Death of the Outsider is a fantastic addition to the Dishonored universe that once again brings the broken city of Karnaca to life. Exploring Arkane Studios’ beautifully realised world feels fresh once again thanks to Billie Lurk, a morally ambiguous heroine with a flexible repertoire of skills that are a joy to experiment with. Death of the Outsider achieves more in terms of content and narrative than many games strive for, which is a fascinating achievement considering its meagre price tag.

Streets of Rage 4 is an enchanting retro surprise, bursting onto the scene and overcoming many of the justified grievances fans might have with reviving such an esteemed property. The combat is fierce, the music is banging and its sense of style is simply marvellous.

Yes, The Last Guardian’s controls are incredibly archaic and at times can be entirely broken, but two days after finishing it, the story has stuck with me. Studio Japan has continued to show how it can do so much while saying so little. The environment, characters and everything about the narrative captivated me. In spite of the controls I still thoroughly enjoyed the game overall. The story is a simple one, but powerful nonetheless.

A brutal vision of the future, Metro Exodus is a worthy reimagining of the subterranean shooter that brings it blinking into the light of modern gaming. While the open-world can grate, the story tells a story we don’t often get to experience in our heavily westernised shooter market, and it’s worth playing just for that. Metro Exodus‘ problems are the open-world shooter genre’s problems, but the title’s wins are unique. Metro Exodus may not be destined to become a classic, but expect a solid cult following to develop.

Some fans may feel aggrieved at the removal of certain modes. Season mode is now completely absent, meaning you’ll have to battle through the entire 162 games if you want to complete a year in Franchise Mode, and some of the creation options have been stripped out of the game entirely. However, this is easily one of the strongest sports franchises out there.

If you’re new to the series or would just like to have a really good basketball game to dip in and out of over the year NBA 2K19 is a solid choice, but if 2K18 frustrated you with its microtransactions and you don’t want to grind or pay to be competitive with your own player then not much has changed from that base model.

For those hardcore players there’s plenty to enjoy from the deep, rewarding and varied roster of characters, fully featured and seemingly lag-free online modes, as well as the refinements to the core combat that make Tekken 7 the best since Tekken 3.

We may live in a new golden age of hardcore platformers, but Capcom’s blue hero has shown all these newcomers that class never fades. Not only a game that sits alongside the best Mega Man games, but one of the best platform games released in recent memory.

There is a charmingly competent puzzler here, yet it’s hard to recommend without an abundance of caveats. If you’ve yet to play the Captain Toad and solving cute and charming puzzles, it could be worth a shot if it drops in price, even though the asking price is lower than most to begin with. If possible, and if you own a Wii U, you would be better off dusting that system down and playing it on there.

It may not be the ground-up remake that other modern classics have been treated to, but this is still a superb open-world racing game that feels like it’ll be loved by fans of the original as well as new players jumping in for the very first time. It may sound cliched, but they simply don’t make them like this any more.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a triumph and everything fans hoped it would be. For Star Wars fanatics, the love of the source material can be found in the game’s countless details, and it’s hard to imagine a more polished Lego title than this. Even if you’re a complete novice to the world of Lego Star Wars, the game is so much fun as a co-op adventure that you’ll soon come to love it. Not since It Takes Two have I enjoyed spending so much time in a digital world.

Dragon Quest meets Minecraft clone might sound like an odd couple, but Square-Enix has made the two mesh together in ways that bring the best out of both. Builders works as an accessible action RPG and as a more objective-driven take on the mining, crafting and survival sandbox genre, all wrapped up in Dragon Quest’s lovable, upbeat cartoon style.

For all the visual enhancements and lusher vegetation, this Special Edition can’t disguise the areas where Skyrim has dated. Other games have built on the foundations Bethesda laid. What was once jaw-dropping now seems merely remarkable.

The result is a game that packs meaning into almost everything you do. It doesn’t surpass the emotional heights of its late 90s forebear, but Numenera’s incredibly distinct world and unique approach to gameplay offer something really untraditional to sink your time, thoughts and choices into. For RPG fans this is super exciting, and will be sure to entertain across multiple playthroughs over dozens, if not hundreds of hours.

