I started off really not liking it, I grew to completely love it, and I walk away from it with so much love but a wobble of doubt. It’s by far the most elaborately graphical piece of interactive fiction, but in being so it suggests it’s going to be other things too, and it’s hard (certainly at first) to let go of all that, just let it be what it is. Get there, forget about what else it might be, and for me at least, it got me good.

Forza Horizon 4 is quickly turning into one of my favorite racing games. For me, it’s up there with iRacing, but for totally different reasons.

Owing to its unconventional release date, Omori hasn’t really been on the mainstream radar, but I came away impressed. It takes a story that might have come off as trite or even insensitive in the wrong hands and imbues it with a memorable darkness, aided by a tight combat system and some outstanding artwork. If you’re in a bad place - and lord knows many of us are - Omori might not be the game for you right now, as it goes in some intense places. But neither should you let this dark tale of a childhood lost slip away. Bleak as it might be, it may be one of the year’s most memorable RPGs.

It's great to see this animation house have such a clear and strong command over their subject matter, and I hope Let's! Revolution! is but the first in a long new dynastic line for them. It may not be a game that can stretch to perhaps hundreds of hours of play time like some of today's roguelike heavyweights, but I'm having a grand old time with it so far, and right now that's enough. I cannot stop playing it, nor do I want to. So Let's! Give It The Attention It Deserves! [RPS Bestest Bests]

Subnautica is at the top of my mental list of the greatest survival games. [RPS Recommended]

Since its episodic beginnings, you know what you’re getting into. With Ian Hitman, you know you’re getting some world-class level design, some tense moments of dark comedy improv, and a type of clockwork murder toy that nobody else makes. As a final act, Hitman 3 is as capable and pleasing as its trilogy-siblings. As a trilogy, it is one of the most fun-loving games of the previous decade. It is like Ian himself – reliable, dry-humoured, uniformed. The best murderer money can buy.

It can a bit confounding at first, not to mention the ugliness of those grey boxes. But it doesn’t take long to realise that this is something special. A management game that feels like you’re in charge of people – beautiful, flawed people – instead of a handful of impersonal bots. And it’s those little people who will keep you going. [RPS Bestest Bests]

There's certainly a lot to like about Sea Of Stars, and it does indeed capture those JRPG golden years to an absolute tee. But if you're less beholden to the glory of the genre's past, then you may wish its star burned just a little bit brighter.

Heaven is only a fleeting fiction, next to the protean immensity of the deck.

It’s not free of issues. Necro-surgeon Dessa Banks has an ability that’s so universally useful I ended up anchoring my plays with it for a good stretch, and it wasn’t even the one where she can resurrect people by shooting them. The ending missions prioritise story setpieces over the final exam gauntlet I was hoping for, and I found myself drifting toward autopilot even a few missions before those. There’s probably one too many fat smears of frosting in the conspiratorial layercake plot to comfortably keep track of your first time through. But the fact I’m even excited about a second playthrough of a 15 hour game I played for work should hopefully convey something. This very moment, I keep diving back in to check details and grab screens, and end up replaying entire missions. There’s more! Survival maps. Optional puzzles. The same level editor the developer has, with the option to share your maps with others online. Hard mode. Is this all window dressing? Maybe. But man, what an absolute treat of a window. Do say "hi" on your way down.

Runeterra might not be packed with interesting decisions, but it is loaded with charm. It’s nice. It’s soothing. That’s enough.

Baba Is You is immediately completely superb, a puzzle game where you literally rewrite the rules as you play.

Machine Games have reproduced the experience of the Lucasfilm movies in a 99% accurate form. And they have done so in a manner only a megafunded Bethesda studio with a lot of Nazi-killing experience could. Yes, the video gamey seams stand out as you scarf down croissants for health and hear another bigot coughing behind a wall. But just as I'm not interested in Baker's performance reaching some unobtainable ledge of authenticity, I also don't want my adventure to abandon the language of games where it doesn't make sense to do so. I'm happy for this to be exactly the kind of expensive, cinematic, blockbuster explorathon it seemed predestined to be. Sneeze away, little Nazi. I know where you are.

In short, its more varied puzzle pieces, greater environmental challenge and clearer visual presentation all add up to make Mini Motorways a worthy evolution of Dinosaur Polo Club's minimalist transport formula. Despite appearing first on the Apple Arcade, Mini Motorways feels right at home on PC, and its intuitive mouse controls make for a much better architect's pen than a motion controlled remote. Add in daily and weekly challenges to its bumper crop of mainline maps (with more to come every few months after launch, as well as new game modes and the same breadth of updates we saw in Mini Metro) and Mini Motorways is a fine second outing for this vehicular puzzle series. Dedicated Mini Metro-ites may find Motorways a tad too familiar for it to enter their own god tier of video games, but if you're hungry for more of what Dinosaur Polo Club do best, then this is one diversion you won't want to miss.

