It carried ginormous expectations, but somehow Nintendo has managed to leapfrog over the bar by a huge distance. Offering the most satisfying gameplay experience of any Mario game to date, Super Mario Odyssey is near-perfect.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t stray too far away from the hugely successful template of Breath of the Wild. But by reinforcing its predecessor’s strength for experimentation with the new building mechanics, while also telling an engaging story and opening up new locations to explore, this is a perfect sequel to the greatest game to ever grace the Nintendo Switch.

Persona 5 Royal is the definitive version of the modern classic JRPG, merging new elements that fit naturally but not quite fixing some of its most noticeable flaws.

God of War tells a wonderful tale through a beautiful spectrum speckled with more than a few drops of the blood of your enemies. It’s a shame, then, that boss fights have fallen by the wayside at every level to become terribly monotonous – but if that’s the cost of what Santa Monica has built, it’s certainly a price worth paying...The ending isn’t as grand I’d hoped for, but the setting up of a sequel makes up for this – and there’s still plenty left to do in the Lake of Nine. God of War is the best in the series.

Metroid Prime’s core game design hasn’t aged too well in the years since its original release, but in this Remastered version, its visuals and sense of atmosphere have never been better, making it an easy one to recommend for Metroid fans already familiar with the series’ quirks.

Elden Ring is a fantastic RPG for any hardcore gamer looking for a new world to explore. Combat is weighty and takes place in a wonderfully intriguing world full of dungeons to explore and monsters to battle. The only downside is that its high difficulty will be a stumbling block that will continue to put some players off, despite the improved accessibility that comes with the open-world format.

God of War Ragnarök is a spectacular sequel, retaining the same ultra-satisfying combat as its predecessor, but with a more grandiose story to boot.

The Last of Us 2 is a masterful swansong for the PlayStation 4, and arguably the finest, most accomplished project Naughty Dog has ever embarked on.

Valve has surpassed impossible expectations with Half-Life: Alyx, bringing a series long though buried back into the limelight with extraordinary impact. While some might find it unfortunate that such an experience is housed inside virtual reality, I feel it's an innovative step forward for the series…A book has been opened that will seemingly stay as such for years to come, and words are still being written as we speak. If this prequel is anything to go by, Valve might have finally learned to count to three. If you have the means to play it, Half-Life: Alyx is absolutely essential.

This is a great game for RPG fans to get their teeth into: over 20 hours in, you’ll notice the story only just starts gaining traction, and you may only just start getting familiar with the game’s myriad systems. The game is unforgiving, often mercilessly so, but if you have the patience to penetrate the density and crack open the core gameplay, there’s such a wealth of well-written RPG content, it’s impossible not to recommend.

Persona 5 is one of the best JRPGs in recent memory, overflowing with originality, entertainment and straight up weirdness. It’s pretty damn good.

Resident Evil 4 Remake not only does right by its original source of inspiration, but it also sets a high bar for what modern day remakes can be. All components of the story have been finetuned into a more well-thought out package, and that’s before mentioning the game’s full use of today’s graphical prowess to deliver a more terrifying interpretation of rural Spain. The core gameplay also retains what made it so great back in the day, but with modern amenities such as a parrying system, quick-select for weapons and the ability to run. And despite the new improvements, the increased aggressiveness of the enemies ensures that the game never feels like a cakewalk. I don’t know who still needs to be convinced at this point, but Resident Evil 4 is a masterpiece that I cannot recommend enough.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the most refined Smash yet. There’s a ridiculous amount of content here and, if you’re a Smash Bros. fan you should absolutely buy this. Unfortunately, the game loses something when it’s about anything more than its core local multiplayer experience.

