Superhypercube is my favourite game of the PlayStation VR launch. It is the game I continue to come back to, the game that leaves me weary from ducking and weaving around neon shapes for hours at a time.

At the end of my time with Bayonetta 3, I find myself surprised at how much fun I had, and excited to go back and experience the first two titles of the series as well.

Persona 5 is a beautiful balancing act; one that feels eternally stressful unless you give in and enjoy it rather than aiming for the perfect run.

An amazing survival horror experience and my favourite indie game so far this year; you’ll sure as hell see this one on my list of top 5 games of 2016.

At the end of the day, Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a game that wants you to spend a LOT of time playing it – but it respects that time also. Much like the mainline Monster Hunter series, Stories wants you to spend time thinking about and preparing your loadout before each big fight, fighting and crafting and hatching your way to the right configuration. Battles themselves also take strategy and forethought, making sure you memorise a monster’s patterns and weaknesses to come out victorious. But, once you’ve proved you can do that? It’s all about making life easy for you, rewarding that time you invested. With so many different systems at play, it’s almost a relief to be able to Quick Finish a battle, or easily search for a gene I want my favourite beast to have; I’m keento see what’s in store next, and Stories 3 is excited to show it to me.

Visual Concepts continues to set the benchmark for sports titles with NBA 2K17.

Job Simulator has been one of the best and most lasting experiences with the PSVR.

Super Mario Run is the perfect implementation of Nintendo’s biggest star in mobile form. While it’s hard to deny the success of Pokémon Go, Niantic’s mobile offering doesn’t truly capture the heart and soul of the franchise it belongs to. Super Mario Run excels in that department, offering a title that’ll have you constantly coming back for more.

And love Baby Steps I did. There are few ways this game could better achieve its aims; in what it is trying to be Baby Steps approaches perfection. Whether what it is trying to be is for you, well that depends on if you feel that a rapturous level of self satisfaction is worth braving a storm of intense frustration and inconsolable rage. For those with the resolve (or stubbornness, or self loathing, or masochism), you won’t find a better test of all of them than Baby Steps. If you have the resilience of a damp tissue and capacity for frustration of a tired toddler, keep on walking by.

I’ve been exposed to Dreams for more than two years, and I still can’t create for shit. Luckily, I don’t have to – I’m more than happy to self-identify as an avid Dream Surfer with zero creativity (unless someone reads a writer to really bring their work to life?). Bring on your creations, folks.

With Monster Hunter Wilds, the developers are really trying. Trying to keep the formula fresh and interesting, trying to embrace the benefits that newer and more powerful technology brings and trying to entice new players into the oft cult-like fold of Monster Hunter die-hards. I’m pleased to report that Capcom have succeeded in all these goals to some degree, though the degree of that success varies. There’s never been a better time to dip into the Monster Hunter franchise than with Wilds. Hope to see you out there, hunter.

Kratos' reboot signs-off after just two games, expertly unifying story with gameplay and proving a safe sequel can be brilliant.

It adds new elements to the franchise’s recipe that I enjoy, and some of the story beats look to be leading future instalments in a really interesting direction.

With a stellar soundtrack a tight story and a fresh take on the farm management sim, this is an enjoyable — if short and sometimes shallow — ride. I rolled credits in just shy of twelve hours on normal difficulty, and that was with a fair chunk of time in the middle devoted to my devotees. While your mileage will undoubtedly vary, Cult of the Lamb is an easy recommendation – now excuse me while I get back to vibing to River Boy’s banging soundtrack.

Snipperclips requires thought, co-ordination and timing in a combination that means friendships will be tested.

Viking Age is certainly worth a try if you can access it for free through Valhalla. At at a $15 USD price point, though, I’d be hard-pressed to recommend the standalone version to anyone but those interested in Viking history. If you are in that camp and play games, I’d wager you likely own Valhalla already… so win win, eh?

Overall, it’s impressive that the model works – a branching story that acts as ‘either/or, then both’ could feel like a cash-in quite easily. The fact that each version of Fates manages to offer something unique is an impressive feat. I hope it doesn’t become an ongoing trend in the series, but as an experiment with the formula it feels just right.

The themes of The Evil Within 2 are redemption and forgiveness, though there’s nothing this iteration of the franchise needed to do to redeem itself and certainly has nothing to be forgiven for. It’s a solid, emotional romp filled with challenge and scares alike. It’s certainly recommended.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is solid and enjoyable title, with small tweaks that mean it easily surpasses the Wii U's original release.

After a few decades with an ageing Indy, the Great Circle is a delightful return to Dr Jones in his prime. Strictly for the fans, in all the right ways.

OlliOlli World has something for everyone, be it hardcore skaters, platformer enthusiasts or those simply looking for a chilled out time.

Forza Horizon 4 is a delight to play, packed with incredible visuals, a colourful narrative, myriad customisation options, a star-studded soundtrack and a tremendous sense of style. It will easily keep any gamer engaged.

You absolutely need to play Spider-Man 2. Insomniac is the pinnacle Sony studio, showing off not only what it can do, but what the PS5 itself can do. I hope you like Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart‘s portals, ’cause they’re about to take your mind for a spin.

If you enjoy board games, card games or dice games and own a Nintendo Switch, this one’s really a no-brainer. Priced at $60 AUD, you’ll certainly get more than your money’s worth from this collection.

By carefully honouring its past and deliberately weaving together the best of survival and action horror, Resident Evil Requiem finally reconciles the series’ genre identity. This is the most captivated I’ve felt playing a new Resident Evil story since booting up Resident Evil 4 on GameCube all those years ago. It understands why it got action right all those years ago and finally how that best integrates with Resident Evil’s more traditional horror roots – or at least the remakes and reimaginings of them. Leon remains an important ingredient as the poster boy for the franchise, but the real key is partnering him with someone without his courage who’s still determined to survive. Resident Evil is no longer choosing between survival or action. With Requiem, it’s finally mastered survival-action horror.

It takes the Far Cry blueprint and expands the highlights while changing the sliders on aspects that became overused to craft not only the best Far Cry game, but one of the best open worlds to explore this generation, whether alone or with a little help from a friend (or AI dog).

With a visual handheld-to-console upgrade that puts Pokemon Let’s Go! to shame, Fire Emblem: Three Houses shows how to do a console glow-up right.

No matter which of People of Note‘s three pillars interests you the most, they’re all extremely well-crafted. You can see Final Fantasy‘s heavy influence in the way People of Note‘s RPG core looks and operates. Cadence, Fret, and the rest of her band are not only interesting in their backgrounds, but unique in the ways that they sound and play. And if the idea of puzzles on top of all this dissuade you, they shouldn’t — each of these pillars can be dialled up or down to present a challenge that you can set for yourself. Priced at $24.99 USD, this is an easy commendation for those who love old school RPGs, music, or puzzles. Give it a go for yourself.