Sekiro is a game a lot of people are going to bounce off. It’s one for the “git gud” crowd – for people who want a feeling of accomplishment, rather than the fake achievement you feel from finding some Level 20 Pants in most modern triple-A experiences. It’s FromSoftware at its most confident, at its most unapologetic. It’s Bloodborne but faster, with fewer crutches yet somehow more fair. It’s also one of the best games released so far in what’s already looking like a strong 2019.

The Switch continues to be a great place for ports of fantastic games, and my feelings around Bayonetta’s Switch Collection are much the same as they were for Skyrim and DOOM; this is the perfect excuse to either replay these games or to experience them for the first time if you missed them the first time around. Bayonetta might be a strange outlier in Nintendo’s game library, but she deserves her place: her games are absolutely modern classics in the action genre.

Modern day horror experiences don’t get much better than this, and I'm pleased we've got more to come in, at least, two sets of DLC.

When a classic is remastered, there is really only one mission: don’t mess it up. Monolith and Nintendo have admirably improved upon a Wii classic, delivering the one version of this game that people should now aim to play. It’s true that some of the original game design frustrations remain untouched and performance is solid but sadly not perfect. These things barely matter, though; Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is easily a must-own for any RPG fan with a Switch.

It’s a game about finding out who your mates are, and that they’ll be there for you no matter whether you need a good laugh, a telling off or a helping hand.

Honestly, It Takes Two is one of the most pleasant surprises in video games I’ve ever had. I went in more or less expecting a fairly gimmick-laden brief but fun escapade, but it’s so much more than that. This is a game that I would recommend to anyone who longs for the kind of no-holds-barred childlike fantasy so common in the 80s but seems less common today. If that is you, don’t sleep on this real gem.

Standing on its own, Unicorn Overlord is an excellent expansion of Vanillaware’s now-trademark visual style and its newer RTS mechanics, offering both gripping strategy and an atmospheric pulp fantasy world that you're going to want to sink hours and hours into.

While Super Mario 3D All-Stars was content rich but low on actual effort, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury feels like a necessary release. It brings one of the best ever Mario titles to a platform people actually own, but also adds a new exclusive that’s completely worthwhile. It easily cruises onto the list of best Nintendo Switch games – and it’s a great start for Nintendo’s 2021. Just don’t leave us waiting too long for an Odyssey 2, yeah?

This was a review I picked up on a whim, looking to try something new, and now I’m walking away with a strong new game of the year contender. Psychonauts 2 is fun, funny, heartfelt, and handles its themes with a deft and gentle hand. Thanks to its great recapping, anyone can play regardless of their history with the series, and I recommend you do!

Dead Space doesn’t just place you into the role of Isaac Clarke, it forces you into his head, too. You’re constantly questioning if the apparitions he is seeing are real, and his physical reaction to the unbelievable events aboard the space ship only fuel yours further. You are completely at the whim of the USG Ishimura, and it never lets you forget that. Ultimately, Dead Space is a game that a lot of horror developers can learn from when it comes to creating suspense and a feeling of dread in its players. And as far as remakes go, Dead Space has me thoroughly pining over a decade-old series. That’s a success, if you ask me.

Whatever path you choose, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is an absolute blast. It’s the best Fire Emblem title since Awakening, and it goes straight onto my list of must-play Switch games.

If what you come to Horizon for is a space to live out your fantasies of collecting cars and driving them around stunning, real-world-inspired locations, there is simply no game that does it better. But if you wanted a little more from Forza Horizon 6; a bit of an edge or some rewarding friction, you should look elsewhere.

Ultimately, playing through Death Stranding 2 was an emotional and utterly enjoyable experience, full of thrills and impossible to put down during its bigger moments. My only negative feeling towards it is also unfortunately a big one, that I wish Kojima Productions went further in evolving this sequel from the original. When the story goes to such an extent to explore new grounds, it's kind of a shame the gameplay feels the need to play it safe.

Vicarious Visions has proved that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was more than just a product of its time, and that – like skating itself – it has every chance of penetrating the mainstream once again. The studio should be lauded for twice proving that it is a steward of 90s nostalgia, and that it can reanimate games to be just as good – if not better! – for their second turn under the sun.