You can like it for the formidable performances and the unbelievable replications of different periods of cinema, for the sets, the artistry, the surprises, the big thinking and the weirdness hiding just the other side of the curtain, for the attention to detail and the vaulting ambition, for the way it's thoughtful in how it stages certain things. But, for me, Immortality wasn't as thoughtful about other things. Perhaps I've just had enough of Sam Barlow's ideas about women on camera for a little bit. I'd quite like him to have ideas about something else next time.

OlliOlli World has gone for that most coveted of design goals - "easy to learn, hard to master". I think it succeeds. For those who join me in obsessiveness, it may become responsible for hundreds of game pads laid low by kickflip-induced stick drift. Such is the intensity and frequency with which you will twiddle them sticks. I know. I stand before you a man touched by a divinity only those raised by gaming magazines of the 90s can fathom. I can say, with integrity, without embellishment, that this game is so fierce it will give you literal skin sores. It is blisteringly good. [RPS Bestest Bests]

There's a lot more I liked in the 30+ hours it took to hit the credits, but I only have one life, not millions, so I can't type all day. Just know that those who prefer the quiet quicksaveyness of the Dishonoreds will grumble at the inability to use all their powers, the shift to shootybang, the disappearance of non-lethality and corpse hiding - all the signposts of a true immersive sim. [RPS Bestest Bests]

So let's not overcomplicate it. Minishoot' Adventures is an outwardly straightforward game, but its straightforwardness is deceptive. As I was playing, a stupid question formed: given its conceptual obviousness and simple pleasures, why aren't there more games as good as this? It's a stupid question because it has an obvious answer: because it's incredibly difficult to make a good game and because what seems straightforward in retrospect almost never is in creation. Maybe Minishoot' Adventures isn't a "great" game, but it sure is a great time, and that's plenty.

This is an epic. A huge, ridiculously detailed adventure, that successfully borrows one of the most complex and complicating features of BioWare RPGs without screwing it up! [Bestest Bests]

It's not that Return To Monkey Island gets too serious, as much as it is gently self-aware in ways that it wasn't before. It's clear from the start that the ending, which I won't spoil, is going to be a bit metatextual in a way that tiny babies will get cross about - but I thought it was perfect. It's about growing and changing, and what the important bits of the stories we love actually are. I do think it's one of the best point and click games to give someone in the year of 2022 to prove that point and click games are good. But I'm also self-aware enough myself to know I wouldn't have loved Return To Monkey Island quite as much if I didn't have a history with the series. But I do. So I did. Yo ho ho, and a bottle of fun. [RPS Bestest Bests]

And so, I have sometimes struggled to enjoy it in the same way as I enjoy written fiction with the same style of storytelling. The longer I spent in James' personal hellscape, the more I could accept it as the video game equivalent of Alisdair Gray's Lanark, but I also don't have the patience to analyse every detail within its 16 to 20-hour story, as some will. And ultimately, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by how much its sacred history has chained this remake down.

Iceborne is an essential expansion for a game that is paradoxically both enormous and niche. [RPS Bestest Bests]

It has a few decent puzzles, all of them boringly repeated. It looks lovely, when it remembers to, but mostly doesn’t. It moves and controls wonderfully, but that’s not so great a feature when what you’re moving and controlling is so bland. I found no pathos, no meaningful peril, no attachment to the ever-dying yet always-living character, and ultimately, no purpose.

Persona 4 is a twisting tale of dreams gone rogue in a town sapped of purpose. It brings personal demons to life in gaudy but plausible ways, and uses this to rejuvenate the dog-eared framework of a town-and-dungeon fantasy RPG. Unceremonious as it is, the PC port leaves all of that peculiar magic intact. It’s just a shame that the insight and empathy on show here doesn’t extend to everybody.

I am in real danger of sounding ungrateful, because jeopardy was something I wanted more of in Gris. It's present in Neva, but the nuts and bolts need tightening before it hits an Ori And The Blind Forest, game of the year, orchestral tour sort of level of greatness. That aside - which in fairness is quite a big "that" in an action platformer - I think Neva is a step above Gris. The experience as a whole is engaging and bittersweet enough that I'll even forgive the 'it was all a dream' switcheroo.

