I do admire the effort, but in a year where Sonic Mania outdid its franchise’s reputation and Mario stands tall, Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is a mere afterthought. Its length is pathetically short and, surprisingly for Bubsy at least, the game is really easy. Not everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong, yet if this is the pinnacle of Bubsy games, then the poor Bobcat should be laid to rest in peace.

Pinball FX 3 is a fantastic sequel and offers everything a fan of the series could hope for. It brings added sheen and shine to every conceivable area that was lacking in Pinball FX2. The true test of its longetivity will be in its forthcoming table packs but judging on the quality of the Universal Film Studios pack, we’ve nothing to be worried about.

Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure is a gentle set of challenges set in six of the most beloved animated movies of recent times. For the younger members of your household it’ll likely hit the mark, with attractive graphics and welcoming gameplay, but don’t expect it to offer much, if any, replay value if you’re past puberty.

A great follow up to The New Order, though it isn’t necessarily that much better. The gameplay presents a solid first person shooter while the narrative gives us a protagonist who bears scars of battle outside and in. There are some issues when it comes to how difficult the game can get at times, but fans of first person shooters and compact single player titles should definitely give Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus a shot.

Rabi-Ribi is a fun game and I had a great time exploring the levels, collecting abilities, and developing my character. I had an even greater time putting my thumbs to the test with the addictive and unforgiving boss battles. Unfortunately, for a game to be truly great, the full package needs to shine, and that is not the case with Rabi-Ribi. While gameplay and is engaging and well-designed, the visuals, story, and audio are all lacking, and no amount of bullets can ever make me turn my head to those flaws.

After spending many hours in the explosive world of Destiny 2, Detention’s simple but horrific tale has reminded me just how affecting video games can be. A game based on the oppressive regime of 1960’s Taiwain may not be for everyone, but if you fancy a break from head shots and kill streaks then this debut title from Red Candle games comes highly recommended.

Super Mario Odyssey is bursting at the seams with creativity, as Nintendo plays with new ideas while also paying homage to their long history. Cappy's abilities are a perfect compliment to Mario's own, and there's a wonderful silliness and humour to their adventure as they visit a string of contrasting kingdoms that just beg you to find the secrets hidden around every corner. Simply put, Super Mario Odyssey is a masterpiece.

After taking a year off, Assassin's Creed is going through a transitional period and taking players back to the very founding of the Brotherhood in Ancient Egypt is symbolic of that. The vast new setting, the improved combat system and moving the series towards being a real action RPG have injected this series with a new life.

Megaton Rainfall is a game of incredible scale and there aren’t many titles that let you go off exploring a large universe quite like this, when you aren’t blasting alien invaders out of the sky. In VR it is quite a spectacle, though that can’t shield it from the fact that it’s quite a basic shooting gallery experience whether on TV or in VR. Megaton Rainfall is very much worth checking out if you have VR, but even without that side of things you have a decent enough superhero simulator.

I’m trying my best to think of some kind of clever joke or metaphor about Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle, but I don’t even think the game deserves that kind of effort on my part. Burst Battle is an awful video game. Without a tutorial, learning to play is no fun at all, and I had an equal sum of zero fun playing it when I actually knew how to play. If you’re itching for a Touhou fighting game, run to your PC and download one of the official 2D fighting games from the main series. Never touch Burst Battle. Learn from my errors, and live a long, healthy, fulfilling life.

Raiden V tries to add something new the shoot ’em up genre which is admirable, but unfortunately most of the ideas don’t live up to expectations. The Cheer system may have worked better if you could let spectators view your game, and the running commentary is like trying to listen to couple arguing at back of a bus when you’re at the front and have someone playing loud techno music on their phone right next to you. For a shoot ’em up there is a lot of content and the main mechanics have clearly been honed to perfection over the last twenty five years, making this a good, solid entry to the series.

Compared to the original, Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon is an utter disgrace. For me, it took all the good stuff out and amplified the things that didn’t work. Performance is notably worse, and don’t get me started again about how bad the dialogue is in this cookie cutter excuse for a sequel. Even if you like this kind of titillation, this is a remarkably poor example of it. Avoid at all costs.

Transforming into a bird and soaring through skies and between the floating islands of AER Memories of Old is simply fantastic, and you’ll be easily drawn in by its vibrant yet minimalist art style. It doesn’t quite make the best use of the shattered world they’ve created, but for a few hours, it’s a gorgeous game and an intriguing story to explore.

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.

