If we were scoring Gran Turismo 7 on its racing alone, we’d be looking at a five-star game that’s also packed with nostalgia and charm. However, the early hours will be sluggish for racing game fans, the car line-up could be more diverse, and the online experience currently tarnishes the amazing on-track gameplay.

Guardians of the Galaxy shines when it focuses on the characters and the world around them. It might not be the most innovative game this year, but it excellently executes the tried-and-true linear action-adventure formula to deliver a great single-player experience.

Back 4 Blood truly is the Left 4 Dead 2 sequel you’ve been waiting for. While it might be more difficult than the average zombie co-op, its unpredictable gameplay will have you coming back time and time again.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is one of the best arcade racers to release on modern consoles in years. Tight controls and action-packed races make for a fun and satisfying racer that offers intense racing and a lot of ways to play.

We Were Here Forever certainly lives up to the mantle of Total Mayhem Games' most ambitious project yet, and is great fun with a friend. However, its puzzles aren't particularly innovative for the most part - despite their strong presentation - and the skewed balance of some puzzles often leave one member of your tag team twiddling their thumbs while waiting for the other to finish their part.

EA Sports FC 24 retains everything that’s kept people coming back to EA’s soccer series for the past 30 years, from its slick arcade gameplay to the popular wallet-wrecking Ultimate Team mode – both made better this time around by PlayStyles and Evolutions respectively. While EA doesn’t hit the back of the net with every tweak and introduction, it’s clear the studio is trying to make good on its new-found freedom.

Like a Dragon: Ishin is a beautifully crafted re-release whose technical hiccups are overcome by its meaningful message and engaging combat.

The Quarry is a wonderfully atmospheric interactive horror game that offers up some of the best acting performances in the medium today. The rich, intertwining narratives deliver an incredible story that you will want to keep going back to - especially if you don't save everyone.

Crusader Kings III's console edition still has some teething issues to sort out, but it manages to translate the drama and depth of the PC strategy game in an approachable format for console gamers.

Honkai Star Rail is HoYoverse’s most confident showing yet. While its gameplay doesn’t really do anything new, it excels at the fundamentals. When matched with a memorable cast and enthralling story beats, it cements itself as one of the stronger releases of 2023 so far.

While it has weak spots and doesn’t push many boundaries, Starfield is still an excellent RPG experience. Bethesda has once again mastered the things it built its reputation on – world building, quest design, and deep customization. However, it’s found new things to excel at too, with exciting combat and a novel implementation of New Game Plus.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a reboot with a big, bloody heart. It re-tools Mortal Kombat’s story and characters in creative ways, and for the most part, the combat is excellent. Unfortunately, there are some elements that feel rushed. It’s still a very good fighting game, but it should have been a great one.

Horizon Forbidden West is a true next-gen experience and one of the best games available on the PS5 right now. With breath-taking graphics and fantastic character work, Guerrilla Games has raised the bar for open-world action adventure games. It's not perfect, but you can't help but want to play more.

Halo Infinite offers the full Master Chief experience in a big, beautiful sandbox. While 343 may not be breaking new ground with the light open-world elements it has added, it has done a great job of creating a solid experience for new and returning players alike.

Featuring multiple classes, strange worlds, frantic combat, and astounding replayability, Remnant 2 more than improves on the foundation laid by its predecessor, making for an enjoyable and action-filled romp.

Lies of P borrows heavily from a tried-and-tested formula indicative of the soulslike genre, but it still has combat mechanics and secrets that set it apart from the rest of the pack. Despite difficulty spikes and some muddied story beats, it is an excellent soulslike worth checking out that isn’t completely reliant on ideas from other places.

Wo Long’s dance-like battles and refreshing twists on the Soulslike formula make it one of the most effective forks of the genre, even if it falls far short of the subtle world building expertise seen in FromSoftware’s games.

MLB The Show 23 avoids the same disappointment as its predecessor with the addition of excellent and meaningful content. While there are some annoying performance issues in online modes that will hopefully be ironed out, it’s definitely worth any baseball fan’s time.

Despite a few regressive design choices, Payday 3 largely manages to deliver a rejuvenated experience with best-in-class combat, improved stealth mechanics, and an excellent social atmosphere with friends. Starbreeze Studios hasn’t emptied its vault of tricks just yet.

The Crew Motorfest is an enjoyable racer that shows more developers can tackle the open-world arcade racer genre. While it doesn't do anything new or surprising there is very little to fault with the varied gameplay experience and the luscious island of O'ahu Ivory Tower has built here.

FIFA 23 is easily one of the best football games EA has released in a long time, but meaningful new mechanics and fantastic new features are still overshadowed by a mode that’s a pay-to-win system in everything but name.

Dying Light 2’s makeup is considerably different from the first game, delivering an impressive and meaty character RPG you can sink time into, even if it does come at the cost of the game’s night-time horrors.

Synapse is a compelling addition to the world of VR shooters, loaded with plenty of appetizing gameplay and intriguing monochromatic world-building, even if some frustrating bugs and a challenging difficulty curve could get in its way.

Armored Core 6 carefully synthesizes wanton destruction with a neatly-woven narrative that offers plenty of food for thought, despite being under-explored at points. Boasting a simple-yet-effective control scheme, and an expansive level of customization that never feels like it’s too much, FromSoftware has crafted a balanced experience that will definitely appeal to players, regardless of their experience with the mecha game genre.

Evil Dead The Game is an action-packed treat for fans of the franchise’s camp brand of horror and players looking for an asymmetrical multiplayer game that’s easy to pick up and tough to master. Drawing on gameplay features from a variety of genres, this game is a unique offering in a space that desperately needs innovation.

Stray is a brilliant adventure that lets you live out life as a cat in a compelling world with unique characters and well-thought-out puzzles, but its unsatisfactory ending marrs an otherwise great game.

Metal Hellsinger offers gripping, adrenaline-inducing combat that rewards precision and mastery, and it's set to a fantastic soundtrack. However, a poor final level sours what is otherwise one of the best shooters you will play this year.

With amazing visuals and presentation, brilliant gameplay, and a wide variety of modes, NBA 2K24 is one of the best sports games of the year and a standout in the NBA 2K series as a whole. However, innovations to its monetization have just made its microtransaction problem even more profound.