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.