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.