You may think that The Smurfs have had their day, but you won’t want to sleep on The Smurfs - Dreams. You will be surprised by just how accomplished this platformer is. And if that is anything to go by, the future is bright, the future is blue.

Dive in to Still Wakes the Deep: Siren's Rest and you’ll be totally hooked by the few hours it takes to run. There are a few tiny bugs, and you can find yourself lost a lot, but overall the story is tight, exciting, and a great extension of the Still Wakes the Deep universe.

Episode One of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is not the best opener to a Telltale series I’ve had the pleasure of playing, but it’s still a very strong beginning to a story about a crew of opposite personalities gelling together.

If you’re after a unique adventure that borrows ideas from a load of games, but beats its own drum loudly, then Masters of Anima might just be worth adding to your collection.

As much as you can when you find yourself replaying the Great War, Isonzo can be enjoyable. The realistic and authentic attention to detail and area focus is something to be admired, yet it is much harder than any other shooter, as you try to come to terms with tactics and the careful nature of war.

So, Call of Duty: Vanguard. The campaign is great, the multiplayer is fun and Zombies will appeal to previous fans. As an overall package Vanguard is capable of providing hours of fun - all pushed along with brilliant visuals. This is a great trip back to World War II.

You can’t deny the intelligence of Life is Strange 2 – or any part of the entire Life is Strange franchise for that matter – but I feel that sometimes this at the expense of entertainment. It would be great to play at least a small portion of the game as Daniel, so you get to experience using his power – this would add a welcome new dimension to the gameplay.

The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters on Xbox One may be a direct follow up to the original The Coma but I feel it has improved on it in every way, all without radically changing the format. New locations, new characters, and some extra scares make for a game that fans of the franchise, and horror in general, should go and buy.

The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 on Xbox Series X|S is one compilation you cannot miss out on.

The Surge is a game that can be mentioned in the same breath as Dark Souls, something which is high praise indeed.

Steelrising is a good game that puts itself in the AA bracket of gaming rather than the AAA settings of a Dark Souls or Elden Ring. But what it does do well is deliver an original concept, an amazing setting and a place occupied by killer robots.

The game has solid combat, interesting character creations, and the potential to grow into so much more. The only thing that inhibits it from gaining a higher rating is the fact that it is so barren.

At the end of the day, and if you’re after a relaxing puzzler which will provide a decent test that you can take at your own pace, then Noodle and Doodle will happily sort you out. You may not ever want to really test yourself by collecting all the coins, because some are pretty damn frustrating to hunt down and reach, and the Time Trial option will only really appeal to those who have friends sitting on the leaderboards too, but the basic game is so damn good that neither of those options really hold it back.

When everything comes together Super Cloudbuilt feels effortless; it’s smooth and gorgeous fun. It’s just a shame that those special moments aren’t more common.

Steamroll is a cleverly designed puzzler which isn’t short on ideas. To say this is Antico’s first independently developed game, they’ve done a great job. The gameplay is tight, easy to grasp and layered effectively with complexity, and despite a few rough edges, Steamroll is a thoroughly enjoyable experience and worthy of a place in everyone’s game library.

If you're after something truly original and unique with a great concept and fascinating take on a Kafka story, then take a trip into the unknown with Metamorphosis on Xbox One.

While it’s lean, it’s certainly mean, and you’ll have plenty of fun sending your friends spiralling down to the ground. Skydrift Infinity is an airborne Blur that’s had most of its content excised to focus on fun, and - as Blur fans - there’s no greater recommendation than that.

While the two genres in Boyfriend Dungeon dovetail nicely, they don’t stand up to scrutiny themselves. The hack-and-slashing is a callow shade of games like Hades, and the dating sim stuff is fine, but lacking in any emotional reaction: we failed to laugh, love or loathe. It may not be the sleazy sim that many have imagined, but it also fails to trigger a reaction other than a shrug emoji.

Lost in Random is a very unique game. It has great writing and some of the best art direction of the year. However, the combat system plays a risky gamble that I don't feel quite works out in the game's favour.

It’s colourful, imaginative and will make your children feel like platforming superstars. Marsupilami: Hoobadventure, completely out of nowhere, is the best Xbox kids game of the year.

If you love the mythological setting, sweet new armour sets and ability to turn into a bird, then Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök may be one of the best expansions in the series.

Agent Intercept is certainly a fun enough action racer that doesn’t outstay its welcome, but in this instance, it really should have stuck around a bit longer.

Conan Chop Chop comes alive in multiplayer whilst the single player feels like a bit of a slog; almost too hard for its own good.

Oxide Room 104 is a decent little survival horror; one that has some great ideas but falls short in others.

GRAVEN will be adored by the old-school brigade. It has that cozy retro feel, but also a good story and a great sense of world-building.

Despite some minor issues, Code Vein II is excellent. Look past the graphical issues and there is an excellent game found within, one with loads to do, and multiple timelines to visit and fix.

It is fast, brutal, punishing and can bring complete strangers together into a zombie mincing machine. Swarm is there if you have the PvP itch, and if you can play with others, this is an easy sell. If you play alone, things are more problematic, as a lot of the game seems to be locked away from you, but co-op up and you’ll be sorted with the zombie killing sprees of Back 4 Blood.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 provides one hell of a sniping experience. With so many different ways to approach your targets, multiple challenges to take on and some excellent gadgets to make use of, you’re not going to get bored easily. On the higher levels, the psychic enemies can be a bit wearisome, but this does encourage careful planning.