Remedy has always been seen to push boundaries, or experiment with different ideas using its own kooky melting pot of creative innovation, but never has it felt as accomplished as it is with Alan Wake 2. This feels like the game this developer has wanted to make for years, unrestrained in the best possible way as it goes hard on layered storytelling, flawed yet fascinating heroes and a series which for over a decade now has been harbouring untold potential. To see that ambition finally realised is a delight, and the end result is one of the best survival horror games I’ve ever played. It’s Remedy let loose, debuting a shared universe that is bound to continue changing the game for years to come.

Despite its uninteresting story and occasional jankiness, Ghostrunner 2 still manages to be a great successor by understanding why the first game was such a success, sharpening nearly every mechanic, and building upon them with the addition of the bike and wingsuit. It might not be the most innovative sequel in the world, but considering how great the original Ghostrunner already was, that’s no bad thing.

While none of the major aspects of the game are particularly extraordinary, The 7th Guest VR does everything right. The setting, story, and puzzles are enjoyable and cohesive, while small details like the reality-shifting lantern view and the volumetric video cutscenes help it stand out from most VR puzzle games on the market. You might not be amazed by anything in particular, but you certainly won’t be disappointed by any of it.

What Cities: Skylines 2 is, though, is the perfect foundation. Colossal Order has supported Cities 1 for almost a decade. It’s a game with a thriving community. There’s no doubt in my mind that Cities 2 will receive the same sort of care from its dev team. Patches, DLC, content packs, better (maybe?) mod support. It’ll all arrive at some point. It’s just not here yet. The game isn’t unfinished, it’s just unpolished, unhoned, unrefined. It’s still a gem, though.

Web of Wyrd’s loving recreation of Mike Mignola’s iconic art style and satisfying, if occasionally frustrating combat made me want to fall in love with it, but its half-baked roguelite mechanics, lack of challenge, and repetitive nature hold it back from greatness. This is still the best game Hellboy has ever had, but that’s a high bar to clear when your competition is The Science of Evil.

The endgame hides a few new stages and some cool minigames, but you are more or less dropped onto the map and asked to scour the place for everything you missed. I’m excited about playing with friends and family to snoop out the remaining paths that alluded me, and it feels like a game of this ilk would really come alive as four friends are causing maximum chaos together. Alone, its whimsical spark is sadly only surface level, fading away much as the petals on a Wonder Flower wilt under Bowser’s influence. The magic is there, and very tangible in all the right places, Nintendo just needs to take a look at the foundations and reinvent them alongside this luscious new aesthetic. Do so, and we’d have a masterpiece.

Spider-Man 2 feels like it’s right in the centre of Sony’s blockbuster sequel design philosophy. Where Horizon Forbidden West did the same thing but bigger, The Last of Us Part 2 elevated itself technologically, narratively, and most importantly, ambitiously. Spider-Man 2 falls between these approaches - it has some of Horizon’s safety, but with a slice of the elevation The Last of Us brought. Spider-Man 2 is the future of polished, competent, elevated sequels, and brings with it so many technical flourishes and a perfect execution of the formula that it stands in a class of its own. Like Miles’ own motto, Spider-Man 2 can be itself, and be greater.

I have a love/hate relationship with Endless Dungeon. When it’s good, it feels excellent. The early-game progression is incredibly satisfying, filling out quest logs and completing pages of upgrades is rewarding, and it looks and sounds sublime. On the other hand, the lengthy runs take a toll, and once you get into the late game, the rate of progression doesn’t cut it anymore. Suddenly, the time invested doesn’t match up with the strength of the upgrades you can acquire, and the game feels very much like a Sisyphean task as originally intended, a punishment.

Sonic Superstars isn’t holding back the series after the positive reception to Frontiers. It’s more than enough to keep it trucking along. Sega is sensible to be cautious about shedding too much of Sonic’s retro identity, but it needs to realise that none of us have hung around this long for Knuckles’ terrible recovery speed, or the strange instances where a single hit reduces our ring count to zero. Sonic Superstars brings us so agonisingly close to the definitive 2D Sonic game, but for now, it’s a good foundation to build on.

