’t not get swept up in Atari’s dramatic story. And the fact that there over 100 of the company’s most famous titles, emulated excellently with their original instruction manuals available to pore over, adds playable context to a lot of the content. This is just an impressive overall experience that will appeal to those who lived through the rise (and fall) of Atari, as well as younger players eager to learn a little more about one of the industry’s true pioneers.

Boasting two fantastic modes and more shogun slashing carnage than you can shake a shamisen at, it's the pick of the bunch when it comes to your portable Warriors fix.

Overall, Sea of Stars is immensely enjoyable from start to finish. While it's been inspired by various classic RPGs, it sets itself apart with an engaging story, some brilliant characters, and surprisingly deep lore. On top of that, the combat is great fun thanks to its involving, strategic mechanics, and exploring the gorgeous pixelated world is rewarding. It isn't perfect, but it overcomes any flaws with its charming presentation, a world ripe with things to see and do, and no shortage of personality.

Perky presentation mixed with measured gameplay make for a thoroughly enjoyable arcade treat, while all of the extras ensure that you won't be seeing the credits too quickly.

A truly brilliant television tie-in. Every scene is stuffed with references and Easter eggs, and the dialogue is so authentically written and acted that you really feel like you’re playing through an episode of the show. Performance issues and minor irritations do hold the experience back a touch, but this is still a must-play for fans of the franchise.

While Polyarc doesn’t get too wild and crazy with its second title, it didn't need to considering how solid the foundation was with Moss. Book II takes the time to tighten up a few lingering issues from the first title, while providing more of the incredible world of Moss, albeit on a grander scale. Moss: Book II is further proof that Polyarc is among the best developers working in the VR space.

Though not perfect, Defense Grid 2 presents one of the best tower defence options on the Japanese giant’s shiny black box.

This is a beautifully crafted cautionary tale about the horrors of war and the true devastation it can rain on ordinary civilians. Like real war, every story you play will be different with different outcomes, and you’ll be led to make increasingly more desperate and erratic choices to ensure the survival of your characters.

Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender is a fantastic launch title for the PlayStation Mobile platform. It's demanding in its difficulty, which may put some people off, but it can afford to be when it's put together this well on all fronts. Pay the small entry fee and you'll be grinning like the cat who got the cream.

There's no denying that Prodeus is derivative, but that's not necessarily a problem when the end result is this well realised. An absolute blast from start to finish.

BioShock: The Collection is the best way to experience the world of Rapture and Columbia. All three games and their DLC look great and, despite a slightly creaky port of the first game, perform well. Unfortunately, series veterans won't find anything new, meaning that the visual upgrade and the convenience of having everything pulled into one package are the only reasons to return to games that you may have already experienced multiple times.

Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe is a neat package which provides numerous options that will keep you coming back for seconds and perhaps even thirds and more. It’s charming look and feel and well-developed plot combined with great two-pronged gameplay make it truly unique and provide a great incentive to progress further.

The updated version of Layers of Fear is incredibly impressive. In addition to offering high-quality remakes of the entire series, this version goes a step forward and creates new material with the explicit purpose of bringing all pre-existing content of the series under one umbrella. The exceptional visual overhaul, fascinating transforming environments, and great sound design ensure this horror series has done a phenomenal job of making sure it continues to be an experience worth having.

Each mission in Hitman 2 is a treasure trove of wonderful emergent gameplay, excellent satirical writing, and lashings of delicious, jet-black humour. The targets you'll hunt are almost universally rotters which thankfully takes care of any lingering moral quandaries you may have about their imminent demise. It's better that way. We really don't want to feel bad about tinkering with an old man's oxygen tank so it blows up and kills him when he sparks up a cigarette, do we?

