It is no exaggeration to say that the final mission of the game, one that takes over an hour to complete, has more story in it than the whole of the first game. Better writing, a story (and a good one at that) and a series of vast new worlds to explore make Destiny 2 a must play for anyone who like aliens, guns and shooting aliens with guns.

It’s pretty much a nailed on cert that any past, present or future Forza Horizon 3 player will want to take to Blizzard Mountain as a matter of priority. That’s because the sheer thrill of racing wheel-to-wheel with some of the world’s best drivers, in the dark, with a full-on blizzard hitting you in the face, is just too much to ever turn down.

While it’s a smaller variety of plant, Botany Manor is inordinately pretty and comforting. There’s so few barriers to getting your hands on it too: being on Game Pass, you’re only a few steps away from playing it. We relished every moment within Botany Manor’s walls, and if there’s no DLC coming then we’re going to riot. Very gently.

Tales of Arise is great at almost everything it attempts, but it does just falls short of having the wow factor and possesses a couple of niggling factors to boot. Nevertheless it’s absolutely worth picking up if you’re after an action-RPG to sink a load of hours into.

Insane Robots delivers almost everything that’s needed for a great single player game and so that’s the main reason to venture into this hacked world. Playniac have refined and simplified the card battling genre, without losing the strategic depth or enjoyment factor. It’s just a shame about the multiplayer offering.

The team over at Tribute Games have created an absolute masterpiece of an arcade title in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge; one that floats somewhere between tribute (pun intended) and modern sequel to the classic TMNT arcade titles.

There should be no hesitation in recommending Persona 3 Portable to any fans of the RPG genre.

Monster Hunter Rise isn’t quite Monster Hunter: World. And that’s partly because Rise doesn’t offer too much in the way of new things, and what is here suffers graphically in comparison.

Control Ultimate Edition on the Xbox Series X|S is just about every reason to play Control, conveniently stored in a plastic green box. If you’ve played before, the stellar AWE DLC, the stripping away of old infuriations, and the showpiece graphical improvements are convincing arguments for hopping back in (even if it demands that you pay extra for the privilege). If you haven’t played Control before, then you have the reassurance that this is a deserving Game of the Year, in its definitive format.

It combines showstopping unique gameplay with some of the best cel-shaded visuals, a superb soundtrack, a fun tone and great characters into one of the most memorable games in the past little while. It’s the type of game that reminds you why you fell in love with the genre in the first place.

The Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels expansion is another stunning addition to the Horizon experience. If you are done with everything that has come before it, and need some new races to get involved in, or just want some fun for you and your mates, then the price asked is a good one.

Despite falling into some of the same traps as its predecessor, Halo Infinite is a huge step in the right direction and something of a correction course. Overall 343 Industries have delivered on their promise to return Halo to its roots, whilst breaking new ground, and it’s much better off for it.

Okami HD originally had me in two minds. The start of the experience saw the old PS2 ghosts of Christmas Past hanging around like a bad smell, with long cutscenes, strange sounds and a weird camera. But when the game kicked on, I began to be amazed at the visuals, the invention and the whole experience.

You’ll certainly enjoy your time with the crew of The Red Marley in Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. The challenge is real, make no mistake, but using the different crew members and finding the sweet spot in terms of powers does keep you retrying.

I have loved my time with Thumper and will carry on loving this mad, mental, skill based music mayhem of a game. There are moments when you might feel it all gets too much and too similar, but take a break before going back and you’ve fall in love with it once again.

As a tactical strategy game, this is very close to the old Fire Emblem games, and praise doesn’t come any higher than that.

Everhood Eternity Edition is so kaleidoscopic, a macabre Fantasia that massages the eyes, ears and nerves. Nobody is talking about it but everybody should: it’s a cult hit in the making, and now’s your chance to be the one who says ‘I played it before it was cool’.

Lil’ Guardsman surpassed our expectations - it exists in a beautiful and engaging world and is a rare game that manages to be just challenging enough to keep you interested. We’ve even come away with better deduction skills

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition brings a true classic back for a new generation. Whether you are a die hard strategy fan or first time invader, there is no better place to start.

This is a game that you can pour hundreds of hours into, and still find rewarding gameplay and new strategies. Not to mention, it’s dangerously addictive. Clear your schedule for this one. Multi-hour gaming sessions have never gone by so fast.

It is platforming greatness at its very best, and proves just what can be achieved when the necessary time is put into fine tuning a game before release.

The story, design and writing styles are brilliant with some excellent moments and lots of hours to delve into.

The gameplay is the real hook here and it'll definitely have you coming back again and again. In fact (and we should whisper this), the gameplay found in Grim Dawn: Definitive Edition is more preferable than that of the recent remake of Diablo II: Resurrected.

Two Point Museum is arguably the best in the series yet, and keeps the hot streak going for the consistently brilliant sim series.

There are some tiny oddities here, but this is an otherwise cracking modern-day platforming experience. Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines is one of those games that you will have some superb fun with, constantly in awe of the new mechanics that are introduced, marvelling at the sheer variety of stages and ideas found within.

The grind is real. The grind is great. Sky Force Reloaded is quite possibly the best arcade shmup money can buy.

Go and play Persona 3 Reload; a truly stunning game. The gameplay and story are still as good as ever, and the way that it is presented now means that it is no longer all mouth and no trousers. If you have the slightest interest in PRGs, you need to play Persona 3 Reload.

Pentiment is a superb game that marks an important step forward for its genre. Quiet, contemplative and intelligent, it is a shining example of what happens when a team is allowed to expand their horizons and take risks.