I adore every second. Forza Horizon 4 is potentially the best racing game I’ve ever played in terms of the sheer amount of stuff and how much fun I’ve had.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a fantastic addition to the franchise. Every level is bursting with personality and the fantastical new power-ups and abilities offer a lot more motivation to look further into every nook and cranny. The characters are a joy to control and all the platforming elements feel seamless. The Wonder Flowers are a very welcome addition, adding a lot more dimension to what I would previously call a very cookie-cutter experience. The only downside – if you can really call it that – is that Wonder can’t exactly stand alongside its peers in terms of storytelling or sheer size. Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn’t break the mould for 2D platformers, but it has built upon what came before wonderfully and I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a calm, cosy experience on the Switch.

Forza Horizon 5 is a marvel of a game and a standout title on the Xbox Series X. It’s a near-perfect racing and exploration game that looks stunning, plays like a dream, and just begs to be played over and over again.

Demon’s Souls is a masterpiece. Bluepoint Games has crafted a beautiful remake that embodies everything that made the original experience so special, maintaining all of its vital elements while building upon everything that matters. This can proudly join Breath of the Wild as one of the best launch games of all time.

One of the best, most beautiful games ever made.

Overlook these little niggles and Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the best RPG to make it to consoles since The Witcher 3. It’s vast, engaging and surprising. The willingness to accommodate many different types of play may have its drawbacks, but once you’ve understood the systems and given thought to what kind of hero you want to be, you can sink literally hundreds of hours into your life on Rivellon.

After Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the next Nintendo Switch must-buy. It’s the best the series has ever been, offering one definitive package. With the glorious return of Battle Mode, improved visuals and more content than ever before coupled with more ways to play it than ever thanks to the Nintendo Switch, I don’t think fans could ask for much more.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a triumphantly ambitious venture which pushes the boundaries of photorealism in the gaming medium. It requires a lot of horsepower and the support of Azure technology to accomplish such a feat, but these barriers are washed away when you're staring down at endless cities and thick jungles from thousands of feet in the air. It's breathtaking, and I hope it brings such simulators further into the mainstream.

Overwatch remains one of the most compelling and experimental shooters in the world right now. Blizzard Entertainment’s commitment to innovative new heroes, modes and responding to community feedback is unparalleled – and a treat to watch. Like World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo before it, Blizzard has crafted something that will undoubtedly be around for years to come.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is one of the best games to emerge this year, adding yet another masterpiece to FromSoftware’s formidable catalogue of grim, uncompromising experiences. Nearly every encounter feels like a nuanced session of cat-and-mouse as you dance alongside the enemy, culminating in a final act that leaves them in a puddle of their own defeat.

This game gets my heart rate going like no other racer. It captures the childish glee of playing with toy cars and combines it with the adrenaline of throwing yourself around in a very expensive hunk of metal.

Sonic Mania Plus isn’t a vast improvement on Sonic Mania, but given the quality of Sonic Mania, we’ll let that slide. Encore mode extends and expands the appeal – and the challenge – of one of the hedgehog’s finest outings, while the new characters and enhanced Competition mode are fun.

Still one of the finest games ever coded, and now fit to be seen on top line TVs. This is how remasters should be done, bringing the original content up to modern standards, without diluting what made it great in the first place. Bluepoint has effectively improved on perfection.

Crusader Kings 3 is a fantastic entry in Paradox's historically-rooted strategy series. New RPG elements help to create a more engrossing character-driven experience, while lots of quality-of-life improvements make it more accessible and digestible to both Crusader Kings veterans and newcomers. There are still a couple of issues, such as as inconsistent AI-controlled allied armies, but this is still nonetheless one of the absolute best strategy games you can currently buy.

Resident Evil 2 Remake is a survival horror triumph for Capcom. It translates the 1998 original onto modern hardware with an experience that feels fresh, exciting and absolutely terrifying to play. Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield deliver uniquely excellent campaigns who, despite clearly being cut from the same cloth, distinguish themselves enough to make this the definitive version of the beloved classic. It isn’t perfect, arguably confined by the blueprint it established more than 20 years ago, but as a recreation of the source material, it’s almost note perfect.