Outriders does a decent job outgrowing its reputation as a third person Destiny clone. Offering solid shooting mechanics, a surprisingly meaty story campaign and fun and intuitive character development system it earns a place as one of the best third person shooters to arrive this year. The only downside is that technical issues hinder a lot of the endgame’s funnest parts.

Life is Strange 2 continues its streak of excellence with Roads, an episode that advances the story of Sean and Daniel Diaz with a series of brave, unpredictable events. While it fumbles when touching upon heavier political themes, the emotion at the core of this story succeeds, and is ultimately what matters the most.

Those who tough it out and take the time to learn the game’s subtleties will be in for a treat, though. Once you get your head around Rage Burst's combat, the game gains a wonderfully strategic edge, and hunting down each big-game Aragami becomes a unique and rewarding challenge.

War Machine is a serviceable DLC map pack and nothing more. There isn’t anything here that alters the dynamics of the gameplay, no new modes or ideas – just good, solid environments in which to do the same kind of battling you’ve been doing for years.

Ashes Cricket is a very good cricket game, and very enjoyable once you eventually work out what everything does. It’s just a shame the game doesn’t do enough to explain its depth to the player from the get-go, which leads to a needless opening few hours of frustration and potential misinterpretation. Returning fans won’t have this problem, but considering Big Ant is capitalising on a huge licence, it should really have catered to a wider audience.

Kirby Star Allies is an entertaining multiplayer game that’s as Nintendo as they come. Played alone, it isn’t as fun, though.

The Escapists 2 is a solid improvement over its predecessor, and a fun prison escapade in its own right. While all of its parts don’t come together in the most ideal manner, busting out of prison remains a blast when you finally manage to conquer the obstacles set against you. Combine that with a staggering amount of variety and replay value, and you have a package that’s well worth going under for.

For diehard fans of the series, Dragonball Z: Kakarot is a fanservice-littered romp, full of your favourite characters. It has the most well-realised Dragonball world there has ever been. Be warned however, as side content in this game is a pure afterthought, and there is often little payoff for doing so outside of nostalgia-related reasons.

It’s as fast-paced as it is addictive as it is difficult, and the game is only enhanced by the stunning level designs and visuals throughout. The puns, alliteration and jokes scattered throughout really add to the narrative and style of the game.

With a fast-paced and addictive gameplay loop, not to mention a solid amount of multiplayer content to keep things feeling fresh, I can see myself coming back to NWC: NES Edition time and time again, even if it’s just to shave a millisecond from my reigning records.

There’s enough charm here to paper over some of the game’s fairly substantial cracks, and it’s easily one of the more unique and better cooperative shooters that owe Valve a fruit basket for Left 4 Dead.

If you were ever curious about Destiny 2, Shadowkeep is the perfect entry point. If you are a reneged player that struggled with content doubts, there’s no better time to come back. And if you are neither of the aforementioned, you probably should be. Shadowkeep is everything every player wanted from Destiny 2, and in true Bungie fashion, it was delivered with a bang – which presumably emanated from the servers as they exploded on launch night.

It doesn’t move far away from that classic Lego formula, but Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 is the series at its best; as accessible, fun and action-packed as ever, but absolutely crammed with Marvel goodness, exploring some of the strangest characters and settings in the legendary comic-books. There’s a richness and detail here beyond even previous Lego super hero games, so watch out if you have serious Lego fans at home: this one will keep you and them busy ‘til the new year comes, and probably for longer.

Dead Island 2 has been long in the making, but it might’ve been a little too long. Various aspects of the game, from the semi-open world to the tongue-in-cheek characters are reminiscent of zombie titles from 8-10 years ago and do little to reinvent the overly-used zombie trope. The only real saving grace is the combat, which when paired with the gory flesh system provides visceral, satisfying melee combat that’ll keep you entertained throughout the otherwise dull campaign.

