A superior sequel worth the wait. It's another huge, memorable and magical adventure.

Gloriously cheerful and refreshingly original rock 'n' roll fun.

Offering a fresh take on Super Metroid while updating the franchise for modern audiences and supplanting the sluggish (but narratively important) Metroid II, this return to form is everything a 2D Metroid game should be. Not every modernising addition to the classic formula is as well-polished as it could be, but this is still one of the best entries the series has to offer.

A complete makeover is overdue, but Pokemon remains as engrossing as ever.

Even just interacting with villagers is enjoyable, particularly when they bow down in fear, applaud your courage, or swoon at your handsome looks.

This time the AI is a harder nut to crack, requiring more thoughtful passing to open up your opponent before you strike. So long as you're thinking like a footballer, you're going to score goals.

Distilling everything that's made the series great to this point and offering a razor sharp modern take on the combo-heavy character action genre that DMC helped instigate, Devil May Cry 5 is a juvenile-yet-very-adult game for those who like their monsters grotesque, their combat stylish and their demon-hunting boys and girls dumb but outrageously sexy.

Everything you'd expect from the PS2 game has somehow made it intact, lending credence to Sony's claims that the handy portable is almost as powerful as its big brother.

With a story of boundless optimism, dozens of huge, living worlds to investigate and one of the most satisfying battle systems seen in a Japanese roleplaying games in years, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a charming and engrossing long-form adventure.

The loading times on the PSP may test your patience, but this is a game entertaining enough to make it worth the wait.

Streets of Rage 4 is the rare retro revival that respects and celebrates the originals while also having something of its own to say. The visuals, sounds and mechanics aren't as envelope-pushing in 2020 as the originals were in the early '90s, but the balance between embracing nostalgia and reformulating the brawler for the current decade is struck wonderfully.

If you like your games fast, then strap yourself in for a white-knuckle ride, because Burnout Revenge is relentlessly intense.

An insuppressibly charming journey of sky-high exploration and Metroid-style underground dungeon crawling, Owlboy offers a whole lot of heart alongside its innovative takes on tried-and-true adventure game staples.

Four-player online races are smooth and fiercely competitive.

With more complex combat, a slimmer and harder-hitting story, more interesting characters and better performance, this is a superior game to its predecessor in every way except for the fact that there's less of it. A perhaps unintended consequence is that I find myself caring less about a full-fledged future sequel following the adventures of Peter Parker and his rich friends. I'm really hoping we see more of Morales.

The cute Japanese animation belies the tactical intricacy.

Film-to-game adaptations with this level of clarity and vision are incredibly rare, with The Great Circle letting players inhabit a pitch-perfect Indy in his prime, complete with all the whip-cracking and fascist-punching that implies. But even for those unfamiliar with the franchise, this is a seriously satisfying period pulp adventure.

This Lego retelling of the prequels is both a loving tribute and an amusing parody.

Delivering yet another fresh twist on Shovel Knight's peerlessly smooth faux-retro brilliance, King of Cards is a challenging, funny, beautiful game that serves not only as the final chapter in the saga but also as proof of how far its creators have come.

A complete makeover is overdue, but Pokemon remains as engrossing as ever.

The handling is remarkable, and the fact the tracks are littered with obstacles that bounce and crash realistically makes it all the more fun. Throw in excellent damage modelling and it's plain to see that this game has nailed the core mechanics of an addictive racer perfectly.

Beautiful, weird and unexpectedly complex, there is at times a deep reverence for gaming's most famous brand here, and at other times an overwhelming urge to pull it apart and make fun of it. At the same time though, Kingdom Battle sets itself apart by avoiding the running and jumping that made its main character famous, focusing instead on an impressive strategy shooter design that would have been great on its own but is made even better with the addition of Nintendo's familiar properties.

Splatoon 2 has a lot of substance, and every bit of it is literally oozing with style. Keeping everything that made the original game great while expanding on modes, fashion, weapons and features, this is a powerfully addictive family-friendly shooter.

Breathtaking in scale, Medieval II will keep you glued to the screen.

Delivering a pitch-perfect blend of cinematic spectacle and cartoony fast-paced action, while also providing the most impressive showpiece yet for the PlayStation 5 hardware, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart looks, sounds and feels like a truly next-generation game. That it does this while also offering the exact same high level of heart, imagination and endearing characterisation we’ve come to expect from Insomniac Games is just as impressive.

With deep characters, heaps of interesting narratives you can tackle as you like, constant gratifying upgrades, a stunning look and potentially the greatest sword combat in modern gaming, this is a Samurai adventure I couldn't get enough of, even if I had some niggles with the overall story and a few outdated design choices.

With a cinematic story filled with personal drama, subversive twists and likeable characters, but set in a fantastical universe much more akin to the one seen in print, this is the best of Spidey's film and comic book iterations combined. But it's also a sensational game, blending open world acrobatics with more focused linear areas, and a well-realised protagonist with the freedom of fun upgrades and customisation.

With a flimsy-but-fun narrative premise and rock solid platforming gameplay backing it up, the rhythm of exploration and upgrading here is about as addictive and satisfying as they come. I'd go so far as to say Dig 2 out-Metroids Samus Returns, but on top of that its mix of free-form exploration and self-contained puzzle rooms makes for an original twist.