A fascinating, if somewhat incomplete package, then. Modern Warfare is a game looking to re-carve its identity as the world’s most evocative and recognisable shooter. A tough feat, despite all the resources clearly thrown at its inception. There are clear missteps along the way as Infinity Ward walks its line, but the direction is an exciting one.

I also really appreciated the fact that there’s a mini-games menu outside of the main quest which offers a more Wii Fit-like experience, allowing you to hand the Ring Con to friends test your skills against them.

Most importantly, everything about The Witcher’s design, from combat to writing to world-building is so tight, so beautifully handled that it’s easy to forget the graphical short-comings of the Switch version.

Factor in the graphical glitches, rampant texture pop-in and generally asthmatic performance levels, even when running on a PS4 Pro with settings optimised to favour smooth running, and there really is no end of reasons not to love Borderlands 3 (and don’t even think about Googling developers Gearbox Games’ litany of employee relations history)...And yet... love it, I do. Guilty as charged.

You can only review what is in front of you. And currently, PES 2020 seems out of form.

The most ingenious/insidious (delete according to taste) addition is the confusingly titled Season Objectives, which have nothing to do with the football calendar and instead are a version of Fortnite’s Battle Pass. Pretty much every action in the mode, from playing games to listing items on the transfer market, now accrues XP which in turn unlocks rewards, ranging from new stadium decorations to coins, packs and, ultimately limited edition players.

It makes for a relentlessly entertaining and often heart-thumpingly thrilling campaign that would be easy enough to recommend on its own.

Telling Lies feels more like a jigsaw puzzle, with you hunting among scattered pieces. But while it can have its moments of exasperation, there are few things as satisfying as revealing the full picture.

It’s easy to recommend the game because all the RPG elements and Towers of Time nonsense aside, it is a fantastic fighter at heart, albeit one that teases how it could’ve been better still.

Days Gone is a game that is, at once, both so close and so far from being what it could have been. There are certainly things here to enjoy and sufficiently pass the time. Those dusty roads of Oregon being the most prominent, but when that world is so empty and its inhabitants so vacant, it starts to become a real challenge to care.

From the backgrounds to the animations to the bold colours, Cuphead is a love letter both to classic cartoons and platform-shooters, fine tuned and tweaked so it plays like a dream. It also manages to take a certain much-maligned gaming trope and turn it into something wonderful.

In a world where blockbuster racers like Forza Horizon 4 provide big budget mod-cons, Dangerous Driving will be too pared back for some. But for simple thrills and focussed spills, it drives right to the heart of the matter.

There is every chance that in a week’s time the toy-cons we built may be languishing in a cupboard, with the thrill of creating something already over. Regardless; what a charming, rewarding and singular way to spend our time it has been.

If you are put off by some of Nintendo’s more saccharine output, it certainly isn’t the game for you, but kids of all ages looking for a breezy, wholesome distraction will find a lot to like.

Sekiro is a game that, for better and worse, lays down an almost belligerent challenge. Keep playing, by all means, if you can handle it. Such fierce difficulty will not come as a surprise to veterans of From’s previous games Dark Souls and Bloodborne, of course, and will likely relish Sekiro’s propensity to kill you often and without mercy. Few games task you so harshly or dare to drive you to such frustration, but few games are as rewarding or exhilarating when you succeed.

One of the things that has surprised me during my first hours in The Division 2’s ravaged Washington DC, is just how thoroughly competent it all is...If that immediately sounds like damning Ubisoft’s militaristic looter-shooter with faint praise, that isn’t the intention. Launching an persistent online game in the vein of Destiny et al and having it hold together is bloody hard. Just ask Anthem...Several hours later, I’m still enjoying a compelling, mechanically satisfying --if aesthetically uninspiring-- shooter. And that’s with very few technical hiccups, aside from the odd floating corpse and texture pop-in.

It’s stylish. It’s cool. It’s supremely fun, fluid and rewarding. Dante’s back and he’s brought some friends. And with combat flair that makes up the finest pure-action game we have seen in a long time, we hope they stick around.

Right now, despite those fabulous jetpacks, Anthem stumbles more than it soars.

My one solitary victory in Tetris 99 so far had me dancing around the house with glee, as I twisted blocks into ill-matching holes at the very top of the well in a blind panic until my opponent fell milliseconds before me. I took it though, believe me, right before jumping back in for another round.