Chariot is quite the surprise. Its endearing style, smart design, and intuitive gameplay really hooked us, and we ended up having great fun in both single player and co-op. With a Platinum Trophy, and tons of content to tuck into, this is one carriage well worth riding.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a feel-good game that's difficult to dislike. It may not be quite as revolutionary as its title indicates, but it's still a forward-thinking racer with some outstanding tracks. Difficulty spikes and some minor technical issues detract from its overall appeal, but this is still one of the best kart racers available on the PS3.

Deadlink is a blast. At its pulse-pounding best, it's a breakneck shooter that rewards skill and tactical thinking, and keeps you hooked with a range of run-altering unlocks. A must for fans of relentless and often brutal action.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a great two-for-one deal, but for us, the antihero's half of the package steals the show. While the remaster of the 13-year-old platformer is perfectly fine, Shadow's brand new campaign outshines it with much improved gameplay and level design. The older game definitely shows its age in some regards, but bundling together one of the most beloved Sonic titles with one of the best 3D entries in recent memory makes for a compelling double feature.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a fast-paced and fun twin-stick shooter.

Fully deserving of a second chance, Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir is a glorious remake of a fine RPG. Its stunning art style looks better than ever, and the tale it tells is still effortlessly charming. Little niggles like its clunky inventory system keep it from being picture perfect, but it's difficult not to be left thoroughly impressed by Vanillaware's lovingly crafted fantasy – even after all of these years.

While two of the multiplayer maps ultimately let it down, Descent is Black Ops III's best DLC so far, thanks to the sheer madness and fun-factor of Gorod Krovi, one of the series' best Zombies maps. Empire and Berserk are also great additions to the multiplayer, adding their own individual styles to a once-monotonous selection of maps.

MLB The Show 19 doesn’t appear all that enticing on paper, but step up to the plate and its gameplay is still pretty much unparalleled. The significant improvements to fielding mean that the series now excels in every discipline, while additions like March to October provide an entertaining way to play in short bursts. Diamond Dynasty is arguably the best card collecting game on the PS4, and despite some dry commentary, the overall presentation is borderline obsessive with its sheer attention to detail. The biggest disappointment comes in the lack of meaningful additions to Franchise mode, but this is still a feature rich option even if it has been left largely untouched. Simply put, Sony San Diego’s hit yet another homerun.

It’s brief, chaotic, and hard as nails, but this is a glorious throwback that every fan of 90s shooters should pick up. Brutal and loud, BUTCHER makes for a suitable companion to last year's excellent DOOM reboot.

Lost in Random is set in a masterfully crafted world which tells a gothic fairy tale-like story that has plenty of warmth despite its dark hue. With beautiful writing and a touching story, it does a great job at making you really care about what happens to Even, as well as everyone she meets. It also has a truly unique battle system that offers loads of fun in your quest to create a perfect deck. This is a delight to play from beginning to end.

Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5 is the game that PlayStation fans should have been playing in 2020. While it still falls short when measured against the immense expectations that surrounded its release, everything that Cyberpunk gets right is so much easier to enjoy when the game isn't crippled by technical issues. The main story's a thrill ride, the combat's a blast, and Night City is an incredible open world setting. And the best part is that CD Projekt Red finally has a stable foundation to build upon. It took 14 months to get here, but the future of Cyberpunk 2077 actually holds a lot of promise.

escapeVektor is an addictive title, and a great choice if you're in the market for a new PlayStation Vita puzzler. The accessible mechanics, smart pacing, and intriguing narrative make it a compelling option, even if it can get a touch frustrating towards the end.

Ironcast is a surprisingly strategic and complex game which will hold your interest for quite a while. There's enough randomisation for the title to feel fresh for a long time, and every battle is one of tension and risky moves, with each action really meaning something.

Atomfall commits to embodying everything it means to be British, and it comes out the other side all the better for it. The mystery at the heart of the alternate 1960s setting is gripping, forever teasing clues and solutions to a way out of its rural quarantine zone. Its combat systems and mechanics let the experience down, but Rebellion’s latest peaks when it makes you the countryside’s Inspector Gadget with a bunch of Leads to pursue and villagefolk to suspect.