If you have never before visited a Sunless place, take to the Skies immediately. [RPS Bestest Bests]

There’s a confidence to this game. It doesn’t need a comfortingly familiar grand campaign or a traditional structure because it has an identity separate from that of Total War; an identity where a scripted narrative can work, or where starkly different factions are more important than balance. It’s an exceedingly strong beginning to this chapter of the Warhammer trilogy and is a strong contender for the best game in the series. [RPS Recommended]

The existence of Spider-Man: Miles Morales is kind of shame in the context of this review. Marvel's Spider-Man is a great game, and this version comes packaged with all the extras. Were it not for the existence of Miles Morales, I'd have no qualms recommending you get this Spider-Man right now. But I am cursed with the knowledge that Miles Morales exists, is a bit tighter, cleaner, and more dynamic, and is coming to PC very soon. I don't think you'd regret getting Marvel's Spider-Man - it is, I must emphasise again, a quality game - but, look. If you can only get one.

WoL is most easily described as a comedy game, and though it is indeed a prime-cut ribtickler, that can be a backhanded compliment – as if jokes are all it has. WoL does something far more accomplished, far more rare, which is to be joyful. [RPS Recommended]

Unless you plan on speedrunning the game, Iconoclasts has relatively limited replay value. Still, in the end Iconoclasts wasn’t quite what I expected, but I greatly enjoyed my time with it, and would recommend it to any platformer fan.

The reality is that I've had a great time over the past week, learning routes and outpacing strangers. I also know that I've barely scratched the surface of the kinds of times more adept players will achieve, and hardly touched the mid-air trick system at all. I will continue to hit the slopes for the fun of attaining that snowy flow state, even if only for brief moments before the tree of frustration clobbers me in the face again.

After the initial thrill of learning to control your machine and kitting it out with bolder weapons, and the bombast of the power fantasy, ultimately one pitiful casualty or sacrifice follows another. Perhaps the repetitive AC battles and the waste pile of deadly hardware you accumulate are designed to bring home a gut-wrenching nihilism. If not, Armored Core VI is a frequently brilliant action game that makes the most of its mechs, but also curiously at odds with itself and a little overstuffed.

Turbo Overkill is action and style cranked up several notches higher than it has any right to be, with levels that really let your chainsaw leg sing with a brrr. But with its relentless pacing comes a frustration in how long it takes for Johnny to truly get going, while its constant barrage of baddies coalesce into a samey red noise that makes you desperate for a bit of creative downtime. Still, if you'd like to coat vents and ceilings with copious entrails over the course of, say, 15 hours, then Turbo Overkill could absolutely be for you. Just play it in bursts, otherwise you might burn out quickly.

You could start playing this today, an hour at a time before bed, and you’d still be playing when the snow melted in Spring. Some portions of that adventure are better than others. Some are downright ugly. With those caveats, in its latest (and possibly definitive) incarnation, Dragon Quest III is a colourful, adventurous romp of wild goose chases, indistinct but compelling rumours, and tactical positioning: a miniature fantasy made grand.

More so than other games, my experience with Mystery Dungeon does feel like a case of the reviewer’s curse; the dreaded roguelike embargo. Played one run at a time as a cosy evening ritual, and the luster is going to stay on a lot longer. Still, that sense of fickleness - of having little agency how your runs turn out in the face of random drops - does feel like it’s baked in. Perhaps that’s the sticking point for me, having to deal with untameable chaos lurking underneath such inviting presentation. Perhaps I should let go and allow the winds of fate to carry me. It’s just not easy when they keep knocking me right back to the bottom of a mountain, and making me trust them again if I want to get back up.

Rise is a strong and confident step forward for the new series, but I’m still unconvinced it’s heading in a direction that I particularly like. This new Lara Croft is in danger of becoming a character constantly in the act of becoming something with no clear idea of how to portray that thing once she arrives.

Part of the reason it's so easy to play hours of Diablo IV in one go, staring unblinkingly at the centre third of your screen until you feel your eyeballs turn into raisins, is that it's very well made. The different synergies of all the abilities and spells is extremely impressive, and the game kicks up a bit when you get your ultimate spells and special abilities. I got the ability to summon, rather than a team of skeletons, one huge Big Daddy-esque monster in their place - and even that came in three variants for extra build customisation. There are main missions, side missions, timed world events, an optional currency to buy mystery weapons, and hours-long dungeons to get Aspects for your character - themselves another optional addition to apply to your gear. It's a game that puts no friction between itself, and you mainlining it for an entire day. Whether you'll feel good afterwards is another question.

