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.

OlliOlli is, at its heart, a blissfully simple game. A focus on four wheels and a plank of wood, and not planting your face into tarmac. But for all of its channelled simplicity, it is a markedly clever piece of work, melding the best of trick-based sports games and twitch 2D platforming and executing it with poise.

There are speed runs, challenges and endless survival modes to add longevity, but it takes a special kind of game to provide such a lean playtime with such self-assured verve. That is Superhot all over: stylish, confident and perfectly formed.

While it may occasionally frustrate, Antichamber is a wonderful experience. There are vague hints of a plot, but it's a plot about self-discovery and making progress, about learning how to overcome challenges and find your way through life's confusions.

The sheer scope of possibility is a little daunting, so it’s really to the game’s benefit that it is just so instantly addictive.

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.

Wii Fit Plus is a solid entry in the fitness game genre. Despite its shortcomings it's guaranteed to make the act of exercising enjoyable and if you don't already own a game of this type, but are interested in trying one out, Wii Fit Plus is a no-brainer; as an entry into the genre, it is peerless.

MadWorld is one of the most eye-catching, stylish and well-made games to land on the Wii in some time. It's also tremendous fun and for players old enough to enjoy its bloody delights, it lands in the essential category effortlessly.

It contains obvious missteps and a clear reliance on repeating objectives at a time when the open world genre has taken leaps forward, but for all its repetition, it never became boring. For all its barren desolation, I was never without things to do, find or see to continue my satisfying path of progression.

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.

Like its cast, it can feel like an unholy jumble of disparate ideas, yet that unpredictability is one of its greatest assets. Code Name S.T.E.A.M. represents a gamble on the part of both developer and player, then, but as long you’re prepared to accept its unconventional terms, there’s a good chance it will repay you quite handsomely.

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.

Dirt 5 is not a complicated game. And while racing purists may want a game with more meat on its bones, that is to its credit. It is almost old-school in its focus on delivering a breathless parade of rough-and-ready racing. And if you have a next-gen console to show off its extra bells and whistles, then all the better.

While it does occasionally creak under its years, at its heart Shadow of the Templars is an enthralling, sumptuous adventure with wonderful characters and a marvelous sense of wit and charm. The kind of things that just never get old.

While this relationship is a triumph rarely seen in video games, the moment-to-moment storytelling is not as well-crafted. Firewatch sets up a smart bait-and-switch by messing with your assumptions about what’s going on, but doesn’t quite deliver on it. The build-up is tremendous, lacing the air with paranoia and tension by dangling different threads. But by the end doesn’t tie together.

Newcomers should be aware that some of Resident Evil’s old-fashioned style can frustrate, but it is still a creepy, involving slice of bona fide video game history.

Heart of the Swarm sits halfway between an expansion and a sequel, yes, but also halfway between casual and competitive, singleplayer and multi, offering a huge amount and not really all that much at all. It’s bombastic and reserved, overwrought and beautifully finessed.

In the end, that's what'll keep you playing, trying to discover the hidden death-dealing methods, like throwing a group of enemies up into the air and using the flare gun to set them all on fire. That's a freebie, use the knowledge wisely.

The game's technical presentation is fantastic; aside from the aforementioned excellent voice-work, the soundtrack and music are top-notch and the visuals are varied, detailed and well rendered.

The horror movie the game reminds me most of is Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods. Not from a narrative sense, you understand, but in the way it lampoons the genre, while never losing sight of what bloody good fun it can be.

If you're willing to foot the bill then the sheer amount of new content on display is sure to make this a reunion to remember.

In the end, that's what'll keep you playing, trying to discover the hidden death-dealing methods, like throwing a group of enemies up into the air and using the flare gun to set them all on fire. That's a freebie, use the knowledge wisely.

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.

If it wasn't for the genius of that writing, the setting and the characterisation then Stick of Truth would undoubtedly be quickly sidelined as a generic RPG lacking depth and originality. That's really besides the real point, though. Stick of Truth features some of the most daring and explicit writing ever seen in a mainstream video game and it more than makes up for its by-the-numbers gameplay.

As my board like to say: we are pleased with the progress being made.

There’s around eight different forms of in-game currency alone, and enough upgrades and modifiers to give even Euclid a headache trying to track all the variables. However once you fall under Hades’ spell after a couple of runs the near limitless combinations of character builds becomes bewitching.

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.

First Strike's maps did a terrific job of throwing Call of Duty's strengths into sharp relief.