Despite the lacklustre online multiplayer that's been tacked on, the explosive campaign's action packed set pieces will constantly find your finger squeezing on the hammer one minute and tugging on your emotions the next with its diverse cast of likeable characters, as they fight to right the wrongs of morality towards mankind.

Marvel's Iron Man VR delivers on the mission to make you feel like the armoured avenger. Some technical hiccups aside, this is a well rounded virtual reality title that takes advantage of the tech to immerse you in Tony Stark's world. It wins the day with fantastic controls and engaging combat, and the optional challenges will keep you busy once the story's wrapped up. If you don't mind waiting around in loading screens, this is a thoroughly enjoyable PSVR experience.

Nidhogg 2 doesn’t change the core gameplay of its precursor in any Earth shattering ways, but it does introduce enough tweaks and refinements to make it well worth a second trip to the cosmic worm’s hideous belly. While the single player component isn’t especially interesting and the visuals might not be to everyone’s taste, as a couch multiplayer experience its immediacy and depth is utterly infectious.

With its peppy presentation and new lick of paint, Konami has breathed even more life into PES with its latest instalment, a celebration of everything thrilling about football. Gameplay is exciting and technical, and the selection of modes varied and replayable to the point where it's hard to see where the franchise will go next - except for fixing some major flaws in Master League and adding some more licenses. Fans of the series need not Pjanic: PES 2018 continues the series' goal-den streak.

Zenless Zone Zero has the swagger of a game that knows it’s going to be a big success, and judging by its 50 million downloads at the time of publication, that confidence is not misplaced. In some ways this is a strange beast: artistically it’s all over the place, pulling from a litany of different sources and somehow stringing them all together into a cohesive, compelling whole. But at its heart it’s a character action game with a massive emphasis on team-building, and it’s a bloody good one at that.

The game takes the familiar formula of the series, featuring compelling puzzles, chaotic combat, and perfect presentation, and sticks by it. With a whole new campaign and a wide variety of fresh and familiar abilities, Trine 5 appeals to series fans both new and old.

Toki Tori 2+ is a cheery tune of delight which thumps to the rhythm of a chick's stomp. It's a beautiful, colourful, and clever environment to play in, and harks back to those feel-good games which used to be so prevalent but have unfortunately fallen from grace in recent years.

Marred only by occasionally obtuse controls and a slight lack of difficulty, if this is the kind of content we can expect from Sony’s army of indie developers, the future is very bright indeed.

Zen Pinball 2 is all you really need if you're after a decent variety of pinball tables to play around with; whether you're at home or on the move, your scores – and those of your friends, provided you have an Internet connection – are always there to be beaten. The tables are intelligently designed and not too costly, there are more than enough settings to fiddle with, and the chance to craft your own collection without being forced to pay for any unwanted tables is very welcome

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 improves upon its evergreen predecessor by expanding the scope of the title with single player content and new classes and modes. Popcap has responded to the criticisms pointed at the original release well, and while this isn't a revolution by any stretch, the format has been precisely pruned for shear joy.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an excellent open-world adventure. Thanks to Ubisoft Massive’s collaboration with Lightstorm, this is easily the best movie tie-in we’ve experienced. The level of detail is second to none, and fans of the series will have a whale of a time spotting little references here or there to the mainline films. However, we’d be tempted to say unlike Hogwarts Legacy, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora would be a good time even if you weren’t a fan of the series or haven’t seen the films. The game is certainly filled with tropes of the Ubisoft formula, but the lore and focus on harvesting and hunting elevates that open-world design to create an immersive and inviting setting that we happily lost ourselves in.

SEGA has brilliantly crammed the entire Football Manager experience onto the Vita, without much of a break in quality.

1000xRESIST is all in on story, and this laser focus allows it to tell one of the most captivating and intriguing experiences you can have in video games.

