Sniper Elite 5 is guaranteed to be enjoyable for fans of the series, with its distinctive gameplay loop and some well-designed levels. However, Rebellion's attempts at innovation generally miss the mark - as does the campaign's incredibly bland story.

While exploring the confines of the iconic castle, Hogwarts Legacy is a marvel. Outside of it, things are a little less straightforward. While there is some excellent world-building and combat here, Hogwarts Legacy is let down by a questionable narrative and some unnecessary open world baggage.

Scorn is a haunting journey through an alien world that asks a lot from players, both through its striking imagery and some smartly designed, unique puzzles.

A Plague Tale Requiem is a thrilling continuation of Amicia and Hugo’s story, but the gameplay innovations introduced pale in comparison to the huge strides taken when it comes to the game’s narrative and the world Asobo Studios has created.

While Scars Above’s exploration and progression leaves a lot to be desired, third-person action fans will still enjoy their time blasting bosses within some visually-striking biomes.

While not the breath of fresh air many hoped for, FIFA 22 manages to at least improve the experience of FIFA 21. Ultimate Team still has its intrinsic issues, but manages to make itself more appealing thanks to less-infuriating gameplay and a less-punishing Division Rivals system.

Far Cry 6 makes some meaningful narrative improvements, helped by a fantastic performance by Esposito. However, repetitive and familiar gameplay, combined with a restrictive progression system, means changes are needed in the future if Ubisoft wants the series to continue.

Death Stranding: Director’s Cut is the definitive version of the game, packaging everything in and adding a whole lot more. Kojima’s unique and captivating journey across America feels like it achieves what it couldn’t on PS4, due to excellent DualSense enhancement and some meaningful updates.

Roller Champions is a fun and engaging team-based multiplayer game that might become your new casual multiplayer addiction. However, a lack of progression and limited customisation options without paying money holds it back from being great at launch.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands offers an excellent shoot and loot experience set to the backdrop of tabletop gaming in an ode to D&D. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for something different, it feels far too similar to any Borderlands’ games that came before it and fails to take risks in a fantasy genre that welcomes them.

Modern Warfare 2 is an enjoyable first-person shooter, and if some of its issues get addressed, it could be the best Call of Duty title we’ve had for a number of years. However, with the highly-anticipated, free-to-play Warzone 2 launching so soon after, it’s hard to see a world where MW2 gets the attention it needs.

One Piece Odyssey’s attention to detail and respect for its source material informs an original story that is, at times, obfuscated by drab side content, and an innovative combat system that, sadly, rarely gets pushed to its limits.

Vampire the Masquerade Swansong is a top-tier narrative-focused adventure set in the World of Darkness that offers complex characters and a fascinating world. However, performance issues on PS5 mar what could have been a sublime experience.

The Lightfall expansion delivers a fantastic destination in Neomuna, a fun new subclass in Strand, and it makes some great changes under the hood of Destiny 2. However, the heart of any Destiny expansion is its campaign, and Lightfall's is well wide of the mark.

Need For Speed Unbound delivers everything fans of the series will want, with a cool new art style too. But due to some woeful voice acting and a lack of spectacle, it fails to deliver on the aesthetic it hoped to achieve.

Saints Row offers a fantastic sandbox full of opportunity and some great new gameplay additions, but its story and characters feel underutilized and neglected, making for a rather unmemorable experience.

High on Life won’t be for everyone. However, those who love Justin Roiland’s comedic style will find a game that offers humour and a silly narrative with arcade-like gameplay, sometimes to its detriment.

An intricate and rewarding VR climbing adventure held back by an easily forgettable story, Call of the Mountain succeeds in showing off the PSVR2’s best features but fails to leverage Horizon’s storied past.

Battlefield 2042 has everything you want as a Battlefield fan: destruction, levolution, and carnage. But while it’s fun to play, it is clear that Battlefield 2042 is DICE’s most ambitious Battlefield yet - and it hasn’t quite come off in the way many were expecting.

Gross, gory, and gorgeous in equal measure, Dead Island 2 may not be one of 2023’s most exciting or innovative games, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun and well worth the wait.

Party Animals offers a fun time with friends thanks to its visually distinct art style and party antics. While it is a fun multiplayer brawler, over time its fun does start to lose its luster as you engage in the same battles with friends.

Exoprimal’s blending of the futuristic and the prehistoric is an excellent concept, and it’s served well with satisfying combat and a diverse array of Exosuits. However, it’s let down by some slow pacing and repetitive game modes, and any new live service game needs to be doing more out of the gate to convince players to stick around.

GRID Legends is a big step in the right direction for Codemasters, offering enjoyable and easy to access online racing. However, it is let down by a few technical hiccups on the Xbox Series S, and fails to shout loud enough in a genre that’s about to become even more crowded.

SkateBIRD offers cute birds and chill vibes in a neat package, but inconsistent and, at times, frustrating mechanics, as well as a lack of polish, makes it difficult to really enjoy the strong audiovisual elements it brings to the table.

Despite some impressive DualSense implementation, the blemishes embedded into The Medium's gameplay and narrative still show on PS5. While The Medium is an intriguing horror game, it certainly isn't a great one.

Ghostrunner 2 sets out to improve on the fast-paced foundation of the first game with a few new ideas thrown in as well. While some of these ideas are intriguing and support some of the game’s best setpieces, the overall experience is constantly bogged down by frustrating decisions made along the way. Instead of offering a greater challenge than its predecessor, the end result feels annoying for annoyance’s sake, compromising what made Ghostrunner stand out in the first place.

An unfocused jaunt around Tokyo’s unnecessarily open world will provide for a solid way to while away the hours, but don’t expect the nail-biting survival-horror experience that Tango Gameworks is known for as you pound the pavement ticking off boxes.

Trek to Yomi sets out to be classic Kurosawa in videogame form, but it ends up being hampered by clunky gameplay and a convoluted story.