Nostalgia might well have carried this one through, but in truth it doesn’t need it: this is a great game that has for the most part aged remarkably well, with the visual upgrade and other tweaks serving to make absolutely certain it’s worth the price of admission; I just wish the AI didn’t sometimes feel so cheap. It’s rare that a game can be as good as it was 20 years ago in a modern re-release – but this classic kart racer manages it.

Other than that, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a masterpiece. No joke. If automation was to take my job right now, at least I’d have something to lose myself in during these long summer months.

From a pure level design perspective, it’s a huge improvement over Wolfenstein 2. Unfortunately, it seems to have forgotten a lot of what made both New Order and The New Colossus such great games in the process.

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.

It’s a suspense thriller that could’ve been written at any point in the last century, were it not for the gripping addition of player choice. In a month that’s seen Man of Medan push interactive fiction into multiplayer, and Telling Lies build on the investigative purpose of Her Story, there’s no comparable innovation here beyond those tactile controls that feel like you’re manipulating scenes in real-time. But there are shocking truths buried at Delphi House, and maybe that’s enough to soothe the soul on a long Sunday.

The writing, direction, and performances are consistently brilliant. This is Remedy at the peak of its game. Control feels like a company rediscovering itself, waking from a long slumber. Remedy’s legs work as intended once more, the vestiges of sleep paralysis a distant memory.

It’s initially interesting, but its bundle of ideas and systems stumble between clever and stupid, intuitive and clunky. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey needs more time to evolve.

Despite the fact Borderlands 3 seemingly wants me to hate it, I really, really like it. Like, a lot. I say this as someone who’s become a bit disenfranchised with the loot shooter. The moronic, sophomoric (sophomoronic?) dialogue masks over one of the most thoughtful, satisfying shooters you can play right now. You just have to learn to tune out the white noise, and to swap your weapon before you open a chest, you idiot.

This review has largely been gushing, but I want you to know that Astral Chain isn’t perfect. The non-combat side of the game is often fairly pedestrian and the story can be pretty overwrought even if it is largely told in a knowing, tongue-in-cheek manner. With that noted, this is absolutely a worthy successor to Nier Automata – and like that game, Astral Chain is definitely a contender for one of my favourite games of the year.

Personally, I’m genuinely excited for future Dark Pictures instalments. And I’m still playing Man of Medan, figuring out its hidden traps and machinations, despite my frustrations with it.

World of Warcraft went through many changes over the years, for better and for worse. That leaves Classic feeling conflicted, both a rose-tinted dream and a dated mess.

It’s a strong campaign, then, and one made better when you play with friends – as is always the way – and the suite of features that accompany it will likely keep you busy for some time.

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.

An extraordinarily competent racer, which makes sense.

The interplay between the AI, your abilities, the physics of the world, and your guns is some of the best I’ve seen, and I never thought I would be saying anything like that about a sequel to Brown Shooter: Apocalypse. There’s much more to this than its kooky, pink-hued marketing campaign. If you sleep on it, you’re sleeping on one of the best – if not the best – single-player FPS games of this generation.

The lack of seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes means you’re often staring at a black screen as the game interrupts you, the story is predictable, your activities are repetitive, and the technical issues – frame rate drops, freezes, and myriad bugs – are a constant annoyance. While it’s still slightly better than most recent Xbox One exclusives, Days Gone just isn’t anywhere near the quality of the majority of PS4 first-party releases.

Labo VR isn’t likely to set the world of VR on fire, but as a cheap VR option that’s a family friendly way to explore this growing area of gaming this new Toy-Con kit feels like a clever, worthwhile addition to the Switch’s weird and wonderful cardboard world. It may also very well be the first time Labo has truly made sense to me. It’s classic Nintendo ingenuity, with classic Nintendo results: just pure fun.

Rest assured – these are a fantastic way to revisit familiar adventures for existing fans and a must-play in the genre for everybody else. At last, they’ve got a current release definitively worth bothering with.

Tropico 6 isn’t spectacular in terms of breaking the mould. There’s no revolution here, but nor would El Presidente want one – that keeps him in power, after all. It’s a confident game that plays it safe, offering simple iterations and smart tweaks to the already well-trodden and successful styling of the series to offer up an entry that, at the very least, is superior to its direct predecessor.

It’s a leisurely, relaxing adventure that is absolutely confident in its abilities – and for those happy to have such an experience, a very easy recommendation. It’s the best Yoshi game in years.

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.

There’s a compelling endgame, there’s loot that actually matters, and missions don’t feel like they’re copy and pasted to bulk out the runtime. If some of the frustrations can be ironed out, it could be the best of its genre. But for the love of god, please let your writers say something if you ever make another one.

It’s not going to win any Game of the Year awards, but if you’re looking for a fun co-op game that scratches a similar itch to something like PayDay, Rico is well worth picking up.

Capcom is a master of the genre it spawned.

I went into Anthem with an open mind. It’s a game I wanted to succeed from a studio I’ve always been fond of. Unfortunately, it’s everything everyone feared at reveal. It’s a hollow experience that’s been designed to appeal to the widest market possible while squeezing more money out of those who are hooked in by its doggy treat design.

I’d be extremely hesitant to recommend anyone part with $60 for it. There’s just not enough here. Still, all things considered, Crackdown 3 being this enjoyable represents a minor miracle, and I’d love to see what these teams are capable of with the franchise without being dicked around by corporate for half a decade.

Over 22 central story quests, and a clutch of side objectives, New Dawn is surprisingly good at throwing up varied tasks.

A brilliant sequel that wrestles control away a little too often.