Lords of the Fallen’s Umbral world is unlike anything we’ve seen, providing a unique spin on the Souls genre. Copycats have started to stagnate in recent years, rarely offering anything new, and the genre as a whole risks growing tired. FromSoft itself tried to break out of that habit by exploring what it would look like in an open-world setting with Elden Ring. To see a Soulslike that iterates in its own way rather than chasing new trends is a breath of fresh air, and offers hope for a genre that has never escaped FromSoftware’s shadow.

Despite its shortcomings with performance and AI pathing, Total War: Pharaoh has been one of the most enjoyable Total War games I’ve played for quite some time. Its refined focus on a smaller period of history has allowed for experimentation elsewhere, with dynamic weather and terrain, resource generation on the campaign map, and a wave-based invasion system with the Sea Peoples that constantly keeps you guessing. I hope that some of these mechanics can be taken and expanded on for future, main series releases for Total War.

The Fabulous Fear Machine is a metaphor, but not really. The propaganda machine that shapes society is very real, and it's used to tell us what to believe, what to buy, who to hate, and how to behave, all to benefit and enrich those of us who deserve it the least. The titular Fear Machine is based in power dynamics, class consciousness, and the susceptibility of society at large, but after playing, I’m not sure if Fictiorama Studios understood how its own machine actually works.

Mostly, Detective Pikachu Returns does what its title promises. It’s a little longer than the first game, coming in at just over 20 hours, but other than that it’s still Pikachu stealing the show, some cosy and straightforward crimes that take a little too long, and some more interesting puzzles on the way. It won’t make you think too hard, but it’s relaxing and opens up the world of Pokemon a little wider. Fans of the first game will welcome the sequel with open arms, but those looking for a Pokemon-themed LA Noire may need to keep searching.

When it comes together, Mirage does manage to evoke the same feelings I had back in 2007 running round Acre for the first time. There’s an exquisite stealth sandbox nestled away in here, but a few excellent missions don’t make up for the frequent bugs, lifeless city, utterly pants combat, or the fact it completely wasted The Expanse’s Shohreh Aghdashloo on some of the flattest, most perfunctory writing the series has ever seen.

Forza Motorsport is a beautiful and fast experience, but one that slows itself down to the pace you need while still keeping you solely behind the wheel. You can opt for as little or as much assistance and realism as you desire, and players of all kinds will find exactly what they want from the game. Whether it’s a simulation that you will have to master, or something where you just want to hold accelerate and feel the thrill of racing in a high-speed competitive sport without having to think too much about it, Forza Motorsport is prepared to suit those needs.

It’s remarkably easy to tell yourself you’ll do just one more expedition, only to balk when the Princess tells you how long you were down in the Abyss. I caught myself desperate to push on just a little further, to level up just one more time before I went back to Base Camp, leading to late nights that I’m not upset to have spent grinding my way to prowess and power. As long as you can handle the Princess chatting your ear off while you’re at Base Camp between expeditions and occasionally passing out and being brought back there before you're ready, the hours you’ll effortlessly sink into “just a little more” of Silent Hope will be a joy from beginning to end.

While Cocoon didn’t connect with me on the same level as other indie puzzlers, I had a great time venturing through orbs to solve mind-bending puzzles and explore alien worlds. The game also succeeds when it comes to giving you a great WTF ending, which is a requirement for this genre. It’s nice to see that even after leaving Playdead these developers are still able to deliver another fun albeit utterly baffling experience. All that's keeping it from being a true masterpiece is a little more child danger and an appearance from the Quaker Oats man himself.

EA Sports FC 24 is the same game you know and love, for better and worse. Gameplay feels good, PlayStyles are a fantastic addition that allow you to succeed while truly playing your way, but the game is held back by its focus on Ultimate Team, which excels at the expense of the rest of the game. Single-player modes feel completely neglected and in many ways have gone backwards since the last game, to the point where buying this feels pointless if you’re not going to play online.