None of this diminishes the fact that I’ve had a wonderful time playing Total War: Warhammer and am far from finished with it. But the more I play, the more convinced I become that this is a game that makes a devil’s bargain. It feels exactly the way a Warhammer-themed Total War game should feel, and creates tons of dramatic battles and storylines over the course of each campaign. But to reliably generate all that excitement and tension, it secretly disconnects many of the strategic systems that hold good Total War games together. So do you want a good Warhammer game, or a good Total War game? Because I’m less and less convinced that you’ll find both inside Total Warhammer.

I was in it for the plinkety-plink rush of clattering into a huge pile of gems. I was in it for the five item chest boogie, the mindless yet mindful monster shepherding, the giant meteors and the rainbow scythes. Those are all still here, and you can push into further and deadlier territory than ever before, especially if you get far enough to unlock the endless mode, or the modifier that lets you keep upgrading weapons past their usual point. Vampire Survivors is a bigger, better playground now - albeit one with a bodyguard blocking the final set of swings.

So, I guess Sunbreak is maybe a little less grand than I expected? The new monsters are neat, as are the excellent follower quests, but as a whole Sunbreak feels a whole lot like Rise with a bunch of quality of life features thrown in. The true appeal, really, lies in that advanced difficulty. If you’re desperate for a challenge, to face off against monsters whose ferocity finally matches their stature, to use their bones for fancy new armour sets that celebrate those achievements, then Sunbreak is for you...Still, I liked Sunbreak a hell of a lot.

For the most part, though, Monster Hunter Rise is another stonking addition to the series, and in my books a more than worthy successor to Monster Hunter: World. There's a generous and playful sense of freedom here that keeps combat and exploration feeling fresh, and the momentum of its hunting-led missions means you're rarely spinning your wheels as you seek out that last elusive armour part. It's kept me playing much longer than I ever did with World, and I can't wait to see how it develops with its imminent Sunbreak expansion later this summer. [RPS Bestest Bests]

Yakuza’s debut on PC is long overdue, but you couldn’t have asked for a stronger start.

As well as being a superb detective game, Her Story might be the best FMV game ever made.

Despite my complaints, this is more than a triumphant return – it’s an improvement on the original in almost every way, and as close to a masterpiece as anything I’ve played this year. If it had a plot as powerful as its setting, any doubts I have that it might be remembered as a masterpiece would vanish.

Ultimately, I think my disappointment stems more from the fact that we just can't go to town with with Mass Effect's PC settings here, and make it look as 'legendary' as its remastered subtitle implies. After all, part of the reason why a lot of us play on PC in the first place rather than on console is so we can really push the boat out on games like this, precisely because of our more powerful hardware. Alas, Mass Effect Legendary Edition appears to be very much a 'one size fits all' kind of remaster. Bioware have put a lot of work into making all three games look as new and shiny as they do, but at the same time I can't help but feel like the PC version in particular could have been shown a little bit more love. [PC Impressions]

I'm not yet deep enough to know whether Arc Raiders will feel this compelling at hour 100 or whether, in two months' time, I'll still be dreaming about it. For now, all I know is that its metallic hooks are in me, and I cannot stop playing.

Earlier, I said Wolfenstein 2 is a hair’s breadth away from being one of my favourite singleplayer action games of all time. The hair seems to have become much thicker as I think back, but the truth is that if there were even a handful of first-person shooters this strange and spectacular released in any given year, I’d barely find time to play anything else. In a week that has seen speculation about the future of this type of big budget singleplayer game, for all its flaws, this is a reminder of how powerful and vital they can be. [RPS Recommended]

I'd hesitate to renew that Nioh 2 prescription if you're someone who's already invested many hours into the PS4 version. Apart from the DLC and the swanky performance upgrades, you aren't really getting anything actually new (apart from an RGB Valve helmet, I suppose). Having said that, I think Nioh 2: CE is absolutely worth it if you're fresh to Nioh and like crunchy, combo-laden combat. Even moreso if you love stats and skill-trees on top of that.

In a way, it's fitting that HROT should repeat the mistakes of the games that inspired it, frontloading all the best bits into that first episode inherited from the shareware model, then following it up with level packs that have sparks of brilliance but lack the same coherence. I have zero regrets about playing it, those brown and twisty murder dungeons speak directly to my blackened husk of a soul. But this is a treat baked specifically for shooter enthusiasts, and probably not where you should start your adventure into an imagined FPS past.

