Frostpunk 2 is a brutal but beautiful city builder that laughs with you as you try and fail to survive in a treacherous, icy purgatory.

For many, all Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics needs to be is a functioning, accessible way to play some of Capcom’s most beloved classic fighting games on modern hardware. The great news is that this seven-game compilation is just that, with feature-complete arcade versions of each game fitted with all-new training modes as well as casual and ranked online play. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is the clear star of the show, with quality varying between the other featured games, but all are worth checking out regardless.

Astro Bot combines engrossing platforming mechanics across masterfully designed levels that are filled with fun obstacles and collectibles. It stands up to gaming’s biggest giants like Mario and Sonic as a result and is a joyous Game of the Year contender.

Space Marine 2 is a well-crafted power trip elevated by stellar combat and awe-inspiring visuals. Though it lacks depth in some places and overreaches in others, fans of Warhammer 40,000 or third-person action games will find themselves well served here.

One of the weakest (but still entertaining) games in the franchise coupled with one of the best, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is an inconsistent pairing that remains thrilling throughout.

The first original Mana series game in over a decade and a half is a pleasant romp through a visually stellar fantasy world. Fun combat quirks such as class switching and malleable builds offer plenty of customization, too, that’s all really quite easy to understand. Unfortunately, some stiffer elements of movement and a story that doesn’t quite realize its full potential have Visions of Mana falling short.

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club might not reinvent the visual novel genre, but it still offers a fantastic mystery elevated by brilliant writing, a memorable cast of characters, some truly excellent visuals, and a phenomenal final chapter.

Star Wars Outlaws serves up an extremely enjoyable open-world Star Wars experience that proves the wait for such a game was worth it. While there are a few frustrations, the mix of beautiful worlds, a crime-rich underworld, compelling and tense missions with multiple routes to success, a strong cast, and a fun narrative to boot, makes it a superbly fun experience.

If you can look beyond some janky fights and want to experience a unique setting, there’s fun to be had in Black Myth: Wukong.

Coming off the back of two legendary expansions, Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail has its work cut out for it. Thankfully, it’s a superb foundational expansion that evolves the world of the game in meaningful ways with a main scenario quest line chock full of excellent characters and phenomenal, culturally-rich worldbuilding. Even early on, content is some of the most engaging it’s been in years, with phenomenal dungeon, raid, and trial design.

F1 Manager 24 shines with big additions to its management sim formula. The new Create-A-Team option is incredibly compelling, allowing you to bring an eleventh team to the F1 grid with drivers, staff, and designs all of your choosing. Further additions like mechanical failures and some AI improvements lead to even more thrilling and unpredictable action on-track.

Zenless Zone Zero is a great free-to-play title made with Hoyoverse’s exquisite presentation and attention to detail. While the early game’s story is slow going and the usual free-to-play progression blocks can be irksome, what’s here in Version 1.0 is an excellent springboard for future content.

Every night in Hinterberg ends with a Stardew Valley-esque recap of your day that encapsulates the game’s innovative blend of dungeon crawling and social simulation. You’re reminded of the undead Miner’s Widow you conquered, alongside the HP you gained from meditation. Staring down the barrel of another day of dungeoneering can be offputting, especially with the prospect of an over-familiar puzzle or frustrating fight on the horizon. Still, Dungeons of Hinterberg’s personable cast and stunning environments provided the necessary pockets of reprieve that kept me wanting to wake up and face the day every next morning.

I can’t help but wish Nintendo offered a skew for the game in the West similar to what has been offered in Japan, where players had the chance to buy the otherwise Switch Online-only NES/Famicom replica controllers with the game in a package not too dissimilar to what we see with controller bundles for Super Mario Party. As a freebie with a controller, this game would feel like a neat curio, and while still not wholly satisfying as a standalone experience would likely offer just about enough to satisfy as a pack-in title. Otherwise, this feels more like a first-round knockout than a championship-winning shot at glory.

Innovative, exciting, and endlessly entertaining, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a beautiful adventure that transcends genres for a highly memorable experience with all the makings of an instant classic.

Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition is a real treat regardless of whether you’ve played the original release or not. The 2003 game’s visuals have received a gorgeous glow-up with improved textures, shadows, and lighting, and there’s a surprising amount of new content from unlockable cosmetics to an entirely new questline. This is simply one of the best remastering efforts we’ve seen in years and comes highly recommended at its sub-$20 / £20 price.

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is a no-frills port of the 3DS game with some minor visual upgrades. It won’t win over those who disliked the original, but it’s a solid experience for everyone else.

Super Monkey Ball is back, with the best series entry since the original thanks to hundreds of fun levels, new mechanics, and a surprising amount of challenge even for series veterans.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is quite anomalous among modern-day downloadable content. Some jaw-droppingly gorgeous areas, a huge variety of fun new weapon types, and, of course, loads of teeth-gratingly difficult boss fights make for FromSoftware’s biggest and arguably best DLC expansion to date. It’s more Elden Ring, but that is what you’ve signed up for, right?

Still Wakes the Deep is an incredibly atmospheric, tense, and gripping first-person horror game. With a tremendous sense of place, superb voice acting, and creepy horror elements, it’s a small but punchy experience that we fully recommend despite some hand-holding, simple puzzles, and the story being a little too short.

F1 24’s fantastic Career mode overhaul is the evolution the series’ single-player content needed. New elements like playable real-world drivers, secret team meetings, and on-track objectives all add much-needed depth. Unfortunately, some rather pedestrian AI and minimal updates elsewhere make F1 24 a mild upgrade overall.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is a bleak yet deeply absorbing game - and one I’ve not played anything like before. Combat is a little simplistic, and some parts are pedestrian, but the remarkable visual and audio design, performances and acting, the intriguing narrative throughout, and a beguiling world that has one of the strongest senses of place I’ve experienced elevate the game wonderfully.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door’s Nintendo Switch remake demonstrates that the 20-year-old Gamecube role-playing game has aged like a fine wine, barely touching its gameplay elements while offering a stunning glow-up in the visual department. Some may lament the 30fps cap and some rather antiquated backtracking, but it remains a thoroughly charming and engaging experience from start to finish.

While Homeworld 3 looks the part and is a competent strategy game, the chaos of battle obscures much of the nuance of its new features.

Endless Ocean Luminous provides an immersive and moreish deep sea diving experience with an impressive variety of biomes, over 500 species of sea creatures to catalog, treasures to collect, and mysteries to solve. And it’s all backed up by a staunch pro-environmental message.

Stellar Blade is a phenomenal action game with slick, dazzlingly animated combat and impressive enemy variety.

Rise of the Ronin is a robust and enjoyable open-world adventure across 19th-century Japan. It features superb combat, an intriguing Bakumatsu-inspired setting, and a world with so much to do. However, its identity feels a little unclear at times and some repetitive missions, plus bumpy visuals, hold it back.

It may have been late to the PlayStation party, but the incredible rhythm-based combat and fantastic art direction mean that Hi-Fi Rush is still a wonderful experience over a year since its original release.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile offers engaging modes and near console-quality visuals in a free-to-play portable format that’s perfect for taking out and about - provided you have a phone powerful enough to run it.

Endlessly creative and adorably cute, Princess Peach: Showtime! is an uncompromising but approachable adventure that’s an absolute blast for kids and adults alike.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 leverages emergent gameplay to put forward an action-adventure that’s challenging, thrilling, and constantly unpredictable. Rich in well-thought-out systems and mechanics that feed into one another seamlessly, it’s a game that sinks its claws into you and doesn’t let go.

Alone in the Dark squanders the promise of its compelling source material with ropey design, awful combat, and choppy presentation.

Balatro is easily one of the freshest roguelites to come out in some time. By loosely applying the rules of poker to a deckbuilding format, developer LocalThunk has managed to forge something special.

Dicefolk is a fun turn-based roguelike with a decent variety of environments and characters to stay entertaining, but the content itself becomes repetitive. Although excitement is added through boss encounters and the gamble of random rolls, the repetition holds Dicefolk back from excelling.

Skull and Bones has well-built fundamentals, but lacks the follow-through to deliver on the potential of its fun naval combat and earnest commitment to the pirate fantasy.

