Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is one of those brilliant retro throwbacks that captures how games used to feel, but without any of the nonsense that arises from how they actually were. It’s consistently entertaining and a blast to play. If you want something to sink your teeth into – human or otherwise – then this is a great choice for sure.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is an exceptional take on the tactical RPG and the addition of a stealth system certainly sets it apart from the crowd. Both genres blend together in a way that’s satisfying, challenging and well designed, while an engaging and well-written narrative drives the player forward. The difficulty might be an issue for those new to the genre, but for those seasoned in turn-based tactics, this is an absolute must buy.

It’s bright, weird, silly and cute, and is a must play for anyone, anywhere.

It’s a shame that more time wasn’t spent on Gear.Club Unlimited 2 as there are a glimmer or two of hope amongst the horror. However, appalling loading times, terrible handling, and moronic computer AI all contribute to a racing game that rolls its way off the assembly line and straight into the scrapyard.

It may be ten years late to the party, but there’s still a solid JRPG here to be enjoyed, whether discovering it for first time or revisiting it after a long hiatus. Square has made some clever, non-intrusive revisions to The Last Remnant and is pitching this remaster at a sensible price. It’s by no means essential, fans of the genre will definitely want to take a look.

Gungrave VR comes across as a game where the devs were hyped for the possibility of VR but didn’t know the best way to utilise it for an engaging experience. It’s very short, there’s no coherent story, the camera feels weird and not well implemented in the third person mode, and it all feels a bit bland. There are much better ways to spend your time and money unless you really have an hour to kill and Gungrave VR gets a very deep discount.

GRIS is a wonderful artistic achievement, with a simply sublime visual style and soundtrack that grows and evolves through the course of an emotional story.

Iris.Fall is a deliberately bite-sized experience and could easily be completed in a single sitting. Whether this amounts to value for money obviously depends on your perspective, but given the relative cost compared to a DVD or Blu-ray I think it is worth picking up to experience the artistry at hand here. The visual design is exemplary and the narrative is pleasing enough. Definitely a game that is worth a look if you like the art style and the idea of the puzzles, but be prepared for a couple of frustrating moments. Iris.Fall shouldn’t be left in the shadows.

Unfortunately 8-Bit Armies’ attempt at console strategy is simplified to the point that it outstays its welcome after a few hours. Whilst the campaign will keep you entertained for a few hours, the multiplayer is too empty to expect any more game time. Perhaps if you have someone who you can rely on to play against it might be worth picking up, but otherwise it’s probably not going to last long enough to be worth it.

Neverout takes a simple premise and packs it into a small package. With just a few hours of playtime, it doesn’t outstay its welcome, but there’s not much variation to the puzzles and it could have done with a story. Puzzle fiends should definitely take a look, especially if they own a VR headset.

Earth Defense Force 5 is as video gamey as they come. No frills, just kills. If you want to unwind after a long day and just blast some baddies and see explosions until your eyes go red, you can get no better than this game. The absurdity of the story and the increasingly opressive odds of the missions make this a hell of an experience solo, and one of the most silly and satisfying cooperative experiences I’ve come across. It’s a shame that a few nagging issues from old games continue to persist in this one, but despite those, this is still a fun, wacky, addictive video game.

Screencheat is a hit of nostalgia for those who are beginning to feel old, and a fun new way to play for those who aren’t. The stream of unlockables and the chance to constantly try and better your old times are a good reason to play on your own, but the game is definitely at its best when played with friends. Screencheat: Unplugged is a fantastic addition to any game night, and will often serve up some genuinely funny moments between friends.

Floor Kids brings freeform fun to the dance rhythm action genre, successfully delivering on a unique gameplay system that provides the player with freedom and the opportunity to improvise. The restrictive chorus sections disappoint and the game is all over rather quickly, but whilst it lasts Floor Kids is definitely a ninja floating nut cracker.

Smash Bros. has often felt a bit like it was trying to do too much and while it has always been a fun series, the disparity between the fighting game and the party game didn't always mesh well. Ultimate is the perfect fusion of the two styles. There are countless additions to it as a fighting game to keep the competitive players happy, but the new items and features make the party game the most exciting it could be. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate feels like one of the best written love letters to gaming that there has ever been, the care and attention given to each of the games represented is incredible. This is quite simply a must-play game, one that will keep you going for hundreds of hours with its single player alone, and with multiplayer that will keep you going for thousands.

