Pyre marks Supergiant Games’ third consecutive masterpiece. A bizarre blend of genres creates an excitingly original title aided by incredible world building and one of the most consistently interesting casts of characters we’ve ever seen assembled. This is all further enhanced by some outstanding artwork. Framerate issues and the odd difficulty spike detract from the overall experience, but can't prevent this outing from achieving excellence.

The Journey is FIFA 17's headline act, and it's a surprising success. The story of Alex Hunter is this year's centrepiece, and adds yet more value to the already robust and rock solid footie offering that we've come to expect of the series. What's more, the jump to the Frostbite engine has worked wonders as far as presentations is concerned. As accessible as it is comprehensive.

When Frozenbyte started its journey to create Trine 2, it's clear the studio decided to create the world it had always imagined. From the lush, beautiful visuals of the many exotic locales to the intricate puzzle designs, just like the waters that flow into this kingdom, the developer's passion can be seen, felt and heard; it's nothing short of magical. Stepping into the world of Trine 2 is much like stepping into one of the great Walt Disney's fairy tales, and shouldn't be missed.

DiRT 4 is an impressive package that takes the strong foundation of DiRT Rally and sprinkles on a few friendly updates, such as DiRT Academy and the return of Landrush. The handling, whichever way you lean, is robust and extremely gratifying with cars that are a lot of fun to drive. The career mode gives you plenty to do, and Your Stage means you’ll never be short of new rally challenges to take on. Some very slight graphical gripes aside, this is another success story for a developer that seems to be firing on all cylinders.

There's almost too much to talk about with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, but rest assured that this is a return to form for the series. It might be tough, even a little mean at times, but this is the proper sequel fans have been asking for. With so much to see and do, this is a stylish, confident 3D platformer that brings Crash back at his best.

428: Shibuya Scramble is a fun addition to the PS4’s growing visual novel stable. Solve a kidnapping, thwart a viral conspiracy, and assist a hapless salesperson in taking off her giant cat costume: Spike Chunsoft’s zany story has charm to spare and is both funny and thrilling while it lasts.

Between being a relatively traditional Japanese RPG, a kingdom management sim, and an advocate of real-time strategy, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom could have easily stretched itself too thin, but developer Level-5 somehow manages to pull everything together and make it all seem worthwhile. This is a robust but accessible adventure that's stuffed with charm and character. A really fun combat system and gorgeous visuals top things off, making the sequel a joy to play. In a word, Ni no Kuni II is delightful.

Statik is an excellent PlayStation VR puzzle game: it's cleverly designed puzzles with subtle environmental elements keep your mind ticking from start to finish. Accompanied by impressively detailed visuals, it puts most virtual reality titles to shame, and is a must buy – even if it's a bit on the short side.

Eight years after its initial release, and Valkyria Chronicles remains a thoroughly enjoyable strategy game. Its mix of real-time movement and tactical, turn-based decision making still feels unique, and proceedings are carried by a story that blends the harsh realities of war with more intimate, personal narratives. Parts of the remastered package do feel a little worn by today's standards, but those who missed out on joining Welkin Gunther and the gang the first time around should certainly consider enlisting for this return to the battlefield.

With challenging racing and a diverse car management system, F1 2018 is filled with endless opportunity. Although undeniably similar to last season’s effort, small changes have improved the overall experience enough to merit a revisit. And, ultimately, F1 2018 takes the chequered flag as the best F1 instalment to date.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla really comes together on PS5. Near instant load times combined with silky smooth performance make it a joyous open world excursion, complete with an engrossing main story. What's more, the countless bugs that plagued the PS4 version of the game have, for the most part, been squashed. This is Ubisoft's best ever attempt at an open world RPG in the vein of something like The Witcher 3, and while it is still a little rough around the edges, Valhalla leaves its mark as a top tier entry in the Assassin's Creed series.

There is nothing quite like Kingdom Hearts. A wish fulfillment universe populated by a roster of endearing characters both new and established. This collection pulls together smooth running and visually impressive transfers of both the main games, as well as the fantastic Birth by Sleep and three other titles that will appeal to fans and completionists. There is more than enough here to tide you over until the fabled release of Kingdom Hearts III.

On its own, Hitman 3 is a moody conclusion to a generation-defining trilogy, but when taken as a complete compilation, it’s the ultimate stealth sandbox. IO Interactive has honed its gameplay formula to perfection, and it’s on top form here, designing missions like Dartmoor where you can lose yourself for hours solving a murder mystery that’s largely separate to the events of the core game. The process of puzzling out each level, deconstructing it, and then executing the perfect Silent Assassin run is some of the most fun you can have on PS5 right now – don’t miss this victory lap from one of gaming’s best franchises.