Hellblade triumphs equally as action game, mythic quest and psychological character study, bringing together some amazing visuals, great performances and ingenious design. It’s short-lived but perfectly paced with a blend of action and puzzles that grows in richness and complexity as the game goes on. While some might prefer Enslaved or the DMC reboot, I’d call it Ninja Theory’s best work yet.

Disgaea 5 Complete is a great role-playing game for the Nintendo Switch. JRPG fans have hundreds of potential hours of content to dig into here, all of which is brilliantly presented with imaginative, zany characters that seldom disappoint. And you can make your very own curry, who wouldn't love that?

Danganronpa is lunacy personified where games are concerned but does do a very good job in keeping the series going and make it accessible to newcomers, too. A crazy RPG experience.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Sage is genuinely one of my favourite remasters in years – I can’t remember a time that I’ve smiled as much while playing a game. Good humour combined with smart mechanics and that Nintendo absurdity make for an exceptionally good mix. The game is as good today as it was back in 2003, and new addition Bowser’s Minions is a very entertaining extra. This is truly one of the finest RPGs there ever was.

The final chapter feels even harder because Hokkaido is teeming with people, and trying to remain quiet is the biggest challenge of all. While it’s easy to forget given that we’re over six months removed from Episode 1, this is still considered the ‘last’ level in a game that’s been ramping up its difficulty since the start.

It seems fitting that after a long absence, it’s the original pioneers of the rhythm genre that are now bringing it back with full force into the 2020s. Much like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, Fuser seems simple enough at first, but while those past titles stopped short of actually teaching you how to play an instrument, Fuser goes that extra mile by giving you the tools that a professional DJ would have at their disposal...Harmonix has finally made good on the concept of music mixing offered up by its DropMix card game some years ago, creating a gameplay loop that’s immensely satisfying to play and incredibly addictive once you understand the mechanics. Time to get the sparklers out – the rhythm genre is back.

You could grumble that more items could have been included or other events were added besides festive holidays, but EA has effectively overhauled the personality of your creations in tiny ways while introducing new actions, ways to interact and design ideas for the home.

It's a delight to see one of the JRPG genre's hidden gems find a second home on Nintendo Switch – and, hopefully, a much larger audience with it. While it doesn't make perfect use of the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei franchises it blends together, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore remains a solid adventure with plenty going for it.

As far as local multiplayer games go on the current consoles, Super Mega Baseball 2 is a great option. If you’ve got Xbox Live Gold, then you can grab the game for free as part of the May lineup. Even if you’re not a huge fan of the sport, it’s well worth checking out.

Remnant: From the Ashes remains a fantastic game with a healthy community and is a great purchase for any hardcore gamer looking for a new challenge. Sadly - it's first major expansion is somewhat light on content to keep existing players satisfied.

Overcooked 2 provides just enough new ideas and content to serve up a delightful second helping. The charming visuals and low-key humour serve to counterbalance the devilish co-operative challenges on offer.

Despite its strategic depth and craft, you can’t help but feel that Fire Emblem has had its run on 3DS. This isn't a criticism per se, and it’s more remarkable now than ever that the handheld console with a low-rent screen and barely any processing power is still able to churn out such deep and engrossing experiences. Intelligent Systems is likely looking to Nintendo Switch for its next big strategic adventure – but for now, Shadows of Valentia is great enough to warrant dusting off your indestructible little pocket toy for one last hurrah.

Deck Nine and Square Enix took a gamble when ditching the episodic blueprint for Life is Strange: True Colors. But the decision has paid off, delivering one of the series’ more refined entries to date, and one that isn’t hampered by needless padding. Even though it’s held back slightly by one too many glitches, Haven Springs is a joy to explore, and Alex’s journey of grief and the importance of expressing your emotions is one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

The Walking Dead Season 3 makes two very strong starts. Splitting the first episode into a two-parter means fans are treated to a double-whammy of excellent storytelling and get to spend more time with these immediately engaging and relatable characters.