Separate Ways is so good that it makes other Resident Evil games look worse by comparison. It’s hard to believe that this campaign was only $10 when Resident Evil 3 Remake, a game of similar length yet far less satisfying, was full price just three years ago. It’s even more surprising that just last year we were playing Shadows of Rose, a lightweight, uninspiring retread of Resident Evil Village that similarly tried to make old locales feel new again, but failed to match the quality of the base game. Separate Ways is more like a Resident Evil 2-style parallel campaign than a bonus DLC, and it’s been given the level of polish and care it deserves. Separate Ways has always been essential to the RE4 experience, but the remake elevates it to the quality of a standalone Resident Evil game. And at just $10, it might be the best value in gaming this year.

Disgaea 7 is a course correction from some of the mistakes made in Disgaea 6. Gone is the slimmed-down character roster that saw many series staples disappear - instead, Disgaea 7 has more class options than any previous game, with entirely new classes and monsters to boot. Gone are the overinflated stat values and the game-breaking unrestricted auto-battle mechanics. The result is a game that feels more ‘Disgaea’ and less experimental, making it a more fitting modern follow-up to the crowning glory that was Disgaea 5 as a result.

Paleo Pines is a largely successful execution of standard farming sim formulas and brings an interesting new (read: peaceful) interpretation to the monster-tamer genre. Collecting and caring for dinosaurs is the most compelling part of the game, almost to the detriment of other mechanics. As it stands, the game is a little unbalanced and could do with more effort put into the dinosaur-centric mechanics and less reverence placed on tying progression to arbitrary limits on player freedom.

Mineko’s Night Market is a delightful journey that explores childlike storytelling and themes of tradition and friendship in a way that captivates players. Its beautiful style and emphasis on Japanese culture draw you in, but the compelling and varied gameplay makes you stay. Its slow and simple start may be off-putting for some, but if you’re starting a cute little life sim game like this and expecting fast-paced drama, you’re at the wrong market stall.

Right now, Payday 3 is a foundation. The heisting itself is better than it’s ever been, with quality of life changes, more confident level designs, and improved stealth mechanics that make it stand above Payday 2. But in making the jump to it, you’re also giving up the years of updates and general stuff Payday 2 offered. If you’re a newcomer to the series, or a lapsed crook coming back to it, this is a great jumping on point. If you’re already invested in the series, you might find it difficult going back to basics.

Phantom Liberty is good, but 2.0 is the rising tide that lifts all boats. It makes Cyberpunk 2077, unambiguously, worth the trip.

It’s a shame that Invasions and the snail’s pace progression drag Mortal Kombat 1 down a little because, if it wasn’t for them, this would easily be the best Mortal Kombat to date. Even with those problems, MK1’s excellent gameplay and story mode make it a much-needed breath of fresh air for the series and a great first step into an exciting new timeline.

Even if it can be a little too easy and was over far before I’d have liked, Gunbrella’s incredible movement options, surprisingly intriguing mystery, and punchy gunfights quickly made it one of my favourite indies in recent memory and a universe I’d love to see more of in the future. Just remember, there’s a 100 percent chance of blood raining from the sky, so you better bring a brolly.

When all is said and done, though, being inspired this heavily by what is widely considered one of the greatest games ever made is hardly a bad thing. When Lies of P shines, it even outdoes FromSoftware itself in its nuanced execution. When it falls back on what came before, it does so with a confidence and understanding of the genre that makes it stand out.

Ad Infinitum is an enjoyable horror game for genre aficionados, and tells a compelling story in a unique setting. It has a few moments that will have even the most grizzled horror veterans whimpering in a corner, building tension to create some pulsating scares, all the while giving you enough time to compose yourself before the next one. But you’ll need to look past some frustrating design decisions and pretty glaring performance issues to get the most out of it. Beyond that, there’s just enough there to make your time with Ad Infinitum worthwhile.