The colour palette of Tzeentch’s realm would be worth a paragraph on its own. There are fully customisable Daemon Princes, which you can give beaks and tentacles purely for your own amusement. I’ve not even been able to spare more than a sentence for my beloved, dreadful ogres. And still, as I said at the outset, this is not even the final form of Total War: Warhammer. It’s just the game’s impossibly hench arse, being winched into place by a rickety crane, before Creative Assembly brings the monster to life and, with a hearty roar, it eats the rest of my year.

More than just dread, Devotion’s use of paraphernalia also helps to convey the emotional weight of Fengyu’s family tragedy.

Keep playing and each turn reveals with increasing certainty that this is a game totally at one with itself, from its audio-visual spectacle to its pinpoint control to its interweaving narrative and now its longevity. Unlike Selene, I keep coming back to Atropos by choice. Long may its immaculate, horrifying loop continue. [RPS Bestest Bests]

Familiarity is the fear killer, and there are only so many caves you can crawl through before the monsters become obstacles to sprint past rather than terrors to flee from. If I’d been able to explore more naturally without the threat of excessive backtracking, maybe I’d have shifted to that mindset a little later on - though I still spent many hours quivering through the dark. Creating a Forest that can go toe to toe with Subanutica’s Ocean when it comes to dread is a huge accomplishment, even if the full package still has some leaks.

Desperados III may dismay profanophobes and Commandos 4 devs short of confidence, but it’s hard to imagine anyone else not warming to it swiftly. I can’t wait to see where Mimimi take the engine next. With WW2 spoken for, I’ve got my blistered quicksave/quickload fingers crossed for Medieval Nottinghamshire. [RPS Bestest Bests]

This is such a treat, and I fear that the (perfect) name will mean too many people look past it. I love that it’s not mocking anything in particular when it apes early 90s arcade games, and yet feels like it’s mocking the entire universe at the same time. I love that it feels cruel, yet I couldn’t make a good argument to justify why, especially when half your time is spent jumping about a magic pony. So trust me, pick this one up.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade doesn't just make a good first impression. It also makes a lasting impression, which is something that's been missing from mainline Final Fantasies in recent years. The bits in between could be more succinct, sure. Chapters could be less drawn out; there could be less cramming yourself through endless tight spaces to disguise its loading screens; heck, you've fixed the goddamn doors Square Enix, why couldn't you have fixed the nice little paper signs on Ma's Soft Drinks shop, too, eh? Despite all that, and the fact it's probably twice as long as it should be, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade nearly always has enough highs to balance out the lows. Its action barrels along with a joyous spring in its step, and even the cinematics leave you gasping for breath at the absurd spectacle of it all. Final Fantasy XV may proclaim itself to be "the Final Fantasy for fans and first-timers," but I'd argue Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is a much more fitting recipient of the title. [RPS Bestest Bests]

Plunkbat’s systems read as simplistic when compared to other modern multiplayer games. There aren’t dozens of character classes with hundreds of interlocking skills. There is no AI director monitoring players to dole out excitement in set portions. Safe zones and bombing zones are randomly placed. But its loose grip upon player’s experiences means you’re more free to decide the kind of excitement you get from it. Back on the menu, I immediately hit the button to join another game. [RPS Recommended]

THUMPER, with its minimum of menus and explanation and guidance is absolutely pure, to the point that those who do not enjoy its light-from-darkness aesthetic will think it too small, to samey, too one-note, too much about the same sound playing forever. Perhaps it really can offer nothing to those people, or perhaps accepting that is it very fucking sincerely intended to be the same state of mind held for an eternity will let it seep into their veins after all. For the rest of us, let it take its place alongside Devil Daggers, reigning in hell.

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but it’s at least as good as Slay The Spire. [RPS Bestest Bests]

I cannot possibly express to you how brilliant Wildermyth is nor how fully I recommend you play it and get started on your own. It is one of the best games I have ever played and it will bring you more delight than you thought possible. [RPS Bestest Bests]

In multiplayer, Titans feel like an actual godsend at times, screaming down from the heavens as they do like avenging angels. They’re improved since the first game, as is everything else, more flexible and yet more focused at the same time.

It’s easier than ever to be drawn into the world of Football Manager 2019, and set about becoming the next Pep Guardiola — or perhaps for the more modest and realistic amongst us, the next Steve Cotterill.

It’s still the smartest, most elegant, most entertaining adventure game ever made. And now, if you want, it looks new and sounds amazing.

If you’ve built a sufficiently nice world for me to run around in, I like just running around in it. There’s a lot of busy work, an eagle, and stabbing people brutally through the throat. Sometimes when you jump off a high thing you land in a load of hay. So, so far, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a very good Assassin’s Creed game. Which is what we were all expecting, wasn’t it? Except this one lets me ignore all that and roleplay as a big buff Greek neighbourhood hero. I’m alright with that.