It is at its best tends to be when you are on your own, exploring a beautifully drawn post-nuclear wilderness or creeping through the dark, lighter in hand. That Metro Exodus can do both with equally aplomb is arguably its greatest strength.

Wargroove is a very enjoyable game but one which still feels rough around the edges.

It all feels mightily uneven. For every thrilling gunfight or anecdote-worthy encounter in the wilderness are other stories of frustration or key non-player characters wandering away from the objective and getting stuck on a rock. It perhaps betrays the short turnaround since Far Cry 5, with its ideas and changes not given room to flower and make New Dawn the disruptive series experiment it could have been. But if you are willing to look past its niggles and familiarity, New Dawn still provides plenty of post-apocalyptic punch.

Just don’t expect to come away with any fond memories or exciting stories to tell. You jump around collecting orbs, you shoot things and they blow up. And that’s it. But sometimes, that’s enough.

For the most part, though, Artyom’s train journey is a compelling one. The characters you share it with can be overly loquacious and too broadly drawn, but its sense of camaraderie in the face of hardship can’t help but endear to the bittersweet end...But it is at its best tends to be when you are on your own, exploring a beautifully drawn post-nuclear wilderness or creeping through the dark, lighter in hand. That Metro Exodus can do both with equally aplomb is arguably its greatest strength.

Is it a Fortnite killer? Probably not. But as battle royales continue to be de rigeur, the challenge is to offer fascinating twists on the template. In that objective, it is looking like mission complete. [First-Look review]

The silliness helps tie together Resident Evil 2’s combination of genuine terror with baroque puzzles and excessive action, making sure that it is frightening but always fun. It has always been the ethos that has made Resident Evil such an enduring survival-horror success for over twenty years. This remake captures it perfectly, but makes sure it has plenty of fresh tricks up its sleeve to ensure it has as much of an impact on the here and now.

It is a small delight, then, to be able to replay Onimusha Warlords. In truth, it is an imperfect game that thoroughly shows its age (this is an enhanced port of the 2002 original to PS4, Xbox One and Switch, rather than a full-blooded remake like the upcoming Resident Evil 2), but a singular one that reminds you of its forgotten impact.

The journey to finding out what it means to you is certainly one worth taking.

For dedicated fans, though, such a challenge will doubtless prove appealing. Super Smash Bros Ultimate, for all its accessibility and riotous multiplayer fun, may be one of the few mainstream Nintendo games that isn’t necessarily for everyone. But that’s okay. Because in pursuing its more technical elements and providing its most substantial solo adventure yet, it's hard to see Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as anything other than a series’ best.

The issue is these positives are dwarfed remarkably by the huge and underlying pitfalls of this title. Even if the countless glitches get fixed, and updates whip the technical side of the game into shape, there are intrinsic issues in the mechanics of Fallout 76. This hurts for me to say as a fan of the Fallout series, but 76 is a slog to play, a chore to deal with and certainly not worth your time.

I would like to be able to say that in the weeks and months to come, the multiplayer modes will be fuller, the niggles less prevalent. The core of Battlefield V, that raucous and spectacular shooter, suggests that the future is bright. But while those questions hang in the air, this is a game too slim and scrappy to recommend fully. In due course, that could change. But by the time Battlefield V is where it should be, will it be too late?

While those opening hours can feel like a languid tutorial, Game Freak know that the challenge will need to climb. And if anything there is a sudden spike that might come a little hard for newcomers, given the breeziness of the early game.

Ultimately, the majority of Pokémon Let’s Go is unlikely to be the challenge competitive players are looking for, particularly those who are well-versed in Yellow’s familiar rhythm. Though a spectacularly demanding end-game, asking you to train up one of each of the 150 species of Kanto-region Pokémon to battle Master trainers of the same type, will certainly keep the dedicated busy. This could be where the game’s online trading and battling features could come into their own.

Football Manager 2019 is the most compelling and involving upgrade of the game since, for my money, the superb FM14. While some old niggles remain --press interaction still needs its proper overhaul, for instance-- its commitment to openness and accessibility has not come at the cost of its extraordinary depth. Quite the opposite. We go again.

This is a powerhouse of a video game, one of the finest, built by people at the top of their game and under intense pressure, lest we forget. As it is, they remind us of what games can be, creating a majestic sense of place and time and allowing you to play your role in the way only this medium allows. So, if you’ll excuse me, I have another train to, er, ‘catch’.