The Haunted Island is the perfect way to close out 2018. Playing this game made me happy and giggly in a way so few video games make me, and it’s the kind of video game experience I wish I had more of. In an industry that only grows larger and more expansive every year, this latest release from Grace Bruxner is a standout treat that goes against the tide of video games and delivers a silly, adorable adventure that everyone deserves to experience.

Arca’s Path subscribes to the ‘do one thing and do it well’ school of video game design, making it simple and intuitive to guide your ball through the steadily more complex and maze-like levels. It might lack some of the charm or adventurousness of other VR games released this year, but Arca’s Path is a wonderfully accessible VR game that’s incredibly easy to pick up and play.

Subnautica is a perfect example an open world survival game that doesn’t rely on action, horror or combat elements to excite. Whilst these classic gaming features are involved to an extent, they take a back seat compared to the story, crafting and surviving elements. And this is what sets Subnautica apart from other survival experiences out there. Don’t let this be the one that got away.

Just Cause 4 is the best entry in the series to date, offering spectacular free-wheeling destruction on a scale that’s not been attempted before. Rico remains one of gaming’s most enjoyable protagonists, but more than ever before, it’s really all about what he’s capable of doing rather than the events unfolding around him.

The Switch version is just the base game, but that’s more than OK. There’s plenty to sink your teeth into, providing hours upon hours of unique experiences, accompanied by a divine soundtrack to really get you in the mood for building nations. Civ VI is a titan of a game and well worth your time, even if you’ve already spent hours on the PC version, because, now it’s portable, which is potentially dangerous to those who have jobs.

I have mixed feelings about Farming Simulator 2019. For a biennial release, I would initially have expected more, so this might start off feeling like a large expansion rather than a new game. Get further into the game, you’ll start to enjoy the new features and vehicles, and the little improvements build up to what is still an enjoyable farming game at heart. For newcomers,

On paper Ride 3 offers a lot of variety both in terms of quantity of bikes and track options. It’s possibly the most refined Milestone game to date and you could spend 20 hours playing through the career and have a perfectly acceptable experience, but you’ll be left wanting more. It does little to innovate or move the genre forward. In many ways, Ride 3 is like eating a 14 piece KFC bargain bucket all to yourself. Initially it’s satisfying and feels like great value for money, but about halfway through, indigestion starts to make you question why you didn’t just get a Zinger burger instead. Sometimes, less is more.

Gensokyo Defenders, like so many Touhou spinoff games before it, is a low budget affair that fails to capture the same level of satisfying gameplay and unique artistry present in the original games. While the gameplay is functional and sometimes entertaining, every other part of the package serves to bring that enjoyment to a screeching halt.

There’s a lot to love about Red Dead Online – it’s remarkably stable, vast in scale, and completing storyline missions in co-op is a delight – yet, the unremarkable combat is really a sticking point. Essentially it is identical to what was found in the original Red Dead Online, and how Rockstar adapt to this over the coming weeks and months will prove vital in how long this virtual wild west remains populated. [Beta Impressions]

For Persona 5, the love and polish is there in equal amounts, but the somber jazzy style of the original game just doesn’t translate as successfully to a loud and groovy rhythm game experience.

For Persona 3, it’s touching to see these characters, the wonderful music, and their original voice actors return after so long for one more group outing.

Darksiders III, while more limited in scope than its predecessor, provides a tighter, more deliberate experience that elaborates on the lore we’ve seen so far. The smaller world of Darksiders 3 may disappoint some fans of the previous game, but this feels like a reboot of the series. Poor PC performance, a lack of side-objectives and some unimaginative world-design point to a game with ambitions bigger than its budget, but Darksiders III is a fun and challenging experience that kept me engaged across the length of its story.

Building on the foundations of the 2016 game, Hitman 2 is full of the best Hitman stealth action yet. Yes, it’s evolutionary in some ways, and you have to accept the series’ idiosyncratic take on the genre, but there’s space for it to keep growing with the return of Escalation missions and continuing Elusive Contracts. Whether you’re a blackmailing pink flamingo he satisfaction of an expertly planned and executed hit is like nothing else.

Overkill’s The Walking Dead could have been something special, but it finds itself dragged down by poorly implemented and designed systems. There’s flashes of what could have been, and there’s a chance that Starbreeze will turn this game around in the coming months to rebuild from a poor launch, but as it stands I couldn’t even recommend this game to the most hardcore of The Walking Dead fans.