Cyberpunk 2077 is huge, sprawling, complex, and deeply flawed. It’s at its best as a fairly straightforward singleplayer action game, with likable characters and thrilling capers in a fascinatingly detailed open world that looks better than any game before it. It’s at its worst if you want it to be an RPG, an approach-as-you-please Deus Ex successor, or a polished piece of software. I enjoyed my time with it a lot, and I even want more of it, though I’m going to spend years complaining about its flaws. I’ll enjoy the complaining, too. It reminds me of the Eurojank games of yore, then, but maybe it’s fairer to say that it reminds me of the previous games from developers CD Projekt Red. After eight years of one of the most grating marketing campaigns imaginable, Cyberpunk 2077 is here, its ambitions beyond its means. Cyberpunk 2077: Enhanced Edition when?

I love Rocket League. I love it because it’s a near-perfect example of game design; an invented sport that understands how to create feelings of triumph and tension, sometimes flipping the script in a few seconds of controlled chaos. That’s rare enough for me to recommend the game strongly to anyone who isn’t allergic to online play but there’s more: Rocket League takes place in a world I want to be a part of. It’s a place where sport is carnival, the playing field is level (no paid-for boosts or buffs here, just cosmetic unlocks), and competition doesn’t require blood, sweat or tears.

It’s such a shame. Risk Of Rain 2 is delightfully weird, with an enviably eclectic menagerie of beasties. Runs that go well can branch off in wildly different directions, where items twist character abilities into novel new uses. But the sad truth is that I can’t click with any of the early characters, and the path to unlocking the good ones is long and paved with too-quick deaths. Stick your neck out if you want to – I’m headed indoors.

A finely crafted card game sealed in a meta-narrative wrapper that you sometimes have to tear off when it snags, but when that wrapping falls away, Inscryption reveals itself as a rare shiny. A clever game without taking itself too seriously. Metafiction always runs the risk of being pompous and showy. By contrast, this is an impish game, trollish even, repeatedly reinventing its own rules. A beautifully cursed creation. [RPS Bestest Bests]

It’s a winner. Sixteen tons of detail, sixteen tons of character, sixteen tons of riotous bug blasting, spelunking co-operative goodness. Deep Rock Galactic is a company I’ve got no qualms about selling my soul to for hours more to come. [RPS Bestest Bests]

I do understand the appeal of getting a chonky “choices matter” game like this to put it in Steam tag parlance. If you have that vacancy to fill, go ahead. Let’s face it, there aren’t many other options at the moment. I myself have made many bad calls in my time as a Ranger, and even I wouldn’t mind seeing the repercussions of my major decisions play out. But if I have to fight through listless combat, buggy UI, and an onslaught of juvenile gags to see one of the many endings, I’d rather leave the snowfields of Colorado behind. To hell with the consequences.

It's a genuinely impressive space game that hides its best bits, not in way that asks you to track things down but in a way that asks you to grid search in case you miss anything memorable. The more memorable bits themselves feel like they get cut off too soon, and the fun bits are kneecapped by the limitations inherent in making a game this size. Ambition does not have to mean making something literally larger than anyone else, and you don't have to build an entire universe to make a game last 130 hours. In fact, I'd rather you didn't.

I can point to one thing that will make me keep coming back to Battlerite, and that’s the way that after every death I say to myself: ‘I could have avoided that’. If I’d read my opponent better, if I’d timed that ability correctly, if my aim had been more accurate – then victory could have been mine. I’ll never anguish over it for long though, because a few minutes later I can be in the thick of another match. Battlerite takes the best part out of MOBAs, making the joy of teamfights accessible to anyone who’s only interested in that element of the genre. [RPS Recommended]

It’s by no means the best Final Fantasy game there’s ever been, especially once it forces you to bid farewell to your easy-going road trip and sit on a literal train for the rest of the story, providing tiny, tantalizing glimpses of other open worlds that might have been if only they’d had another ten years to actually finish the damn thing, but I’ll eat my chocobo hat if it isn’t the most interesting, experimental and important one the series has ever seen. [RPS Recommended]

The one thought that kept occurring to me during my first playthrough was this: I can't wait to collect everything and get all the upgrades so I can stop worrying about sniffing out air vents and puzzles, switch my brain off, and just play some goshdarn Doom. It took me about halfway through my next run before I realised something: all this exploration, all this bloody gold collecting, it's not something you're supposed to do once as a fun extra before the real game starts. It's an integral part of the cadence of a game that veers repetitive and thin without it. There's just plain less to do here. Less to combat. Less reason to replay levels. This is a solid enough FPS that I don't regret playing - sometimes, it's downright captivating - but between the mech, the dragon, and all the medieval armour, something vital has been crushed under all that extra weight.