It is mechanics that glue Black Ops 4 together, then, rather than any particular theme, which helps each component drill down into what its good at. The competitive multiplayer can afford to be break-neck at all times, because you can happily nick off and play the more languid, tense and tactical Blackout.

There is just a slight sense of scrappiness to an otherwise gorgeously crafted world. Which has historically come with the territory in Assassin’s Creed, to be frank, so to see one of this scope wobble here and there is not necessarily a surprise...At its best, though, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the finest the series has ever been, building on the role-playing roots laid down by Origins. An occasionally scruffy triumph of historical world-building, play and, perhaps most importantly, Grecian character.

But even if Forza Horizon 4 has the hallmarks of a victory lap; its flair, fun and sense of driving pleasure make it one that is richly deserved.

As a Tomb Raider game, as a coherent game in general, and as a narrative experience, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a startling fall from grace. A severe disappointment in a series that was previously going strong, and a sign that this version of Lara Croft might need to retire.

Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man has its caveats, with its raft of distractions following a little too closely to what has gone before. But its dedication to and understanding of its leading man make for a thrilling and satisfying slice of comic-book entertainment. Because, ultimately, Spider-Man, I like the way you move.

This brilliant rogue-like is much more than a 2D Dark Souls.

Its quality can vary as much as its storylines. Detroit’s main issue is that it is a game that is desperate to have something to say, but doesn’t know how to say it. Detroit is too heavy-handed and maladroit to get much past ‘discrimination and genocide is bad’.

Despite the non-numerical title suggesting a complete do-over, God of War is thrillingly different. This is more redemption than reinvention, though there is plenty of that too, as Sony Santa Monica levy the weight of Kratos’ past in one of the most gorgeous, spectacular and impactful blockbusters of the generation.

Rare have been clear about their goal of wanting players to create their own stories within Sea of Thieves, and it is safe to say they’ve succeeded. Let’s hope they can keep the ship on course.

Far Cry 5 may not be the biting allegory on the rise of the ‘alt-right’ in Trump’s United States that some envisaged, but it still cuts close to the bone of the culture of God-fearing, gun-toting rural America. And deliberate or not, makes for a fascinating backdrop to a compelling, if conflicted, action romp.

Survive isn’t the lifeless husk of the Metal Gear series many thought it would be with its creator no longer running the show. When it gets its groove, it’s something very special indeed - its story, world, and freedom for exploration and creativity are all remarkable. The problem is that it'ss difficult to ignore the malingering corporate influence that has filled the gap in Kojima’s absence.

In 2005 Shadow of the Colossus was a masterpiece and that remains so in 2018. This is one of the greatest games ever made and is an accolade that shows no sign of being detached from its monumental presence.

The achievement of Monster Hunter: World, however, is that by the time these more archaic foibles become an issue you will already be in too deep. Any issues melt away as you leap whooping from your seat, punching the air after you slay a giant beast while on your last sliver of health. In Monster Hunter: World, those heart-pounding epiphanies happen with thrilling regularity.

This adaption of LA Noire is terrific fun, with Rockstar putting a lot of work into its detail and implementation. This is a game perfectly suited and definably improved by virtual reality. Its fleeting and occasionally disjointed nature, however, betrays that this is essentially a testbed.

In an age of downloadable content and add-ons, of game updates and expansions through online changes, it's just disappointing to see the game not support players who have already played Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon's story in any way other than a few small changes. For those players, it really is the definition of the oft-used review phrase "just keep at it, and eventually it gets really good."

In an age of downloadable content and add-ons, of game updates and expansions through online changes, it's just disappointing to see the game not support players who have already played Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon's story in any way other than a few small changes. For those players, it really is the definition of the oft-used review phrase "just keep at it, and eventually it gets really good."

What Xenoblade Chronicles 2 does bring to the table far outweighs the negatives, with an huge, enthralling world to explore, monsters to attack and a living, breathing habitat. The world doesn’t simply exist to service the needs of the player, and instead focuses on a cohesive, engaging world to explore and discover. The added bonus of being able to take the game on the go is a huge plus, with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 managing to scale down well for short bursts of gameplay when you’re trying to manage the wealth of systems and mechanics within it.