World of Final Fantasy Maxima simply continues to promote the celebratory vibe of the original game. New additions to the catalogue of both characters and Mirages truly encourage replayability, offering incentive to make return trips to Grymoire to tackle the many new endeavours they’ve brought with them. More classic Final Fantasy characters revived in a loveable art style not only act as a lure for younger eyes but also capture the essence of the franchise as a whole, no doubt provoking an appeal to FF aficionados too.

Final Fantasy will likely never recapture its former glory, but Final Fantasy XV fills us with hope that the series can still carve out its own path, even after all these years.

2064: Read Only Memories tells a haunting story in a stylish way. Its diverse roster of characters, intriguing world, and masterful soundtrack make for an engaging experience from beginning to end. While there are some minor storytelling and structural hiccups, it nevertheless successfully combines a classic genre with modern trimmings.

While we wish that Rusty's expedition lasted a little longer and didn't require quite as much backtracking, there are still plenty of reasons to sink your pickaxe into this little gem.

Before Your Eyes left a lump in our throat, which we weren’t expecting at all. The game starts fantastical, but eventually matures into a relatably human tale, which we imagine will touch the majority of people who play it. Strong writing, fantastic voice acting, and an outstanding 3D audio mix all contribute to an impressively poignant campaign, which helps showcase how impactful interactive media can be.

With two brilliant retro games in one bundle, the gameplay in Castlevania Requiem is excellent.

While Ghosts may have bitten the bullet, Black Ops III reloads the franchise into a new, brighter era.

It’s a unique title, with enough small improvements that players who passed on the original version may want to consider taking another look – but without cross buy, it may be a difficult game to sell to anyone other than the most devoted of tower defense fans.

The game's story mode is short overall, but thankfully there's an Arcade and Challenge mode that offer great replayability. The challenge mode in particular is a highlight as it doles out mini-challenges for you to blast through, like tricky platforming or a pacifist run of a level. So, all in all, this is undoubtedly the best game the series has had in a long time, and one fans of the classic games won't want to miss out on.

While there's little to recommend upgrading from the PlayStation 3 version of the game, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend is a confident execution of a title that knows its strengths.

Minor annoyances aside, Toukiden 2 has some truly addictive gameplay and tonnes of content to chew through. The game's dripping with atmosphere and looks great, with plenty of varied, large open world areas to explore. Meanwhile, the battle system is satisfyingly fast paced, and nothing quite compares to the power trip of ripping off the body parts of a giant demon.

For the fourth year running, 2K and Visual Concepts have produced a high quality wrestling game that's absolutely overflowing with content. While not every change sticks the landing and The Island is a potentially worrying omen for the future of the series, it's the inclusion of intergender wrestling, other new features and match types, and strong Showcase and MyRISE modes that cement WWE 2K25 as a must-play for any wrestling fan.

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Maxiboost ON is the ultimate Gundam Versus experience on consoles. The series' steep learning curve remains, but once you've broken through that initial barrier, there's a massive amount of metal-mashing fun to be found. As both a comprehensive gameplay package, and as a celebration of all things Gundam, it's very, very hard to fault.

Sadly, any multiplayer options have been stripped away, and so have the prizes for completing each World Tour, which rewarded you with things like opening movies for old Ridge Racer games. The only other frustration comes from AI drivers, who can be tricky to overtake. All in all, though, this is easily among the best classic games on PS Plus Premium. This is a timely reminder that, at their peak, arcade racers can easily rank among the most enjoyable video games you can play.

Paper Trail is a charming game with an interesting and unique puzzle mechanic. The story doesn’t quite reach the emotional highs that we were expecting but it’s still a sweet coming-of-age tale set in a gorgeous world complemented by a beautifully atmospheric soundtrack.

Adding to a growing list of great PS4 remakes, Yakuza: Kiwami 2 is up there with the best games in SEGA's series. While PS2-era design does rear its ugly head now and again, another brilliantly dramatic story steals the spotlight. Throw in some superb optional content, and you've got a prime Yakuza package that's ultimately very difficult to fault.