But at the end of your six to eight hours, you'll have had a fun, satisfying and historically informative time. You'll also start to mutter, "The many shall suffer for the sins of the one!" to yourself every time you drop a slice of buttery toast on the floor in real-life. While The Forgotten City is a bit rough around the edges, it's a fantastic proof of concept, and its small team. Watch this space for whatever Modern Storyteller do next.

I want to love Frostpunk 2, and I think that's precisely why so much of this review is negative. It deserves recognition for the courage to push into something new rather than play it safe. It's far more compelling, interesting, and super atmospheric than its peers, but that ambition has cost it a singular intensity and focus that leaves its fresh narrative and design too contradictory to carry it to the same heights.

Some of the additions in Afterbirth break whatever thematic cohesion might have existed more than what has come before. Laser-cyborg Isaac doesn’t quite fit with my reading of the game but then, what the hell, maybe it’s just a game about shit, blood and tears after all. And it’s a fantastic example of the form.

What I will praise highly is how Control indulges its own ludicrous nature every step of the way.

If you're up for a challenge and thrive on chucking everything at the wall to see what sticks, then Solium Infernum has plenty to offer here. Despite feeling like I've been flying by the seat of my pants in a lot of scenarios, I've ultimately had a great time playing this over the last few weeks - even if persistent crashes on victory screens or black screens when loading up event cards has dulled the impact of some pivotal moments. Thankfully, the generous auto-save meant I never ended up losing anything, but it's a shame nonetheless that there are still some quite critical bugs lingering in hell's hallways.

I do think it's great that Capcom have released a weird, sometimes wonderful tower defence/ action RPG hybrid with such strong early-millennium vibes. And I think some will find its micromanagement more compelling than I did, with base repairs and the gradual power climb forming an easy way to spend an evening with an average-to-good video game. And yet, I also think many will find its take on tower defence only half-delivers. It might be full of distinct elements that often work together, be they base-building or hack 'n' slashing, but as a whole, it falls into a repetitive rhythm that struggles to capture the joys and thrills of much simpler tower defence games.

These grumbles aside, Tunic is a resolute and intelligently made adventure in its own right. Modern reimaginings of the "classics" often reproduce mechanics of old games in cleaner ways but without understanding the game's design from a holistic level. Nostalgic platformers give you coyote time, but then fill their world with needless dialogue. Retro shooters throw hordes of enemies at you, but fail to construct smart spaces in which to fight them. If this plucky fox 'em up flatters-by-imitation too much, it is only because it has examined its reference in its entirety. Like an overhanging camera view, Tunic sees Zelda from the top to the bottom. It is a tribute well-paid.

Atmospheric and impossible to rush, Shadow Tactics is a fabulous game – a game I think I prefer to both Commandos 2 and Desperados. I can see myself replaying it regularly.

It’s going to take a heck of a lot for anything to beat this game to be my favourite of 2019. What a splendid treat.

Ultimately, the stars haven't aligned with this RPG, and I don't have the time or patience any more to put up with its tedious nonsense. It's a shame, really, as its turn-based battles can be very enjoyable every now and again, and its cast of cute weirdos are often quite endearing when they're not bleating on too long. Younger folks in their mid-20s may well argue that its characters are enough to carry them through the rest of the boring bits, but a halfway decent story does not a good game make for me. I need more sustenance in my old age, and for its time-loop to be more than just gristly, unsatisfying filler.

There's nothing I love more in life than a piece of art that triggers a desire for discussion, and in the face of my own assumptions, Silent Hill f has done that for me. Its combat, its new setting, or even its subject matter might not do that for you, but the bottom line is, it turns out that even after all these years, Silent Hill can still strike up an exciting conversation.

It often loses itself in the long spool of its main quest, in the runaway passages that could have been shorter, and in the stories of characters who sometimes feel like they're hijacking your tale, turning it into a choose-their-own-adventure. But Citizen Sleeper 2 still manages to deliver some heartfelt moments in a sci-fi world that feels more colourful than the likes of Starfield (again), despite being the work of a much smaller team over far less time. It's finely made sci-fi, even if I still prefer the noodles on Erlin's Eye.

