Vacation Simulator goes well beyond what we originally expected from this sequel. It cleverly expands on just about everything from the original game while bursting with the same lighthearted humour and the kind of immersive interactivity other VR devs could only dream of achieving. It’s a lot cheaper than a real holiday too, and involves less time sharing sweaty metal tubes with other humans, which definitely helps.

Clever, emotional and raw, Sea of Solitude is a personal journey that at times you feel like you’re intruding on. It is resolutely truthful and, just as Kay turns aspects of herself inward and outward, you can’t help but consider your own place, both amongst the people around you and inside your own head.

Slay the Spire takes the best parts of roguelites, dungeon crawlers, and card games, and mixes them together into an unholy, but absurdly enjoyable game. It’s the kind of game that gets under your skin and uses it like a tent, just camping out and reminding you that you aren’t playing it. It’s the kind of game that you can jump in for one quick run and suddenly realise that you've been playing for five hours and should really be asleep. It’s the kind of game that is easy to play, hard to master, and impossible to put down. What more could you want?

World End Syndome is a visual novel masterpiece. The story is gripping and evocative, blending fun romance and tense murder mystery together incredibly well. The characters are sharp and beautifully illustrated, and the way their personalities and backgrounds developed over the course of the game was equally well-done. Best of all is the smart save system that keeps track of your progress and does a great job of encouraging you to keep coming back for the full story.

We. The Revolution is a stand-out recreation of the nightmare that was the French Revolution. Despite the turn based strategy mechanics falling flat, Polyslash still manage to put you on the edge of your seat by performing the near impossible feat of making resource management exciting. This is a game that demands you keep your head, when everyone else around you is losing theirs.

Wet Dreams Don't Dry is a collision of ideas that are thirty years apart. It's got a surprisingly liberal attitude to sex that doesn’t excessively objectify women from 2019, but controls, puzzles, and willy shaped chandeliers from 1987. The game has its 'sexy' moment, but the story is more concerned about highlighting how far we've come since 1987 and that's really hard not to like. I'm looking forward to the next game, maybe Larry will get the girl. Or boy. Or both at the same time. Or a llama.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission is a card collector's dream thanks to the astounding volume of cards and characters in the game. Unfortunately, bringing those cards into battle isn't nearly as satisfying as collecting them, as long-winded duels and shoddy enemy AI ruin the simple to learn yet hard to master nature of the card game. Fans of Dragon Ball will still have a good time here, as long as they're willing to put up with a lot of waiting and repetition.

War Tech Fighters is raw, unadulterated robot action. The flashy combat and easy to master controls make it a blast to dive in and play. The design aesthetic and narrative are lacking massively, which makes it hard to stick with the game for a long time, but if all you're looking for is some simple robot blasting action, War Tech Fighters will be right up your alley.

The Sinking City promises a nightmarish journey through a Lovecraftian townscape filled with monsters and threatening cults, but too often falls into a loop of forced combat and resource hunting. The investigative parts are excellent, and this is probably the best Lovecraft adaptation since Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth, but it still never really lives up to its potential. Close, but no Shoggoth.

If you like Pokémon Go but you’re more invested in the Harry Potter Wizarding World, then this game may be for you. Pokémon Go has matured incredibly well since launch, so perhaps Wizards Unite will follow the same path to success, but for now, there isn’t much to be excited about. If you were hoping that Wizards Unite would rival the cultural phenomenon that was and is Pokémon Go, you’ll be bitterly disappointed.

Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka With Love is a good point and click adventure game with sense of humour and some challenging puzzles. The Switch version does have some technical issues and there's a little bugginess, but Irony Curtain is a fun little send-up of spy thrillers.

Super Mario Maker 2 is all that the original was and more. The Story Mode feels like a proper campaign, demoing all of the old and new feature and barmy possibilities found in the intuitive level creator. It's a shame that it features some typical Nintendo online stumbles, but it shouldn't be long before that's forgotten in the face of the boundless creativity of the Super Mario Maker community.

EDF: Iron Rain is big, it's dumb and it's also a ton of fun thanks to fantastic split-screen and online multiplayer. Pack your biggest auto-cannon, switch your brain off and you'll be chanting 'EDF! EDF! EDF!' in no time.

