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.

The Witness is a game that will genuinely have you punching the air or laughing out loud, just from correctly drawing a line on a grid. If that isn’t the mark of a truly special game, I don’t know what is.

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

Remaking a touchstone of the medium in this fashion is like creating a big-budget, 10-part Netflix drama series out of the title sequence from Grange Hill. Franchise fans will tune in to see an outsized sausage on a fork only to be confounded by the three episodes dedicated to the netball teacher’s character arc. Curious newcomers tempted by the production values and peerless reputation could find the soporific pacing and weirdly dated references to outsized sausages leaves them wondering what all the fuss was about. And everyone else might just shrug and watch The Witcher instead.

It is, however, a considerable improvement on the existing template, to the point where it's hard to see how the series can avoid a fairly notable change in approach. This could – and perhaps should – be the swansong to the Pokémon formula we're accustomed to, but if it is then it'll go out at the very peak of its existence: teetering on the edge of feeling too familiar, sustaining an incredible feat of balance, but nonetheless still standing tall at the very top of its game.

Even as a solitary pursuit, Dragon Quest IX is an absorbing and accessible voyage through a world founded on traditional JRPG philosophy, but executed with craft and style that is wholly universal.

But here is X & Y, finally dragging me in with added accessibility and a visual flourish. If Pokemon’s greatest pleasure is the joy of discovery, then I’ve finally discovered it. And hooray for that.

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.

You’ll feel every punch, grimace at every brutal knock-down and celebrate every win as if it were your last. It’s a heart-thumping, nerve-jangling gaming experience and, as a sports game, is agonisingly close to perfection. A little more finesse in its Legacy Mode could have made it an all-time classic.

There are so many beautiful touches to the game, and it’s so different to what’s come before, that it will keep blowing you away, surprising you, and delighting you. It’s clear how much the team behind Sun and Moon care about their players and their experiences, and it really makes a difference.

Flawed as it is, Heavy Rain is a game that anyone with even the vaguest interest in its intentions should experience for themselves. While it’s not quite the revolution for storytelling in video games, its accomplishments should prove it a worthy vanguard. And its ambition should be rewarded.

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.

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.

It delivers content by the bucket load and looks and sounds incredible.

There's plenty of depth here to challenge even the most experienced tower defence player but Fieldrunners 2 also has a learning curve that beginners will be able to follow. It's a must-have for your iPhone.

Without doubt, my favourite iPhone game of 2010, and the best use of touchscreen controls I have ever played with.

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.

Knight, for all its foibles and frustrations, consistently gives you that injection of adrenaline.

It's cowboys and zombies; what could go wrong? Answer; very little, and while Mr Bleszinski's tweet contains a kernel of truth that the undead can be a "go-to" for lazy developers, the quality of Undead Nightmare puts it out of the firing range of such criticism.

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.

The odd balancing issue does threaten to undermine Mario’s first foray into co-op multiplayer and there is the nagging feeling that, perhaps, Nintendo were not entirely sure of its own focus. But these are quibbles oft forgotten when in the throes of NSMB Wii’s joyful, beguiling character.

There are so many beautiful touches to the game, and it’s so different to what’s come before, that it will keep blowing you away, surprising you, and delighting you. It’s clear how much the team behind Sun and Moon care about their players and their experiences, and it really makes a difference.

DJ Hero is an exciting and brilliantly realised package, and while it may not offer the fantastic co-op experience of some of its contemporaries, its slick gameplay and fantastic presentation make it a must-have title in an overcrowded genre.

Despite the volume of content and the sharp precision and attention to detail levelled at everything from visuals to audio, Forza 6 can oftentimes feel like the standard bearer of a bygone age. On the one hand it's a mechanical wonder, but on the other it's firmly rooted in ideologies and design tropes of the past.

The most triumphant comeback you could hope for.

Prepare to go insane in the brain with one of the year's most imaginative interactive experiences.

A fine and fitting send-off for gaming’s slickest, most inventive thriller.

Nothing wrong with excelling at one thing. And when it comes to cathartic, gore-fuelled gunplay, there is none better.