The Banner Saga 2 doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, it just makes the wheel bigger and keeps on rolling. Even with minor stumbles in the form of slow combat animation and initially overwhelming combat mechanics, it’s a game that excels at what it aims to accomplish.

Demon's Souls is a very good game. It's not a fabulous game. On the one hand, it's hard to recommend to anyone who isn't a hardcore RPG fan or who doesn't have a mountain of patience at their disposal. On the other hand, Demon's Souls rarely puts a foot wrong – the game mechanics are tough but fair.

Redout 2 is brutal, beautiful, and insanely fast. This is the first anti-grav racing sim, and we didn’t even have to wait until 2048 to get started.

Ooh, aah, that’s how it always starts, then later there’s running and screaming. Deep Rock Galactic can be deceptively easy going at times, right up until the swarms of bugs come crawling out of the inky darkness to besiege you and your friends. Who knew space dwarf mining could be so fun?

Lonely Mountains: Downhill is a new, minimalist kind of extreme sports experience. Whether you’re popping on for a quick run or spending longer riding across numerous mountains, Lonely Mountains provides a challenging but ultimately relaxing experience.

Full of cute and cuddly jellybean dude bumbling into each other in a race for the crown, Fall Guys is just about the most wholesome battle royale imaginable, and a whole lot of fun.

The environment may be small, and the choices are still perhaps too limited in their scope, but watching the events of the third episode unfold – and having some direct involvement – is simply something that’s not to be missed if you’re a fan of The Walking Dead.

Path of the Midnight Sun is well worth a look if you’re a fan of turn-based JRPGs. If you enjoyed the old Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem games, then there's a high chance that you'll love this.

Battlezone is easily one of the best games on PlayStation VR, even with a high price point. It’s retro futuristic tank combat is fun and engaging, while the randomised campaign, four player co-op and the challenge it can throw your way keep me wanting to come back and try to beat it time and again.

As a spiritual successor to Firefly Diary, A Rose in the Twilight excels in nearly every way. The simple art style of the game makes the gruesome events of the game even more striking, and you feel for this mysterious, troubled girl and her equally mysterious golem companion, as they traverse death traps and monster mazes in search of answers. It’s a carefully constructed narrative that never once feels hindered or neutered by the lack of direct dialogue. Despite a few encounters that were too vague for my tastes, the puzzles and challenges you face in the game are satisfying and difficult in just the right way. It all comes together in a wonderful package with a few stray flaws, but they hardly end up detracting from an otherwise beautiful experience.

There’s a sense that this is Splash Damage and The Coalition playing to the crowd with Gears Tactics. It undoubtedly captures the look and feel of the Gears universe, squeezing it into a slick turn-based tactical game, but while I can see a few genre fans attracted to its more cerebral form of warfare, it’s the series fans who are going to get the most out of it.

Visually striking, hilarious, heart-warming and, most importantly, fun to play, we still can't believe that Frobisher Says is a free download. It may not have the substance or longevity of Uncharted or WipEout, but manages to maintain equal, if not better, replay value, ideal for short five minute bursts or social gatherings.

Orcs Must Die! 3 is a great return for the series, giving you a near endless number of ways to bring down destruction on the Orc hordes, even if the larger War Scenarios lose some of the series' carefully weighted balance.

A crazy, over-the-top spectacle that’s uproariously enjoyable, with its only restraint being Nintendo’s handheld hardware.

Perhaps the best thing it does though is really hook into your emotions. You might not start off enjoying crushing workers or priests at the start of the game, but by the end you'll hate them and want to hit them with as much elemental power as you can muster. In fact I could do with squishing some right now.

Sleeping Dogs isn't original in most of its mechanics and narrative but the little things that differ from genre staples are enough to warrant your attention. The combat system is a joy and the focus on unarmed combat, rather than firepower, is quite refreshing.

Gran Turismo Sport is a near essential purchase for PlayStation 4 racing fans. There might be a few disappointments in some of the limitations and regressions, but the brilliance of the game is in the small details that combine to enable willing players to become better drivers and racers and the implementation of multiplayer. Underneath it all, this is still a very familiar feeling Gran Turismo racing game, but it’s also one that’s set to grow and evolve over time and looks set to herald a new era of competitive online racing.

Quartet is a superb JRPG that takes the best of its influences and adds a welcome suite of quality-of-life improvements, from a built-in turbo mode to the removal of random battles. The story builds up well, the characters are engaging, and the regular drip of weapons and abilities keeps things interesting throughout. Quartet is an easy recommendation for JRPG fans in general and would also make for a good introduction to the genre for newcomers.

SR2 has its flaws and plenty of them, and whilst it’s possible for the game to descend into little more than driving and shooting, the sheer amount fun to be had and the fact the game just wears its heart on its sleeve makes it impossible not to have a great time in Stillwater.

Subnautica: Below Zero is a masterfully horrific experience that encourages you to push on despite your fears. It's a fine balancing act of the horrors you'll face underwater and the rewards you can get for evading them. It's really very hard, but it's also really very good.

The simple fact is that despite turning the game off every ten minutes and vowing never to play it again, I kept coming back to Baboon! It is annoyingly addictive, and I mean that in every sense, it will annoy the hell out of you.

Despite some technical issues brought about by Cities: Skylines’ transition to Xbox One, it remains an enthralling city builder, and one which has virtually no competition on console. The most keenly felt loss is the ability to fast-forward through time, but for those who succumb to its more relaxed pace, Cities: Skylines is liable to remain the best home console city builder for some time.

I found it hard to be excited during the opening hours of Mass Effect: Andromeda. It feels too safe, too much like what’s gone before, but then it clicks. There’s a moment where the galaxy opens up to you and you find yourself embarking once more on a huge mission across compelling, beautifully constructed planets, surrounded by memorable characters. Sadly the glut of technical missteps serve to cheapen proceedings, but this is still an adventure you don’t want to miss out on.

Little Nightmares is something of a minor classic. Gorgeously gross and surprisingly inventive, it creates a genuine feeling of terror and tension. It’s a bit odd to say a game that involves skipping over corpses is enjoyable, but it is, just don’t blame Tarsier if you have nightmares.

Summer in Mara is a lovely experience with an abundance of charm and a welcome engagement with environmental and emotional subjects. It makes for a perfect introduction to the genre for younger gamers, and a great relaxing escape from the real world for more mature sorts. It doesn’t have the depth of last year’s My Time at Portia but is both more accessible and has more developed characters. While there may be little prospect of a summer trip to sunny islands in reality, you could do a lot worse than take a holiday with Koa and explore the wonders of Mara.

The story isn’t always fantastic, but when it hits the mark (read: when Pagan Min shows up), it can be absolutely wonderful. In this game, there’s tons to do, and you’ll really enjoy doing all of it, particularly if you’re riding an elephant as you go.

There’s nothing quite like GNOG out there in design terms , with each monster puzzle box giving the impression of being a toy. The VR aspect is a really nice option that enhances the experience too. However, while GNOG looks and sounds great, it doesn’t generally offer much difficulty, instead happy to almost point out the answers to you. A charming but short and simple puzzle game, it’s nice and accessible to everyone.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 has certainly impressed. Whilst Dynasty Warriors games are normally reserved for fans of the franchise, Gundam 3 seems to transcend that. The collect and upgrade element for the Mobile Suits is a genius idea, and provides the incentive to keep playing despite the somewhat repetitive nature of the missions.