I felt like a hero at every moment, whether I was saving the princess or exploring hidden passageways or helping rediscover the lost recipe for that aforementioned cheese. But I felt like a hero not because the game told me I was but because it showed me. It showed me that my wacky ideas for building silly motorcars were clever and fun. It showed me that with a bit of bravery I could beat a swarm of enemies with nothing but sticks and stones. It showed me that I could dive off a flying island into the unknown and find my way.

Respawn's Star Wars sequel builds on its promising predecessor, even if it suffers from the same lack of focus.

EA's return to the course is a surprisingly understated and supremely accomplished golf sim.

Nintendo's 20-year-old tactical war simulator is like video-game chess - difficult to learn but satisfying to master.

That a Resident Evil 4 remake is expectedly brilliant is a tough stick to beat it with. But while it might not have that extraordinary sense of upgrade that Resident Evil 2 did, it is important to realise what it represents. Resi 4 was the main driver of the third-person action revolution - the moderniser-in-chief. That its influence has come full circle into its own remake should be no surprise. What does shock, perhaps, is that even after all these years and all its myriad versions is that Resident Evil 4 still hasn’t been bettered. A smartly-executed upgrade has only thrown that into sharper focus. And, particularly for those that haven’t played it before, this is as essential as video games get.

While grown-up gaming is dominated by dark and brooding fantasies, Kirby makes the case for sweetness and light among families.

Modern sensibilities may be shocked by the lack of checkpointing, but it is also crucial in creating the sense of tension and danger that ripples throughout Tallon IV...Few games can do that too. Maybe the closest touchstone in that regard --though they are very different games-- is From Software’s oeuvre. The success of which can only be a boon for Prime’s ethereal brilliance and a good sign for the upcoming and long-awaited Metroid Prime 4.

Each new locale is seemingly more rich and detailed than the last, and I regularly felt compelled to stop looking for the next path forward and instead just take in the magical realism of my surroundings.

This is an accomplished remake of a great game, but it doesn’t necessarily shake the cobwebs off in the same way that Resident Evil 2 did. But perhaps that’s because it didn’t need to; retaining the ghoulish sense of place and suffocation that makes the Ishimura such a horrible place to visit.

God of War: Ragnarok manages to wrangle the best of blockbuster gaming under its muscular control. Spectacle. Excitement. Empowerment. And, well, we all know how that feels, don’t we?

Its unruly attitude is its calling card, the manic beating heart that its exquisite combat is built around. And if this sounds like a good time, then Bayonetta 3 could well be the most fun you have with a video game all year.

There’s not much to like about a business model so brazenly designed to divorce kids from their pocket money – and the big swing in favour of untradeable reward cards this year only increases the likelihood of that outcome. That said… it is remarkably addictive, and the overhaul of the chemistry rules that underpin squad building have at least shaken up the shakedown.

Immortality certainly gives you that leeway for your own interpretation and enough compelling mystery that its puzzle can get under your skin and spill out of the game itself. There are already some fascinating readings of the game out there and much of the fun will come in discussion and dissection. I still don’t think I have a perfect handle on what it all means, despite reaching the game’s ‘conclusion’, but I have some ideas. What I do know is that this is a brilliantly clever, disturbing and singular piece of work.

The Last of Us is irrefutably one of the best games of the PS3 era but it's beginning to feel of its time – and beneath its gorgeous next-gen glow-up, Part 1 is still, essentially, the same game. Which wouldn't be a problem at all were it not for that troublesome next-gen asking price.

Where it counts, F1 22 is right on track.

Ghostwire Tokyo is rarely a scary game, Tango stopping short of full horror, but it still has the ability to unsettle. It may be an acquired taste and far from flawless, but its distinctive approach and commitment to its ethos has plenty of spirit.

Here, exploration is everything. Elden Ring is an RPG but one which elevates role playing to the point of vérité. You are as much the stranger in a strange land as your avatar; basic controls and some mechanics are explained in what passes for the game's tutorial, but that’s about it. There’s no quest log, no icon-studded mini-map, no on-screen overlays or bread crumb trail telling you what to do next, or even where to go. Everything else must be learned, either decoded from oblique item descriptions in-game or gleaned from invaluable internet communities. Death is not so much a setback to be avoided as a necessary staging post on the path to enlightenment. It may sound daunting in theory but in practice it’s exhilarating. Every inch of progress in Elden Ring feels earned, and is thus infinitely more rewarding for it.

I can’t help admiring its purity and focus. Gran Turismo 7 seemingly has one mission: to espouse and share its love of cars and their place in wider culture. Its curated catalogue, pretty history books and gleaming showrooms are presented with dutiful care and attention. So much so that it is easy to find yourself lost in the history of the Volkswagen or Aston Martin before you know it. And once you get those cars out on the track? That’s the best part of all.

There’s no doubting the quality on offer here, then, but if you already own the PS4 versions then you might struggle to justify the outlay for the upgrades on offer – particularly when the original iteration of A Thief’s End is also available to PS5 owners with an online subscription for free as part of the PlayStation Plus Collection. One gets the sense it’s the kind of buying decision consumers will need to get used to making over the course of the coming console generation.

By tearing up the rule book and breaking new ground, Game Freak has created the best Pokémon title in decades.

Still, there is something to be said for focusing on what you are good at. And in both Halo Infinite’s campaign and its superb multiplayer...343 are proving masters of the art of battle.

Forza takes its racing and cars very seriously --with painstaking attention to torque, road conditions and more tuning options than you can shake a gearstick at-- but its raison d’etre is unbridled, uncomplicated driving joy. There is a bewildering amount of stuff that populates the map: traditional races, cross-country sprints, off-road adventures, speed traps, jumps, multiplayer challenges, weekly events. You can barely drive a few yards without something to take part in or smash through. It is bewildering at first and can feel unstructured and scattergun, particularly when the game is throwing XP and rewards at you with so much abandon it's hard to keep track of it all.

But each year should offer something slightly different. Partway through my Watford season, having somewhat steadied the ship and learnt more intricacies than I had in previous editions, I had the overwhelming urge to try something different. I began a new game, made myself unemployed, and got a job to start a root-and-branch revolution at Carlisle United; revamping the backroom staff as much as my miniscule budget would allow, building a squad around youth and poring over lesser known opponent’s stats in order to figure out the week’s gameplan. Plenty of other players would have taken a similar path in previous games, for sure. But I think that’s the point with Football Manager. And that it can still inspire different approaches from different players each year is impressive, even if it might not look hugely different on the surface.

This take on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy puts a premium on character and storytelling, with surprisingly impressive results.

It’s terrific stuff, though it may prove a little strenuous for newcomers at times. Metroid has always been one of Nintendo’s more ‘hardcore’ pursuits and Dread looks to make a virtue of this in a challenging and often esoteric adventure. But whether you are new or a Metroid old-hand, there is no doubting the craft here. A welcome return for one of gaming’s most stylish heroes.

FIFA 22 has focussed squarely on the on-pitch action and has succeeded in creating the best pure football game from the series in quite some time. For me, at least, there is no better measure.

For all of its complexities under the hood, Deathloop is Arkane’s most accessible game yet and elicits constant satisfaction. The action is a pleasure, while its main drive has you constantly picking up pieces of an unknown puzzle that are pieced together in separate chunks, before the frisson of excitement when the full picture starts to form. What’s extraordinary is how Arkane make it seem so easy. Blockbuster game-making at its smartest and most essential.

As well as some smart on-field tweaks, Madden's marquee mode sees notable improvements after some notable neglect.