It’s as compelling a ‘pure’ single-player shooter we have had in many years. What is perhaps most surprising, and welcome, is how well an FPS controls on the Switch in handheld mode. It isn’t as naturally suited as other controllers, perhaps, but after a little adjustment I found myself tearing around hell blasting demons with no problems at all. A great game worth the technical compromise if you want to play it on the go, and a promising sign that FPS can find a home on Switch.

It’s still a great RPG too, with a compelling swords and sorcery narrative, plus a sprawling, reactive world to explore.

It’s a fascinating, if flawed game and this Switch version isn’t a rush job either. It runs well on the console (even if it’s so big you will need an extra SD card) and takes advantage of some its unique features. Playing LA Noire on the go in handheld mode is tempting enough, but it also brings in motion controls for investigation when playing at home.

A mostly good adventure, then, but not without some major foibles. There’s no doubt Battlefront 2 is better than its predecessor but we do miss some the latter’s purity – guns, for example, still feel excellent to fire, but there’s so many of them now that you feel like you’re in Call of Duty shooter territory. Amidst a forcible loot system it creates a slight sense of soullessness that could see DICE’s latest effort risks fading into the background as another decent shooter that misses its mark. This is Star Wars, though, so there’s no doubt they’ll get another shot.

Origins can’t entirely shake some of those Assassin’s Creed foibles, it can still be buggy and a little bloated, but it also retains much of what made the series popular in the first place. A fascinating historical setting, fleet-footed action and intrigue aplenty.

Fundamentally, there aren’t many changes to the Football Manager core. This is a yearly update of a series that’s been around for a long time. All the same, there have been fundamental changes to elements of the game, and they’re welcome, and logical.

Don’t venture into the Frozen Wilds expecting clues as to the nature of Horizon Zero Dawn 2, then - in truth this is barely HZD v1.2. Instead, revel in a sizeable single-player, story-driven expansion that harks back to a time before season passes, loot boxes and downloadable dress-up kits, and which also provides an excellent excuse to revisit one of the year’s most enjoyable games.

It’s a Neapolitan ice cream of shooters, essentially, with three very different flavours squashed together in a single serving. They’re not always complementary: it’s hard to reconcile the fact that you’ve got a former Doctor Who shouting “twat!” at Nazi zombies in the same game as a haunting glimpse of history’s worst genocide. Still, between its moments of good taste and a mode that’s more Bad Taste, it hits a consistently high standard – and though it’s mostly riffing on ideas we’ve seen before, it manages to make several of them its own. The series’ dwindling popularity has proved a tough nut to crack for its publisher in recent years; COD: WWII proves that maybe a Sledgehammer really is the right tool for the job.

BJ’s latest adventure is a wondrous exercise in how to tell a story, how to write a script, and how to shape characters that feel both human and superhuman simultaneously. It really is amazing that a big budget game like this got made at all. Thank goodness MachineGames got the chance – it’s one of this decade’s best.

The pleasure of Super Mario Odyssey comes in the constant promise of something new. It is, in many ways, the greatest digital holiday you will ever take. An idea that Nintendo is very much aware of with the ever expanding wardrobe of travelling outfits, detailed maps for each Kingdom laid out like travel brochures and souvenirs that you can buy up with stage-specific coins. The variety, invention and sheer generosity on each trip is bewildering, an affirmation that Nintendo in this kind of exuberant form are absolutely peerless. A trip to savour. And not a second wasted.

It doesn’t bring anything new to gaming, or even the South Park series of RPGs. It refines and improves, changes and updates, but generally speaking it just gets things right, plays a fun game and keeps you engaged from start to finish. The fact it made me laugh a surprising amount throughout is just a bonus.

The game’s greatest strength is avoiding the pitfalls of the first; removing frustrating boss fights and lessening the amount of forced stealth sections. It also manages to sustains its variety for a long time – you will fight similar enemies and you will see patterns in how it deals outs its frights, but the interesting setup and constant design flair begs to be seen as you tiptoe through its suspenseful world.

Its vast environments, spine-tinglingly satisfying movement and combat, and its deep and engaging Nemesis system all come together to make a game that manages to blow its almost-perfect predecessor out of the water. Even if you have no prior experience of Lord of the Rings (I sure don’t), you owe it to yourself to spend a bit of time knee-deep in Orc entrails.