Up there with the likes of Journey and ABZU, AER: Memories of Old is simple, elegant, and impactful. It's a heartfelt game that's a joy to play, and although its storytelling does feel like it gets in the way at times, your worries will evaporate when you're soaring effortlessly from one floating island to the next.

Phasmophobia is a highly replayable co-op experience that expertly manages to blend friendly fun with deathly scares. There’s a complexity to its ghost hunting as you gather evidence and test your nerves, and it’s made all the better as you bicker, debate, and scream with your friends. A slow levelling system stalls that sense of progression, and finicky controls mean the PSVR2 version of the game is a bit of a letdown. However, if you’re looking for a unique kind of co-op experience for you and your friends, Phasmophobia is one of a kind.

Trombone Champ: Unflattened is a great conversion to VR, and a natural fit for the tech, adding yet another strong rhythm game in PSVR2's collection.

Dave the Diver, like the sea, is far deeper than you think it is. It charms with its attractive visuals and addictive loop of diving for fish and running a restaurant, but it never rests on its laurels, always finding new ways to enhance the fun. There's never a dull moment, whether it's a whole new feature expanding the gameplay, an unexpected new story beat, or another hilarious cutscene to enjoy. It's this constant reinvention and surprise that makes the game so compelling, even through the occasional rougher moments. If you've yet to experience it for yourself, we'd highly encourage that you take the plunge.

Capping all of that off are some lovely visuals. While still feeling limited by the game's 3DS origins, Capcom has done a fantastic job of updating textures, and boosting the overall quality of environments for this re-release. When looking back at 3DS gameplay, you can see the stark difference.

The definition of a bigger and better sequel, Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2 doesn't try to fix what isn't broken, and instead focuses on building upon the foundations of the first game. With a crazy amount of content to blast through - both online and offline - an improved combat system, and new ways to develop and customise your very own Dragon Ball hero, this is very much the definitive XenoVerse experience, and an absolute must for fans of Akira Toriyama's manga and anime epic.

Moonlighter is a delightful mix of action RPG, rogue-lite dungeon crawling, and shopkeeping sim with an ingenious gameplay loop that'll have you hooked. The way the game's contrasting parts blend into one another means you're always making progress, and it feels great. Exploring the dungeons is challenging and fun, and managing the shop is addictive, thanks to an intelligent economy system. There are some rough edges, such as complex menu screens and one or two minor bugs, but when this game gets its hooks in, you won't care. Shopping around for your new favourite indie? Look no further.

NBA 2K21 is an impressive overhaul of an already excellent basketball simulation. There are times where it over-extends; The City, for example, is an awesome idea in principle, but its sheer scale can leave it feeling deserted. Still, while we have legitimate gripes with the game’s implementation of VC, there’s no denying that next-gen hooping feels fantastic. And with so many modes and features, as well as industry-leading presentation, there’s no doubt that 2K Sports is starting this generation off strong.

The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered is handily able to retain its charm, all the while looking the best it ever has.

If you missed out the first time around, Toukiden: Kiwami shouldn't be avoided. The expanded storyline provides a great backdrop for the property's addictive gameplay loop, and a wealth of new content, coupled with some thoughtful tweaks and additional features, gives returning players more than enough reason to renew their slaying license.

Aside from a few mishaps in dialogue, Timespinner distinguishes itself with an absorbing story with interesting underlying themes. It stands out with a refreshing time travelling spin on combat that reflects the diversity of the level designs. Exploration, sans the tiny map, is enjoyable, with the past and present boasting unique music and mechanics to keep things fresh. Overall, this solid adventure is a great use of your time.