With the original game having done so little to impress me, The Evil Within 2 has come as a massive surprise. Although the story still failed to hook me, clever gameplay changes and well-used horror tropes combine to create a vastly-improved sequel.

There’s definitely room for ECHO to improve and expand, but it’s a smashing debut nonetheless. Ultra Ultra has performed a deft balancing act here and one that carefully avoids over complicating things, much to the benefit of the player. It’s far and away one of 2017’s best sleeper hits and we can’t wait to see what the studio has coming next.

Like its Hyrulean brethren, Fire Emblem Warriors is a joyous action packed romp through hordes of faceless enemies in the company of some well-loved characters and all the trappings of a Fire Emblem game. It’s not going to convince anyone who’s unsure about the well-worn Warriors template, and it’s far from being a technical showcase for the Switch, but it is raw, unadulterated fun packed with bags of fan service.

Despite the setbacks, I enjoyed romping through Wulverblade’s long levels with hordes of Romans and converted natives to slay in the name of freedom. I appreciated the historical edge the game had to it, even learning a few things without ever being pressured that I was being educated. Even though the controls and balance need refining a fair bit, I still recommend this ultraviolent take on British history.

South Park: The Fractured but Whole is technically a better game than its predecessor with more engaging battles and character creation, but the story is oddly paced towards the end, and while it is a fun ride I don’t think it quite matches the plot of The Stick of Truth. It’s not without issue, but fans of South Park will enjoy this as much as the first.

Despite showing its age in some places, TickTock Games have done a great job of revitalising a cult classic such as this. Rogue Trooper Redux is a fun cover shooter action romp and worth picking up if you fancy being a big blue badass.

It’s a shame how RAID turned out, really. Although it arguably came out of nowhere, it’s usually games with little to no initial fanfare that can come swooping in to reenergise a gaming genre – just look at the rampant success of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Still, Lion Game Lion shouldn’t be disheartened. There’s still a chance to turn RAID into something great, but it’s going to take a long, long time for that to happen.

Ruiner has some great set pieces and a dark, bleak world that I would normally gravitate towards. Yet when the dystopian renders everyone inhabiting it to be as relatable as raw sewage, there was little for me to latch onto. Maybe you’ll find the world of Ruiner to be more bearable than I did, but even the best films of the genre have a glimmer of hope for the audience to cling to, something Ruiner is devoid of.

Light Tracer takes an interesting approach to VR platforming and environmental puzzles, even if they are generally easy to overcome. However, it would have benefitted from removing the boss battles and the design of the princess’ outfit is questionable. There’s plenty of ways the path finding controls of Light Tracer can be used for future, better titles, but Light Tracer itself definitely needed a lot more time to feel complete.

I’m happy to finally have an official English release of Gundam Versus in my hands, but confused as to why it feels less feature rich than the last game. There’s the amazing framework and attention to detail that makes this such a fun game to play, but there’s just very little for you to sit down and actually put those gameplay systems to use in. Having a group of friends to duke it out with will add a lot more value to the experience, but without that, you’re looking at a delicious burger that’s missing a bun and maybe just has a little piece of lettuce on it.

Hidden Dragon isn’t terrible, but it’s sorely stuck not one, but two generations in the past. The sidescroller is by no means dead, yet those working in this shrinking subgenre are either emulating its most celebrated champions or pushing the boundaries with something new and inventive. Hidden Dragon does neither, nor does it have the visual oomph that can often help overlook a game’s shortcomings.

NBA Live 18 is a good basketball game. It’s not something that will blow you away, but good enough if you’re looking for an alternative. The One is a solid create a player mode that is easy to get into, with levelling up the player far from being a chore, but NBA Live 18 lacks depth in the other modes and the AI could do with improving. EA has work to do if it wants NBA Live to reach the reputation it once had, but that goal seems to be in reach.

I wanted to like Maize, I really did. The initial trailers promised precise puzzle solving and surreal Pythonesque humour, yet there is very little here for me to be able to recommend and I find myself being very s-corn-ful. The dull and tedious gameplay and misjudged humour making the limited run time a dreary drudge to the finish line. It simply shucks.

Chaos;Child delivers a disturbing and engaging story that not only stands on it’s own, but helps to expand the worlds of other parts of the Science Adventure Series. It’s just a shame that it takes so long to experience that story, and that the choices you make to find every piece of info and characterization are weirdly designed. Chaos;Child isn’t as good as Steins;Gate at the end of the day, but a more memorable cast of characters and a more distinctive art style would help future entries stand alongside Steins;Gate instead than behind it.