The farming and village life fantasy has never really been fulfilled in this way before, and the Switch makes it possible. It's a testament to how a game can use a platform to round everything together, becoming as accessible and fun as it could ever be.

If you have any interest at all in platformers, 2D shooters or both, Cuphead is an absolute must-play. It is the pinnacle of the genre, and deserves to go down in history as an all-time classic.

Frippery aside, Forza Motorsport 7 is an exceptional, exhilarating and absurdly polished racing game. It may lack the depth of some of its more serious competition, but it finally feels comfortable in its framework as a more accessible and energetic simulation.

While there perhaps isn’t a huge amount of headline features to shout about in FIFA 18, its nip and tucks make for the most-rounded and compelling FIFA in a good few years. Both on and off the pitch.

So yes, a similar story indeed. Because despite all of this, PES 2018’s extraordinarily good action continues to push the peripheral stuff where it belongs... in the peripheries. But in the context of continuing to assert itself as the purist’s choice, there is still plenty of change needed off the pitch. Still, that football eh? Bloody hell.

Destiny 2 is more accomplished, more rewarding and more fun than its predecessor ever was and that’s a hugely impressive achievement. Years ago, when Bungie first announced the series, they promised a 10 year journey. The first game failed to deliver that dream, but with Destiny 2 we have moved a hell of a lot closer.

And this is the thing, they may have needed a bit of Mario magic to rub off on them but this is the perfect stage for the previously maligned Rabbids. From Rabbid Peach’s casual leaning against cover and obsession with taking selfies as bosses fall, to a slobbering rampaging Donkey Kong boss, to Rabbid Yoshi’s curiously adorable dinosaur costume they manage to steal the show from their inspirations. Another pleasant surprise in a game full of unlikely triumphs.

You will recognise the beats, but Chloe and Nadine make their own fresh and thrilling impact on the familiar. You could not imagine a more fitting finale.

It is probably best summed up by a battle with a beast in the game’s denouement: a suffocating struggle in the dark, punctuated by fierce assaults on the senses that goes on for ten minutes too long, losing its lustre in the process. By turns thrilling, terrifying, thoughtful, thoughtless and tedious. A strange game indeed.

Its mix of refined mechanics, updated graphics and all new cars results in a game that’s up there with the studio’s old-time greats. It’s proof that, very occasionally, they still make them like they used to.

This fuzziness at the game’s heart makes you wonder what magic Fullbright could work with its eye for detail worked into a meatier tale. As it is, Tacoma drifts towards ennui more than you would hope, especially given its familiar setting. But what a setting it can be; rich craft and detailed stories worked into every corner, device and discarded piece of paper. Despite some misgivings, a trip to Tacoma is still one worth taking.

The plot can be a little vague at times, and the opening hour is fairly meandering, but Conarium is an otherwise exciting, creepy jaunt through the realm of unspeakable evil.

Players that have sploshed around in Splatoon may find this sequel a little too reserved and iterative, particularly when some of its less endearing idiosyncracies remain. But Splatoon 2 is also a more complete version of a game not enough people played. An intoxicating splash of colour and invention in a genre usually reserved for grit.

In Local and Private lobbies, Tekken 7 is almost perfect, but comes short of greatness when it comes to looking at the full package, which is a frustrating disappointment.

The cast of characters breathe a lot of life into The Surge’s otherwise cloying, horror-themed take on robots and cyborgs, and by the time the end credits rolled, I found I’d experienced an exceptionally interesting, exciting and satisfying narrative action game.

There is a saunter and character to its roster, to its stages that fizz and crumble under the weight of battle, it is kinetic and fun and easy to get into. And it might just be your new favourite fighting game... even if you have never played one before.

Despite these niggles, I was left feeling satisfied after the post-credits scene. I’m already planning on diving back in and fixing the mistakes of my first run. Prey makes you feel clever, excites, intrigues and, at least once, can be absolutely terrifying. But, hey, at least you can turn into a toilet roll now. If you’re looking for one of the most interesting triple-A video games this year, it’s over here disguised as a sci-fi shooter.

There is so much more I want to say about What Remains of Edith Finch. So many thoughts I have about every single character, every single lovingly crafted room in the dusty, abandoned halls of the Finch house. Every single feeling it evoked in me that I didn’t expect to feel, and every thought I have about being made to feel these things so strongly after such a long time.

