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.

Where it stumbles is in delivering a believable, human world.

What a pleasure it is to find a video game with such warmth and fascination with companionship. And what a joy it is for it to be found in a game with such an elegant sense of exploration. Some of its technical quirks cannot be ignored -errant frame-rates and inept camerawork especially- and some may find Trico’s capriciousness anathema to seamless adventure. But that is also what makes him and The Last Guardian so remarkable. Things that any animal lover can relate to - it is beautiful, heartfelt, unique and infuriating. And I adore it.

A grim, gorgeous milieu of societal depth and cunning design. That its mechanics slot so naturally into its environment, giving players the freedom and choice to explore, influence and infiltrate means that Dishonored 2 represents the very best gaming has to offer.

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.

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.

I’m genuinely surprised with how much I adore Watch Dogs 2’s world. Its satire works because it is always punching up, never down. As such, Watch Dogs 2 feels like it’s making a statement. Rudyard Kipling once said, “San Francisco has only one drawback – ’tis hard to leave.” While Watch Dogs 2 isn’t as faultless as Kipling’s vision of Northern California, you’ll still want to spend tens of hours wandering this virtual recreation of the famous city and on into the Bay Area beyond.

D-Pad Studio has crafted a sublime, pitch-perfect adventure. Smart, gripping, joyful and expansive, Owlboy sets the bar sky-high for future 2D platformers.

Imaginators captures a magic that I’ve rarely felt since my late childhood, playing the aforementioned N64 platformers on a Winter’s afternoon. This is how you do games for younger people, this is how you do Toys to Life, this is how you do action platformers in general.

A brilliantly solid, popcorn, sci-fi shooter with you behind the visor. This is, for our future space credits, the best Call of Duty package in years.

Xbox One owners will be super pleased –– thanks to Bethesda’s ongoing mod support since the release of Fallout 4, you’ll get access to over 200 mods at the time of writing. PS4 players aren’t so fortunate, and will likely be disappointed by the paltry number choose from –– Sony’s 1GB limit on mod files means that the mods themselves are limited to more cosmetic changes that don’t nearly explore the vast potential that a community driven bank of content provides.