Aside from the one or two issues it has Ys VIII is a magnificent game, it's fun to play, with mechanics that suit both casual players while giving more hardcore gamers a challenge. The plot is compelling and the characters memorable, while the music is not only enjoyable but also instills a sense of adventure and nostalgia that serves to endear the whole experience to the player. It’s the perfect starting point for new players while remaining true to the saga’s long legacy.

Nioh 2 is everything its predecessor was and much more! The art design and soundtrack are sterling, the combat and customisation is deep and improved. There really isn’t much bad to say here.

Its amazing what has been done with this portable Witcher 3 port. Yes the graphics are downgraded, yes it does not look as good as other versions but it is a well running portable version of a great RPG. You get a lot of game for your money and it is well worth your time and effort.

Two Point Hospital is entertaining, quirky and very funny. It has a nice learning curve and its gameplay never gets stale. It improves on the game that influenced it in most areas and does not try to re-invent what was a good game to start with. I really enjoyed it a lot and I think most people will to.

It’s a truly wonderful trick that Yakuza 0 plays, and rather than work out how it does it, just sit back and let this video gaming alchemy entertain you.

Destiny 2 is a better game than the original but more akin to a reboot than a full sequel.

On sheer value for money alone The Master Chief Collection is a fantastic proposition, add in that it contains some of the highest regarded Xbox titles of all time, touched up, enhanced and fit for a whole new generation of players, it’s quite simply a must buy.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe represents the ultimate version of the title, and even though the experience is over way too quickly, the game is easily one of the Nintendo Switch’s best titles, and a must-play for fans, new and old!

Games have been around long enough to poke fun at themselves and their cinematic predecessors, and while other titles like Viewtiful Joe and Saints Row: The Third have both got their fair share of jollies from doing this, it's arguable that no game until now as done so with such vigour as Battleblock Theater.

A sequel that treads very familiar ground whilst remaining fresh and innovative, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a great title that delivers on both its promise to give the player an immersive narrative, and also in giving them untold freedom to play the game however they want, as long as they can deal with a dumb hunger meter. Building might be bad, but has never felt so good.

Heroes of Hammerwatch is rewarding, fun and the gameplay loop is very intelligently designed. Every time you return from a run through the dungeons, unless it was a complete disaster, you will be able to progress your town in one direction or another. I just wish some of the game was a bit easier to see on the Nintendo Switch's small screen.

It may have stumbled on occasion, but as Cry Wolf interlaces the straggling parts of what has come before, Telltale have once again given a lesson to writers of other story-driven games in how an ending should be done.

I am immensely happy that I can take everything I have learnt and plug it into a simulator over the summer whilst I’m travelling around Brazil watching the World Cup. It’s simple and strips out a lot of what I’ve done and utilised this year but the raw challenge is there - to win something and develop the team.

Graphically, Age of Wonders: Planetfall is great. It features a top-down approach allowing you to view the map at your pleasure, uncovering it as you go. Each race has it's own distinct style allowing you to easily tell the difference between all six and the sheer detail that has been put onto each building, enemy and weapon is insane. It really is a pleasure to look at.

What Brave New World does is complete Civilization V. The game was never really all there and it’s taken nearly three years to make it all the way.

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is a near perfect game let down only by the demanding mission padding and a soundtrack that represents a slight step backwards from its predecessors.

Total War: Three Kingdoms is a top-tier Total War game, and the pinnacle of historical and real-time strategy tactics.

Technically fantastic, a joy to play for the most part and an awful lot of game for your money.

It may be tricky at first, but stick with it and you'll soon find yourself enthralled by Chime Sharp. It's an addictive and absorbing take on a classic formula, with a great soundtrack and a sleek aesthetic for hours of satisfying puzzle action. Just make sure to turn up the volume.

A quirky fusion of genres which challenges as much as it charms.

The Journey makes the purchase worthwhile and the rest of the content will keep you playing for months. FIFA 17 delivers as per usual.

Like a food pairing that shouldn't work but does, Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle overcame our scepticism and rewarded us with a supremely competent turn-based strategy game.

Bringing together all the classic ideas with some truly essential new ones, in many ways It’s About Time is the ultimate Crash Bandicoot sequel.

7 hours in and this game is addictive and rewarding in a way that suggests there will few other games this year that can compete. It is as if Level-5 have put everything they have done in a cauldron and magically created this incredible RPG. [Provisional Score = 90]

As a gamer you owe it to yourself to experience Shadow of Mordor if not for anything else other than the Nemesis system because playing a single-player game never made you feel less alone.

A fun, colorful throwback to yesteryear whose quirky charm and addictive gameplay just about outweigh its issues.

With its incredible level of customisation Planet Coaster is the pinnacle of theme park management games, however be warned that this depth comes with a vicious learning curve.

Whilst it might take a while to click, once it does, nothing can stop TxK taking over your life.