From its sumptuous decor and macabre mysteries to its tragic, toy-like characters, The Sexy Brutale is a smart, sharp and assured game that is well worth your time. Even if you have to adhere to its usual rules.

With Battle Mode restored, the bumper pack of tracks and the neat nips and tucks, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the fullest and most finely-tuned entry the series has seen. As well it should be. While there can be legitimate eyebrow-raising at full price for a three year old port, there is enough work here to offer value to even the most seasoned MK8 player. And crucially for Nintendo and the Switch, it is a splendid celebration of its host console’s charms.

If you have no interest in the anime or manga and simply want a musou game, there are better, more fleshed out options out there, but for Berserk fans it’s rich with cutscenes lifted from the latest anime, faithful to the story, and gives you a chance to hack folk apart as Guts. In other words, it’s a lot of silly, fan-pleasing fun with plenty of scope to improve in a potential sequel.

If the combat is Andromeda’s most pleasant surprise, it is the alarming drop-off in the game’s writing that is of most concern. The dialogue, in particular, is unusually flat and laboured for a Bioware game, while Andromeda often fumbles what should be its biggest moments.

It feels like such a painstakingly created world could have hosted a more interesting and considered exploration of its themes. As it is, Wildlands is a vast, pretty and militaristic playground for friends to charge around in. And at that, you cannot deny its potency.

The action is superb, the story is one of gaming’s best, the atmosphere and tone are easy to get lost in, and the soundtrack is a marvel, with the end game credits song being one of the best in existence. It’s been a ridiculously packed year for quality games, and with certain bigger open world games out there right now it might be easy to skip NieR: Automata, but you owe it to yourself to play this. An incredible sequel to one of gaming’s strangest, most flawed masterpieces.

It’s a fantastic, fascinating example of interactive visual storytelling. It would absolutely only work in the form that the developers have created, and it’s a game I’ll no doubt be permanently using as an example in future when I want to illustrate just what can be done in the genre. It’s also an excellent, creepy story which is deftly told, and a game I can recommend without reservation.

It’s slightly too short, a bit technically ropey in places, and extremely heavily front-loaded with some very dense lore, but once you work your way through the initial overwhelming lack of direction, what you’ll find is an exceptionally rewarding RPG filled with deep systems, a ton of genuine replay value, and a lot of love and care.

It is dense yet lean; its maps bursting with distraction but without an inch of it wasted. It is classical yet modern; drawing on the heritage of its own illustrious series while openly embracing more recent gaming trends. It is challenging yet welcoming; giving you the choice to ease yourself in or take on some of the game’s most fearsome creatures...These are just some of the reasons why, after several dozen hours of play and despite not yet seeing its quest to completion, I am convinced that it is one of the very finest video games ever made.

For Honor’s fighting mechanics are weighty and gratifying, communicating the violence and impact of medieval combat through handsome visuals and animation. Your heavily armoured warrior (of which there are 12 different classes) has a plethora of stances, light and heavy combo attacks, guard breaks, dodges and parries that are governed by a quickly depleting stamina bar.

On the surface, Horizon seems like a jumble of influences but, just like the murderous machina wandering its lands, the game is far more than its component parts, delivering a gripping story, satisfying combat, and the most gorgeous video game environments I’ve ever seen. Horizon confidently carves out an identity of its own in an overpopulated genre.

The result is a game that’s enormous fun, but tends to work best in relatively short bursts. I found myself getting through a mission at a time, enjoying playing around within each level, but feeling like I’d had enough after an hour or so. But when I returned to the game afresh, the different levels helped entertain all over again.

Hundreds of hours in and I was still getting excited at new aspects and discoveries within the game, finding constantly fresh and rewarding things to do and see. It’s a slick, fantastic hack and slash with a strong sense of charm and sincerity, accessible yet tough to master, and if there’s any justice, it’ll go down in history as an all-time classic.

My word, this is very, very good horror. It is perhaps understandable that Capcom have held back as it ensures that, as Takeuchi ordered, Resident Evil is returned to its core. In that, 7 is a success, providing a rich, atmospheric and reverent chiller that is just silly enough to make sure we are all having fun.

There always seems to be a caveat with Nintendo, but for me the quality of the game outweighs the concerns. In play, this is Super Mario making himself at home on mobile, and few can match our favourite plumber when he gets into the groove.