For a game that was never meant to exist, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a revelation. It has everything a Holmes fan could want; mysteries to unravel, fun dialogue and banter between Holmes and Watson, and plenty of investigations to be had. Playing through with barely any instruction or assistance from the game itself really gives a sense of achievement not often found with other detective games. A compelling and mythical storyline is really the cherry on top of a fantastic, thought-provoking game which will have players exploring every nook and cranny to get to the bottom of the mystery at hand.

When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is at its best, it's easily one of this generation's best entries in the series. The campaign makes up for a so-so story with a run of brilliant missions that offer up some astonishing moments. Multiplayer treads old ground but remains highly compelling, and Gunfight is a successful addition to the list of modes. Special Ops is disappointing, with just a few missions that are all far too difficult to be fun. Overall, this is an entertaining, high-octane shooter with highs that outweigh the lows.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is one of the very best games of 2019. Its engaging gameplay loops may have been lifted from other titles, but it's during combat where the game really shines with enjoyable lightsaber duels and numerous abilities that keep things fresh. Backed by a narrative that will bring delight to the Star Wars faithful, its wonderful main plot and referential nature makes the title an essential playthrough for anyone in tune with the force.

While it's still not quite at the same standard as FIFA, the Heart mechanic is an inspired addition, and if the franchise continues to follow its current trajectory, it could yet topple EA's giant in the years to come.

With five worlds, each with five sub-levels consisting of between one and four stages, as well as a plethora of secrets to find, there’s enough here to keep any FPS fanatic entertained for hours. Each stage quickly becomes a repetitious dance which somehow never becomes dull, and reaching its end is euphoric and rewarding. Project Warlock is great; a pastiche of brutally tough and charmingly gritty 90s first-person shooters, with only a few quality of life improvements to be made.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger successfully puts the franchise back on track. At a purely mechanical level, the title may feel familiar to other first-person shooters – but its unique setting and novel storytelling methods give it the jolt of originality that it requires.

It might not end up matching the influence of Limbo or the perfectly-judged arc of Inside, but Planet of Lana is a welcome addition to the side-scroller genre on PlayStation regardless. It looks amazing, sounds great, and tells a nice succinct story.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered brings back a fantastic arcade racing game, and is still brilliant fun 10 years down the line. Autolog feels right at home in 2020, and the over-the-top cops vs. racers gameplay is a blast. While the remaster itself is a little underwhelming, and some of the original title's issues remain, this is nonetheless a great game for petrol heads and adrenaline junkies everywhere.

The NBA 2K series has always been a hard one to improve upon since the revolutionary 2K14, but 2K17 still manages to better its predecessors, vastly improving the MyGM and MyLeague modes while refusing to tamper with a winning formula. MyCareer is once again a very enjoyable story, and general gameplay is as strong as ever. Simply put, NBA 2K17 is a trailblazer.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War is one of the best co-operative focused games on PS4. Its meaty campaign boasts of impressive level variety, a superb control scheme, and enjoyable gameplay mechanics while a Horde mode tests your abilities to the max. Rebellion has crafted an experience with so much to see and do that it could take a group of players weeks to master everything on offer -- a crowning success for this type of game. Zombie Army 4: Dead War is an absolute riot of a title that is just as cheeky as it is fun to play.

For newcomers, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is an essential purchase. You've got two excellent games that tell a wild and wonderful story that will stay with you for a very long time, and combine that with the engaging puzzles and you've got a recipe for a quality experience. For returning fans, it's a tougher sell: your purchase mostly balances on the enhancements of the PS4 edition, in which case we can only confidently recommend the package if you're looking to do a play though of the improved Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.

Like a Dragon Gaiden teeters on the edge of feeling tired and a bit predictable, but in the end, this is another memorable chapter in Kiryu's seemingly endless tale. It adds welcome weight to the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon while also telling a great individual story, which is stuffed with typically engaging characters. Refined combat carries this 'smaller' title even further, and although its optional excursions can feel a little too grindy for their own good, Gaiden stands as a rock solid instalment, and a potent reminder of why Kiryu's such a beloved protagonist.