While F1 2019 adds features from the all-time bucket list of many an F1 fan, these new additions aren’t quite fully formed yet. This still managed to be the best Formula 1 game by Codemasters to date – the handling of the F2 cars and new online modes are genre defining – but there is always scope for further improvements and some areas are now beginning to feel a little stale. Video gamers can be so demanding sometimes.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is not the perfect Iga-vania, but it is a worthy entry in the genre. It's clearly Castlevania in all but name and long term fans will find much to enjoy here, but it's lacking in polish and refinement with a few niggles with the controls and too many unwelcome bugs at launch. With a few more patches, Bloodstained should be the game all us fans wanted it to be.

Gato Roboto is far from purrfect. The boss fights are a delight, challenging me every step of the way and rewarding me for patience and determination. Everything else, though, is just a bit too safe and unoriginal. From familiar environments to basic upgrades and uninventive gameplay, Gato Roboto is an okay, standard Metroid-style game. In a world where so many titles fall into that genre, though, you can easily find something similar to play that has a bit more originality to it.

Samurai Showdown is a strong entry into the sea of fighters, showing a lot of love for the original series, while also being able to appeal to newcomers. A few niggles aside, people are going to be playing Sam Show for a long time. EVO just got more exciting to watch.

Mini-Mech Mayhem is a great addition to the PSVR library. It's an accessible and fun strategy title that can provide hours of fun. There are some issues that do need ironing out, but if you have a PSVR headset then Futurlab's latest creation is well worth getting.

First there was the N. Sane Trilogy and now there’s Nitro-Fuelled. Activision’s Crash Team Racing rebirth is more than a quick cash grab – Beenox has modernised an all-time classic with such evident passion, making this the best kart racing game we’ve seen on PlayStation or Xbox for many, many years.

To say Trover Saves the Universe is a good VR game would be an understatement. It perfectly blends over-the-top comedy and solid combat while making the most of the VR technology at hand by dragging players into the world and making them centre of the story. Its brand of comedy will not be to everyone's liking, but I still think Trover Saves the Universe stands on its own as one of the best VR games released to date.

My Friend Pedro is everything I wanted it to be. Smooth, stylish gun play, powered by creativity that makes you feel like you’re making your own action scenes in a movie. What’s not to love? Pedro is love. Pedro is your friend.

Judgment is another great Japanese crime drama that will grab your attention as the stakes get bigger and bigger, but it's not quite on par with the Yakuza series. Some of the private detective busywork could make way for more of RGG Studio's trademark goofiness to cut through the seriousness of the main story, but anyone who has any interest in Far East crime dramas or the Yakuza series should pick Judgment up. Judgment has been judged and has been found worth playing.

Hell is Other Demons is a shining example of how to make a game that's relentlessly difficult, while also being utterly satisfying and enjoyable to play. It may get to be too hard way too fast, but once you get over that difficulty ramp, you're in for a hell of a good time. The incredible gameplay is matched by an awesome aesthetic and incredible sound design. If you want some unforgiving video game action, look no further.

Super Magic Cane Zero is a great little loot-em-up that offers some fantastic local multiplayer action. The random loot mechanic will keep you coming back whilst the ridiculous storyline and setting should bring a smile to even the most joyless gamer. The difficulty is a bit much on anything but Easy, but it's still a fun grinder in single player and a multiplayer gem with friends and family. If nothing else, the fun of watching your gaming companions swallow a rock that looks like Donald Trump is a unique experience.

This isn’t a blockbuster title and will likely slip under the radar for a lot of people, but Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth is a unique take on an entertaining if niche genre of games. It looks great, sounds great, and even with teething issues to the battle system, it's worth the price of admission.

Cadence of Hyrule is much more than Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring a The Legend of Zelda skin. From the classic Zelda art style and staple items to the addictive, pulsating NecroDancer gameplay and soundtrack of delightful remixes, this mash-up takes the best of both worlds and combines them brilliantly.

DayZ has a rich history, a long lineage of war stories and strange survivor tales that have drawn thousands down its rabbit hole, but its reality is very different. There’s nothing here but a dull, vacuous wasteland, devoid of character and relying solely on players to make their own fun.

MotoGP 19 is far and away the best MotoGP game by Milestone to date and a marked improvement over recent versions. A few glitches take you out of the moment, and there is a need for some special seasoning sprinkled on the top to really make this a truly great racing title, but for fans of the sport, they now have a video game that better represents the action-packed real-life on-track action.