Gori Cuddly Carnage is a really fun game that offers a decent mix in its levels and challenges. I did play through levels a couple of times because I enjoyed the gameplay and the humour of it. While there are some issues, namely the camera and a couple of platforming bits, overall Gori Cuddly Carnage is a fun, gory, time.

F1 2013 is a solid outing for the series, taking the successes of the past and building on them incrementally, whilst adding an exciting glimpse of what’s to come with F1 Classics. It might leave me wanting more, but F1 2013 is the best and most comprehensive release so far.

There’s certainly enough here to whet anyone’s appetite, allowing IO to turn present future updates as mini-events, maintaining a constant buzz among fans throughout the year. That said, there are some minor imperfections that bring Hitman down a peg or two.

If you’ve had a couple of years off, or even if you haven’t, this is an ideal time to return to Madden. This is a great entry in the series, and being able to take it on the go with Switch 2 and having the game in its fullest form is what NFL fans have been waiting years for.

Yooka-Replaylee isn’t just the definitive version of the game; it’s one of the most enjoyable 3D platformers this side of Nintendo first party titles or Astro Bot. The levels are now packed with things to do, the range of different challenges keeps things interesting, and the upgrades and equippable tonics enable you to customise the difficult to suit your playstyle. All in all, this is now an essential purchase for fans of 3D platformers.

For a certain nostalgic generation of gamer, it’s hard not to fall in love with Headlander’s retro futuristic stylings and the kind of “what if…” set up that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Terry Nation TV show or a film like Logan’s Run. The combat and and boss fights let it down, but this is an eminently enjoyable twist on the Metroidvania genre.

Individual elements of the game are superb, but the juxtaposition of a grim war and puzzles and platforms just doesn’t quite work, and the game as a whole cannot live up to the emotional heft and gameplay of the last twenty minutes.

Toukiden 2 is everything a sequel should be. Instead of lazily expanding on the original game, which would have been so easy to do, Omega Force actually went back to the drawing board, completely reinventing those parts that needed work. By streamlining much of the dull admin and encasing the game in a larger open world, Toukiden 2 manages to break free from the pack. As a result, it’s easily one of the subgenre’s best entries to date and one that, in some ways, is preferable to Monster Hunter.

Vultures: Scavengers of Death masterfully brings together the survival horror and turn-based action genres, losing none of the foreboding feeling while dialling up the tension significantly. A handful of bugs do little to detract from the experience, so Vultures remains a triumph. A bloodied, tense, and foreboding one, but a triumph nonetheless.

Zenless Zone Zero is a stylish and incredible-looking blast of anime goodness, and even when it’s deliberately slowing the pace down, another frantic bout of the stellar combat won’t be too far away.

So, praise all around then, and I guess that means you should purchase it immediately, right? Well, maybe not. It took me a fair few restarts to actually make any progress, during which time I suffered a broken camera, broken progression, treasure chests not opening properly, and a few more bushels of assorted Early Access jank. When things did get going, it was generally smooth, but I can’t fully recommend jumping in until the first round of big patches get rolled out. I also had some save issues, and I’m not sure how much this was down to intentional roguelike restrictions, and how much was just bugs and glitches. So, proceed with caution. [Early Access impressions]

Where most game series can rest on their laurels, Dawn of War III is essentially the third reinvention of Relic’s Warhammer 40,000 RTS. As the game captures a sense of grand scale, it loses some of the strategic nuance in changes to the cover system, and it’s a disappointment that tried and tested multiplayer modes aren’t included as well. That said, the campaign makes for an enjoyable and challenging romp through yet another crisis in the 40K universe, and while some gameplay elements have been simplified, the three deeply contrasting races offer plenty for players to sink their teeth into online.

Overcooked and the Nintendo Switch are really a perfect match of frantic co-op cooking and a games console that’s all about taking games on the go and sharing them with people. Right now it’s difficult to wholeheartedly recommend this version though, given the widely reported frame rate issues. Here’s hoping they can cook up a fix sooner rather than later.

Hard West 2 comes with an enjoyably aggressive twist on XCOM-like turn-based combat, and with a fun way of upgrading your characters alongside, but it's wrapped up in world exploration and characterisation that just leaves me wanting to get back in the fight. There’s a lot of fun to be had in Hard West 2, even if it’s not blowing minds as a complete package.

As literal a walking simulator as you could want for, Baby Steps makes no secret of being a challenging, punishing game. It's enjoyable in a way, and the awkward sense of humour laced throughout both the gameplay and the story will appeal to some, but that enthusiasm drains after the opening couple hours.

Solar Ash is one of the best games of the year. It looks gorgeous, its story is pretty unique and surprising, and its set-piece moments get really intense, as you might expect from skating along the back of a black goo and bone dragon. It's a nice surprise to end the year with that any "skating combined with combat and gigantic monsters" enthusiasts, which is definitely already a thing.

Chrono Cross is an incredible game that has been deserving a remaster for far too long. It's a shame that, after all these years, it had to arrive in such a sorry state. The Radical Dreamers Edition does some minor work in improving and upgrading the experience, but with such poor optimisation, it's a headache to enjoy the experience. Longtime fans might be able to forgive the issues and savour the incredible visual novel side-story Radical Dreamers, but a game as iconic as this deserves better.

A larger more ambitious game from Giant Squid that shares influences with Breath of the Wild only to subvert it in clever ways: retooling a bow as an ingenious mode of traversal and puzzle solving, an open world with no map, and a shooter where you don’t have to aim. It’s an accessible and streamlined approach making for an unmissable adventure to lose yourself in.

Sure, it's too easy, very similar to Star Wars, and once completed doesn't offer a huge amount of replayability, but what there is represents good value for money.

The new music is wonderful, the additional stories are engaging, and the updated visuals make it hard to return to the pixelated appearance of the original DS release. Still, despite these obvious improvements and extra pieces of content, there’s a downside to the update. Some people, especially newcomers, won’t find issue with the new control scheme, but for many long-time fans the dual-character combat of the original is a huge part of what made it a game worth remastering.

As Dusk Falls caught me by surprise, taking a genre of game that's become a bit too familiar and injecting it with a tense crime drama and a singular flair. My hat goes off to Interior/Night and I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do next.

With a new WW2 tale to tell and Axis plot to foil, Sniper Elite 5 expands and refines a lot of the action that will be familiar to fans of Sniper Elite 4. There's a few rough edges, but this is a fun stealth action romp for Karl Fairburne.

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.

Despite my gripes with the game and the struggle to make it through achingly slow opening chapter, the care and detail that went into the game is clear to see, and I know there are JRPG fans that live to appreciate the kind of meticulous detail that this game contains.

Mantis Burn Racing is a solid top-down racer that really just wants more tracks and less repetition to be considered great. As it comes to Nintendo Switch, VooFoo have done a great job with the port, making a handful of sacrifices to hit the 60fps target the vast majority of the time, and preserved local split-screen for which the Switch is so well suited. It’s just a shame that there’s barely a pulse when looking to play online.

Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble has some improvements over its predecessor, but falls into the same trap of letting you quickly spam units to win most missions. With a dull story that never grabs you and decent but unremarkable gameplay, Tiny Metal still has room to grow.

It might not be original, but it's certainly good fun, and all credit to Southpeak for picking up the slightly esoteric title for a European release – spread the word, 3D Dot Game Heroes deserves a place in your PS3 this Spring.

Defense Grid 2 is an enjoyable return to Hidden Path’s dystopian future, though whilst the sequel features a number of improvements some key features of the original, in particular the engaging story, have been lost along the way.