The systems of gradual difficulty coupled with great music solidify this title as one of excellence. We haven’t been able to put down SuperBeat: Xonic since it released on the Vita in 2015, and as a result of this it’s a commendable addition to the PS4 library apart from some input lag (which can easily be fixed by going into the settings and calibrating it). While lacking the portable aspects of the original, the ability to plug in some expensive headphones or utilise a home theater system is a mandatory experience if you’ve only played the Vita version, as the astonishingly high quality of the music and visuals deserve to be played in the biggest way possible.

As the industry gears up for another bumper holiday season, The Bunker offers something a little different. It doesn't attempt to give you a bulk of gameplay or mechanics, but it makes up for this and more in its plot and characters. Don't let this experience pass you by if you're looking for an interesting and superb story, because we think this is the FMV genre at its very best.

Celeste is a wonderful precision platformer that does far more than simply challenge your dexterity. While there's plenty of intense screen-hopping to enjoy, it's offset by a well-told, personal story that softens the hard edged gameplay with some great slower moments. What's more, you can enjoy the story even if you're struggling with the platforming using the Assist Mode to bend the game's difficulty to your liking. The action is super smooth (though we did have to battle with the dash on occasion), there are lots of secrets to uncover, and it looks and sounds great. Even with some rare bugs, fans of both a steep challenge and a heartfelt narrative will find a lot to like about Celeste.

Somehow, EA has managed to refine and hone the modern FIFA formula to an even greater degree with FIFA 18. Last year we questioned what more the developer could possibly do to keep the series from stagnating, and it turns out that making a slew of welcome smaller adjustments across the board can really impact the big picture. Some will roll their eyes, but FIFA 18 is yet another fantastic footie sim -- one that takes the ball from the already great FIFA 17 and runs with it.

Put simply, Sparklite is best enjoyed as a single player experience, and to that end, it excels.

Time Recoil is a solid twin-stick shooter and is definitely the best of 10tons' previous titles in the genre. Its simplicity in both gameplay and controls mean it’s easy to pick up and play at your own leisure, making it a perfect fit for the PS Vita. If you’re a fan of Hotline Miami, Neon Chrome, Jydge, or any other twin-stick shooter for that matter, then Time Recoil is well worth your time.

Crypt of the NecroDancer offers a groovy twist on traditional rouguelikes, and its sick beats make for some very satisfying dungeon crawling.

There isn't much competition, but this is still the best strategy game on the PS4.

As a schlocky horror it's a success, but its fiction actually goes beyond simple slasher – even if it remains intentionally silly throughout. The sometimes sloppy controls will irritate, while the performance capture could have been better, but neither of these issues are nightmarish enough to pull you out of the popcorn flick plot, which is buoyed by the impressive,

We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie is the best version of what is generally considered the best Katamari title. That being said, if you own the original and are looking to buy it just for the Royal Reverie content, its extremely short runtime makes it hard to recommend for that alone. However, for anyone who hasn’t played this weird and wonderful game (or series) it’s a definite recommendation – and a game with an extremely fitting name.

Romancing SaGa 2 boasts an expansive 3D world to explore, gorgeous character models and equipment, and compelling enemy designs. You can even choose between the original and a remastered orchestral score full of earworms from the glory days of the '90s. A remake of a classic JRPG many Western fans have missed, even three decades later, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven's inventive mechanics make it a worthwhile experience.

At this point, the property's trademark formula is seriously starting to wear thin, but when it comes down to it, there's nothing quite like Yakuza 0. It combines unapologetically mature themes and violence with brilliantly dumb minigames and hysterical side quests, resulting in a thoroughly memorable experience. Bolstered by a gripping story that's packed with great characters, fans of Japanese games or even Japanese culture owe it to themselves to give this a prequel a shot. Yakuza 0 is fantastic place to start a love affair with Kamurocho's finest, and what's more, it's one of the best entries in the series to date.