Given the chance, Pyre opens up a world rich with lore to enjoy, and a variety of characters to throw headlong into magical bonfires. With both the story campaign and a multiplayer match mode available, it’s easy to get deep into the Rites yourself.

There’s no denying Kingdom Battle is an amazing experience, but it’s also a tough one to describe to friends and family. Heavy on Mario characters and locales, it’s not your usual Mario game. It features Ubisoft’s highly annoying Rabbids, but in a format that finally works, subdued and entertaining. It uses humour that kids will appreciate, but parents and adult gamers will get more from. Best yet, it doesn’t hold your hand, demanding a carefully-planned strategy to accomplish your goals. I can’t recommend it enough, but to the right audience – players over the age of 15 will find the title an utter delight.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is an instant classic that can do it all. It's a beautiful action RPG, settlement builder and strategy … that offers a possible hundred hours or more of gameplay.

Neither F1 2017 nor Forza Motorsport 6 offer the level of customisation and detail that this game does, but if I’m honest, it’s those other two games that I’d rather jump back into.

Despite missing the mark on a difficulty that feels consistently challenging yet fun at the same time, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is an utter delight.

Just like The Stick of Truth, The Fractured But Whole is 100% South Park. This is a must for fans of the show, while those who enjoy a challenging RPG will delight in cranking up the difficulty and working through its many systems.

Frontier has done a wonderful job of maintaining the excitement, visual appeal and overall happiness of both a theme park and a theme park builder.

FIFA 17 is the biggest stride forward for football this generation. I can’t say it’s reclaimed the crown from PES, and for the players who have made the switch, you’ll still find the controls a little too erratic. But with vastly improved A.I. and more attacking options to complement the defensive backbone, this is the strongest FIFA this generation where it counts.

There are no framerate drops. No dodgy textures. The integrity of in-game mechanics are polished and hold up to the scrutiny we 2016-based reviewers can place upon them.

If you love Origins, you’ll get a big kick out of “Curse of the Pharaohs”. Simple, really.

Despite those rough patches, Prey is wholly engrossing, begging the player to solve Talos 1’s many mysteries. It works well as a shooter, a stealth game and carries an 70s sci-fi vibe that is nothing short of a delight to experience.

Campaign was sold as an open-world vehicle for Kait and that takes a bit of time to actually be upheld; trust me though: it's worth the wait.

I’m not a car person. Or, if I need to be, the car person in me still prefers Forza Horizon to Motorsport for the stuff around car racing that isn’t just hardcore car racing. I’m certainly no expert, but I think car fans will love this. That said: is it for everyone? No.

The Coalition’s multiplayer offerings make up for an inconsistent campaign in Gears of War 4. Even then, and as much as I hate to admit it, what’s been presented has me eager for more – even though I would have preferred some resolution in this title, thank you very much. Gears fans will love it and newcomers should find enough to get them geared up – pun intended – for more.

For me, the true tell of a successful game is one that excites that passion for racing and vehicles. Racing is more than just laps on a circuit, but vehicle management, lap times and the thrill of the chase and victory. F1 2017 easily achieves this, and continues upon the brilliance that was F1 2016 last year. Fans of the motorsport and racing in general would certainly do well to check out this title, with Codemasters once again proving themselves as one of the leaders of the genre.

Building on the strong foundations of Origins and Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is in many ways a minor iteration of the proven formula. Yet, it’s also one of the biggest departures in the franchise’s 13-year history.

It’s good if you’re Skyrim obsessed or if you’re a Switch owner who’s (somehow) never played the game before.

Like A Dragon is a revitalised game full of fresh ideas and proves that the series won’t be re-treading the same ground with Ichiban in the driver’s seat. If this is the first step into the new age of Yakuza, I can’t wait to see how bonkers the next game will be.

While I’m annoyed that the Lair itself is more frustrating than fun, it’s that very quality that keeps you coming back to beat it.

With familiar characters and concepts, upgraded visuals, excellent level design and some new toys to play with, the changes made between the last instalment and this one are welcome improvements without invoking the “if it aint’ broke” rule. Veteran Deus Ex players will likely jump in head first and love every minute they spend in this world. This is certainly one for the fans.

Despite a feeling of being watered-down, Dishonoured: Death of the Outsider is a DLC-length standalone title that provides a satisfying resolution to the franchise. Fans of the original iterations will appreciate the added content, and those who’ve been meaning to play past games can get a reasonably good idea of what the entire package can deliver.

While this new iteration mightn’t influence other titles or franchises like Drake has, it’s nonetheless amazing to play an Uncharted game with a strong heroine with a nose for relics, a pistol in hand, hair tied back in a ponytail and no need for help from the likes of Drake or Sully. The Lost Legacy is a great little addition to the franchise, ideal for newcomers or fans alike.

Resident Evil Village is an enjoyable horror experience that embraces the franchise’s first-person approach and refines a few of its mechanics along the way. It’s ultimately held back by a sloppy storyline, two-dimensional characters and bizarre design choices.

The outlook is good though, and the past 15 months have shown the commitment the Diablo developers have towards making this the best game they can. Here’s to another year of Diablo 4.

At the end of the day, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined doesn’t bring forward everything that’s been in previous versions of the title – but that’s not what it’s set out to do. This is a new 7 for a new generation, or even just long-time fans who want to re-experience this story with a bit more velocity than the previous versions allow, without trying to replace the still-excellent 3DS release. Seeing the team this willing to flip the script on the traditional formula leaves me very excited for the future of the franchise; if other remakes (or the distant future release of Dragon Quest 12) can take lessons from Reimagined’s mechanics or art style, I’ll be a very happy gamer indeed.

I only wish that endgame content came in the form of unique missions, not reskinned ones.

Spider-Man Miles Morales is a tight little package that provides a thrilling Spider-Man experience, trimmed of nonessential fat and full of emotion and excitement.

Thumbleweek Park is a stellar mix of mystery and humour, letting players delve into a case that requires plenty of thought… and, sadly, a lot of backtracking. A fast-travel map mitigates the latter issue quite a bit, but one elevator will make you rip your hair out, forcing you to take characters up and down one person at a time.