Slave Zero X has a lot to offer fans of 2.5D platformers, and with levels full of gore and violent enemies, there’s rarely a dull moment. However, this intensity can often become overwhelmingly difficult, especially when later fights drag on.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a loving recreation of the original’s second act, elevated by an impressive level of commitment and confidence and only held back by the occasional wobble.

Pacific Drive is a superb survival game, with stunning landscapes and crafting tools that will see you painstakingly tweaking everything to perfection. With a ton of dangerous anomalies and an unpredictable environment, it’s just as stressful as it is fun.

While the Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake expands upon the original’s content and adds replayability, its clunkiness leads to even the simpler puzzles feeling frustrating, especially with a slow start that drags on for longer than it should.

Helldivers 2 delivers on the promise of chaotic fun through superior firepower. Whether you’re slaying enemies with your friends or slaying your friends while enemies are also present, if you’ve got the crew, this is a guaranteed good time.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden excels thanks to the memorable narrative and complex moral decisions. Alongside a brilliant world and some of the best voice acting around, it's easy to forgive the few shortcomings.

Ultros is a stunningly beautiful metroidvania that manages to excel at tying together a meaningful story about environmentalism and a game that's delightful to play.

Cute characters and a handful of promising ideas in its multiplayer matches do little to redeem Foamstars, which is spoiled by terrible solo missions, a lack of maps, and excessive monetization.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a superhero third-person shooter that has some interesting ideas and excellent writing, but is intent instead on subjecting players to death via live service nonsense.

There’s a lot to like about Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior - the tactical, set-piece hack‘n’slash combat often feels satisfying and snappy. However, a forgettable story and uninspiring skill progression cement Lysfanga within the shadows of its mechanical and narrative contemporaries.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a superb action RPG that packs an excellent story, plenty of characters, and an incredibly moreish endgame for a substantial amount of content at launch.

Persona 3 Reload is a stunning remake of a must-play role-playing game, boasting fantastic improvements to the battle system and quality-of-life. However, it’s let down on the whole by a couple of missed opportunities.

Phantom Abyss is a mediocre-at-best roguelike 3D platformer. If you’re desperate to grind an unforgiving game, then you may want to give this a go, but, if not, then this may not be for you.

Another Code: Recollection is a modernized way to experience two brilliant puzzle adventure games, but its slow pace makes it harder to recommend to those who aren’t already fans of the genre.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth represents something of a culmination of the franchise so far, telling a gripping tale that can be as hilarious as it is heart-wrenching.

Tekken 8 had some pretty big expectations to meet, but it exceeds every single one. It’s a concrete addition to a well-established series and manages to add complexity to an already solid combat system. Every battle feels as though your life is on the line, the mark of a fantastic fighting game.

With this much care and love being put into refining this trilogy for modern audiences, the time is now for audiences to put some Justice on Apollo’s name, and thrust him out of Phoenix Wright’s shadow into a much-deserved spotlight.

A stunning and challenging folktale that perfectly captures the creativity of the indie spirit, Howl is a delightful game to lose yourself in.

This demanding strategy game forces you to embrace the fact that you can’t save everyone, and you may lose more lives if you try, but bugs and a lack of polish mar what is an otherwise great experience.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown paints a picture of sustainable development as it infuses all the thrills of a modern AAA release into a smaller package. Heavy on ideas and experiments, this is top-notch.

The Finals offers an easy-to-learn FPS playground with a strong visual identity and some of the best destruction tech I’ve ever seen. Time will tell whether it can keep an audience, but right now it’s slick.

Want to get into fighting games but are intimidated by obtuse mechanics and exhaustive move sets? Check out Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. This exceptional fighter is the definition of ‘easy to learn, hard to master,’ while offering a healthy amount of modes. There’s a free-to-play version, too.

Against the Storm is an excellent strategy game, selling its mysterious dark fantasy setting and challenging city-building with confidence. Though a significant learning curve and the occasionally outdated presentation hold the title back from perfection, Eremite’s PC debut is a strong addition to the genre.

Even though A Highland Song follows a simple premise and linear narrative, its manipulation of depth and levels within its environment creates an immersive atmosphere. It’s a short, and occasionally frustrating adventure, but a gripping one complete with compelling musical segments and incredible design.