Eagle Flight is quite simply, one of the most joyous experiences you can have in gaming and an utterly essential PSVR title.

Episode 3 of Telltale’s Batman series is another solid entry, and continues to lay plenty of groundwork for later down the line. A bit more of anything when it comes to actually being The Dark Knight would be nice, mind.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is a budget reimagining of a fan-favourite series that fails to live up to the heights of that franchise. It plays and looks like a last-gen game, and it was a struggle to plow through the game, even for review purposes.

There’s enough here to please newcomers and fans shouldn’t feel too disappointed, but the Prof left some big shoes to fill. His daughter has the guts and smarts to fill them, but she really needs a better chance to shine.

Like Lords of the Fallen, The Surge is another rock-solid souls-a-like, losing a little of its predecessor’s strong storytelling and atmosphere, but gaining from the change from fantasy to sci-fi and the ingenious mech smashing and harvesting upgrade system. It’s not quite on the same level as the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne or Nioh, but that’s more down to the lore and art style than the brilliant gameplay. If you like the sound of a gritty dystopian take on Dark Souls, The Surge is an easy game to recommend.

If you’ve already got PES 2020 and have found other means to update the squads and kits, there’s very little of note here. The changes are minimal and this edition is likely just for those who decided against picking up the previous entry. But if a cheaper version of PES has you interested this is a great starting point. Yes, there are plenty of issues with the modes, commentary and AI but most of that just fades into insignificance when you’re actually playing a game. Until the next-gen version arrives next year, this is the best representation of football you’ll find.

It can’t compete with Forza, Gran Turismo or Project Cars when it comes to looks, cars or tracks. The career mode is tedious and often frustrating, and the presentation makes it feel even nerdier and less accessible than it is. Yet the core driving experience remains magnificent, with some of the best handling and most immersive racing around. This isn’t a racer for everyone – it’s tough, demanding and a bit too hardcore – but if you want a sim with thrills and authenticity, it’s well worth taking for a spin.

The Walking Dead’s third season finale does what it has to do to tick all the expected boxes, and while not as high as the series has been, it’s still more than solid.

Mario Strikers: Battle League Football offers a fantastic and typical Nintendo spin on football, with thrilling gameplay and a high skill ceiling likely appealing to a large crowd. However, the lack of fleshed-out single player modes is a big disappointment, and so is only really worth the outlay if you’re willing to engage with the online multiplayer.

Children Of Arkham does build on the foundations laid by Realm Of Shadows, going for more of a slow burn than firing off surprise after surprise. If there’s a satisfying outcome in a few months then it’ll be a worthwhile wait, especially as Telltale does have a great understanding of not only Batman himself, but of the version of Batman it wants to represent.

Sakura Wars is an enjoyable revival of the iconic series, presenting a fascinating blend of genres. Unfortunately, it far too often falls victim to tired tropes and writing which treats its excellent female cast as little more than objects. Still, if you're a sucker for engaging stories, wacky combat and a strange, unusual world I recommend giving Sakura Wars a try.

Lamplight City is a satisfying, point-and-click adventure, which tells a compelling detective story. While there are some issues that clearly take away from the overall experience, I was genuinely surprised by how much it gets right.

Four games in and Dead Rising as a series has all but exhausted its core concepts, but these tricks might still entertain you if you just want to cut some rotting meat in half. For me, Dead Rising 4’s surface schlock quickly became tedious shoddiness, and the result is a disappointingly dull open-world game that simply can’t hold a candle to this year’s best.

At the heart of Control Ultimate Edition – Cloud Version is a great game; it should be enjoyed by fans of the action genre or, indeed, fans of Remedy Entertainment's previous titles. The problem is that by pivoting Control to the cloud gaming model, there are numerous issues to consider, including wait times, downgraded graphics and occasional audio-sync issues. If this is your only means of playing Control then there's a chance you could look past these problems and enjoy the core product, but I'd recommend the other versions of the game any day.