Vroom Kaboom has a great core concept, but doesn’t do anywhere near enough with it. If you want to see what this game is all about then get the free version and think of it like a demo. Just keep in mind that the chances are you are going to find the experience as flimsy as a Vespa in the face of Tank.

The Wardrobe had the scope to be better, but a lacklustre plot and strange puzzle design make its hard to recommend for point and click fans.

For returning players, Madden NFL 19 does exactly what you’d expect, offering a fantastic rendition of the NFL experience with improved graphics, tweaked modes and other minor improvements. However, if you’re not a franchise devotee, 18’s introduction of the new engine, full training mode and Longshot’s superior first season makes it the better option for newcomers.

I’m not a huge fan of stealth but the world and the narrative drew me in and by the end I was sneaking around like Solid Snake in high heels. If you’re looking for a new horror experience then Remothered comes highly recommended.

Castaway Paradise is a disappointment. It simply doesn’t capture interest like Animal Crossing does, whether it’s due to the broken economy, the endless repetition of quests, or perpetual fruit gathering.

There’s a huge amount of potential in this dystopian 1960s drug trip, but ultimately it starts to feel frustrating quite quickly. Every time We Happy Few draws you in with an interesting tidbit about the world or the character you are playing as it’s scuppered by the systems fighting against you.

A really enjoyable and successful roguelite. The usual conventions and trappings of the genre are well suited to both the setting and the presentation of the game, and the novel adaptations of the old Oregon Trail conventions add a great layer of strategy and randomness to the mix.

From crisp visuals and flawless performance to the bevy of control options available, it’s a beast of a package. Combining all of that with the ultimate thrill of having Okami on the go thanks to the portability of the Switch, this is a no-brainer grab for anyone who calls themselves a fan of action-adventure games.

Monster Hunter World on PC offers the same awesome experience that console gamers have been enjoying, and brings one of the best games of recent times to a slightly different audience. With the right kit you’ll be able to push the game further than anywhere else, and with the promise of future updates it’s likely to become the definitive version, even if it’s not quite there yet.

Overcooked 2 may be short on surprises, but that’s totally fine. It expands and refines exactly what we loved about the original, with plenty of fun and challenging stages to be played again and again, whether alone, with friends, or online. You couldn’t ask much more from this indie sequel: a filling follow-up that, while familiar, will have fans reaching for their aprons on launch day.

With incredibly satisfying gameplay, a constant stream of unlocks, and a world that challenge every cell of your being, Dead Cells is a must own for anyone who likes even one aspect of what has been mentioned here. Every success will fill you with endorphins, every failure will inspire you to get better. When you finally take out the final boss you will be elated. It is here that Dead Cells lets you know that it is just the beginning, there are a few more go around yet, and each one gets harder and harder. This is the kind of game that can last you forever, you just have to let it beat you in the head a few times.

This is best viewed as an educational tool, rather than a satisfying interactive experience in its own right.

Beast Of Winter is a fantastic slice of everything that Pillars of Eternity does well. The world building and the writing are so good it can make you interested, even if you have fallen out of love with it before.

Merely okay. There is little new here, but it’s functional enough that fans of the series will find much to enjoy as they explore the land of Ooo.

Airheart presents an interesting idea with hints of brilliance, but fails to deliver a game with staying power. Whilst the upgrade system is satisfying, it’s let down by repetitive gameplay and UI issues that get in the way even when playing with the endearing crafting system.

There aren’t many games with such a surety of visual design as Pixel Ripped 1989, but while it’s deeply referential it retains its own unique character and flavour. It’s perhaps aggravatingly tough at times, and fundamentally you’ll be playing a Game Boy game for a good portion of your time here, but it’s undoubtedly a VR experience you won’t have seen before.

Pool Panic excels at being exactly what it is, a weird puzzle adventure game with a lot of personality and plenty to do.

Hand of Fate 2 is a welcome reminder that RPGs don’t have to fall into one of two categories, and its heady mix of deck building and Arkham-esque combat make for a unique experience. Arriving on Switch it’s found its perfect home, and its bite-sized story and action that are ideal for gaming on-the-go.

The Mooseman is a unique, significant, and often beautiful indie game that proves there’s room in the video game space for all kinds of different experiences. There’s every chance you won’t have heard of the Perm region of Russia or its pagan mythology, but this is a game that places you within its traditions and iconography with sympathetic artistry.

An incredibly successful port. The game runs silky smooth and with a powerful gaming rig it’s noticeably sharper than it was on PS4. With perfect controller support and wide variety of graphics options to boot, it’s obvious that care and time was put into this port.

Octopath Traveler is a wonderful collection of adventures and stories, but the quirk of storytelling that lends it its name is both its greatest strength and weakness. While the turn-based combat and ‘breaking’ enemies makes practically every battle engaging, the eight tales this game tells don’t really feel like they need to be told together. It’s a little unbalanced because of this, but this remains a charming, beguiling JRPG.

The Banner Saga 3 closes the book on an incredible saga of turn-based action and dark, haunting storytelling. It’s hard to make player choices and branching narratives successfully payoff over the course of three games, but Stoic Studios have done just that. It’s a shame that they never tried to revamp or update the sluggish combat speed along the way, but that’s a small price to pay for a once in a lifetime narrative experience like this.

While having both 1 and 2 may be necessary if you are completionist or if you adore the series, the second one is so much weaker that it is very hard to justify.

Mega Man X Legacy Colletion 1 is a great set of games with some really interesting new features that will have you bashing your head against a cyber wall and somehow loving it.

Sleep Tight has some very interesting ideas, but unfortunately fails to captilise on them and falls into the depths of mediocrity.

Semblance is an astoundingly enjoyable puzzle game that never outstays its welcome.

In The Persistence, the team at Firesprite have concocted a rogue-lite survival horror whose atmosphere and hard hitting combat feel fantastic in VR. Thanks to an impressive array of comfort options it’s also amongst the best PSVR experiences we’ve had, and for owners of Sony’s headset it’s damn near essential.

A triumphant return overseas for an iconic JRPG series. It has solid foundations in the usual JRPG business of fantasy kingdoms and amnesiac warrior boys, but it builds off of that foundation with charming characters and gorgeous art to create a pretty unique identity for itself. While some aspects of the game are a little unpolished, it’s still a standout JRPG worth standing alongside any of the other big players in that genre, and worth checking out by anyone who calls themselves a JRPG fan.