OlliOlli World is a huge leap forwards for Roll7's skating series. Lovely new presentation, a fun location filled with personality, and that all-important, ever-addictive gameplay align to make for a super fun take on the sport. While it's been made more approachable to new players, it still offers quite a stern challenge, and not all the dialogue and characters nail it. However, any nit picks easily melt away when it all clicks. Heaven really might be a halfpipe, after all.

It sounds ridiculous, but as we got sucked into Immortality's tangled web, there were times we forgot the movies we were watching weren't real. It's an astonishing accomplishment, really, and one we can't recommend highly enough.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor isn’t perfect. The somewhat repetitive nature of the side content and lame final acts prevent it from achieving our top score, but do not mistake us when we say this, because it’s one of the best games that we’ve played this year.

Despite some very minor drawbacks and a potentially short-lived novelty factor, Thank Goodness You're Here! delivers exactly what it sets out to — a brilliantly twisted, unabashedly English comedy curio. If you've an appetite for this brand of off-the-wall nonsense, we can't think of a game that does it better.

Octopath Traveler 0 is a perfectly solid instalment in the Square Enix franchise, though its overwhelming familiarity will make large parts of it feel like a retread. Its town-building mechanic and expanded party system are smart expansions, and the move towards a single, centralised story is a benefit. However, Octopath Traveler 0 will still feel largely the same in an experience below that of its predecessors.

There was an opportunity for a truly great technical fighter in combining Street Fighter and Tekken, but it's denied in favour of a strategy-light, juggle-heavy scrapper that - like Capcom's first cross-company crossover all those years ago - never quite satisfies.

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

Trails beyond the Horizon is one of the most impactful games in Falcom's series to date, dealing in world-altering revelations and truly dramatic story developments. For Trails fans who have come this far, Horizon has the potential to blow you away — but you need to be ready for hours of character recaps and exposition before things really start to ramp up.

With a bunch of smart additions, F1 2021 is a cracking simulator for both die-hard fans and newcomers. The Braking Point story mode doesn't have a particularly compelling narrative, but it's a brilliant gateway into the motorsport and a primer for the wider game. Two Player Career, the Expert driving style, Real Season Start, and more make this the most customisable and accessible iteration yet, allowing you to play how you like across the game's excellent career options. Of course, the driving itself seals the deal, and it's a winner on that front. This is a no-brainer for F1 fans, but it's also a fantastic entry for newbie drivers to start with.

The game nails absolutely everything it sets out to accomplish, with the exception of maybe the controls. While the cursor system functions adequately on a controller, the title is definitely better suited to a mouse and keyboard. Additionally, placing items behind other objects or trying to tuck them into corners will very often be uncooperative. But these are minor obstacles on the way to enjoying such a uniquely wonderful game.

The handheld is perfect for the game's creative aspirations: the built-in levels are short and perfect for a portable, and it's easy to hop into the creator, mess around with something and save quickly whenever inspiration takes you. Mashing up audio, visuals and interactivity into a wonderful experience, Sound Shapes should definitely be on your playlist.

Do not underestimate Salt and Sanctuary: it'll chew you up and spit you back out, drawing from From Software's modern action RPG blueprints and translating the hard-as-nails gameplay to two dimensions. It demands your attention, never holds your hand, and rewards your patience and skill. Some players will find the lack of information too obtuse and difficulty too harsh, and a few cheap enemies and well-hidden traps will certainly frustrate. For those willing to go the distance, however, this is an intricate and fulfilling game just waiting to be conquered. As far as Souls wannabes go, this is one that's certainly worth its salt.

Dark Souls Remastered is an excellent remaster of a standout entry in the Souls franchise. Those who played the original will feel right at home, and will really appreciate the visual and technical improvements – particularly to Blight Town, which now runs at a butter smooth 60 frames-per-second. However, those that weren't there at the beginning may not appreciate the inferior visuals and general jankiness that later entries have all but ironed out.

Live A Live is an incredibly interesting and unique JRPG experience. With lovely HD-2D graphics and numerous main characters, it’s hard not to compare it to the likes of Octopath Traveler, but it really is a completely different kettle of fish. Live A Live is a varied thrill ride that still impresses all these years later, and while the combat does struggle to live up to the rest of the adventure, the game does a fantastic job of tying all of its intriguing, individual stories together. It's a history-hopping journey we'll be thinking about for quite some time.

Blasphemous 2 takes the foundations of its well-received predecessor and builds upon it in all the right ways. Tweaking combat to make it faster, smoother, and more accurate, removing insta-death scenarios to make platforming more manageable, and packing the game full to the brim with secrets and collectibles. The great attention to detail in the presentation and high level of polish make Blasphemous 2 a delightfully memorable experience that players will look back on fondly for years to come.