Wonky performance aside, Nioh 3 is excellent. It's not as elegant and practiced as FromSoftware's efforts, and I daresay that the creativity present in recent Chinese soulslikes like Black Myth: Wukong isn't matched here either. But it still warrants a Bestest Best, because what this game does do is deftly borrow from modern titles in a variety of genres, mingling their flavours into one delicate Miso soup. There's a word in Okinawan - chanpurū - which means to mix together. That's what Nioh 3 is - a chanpurū of influences that manages to entertain in a wonderful fashion. Even if you're biased against samurai like I am, it's still worth your while to fire this one up, tackle the Crucible, and cuddle a Chijiko or three. [RPS Bestest Bests]

Robo Recall makes me a frantic cyclone of destruction, the force of my mechanical slaughter matched only by my sheer ineptitude whenever I try to teleport. It’s a party, basically, mixing the accuracy of lightgun shooting with the physicality of Wii gaming.

The best thing about A Space For the Unbound, though, is that it takes a supernatural teen drama gives it real heart. Mojiken were already masters of telling bittersweet stories in miniature, but I'm pleased to report that sense of longing, sincerity and earnestness hasn't been lost in their transition to making a larger game with a larger scope. A Space For The Unbound may be more ambitious than their previous work, but it still feels distinctly Mojiken, and that's something to be celebrated. What a wonderful start to 2023.

If like me you've been away for a while, or have never played FM before because your brain calcifies whenever someone says the word "football", then FM22 is definitely the version to try. As someone who came in relatively unversed in the series' recent history, I was surprised by how quickly I found myself poring over my rival's tackling statistics and trying to find a cheap yet quality replacement for my injured starting full-back. If the game can do that for old Barry Hattrick, then it can do the same for you.

Most of all, the simulated personalities, habits and appearances of the dupes themselves feel like complete wasted effort.

This is far from the most polished remaster I’ve played, and the original was a hit-and-miss affair to begin with. Judged in terms of Platinum’s own end-of-level trophies, this earns a silver award at best. But then that preposterous theme tune kicks in, sweeping your misgivings away for a precious handful of minutes. When you hear that music, you feel like you can do anything – even draw a circle correctly on your very first try.

Problems with lobbies and repetitive modes aside, Dragon Ball FighterZ is everything I want out of a Dragon Ball fighting game. It’s colourful, kinetic and full of character. Struggling through the matchmaking noise has been worth it to actually fight as my main man Goku, and throwing a Kamehameha has never felt better, but there’s still work to be done to give the excellent core of the game the wider structure that it deserves.

So apart from the fact that I AM BUSY, BETTY, I'm pleased with Death's Door. I like the endearing head twitches of crowboy during his idle animations. I like his birdy Naruto waddle. He is a cool wee guy. I enjoy how handy the camera is, allowing you to nudge the view and peek in any given direction (an always-appreciated feature in side-on metroidvanias or top-down slice 'n' shoots). I like how the music in the furnace dungeon is perfectly timed with the tempo of its steam pistons (the music in general is downright excellent, veering from eerie Firelink lament-o-notes to full-on forest dweller bops). I both like and am deeply unsettled by Grandma's Studio Ghibli eyes, which follow you around the room with the automated paranoia of security cameras.

The game's need to be a reasonably performant piece of management software means that it can't quite be a fluid and believable third-person action game. The spacebase is sort of a glorified menu (though there are proper menus as well) and menus need to be responsive, so the elevator whips you between levels with what ought to be bone-rupturing speed. The lesser Jans should be scraping Jan Prime off the ceiling every time he uses it, and the fact that this doesn't happen seems appropriate to a story that can't determine whether you're a human being or one among many grades of mass-produced screwdriver.

And this is what makes The Rise Of The Golden Idol truly special, I think - the way it draws out so much character and flavour from such a straightforward means of interactivity. You can go about sleuthing safe in the knowledge that you have all the tools to solve a scene, but still don’t feel constrained or railroaded. It’s a wonderful example of a stripped back design pitch in one area - “fill in the blanks” - allowing for an incredible amount of variety and creativity in others.

Part of me yearned to finish this playthrough before giving my final verdict, but considering it took Naples a full century just to discover there is a "south" of the globe (omg), I'll just tell you now: it's confusing as heck and I like it. Even though I'm playing at the second-fastest speed with judicious pausing, I would likely need to play for another 40-50 hours to make it through the full span of history. This statement is both horrifying and exciting - a game that disrespects my time? Disrespect me more, my huge messy map monster.

Three Kingdoms is an absolutely massive game, but it has a very clear thematic focus on the Three Kingdoms period – specifically the Romance of the Three Kingdoms – and a very clear mechanical focus on individual heroes. [RPS Bestest Bests]