Rocket Racing is a rock-solid arcade racer that’s lacking in the personality department. Its main hook isn’t exciting enough to base a whole game around, and the selection of tracks offered up at launch is pretty forgettable. Still, the core racing is great, and hopefully, with future updates, Rocket Racing may come into its own.

House Flipper 2 is fiendishly difficult to stop playing. Transforming homes from veritable garbage dumps into enviously slick pads through renovating, decorating and furnishing simply doesn’t get old.

Lego Fortnite is a solid swing at a survival crafting game, but will likely only fully come into its own after a few updates. Building is an issue at present, a real issue in a Lego title, but as a survival game, it’s excellent.

Make Way is a superb party racer. Its arcade driving is incredibly approachable and the focus on improvised course creation means that it can be enjoyed with friends time and time again.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is frustrating. I’ve never seen a game that looks as brilliant as this, but the game’s art direction is let down by so-so combat, awful AI, and weapons that just aren’t satisfying.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an audacious love letter to Games Workshop’s dystopian sci-fi setting, offering a bleak yet compelling portrait of the iconic universe. However, engaging combat and gripping decision points are let down by abundant bugs and a mechanical depth that can be off-putting at times.

Arizona Sunshine 2 offers up satisfyingly tactile gunplay, a brilliantly well-paced campaign that’s filled to bursting with wonderful environmental design, huge hordes of zombies to slay, and some of the most impressive set pieces I've seen in a VR title.

Gangs of Sherwood is a bog standard co-op game with generic abilities and some dull fights. However, the only thing that lifts this action game up from the trenches is its fantastic art style and scenery.

In Stars and Time is an unmissable turn-based RPG with a unique time-looping mechanic and loveable characters. Underlined by an emotional, gripping story that’ll keep you coming back for more, you shouldn’t let this indie gem pass you by.

Fashion Dreamer is a solid fashion simulator that nails outfit creation and its colorful aesthetic but the lack of any real structure holds its single-player component back from greatness.

Super Mario RPG is a faithful remake of an excellent game. With a fleshed-out battle system, enhanced visuals, and a stellar remastered soundtrack, this is the best way to find out why so many people wanted Geno in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Persona 5 Tactica preserves the style and sophistication of its predecessor, offering a slick and sharp tactical experience that continues to reward after hours of play. Full of familiar Persona 5 hallmarks, fans of the series are in for a treat, but newcomers may find themselves left out in the cold.

Frontier Developments’ foray into the Age of Sigmar universe is competent and slick, boasting a fun single-player campaign and plenty of robust multiplayer features. However, the game’s cookie-cutter approach to unit design and combat interactions makes for a simplistic experience that will disappoint seasoned RTS players.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 misses more than it hits. A fun zombies mode and the return of fan-favorite maps from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 can’t save Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from its awful campaign and a multiplayer that feels like a step back from the rest of the reimagined Modern Warfare trilogy.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a significant upgrade to the original that transforms this sequel into the game the original had the potential to be. Featuring a lovely visual overhaul, tighter mechanics, and substantial new modes, it’s an easy recommendation for fans of Nickelodeon or platform fighters.

The Invincible deploys its source material brilliantly in terms of style, aesthetic, and story, however a lot of slow parts, empty spaces, and over-simplistic mechanics and puzzles mean it never really hits truly stellar heights.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a compelling title full of engaging combat, welcome distractions, and an intense, emotional story. While a bit short, it’s a must-play for Yakuza fans.

You Will Die Here Tonight is not particularly scary or thrilling, and it can get very frustrating. From the get-go, you’re pushed into a storyline that isn’t fully explained with mechanics that you don’t fully understand; solving things through trial and error can then get cumbersome.

Football Manager 2024 is a competent and polished strategy game that plays it a bit too safe to be essential. Like a venerated striker, this is worth a play but unlikely to offer up anything truly surprising.

WarioWare: Move It! is hilarious and engrossing, and truly ambitious and successful when it comes to its utilization of the Joy-Con controllers’ unique features. However, it’s severely let down by its poor accessibility options meaning some folks may be locked out of the fun before it even begins.

