For Atelier veterans, Rorona Plus deftly addresses pretty much every criticism that could be levelled at the original Rorona while providing plenty of new content to enjoy. For Atelier newcomers, this is a solid, enjoyable and charming game that marks an ideal entry point into the broader series as a whole.

Pretty much everything about this game feels fresh and exciting: the class-based combat, the art style, the roster, the modes. It's equal parts strategic and twitchy, encouraging you to think while also rewarding skill, and its roster is a delight. Overwatch may well be the best new multiplayer shooter to come along since Modern Warfare and Team Fortress 2 took 2007 by storm. I can't wait to play more.

Even if you know the Kingdom of Drangleic like the back of your hand, you're in for many new surprises. And if you've never played Dark Souls II before, your patience has paid off: This is simply the best version of it you'll ever play.

NBA 2K17 addresses most of my biggest issues from last year in cutting out canned animations and going back to basics with MyCareer, and it's still as polished as ever. It's easy to take its excellence for granted, but Visual Concepts' ambition and willingness to take risks keeps it from ever becoming stale. NBA 2K17 is the champion, and it's tough to see it losing that title anytime soon.

Perhaps the definitive version of Diablo 3, Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition is streamlined, buttoned-down and an absolute joy to play - especially so when you start adding friends.

Super Mario Odyssey honors much of what makes other 3D Mario games great, plus it adds plenty of its own flavor to the Mario stew thanks to its capture mechanic. Mario Odyssey can keep you busy for hours and hours if you want it to, and you probably will. Outside of a few instances where the camera took on a mind of its own, I can't think of a moment when I wasn't enjoying myself while journeying with Mario and Cappy.

It's a return to Final Fantasy's roots, and it's beautiful.

By turns hilarious, disturbing, witty and poignant, The Stanley Parable is a successful experiment in the video game medium's inherent interactivity and how this can affect an author's story -- for good and for ill.

The Banner Saga is blindingly lovely and arguably just as intriguing to play. Built atop a world that all but demands the attention of travel documentaries, it's epic in the literal sense of the word.

Hearthstone is easy to play, yet it delivers an astonishing breadth and depth of strategy. If you're looking for a fascinating, involving and highly addictive cerebral gaming experience, there are few finer than this.

A great PvP game that offers some of the most intriguing and nuanced team combat around.

What more can I say? I loved SteamWorld Heist and I think everyone should play it. Even if you don't normally like tactics games, Heist might be able to change your mind. It might not make a lot of Game of the Year lists, but I can assure you that it is one of 2015's best.

As technically polished and fully-featured as any racing game out there, Forza Motorsport 6 transports you to an incredibly realistic racing world where there's a huge breadth of choice in terms of cars, tracks and types of driving experience. Pretty much whatever you're in the mood for, Forza Motorsport 6 has you covered.

Melancholic, all too real, but in the end, hopeful, Kentucky Route Zero is a reflection of what it's like to survive as an everyday American. It's an adventure concerned not just with our country's endemic issues, but with the people at the center and their undying perseverance in the face of economic cruelty. As an adventure game, it is perhaps one of the finest games ever written, ebbing and flowing between the perspectives of not just other characters, but the lens we see it through. All considered as the sum of its many, equally magnificent parts, Kentucky Route Zero is a game I won't forget for a long, long time.

The Messenger is the real deal. It's the most polished, thoughtful, and accurate tribute to retro gaming that I've seen in a very long time. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Its unconventional, non-violent subject matter and gameplay also skilfully and confidently prove that not all games need an "attack" button to be enjoyable and interesting -- and given the growing sense of weariness a lot of us have been feeling with super-violent experiences, that's something that should be celebrated.

From Software's amazing streak continues with Dark Souls III, which amounts to the finest game in the series. Returning players will find everything they've grown to love in a much better form, while newbies will be treated to the most accessible Souls to date.

Milla Maxwell is not only a great female protagonist that other developers would do well to learn from, she's simply a great character, period, and one who deserves to stand alongside the genre's longstanding stars. Her game's no slouch, either.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is simply the pinnacle of the CRPG genre. It offers a campaign with memorable characters, interesting role-playing options, and excellent systemic combat. The environments are beautiful and the soundtrack is solid. That alone would put it at the top of the heap, but then Larian added offline and online coop, a PVP arena mode, and Game Master mode, the greatest throwback to the Dungeons & Dragons pen-and-paper games that underpin the entire genre. I might have small issues here and there, but Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of the best in a strong year for gaming.

I was delighted by Metroid: Samus Returns. It hits pretty much every note you hope to see in a Metroid game, and MercurySteam's console background is evident in their flair for the dramatic — whether in their introductory cutscenes or their boss battles. Their dramatic reinvention reinvigorates the source material and strengthens the story's bridge to Super Metroid. In short: They nailed it.

Card Hunter gets it right in every which way that matters, and even in some of the ways that don't. It's geeky, goofy tabletop fun remade for the modern web browser: brilliantly designed, highly appealing and top-notch fun.

It also has charm, cleverness and enough heart to make up for five Call of Duty iterations. Tearaway is a 3D platformer mashed together with a creative craft class for adult kids, an adventure that is as close to sandbox-y as a non-sandbox game can get.

Freedom Cry adds a new new wrinkles to AC4's gameplay, but the real strength is the focus on slavery and the return of some nuance to the world of Assassin's Creed.

A tricky and challenging single-player game, joyously mad multiplayer action, and an incredibly in-depth creator mode combine to deliver what is without doubt, the best LittleBigPlanet game yet. Wonderful stuff.

Don't let Rainbow Curse's relatively small length put you off; it's a sublime experience that completely washes its hands of the padding most games employ to justify a retail release.

Making excellent use of the visual novel medium to tell its story, Steins;Gate is a beautifully crafted piece of interactive fiction that blends character drama, sci-fi and critique of popular culture into a compelling and memorable whole.

Dark Souls II provides the best of both worlds: an admirable sequel for series veterans, and a perfect jumping-on point for gamers who've shied away from From Software's RPG brand until now. And if you're afraid of the series' tough-as-nails reputation, From has made sinking into Souls addiction a much more effortless process. You just have to let Dark Souls II break you first.

Monster Hunter has been in need of a big change for years, and this reboot-of-sorts could have easily gone wrong. Instead, Capcom took a careful look at Monster Hunter's design and cut all the fat while leaving the series trademark dense gameplay completely intact. All the changes, from the broad, sweeping ones to the granular alterations, only serve to improve an already winning formula. The next generation of Monster Hunter has finally begun, and, with Monster Hunter World, it's off to an incredibly good start.