But even if you feel a touch frustrated at the busywork, I would urge players to at least finish the first map of the game. If you get to this point and still find yourself keen to play, I'm happy to say that the game truly blossoms in its second half. The best quests, narrative moments, the funniest moments, and best side characters can be found here. There's one Polish guy who I guarantee will steal the hearts of thousands. Please hang in there. There is gold buried in this game, and it's not even that hard to prospect out.

If this wasn’t a remake, I firmly believe it would be right at the top of Game of the Year articles as we assess things over a bit of Christmas Pudding. The PS5 has had some brilliant games already, no doubt, but as a fan of The Last of Us, Part 1 is my new favourite exclusive on the console. If you dislike Naughty Dog games, nothing here is going to change your views, but existing Doggers (yes, I’m using it) will lap this up and appreciate the work that’s gone into it.

I am already 50 hours in, and I can’t wait to double - triple, quadruple! - that number in the coming weeks and months. This one’s a classic, as far as I'm concerned.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is wickedly clever, tightly designed, self-aware in all the right ways, and refreshingly unconcerned with whatever the latest trends are. The only game Dragon’s Dogma 2 is really interested in iterating on and answering to is the original Dragon’s Dogma. For fans of that game there’s delightful bonuses, references, and punch-the-air moments, too. But even for newcomers, what should be plain is that Dragon’s Dogma 2 does its own thing - and its own thing is magnificent.

This is a full-fat, planet-hopping, mystery-filled adventure that PS5 owners will lap up and non-owners will resent not being able to play, perhaps through no lack of trying. Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls were superb launch titles for the PS5, but we’re now through the looking glass. The bar has been set. The PS5 has arrived.

Horizon: Forbidden West does a great job of building on the foundation that Zero Dawn laid out; everything is more beautiful, the stakes are – somehow – higher, and the flirtations with BioWare-style story ideas shows just how much of a future this series has. The exploration and combat pillars of the game sing in harmony, too… it’s just a shame that there’s so much sludgy filler amongst all that well-oiled machine killer.

Taken as a single-player experience, Deathloop feels complete and incredibly well-rounded. The extra injection of optional multiplayer action is a fabulous cherry on top. Basically, Deathloop is everything I wanted it to be. It’s confident both as a successor to many of the ideas of Dishonored while also expressly its own thing, with a tone and sense of style I absolutely adore. It’s one of my favourite games of the year - and one we’ll surely be talking about for months to come.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a bonefide cure-all for your fighting game ailments. A banger release, right at the end of the year.

Metroid Dread is likely to give those that have been counting down the days to its release exactly what they want: a thrilling experience in line with what they loved about past games. There are original ideas here - but they’re better considered as evolutions of what came before rather than anything groundbreaking. There’s stumbles here and there with the difficulty and progression signposting, but all of that feels very Metroid. Dread is no Super Metroid, but that game is a stone-cold all-timer. Putting that game aside, Dread is up to the series standard, and is well worth a look.

Iterative sequels are obviously pretty common in video games, but when a game is built around user-generated content it’s plainly more difficult to get right. Super Mario Maker 2 nails it, however, mashing together the joy of 2D Mario and the frightening ingenuity of a huge community of players to make for a Switch game we could easily all be playing in a decade. It’s difficult to think of a more compelling argument than that.

Ultimately, Monster Hunter Rise is a solid, standalone entry to the series which pulls back on the scope of recent games on more powerful platforms, but doesn’t skimp on the fundamentals that made the Monster Hunter name. While it does feel like a smaller package in terms of grand story presentation, the new additions and quality-of-life fixes make it less grindy to play, with greater flexibility in exploration, navigation, and resource collection adding to the portable possibilities.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is a richly-deserved, lovingly-crafted redo of a classic. It takes one of Mario’s finest spin-offs and does just enough to refresh it while retaining everything that made it beloved in the first place. I only hope this leads to more Paper Mario games in this vein.

It’s a confident sequel, then, and does enough work to fill in the gaps through discreet bits of exposition that it could probably be enjoyed as a standalone adventure, too.

Capcom is a master of the genre it spawned.