Robocop: Rogue City is low-budget and wonky in places, but the art direction will make you feel like you’re in the movies, and the gore-soaked shootouts offer a retro first-person shooter experience not to be missed.

Jusant is an engrossing epic adventure that captures climbing’s heart-racing thrills and serene meditations. There’s immense satisfaction in navigating Don't Nod’s vertical puzzle, and the dizzying views are guaranteed to take your breath away.

I’d love nothing more than to play as Dwarves retaking their homeland alongside friends, but sadly, this is not the game to do that in. Besides the setting, there’s not much else to celebrate in Return to Moria.

Quantum Error is an intriguing and solid horror game - though never gripping or truly outstanding. At its best when you’re a firefighter using your specialist skills and tools, the title has an original premise and story but is let down by weird over-the-top cinematic stylings as well as odd pacing, as well as characters and dialogue carved out of oak.

Alan Wake 2 stands out as a champion among modern survival horror games. Its beautifully woven story encompasses everything you could want from a blockbuster horror title. Expertly crafted cutscenes meld together reality and video games while thrilling combat and frightening chases keep things interesting as you dig into a gripping narrative.

Ghostrunner 2 is as fun as it is difficult. While its complexity isn’t sustained throughout the quick-paced sword-slashing fun, it will rear its ugly head just enough for you to contemplate breaking thank lovely new monitor. However, as long as you stay strong, you will be rewarded with some of the most thrilling traversal and fights.

The granddaddy of stealth returns in a no-thrills rerelease that lets a whole new audience experience the superlative sneak-’em-ups. A few “of their time” moments make the story awkward, but there’s no denying every game in this collection still has the magic.

Cities: Skylines 2 has lofty ambitions. Several interlocking systems come together to convince you that this isn’t just a city-building game, but a way to build lively neighbourhoods full of small stories and intertwining threads. There’s a lot to love here, and if you fall for it, you’ll be hooked for a long time.

Like stumbling upon a haunted floppy disk next to the old Mac computer gathering dust in your parent’s attic, World of Horror is constantly surprising, genuinely unsettling, and truly unlike anything you’ve played.

This Hellboy roguelike nails the ‘Hellboy’ but fluffs the ‘roguelike’. A brilliant recreation of Mignola’s art and surprisingly sharp writing are let down by thin, repetitive gameplay.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a triumphant evolution of 2D Mario, with a non-stop flow of creative ideas wrapped up in a visually delightful package, bursting with character.

Like its predecessor, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 - Turbocharged is a solid racer elevated by its stunning life-like visuals. With few new additions, however, this sequel struggles to justify its own existence.

Wizard with a Gun promises a sandbox survival experience, but it relies slightly too heavily on its crafting mechanics as you get set up which takes away from the combat side of the game. It's got a few flaws for sure, but it's still fun as long as you're prepared for a bit of repetition.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 delivers a satisfying Spidey-saga that gives fans everything they could want from a Venom arc and also includes several surprises. It's a single-player open-world game that prioritizes fun above all else, with a host of accessibility features to let everyone join in.

Endless Dungeon may look sleek and polished, but this isometric rogue-like offers little depth. Despite a strong opening, the paper-thin narrative, stock characters, and repetitive combat mechanics do little to maintain interest.

A deep and interesting Star Trek game that doesn’t quite scratch the strategy itch, but Trekkies will appreciate the chance to explore a new twist on a familiar universe. Still, I found myself itching for the depth of the very similar strategy powerhouse Stellaris.

Detective Pikachu Returns is a charming, if bare-bones, mystery game that deals with surprisingly heavy themes at times. However, simplistic game mechanics and formulaic mysteries mean that more grown-up Pokémon fans may find the experience frustrating at times.

Sonic Superstars brings the series’ 2D formula back in spectacular fashion. It’s brought back physics and momentum that are strikingly close to the Genesis / Mega Drive originals, and combines them with original zones that all offer fun, unique gimmicks. However, boss fights are tedious, and the lack of online co-op stings.

Lords of the Fallen is an expertly crafted soulslike with innovative mechanics that add risk and reward, and wonder to exploration. Combat occasionally feels unpolished and some enemy placement is cheap but there’s a fascinating game here that ticks most of the soulslike boxes while adding some tricks of its own.