As long as you can withstand its often extremely disturbing content, Martha is Dead is a absorbing and atmospheric adventure with a brilliantly realised setting and a beautifully haunting soundtrack. We can’t stress enough that it won’t suit all tastes, however.

Elden Ring is a fantastic game that can still deliver the unmatched thrill of defeating a tough boss after an hours-long battle. Those who worship at the church of Souls-like will find a game that’s basically everything they ever wanted.

For anyone who’s still just dabbling with the genre, there are a slew of genuine retro shoot ‘em ups – many of which have been published on the Switch by Hamster itself – which serve as perfectly fine entry points at a fraction of the cost. For those who already adore shooters, however – the sort of people who call them ‘schmups’ – Sol Cresta is a fantastic entry that won’t leave you disappointed.

If you’re willing to take your time and explore through the ruins of a fallen society, where every other corner is teeming with machines that you’ll need to be at the top of your game to destroy, then Horizon Forbidden West is an incredible game and a world that we wanted to return to many hours after the credits rolled.

Sifu is a master of hand-to-hand combat, injecting its kung-fu showdowns with exhilarating fluidity, tactical depth and cinematic scale. Its structure is harder to fully embrace, though, as it demands a lot of repetitious dedication to even reach the final stages. At times that feels needlessly punishing, but the thrill of the fight should help pull you through.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human feels like it lost its direction somewhere along the way. It begins as an interesting zombie game wherein the threat feels tangible, your character feels weak, and the world feels primed for a dynamic story. However, the further you get into the game, a lot of its early ideas feel sidelined for a generic zombie plot, uninspiring combat, and the absence of any kind of danger.

Both Uncharted 4 and Uncharted Lost Legacy are still fantastic games that deserve a second playthrough on PlayStation 5. Naughty Dog’s first outing on the PlayStation 5 is an incredibly strong one, and only makes me even more excited for what it has coming next, and what they’ll be able to do with this technology.

Pokémon Legends is the breath of fresh air the series has needed for so long. It may not have been apparent from the trailers, but this is one of the most entertaining, engaging and engrossing games in the entire history of the Pokémon series, and is highly recommended to both long-time fans and complete newcomers.

We can’t recommend Rainbow Six Extraction if you’re planning on playing alone, especially on PlayStation platforms where you’re expected to pay £40 for the privilege, but if your regular gaming group is bored of the game you play every night, and they all have Game Pass, Extraction will provide laughs.

God of War on PC is the definitive way to play an absolutely essential game. It’s never looked better, bringing into sharp relief an art style that’s colourful, brutal and incredibly inventive with practically faultless performance, even on a machine that isn’t at the absolute bleeding edge of PC technology.

Halo Infinite's move to a more open-world structure feels like a new beginning for the series, with nostalgic nods and fresh introductions combining to great effect. Both the campaign and multiplayer have room for improvement, but the core experience is strong.

Solar Ash is a highly original open-plan platform game. A slim move set that rewards momentum is the perfect means of exploring its swirling, broken landscapes and executing its more exacting challenges. While some of its elements feel overly simple, that doesn’t detract hugely from a clinically focused and fresh experience.

The original DS Diamond and Pearl were great back in the day, and 15 years later this new coat of paint makes them just as entertaining. The improvements may not be as drastic as some may have hoped, but what's here is a solid Pokémon adventure regardless.

The original DS Diamond and Pearl were great back in the day, and 15 years later this new coat of paint makes them just as entertaining. The improvements may not be as drastic as some may have hoped, but what's here is a solid Pokémon adventure regardless.

Portal and Hazard Zone save 2042 from being a real low point in the series, which has swapped iconic, high octane moments for needless scale, without filling in any of that space.

While not the same level of technical mess as the Switch edition, the PlayStation 5 version still suffers from some hiccups that it really shouldn’t, and the changes to how the characters look won’t be for everyone, but it’s still a good way to play three of the best games ever made.

Few games have had such a lasting impact on how games were made, or have been quite so successful. People who weren’t into games played those three games. Sadly, if they were to pick them up on Switch now, they'd probably wonder if they were ever good in the first place.

At launch, Call of Duty Vanguard feels like a solid step-up from Black Ops Cold War, but falls short of the benchmark that was Modern Warfare 2019. Together, Vanguard's three pillars make for a game that we’re frankly surprised is as cohesive and enjoyable as it is.

Forza Horizon 5 is the best game in the series and the best Xbox Series X/S game to date. Its flawless racing and wealth of activities are backed up by a gorgeous setting and a fantastic new progression system which encourages players to focus on the features they enjoy most. Utterly essential.

Demon Turf looks fantastic and its platforming mechanics are brilliantly satisfying, but it's let down by boring combat and occasionally confusing level design. It's still worth a look, but it's not the best.

Newcomers may find it overwhelming, or slightly slow going in the early stages, but the campaign offers a great introduction to the genre, and the building blocks of Age of Empires. Don’t be surprised if you sit down to play a quick game, and then suddenly look at the clock to find that 3 hours have passed, your tea has gone cold, and the army that you’ve been meticulously building has been wiped by a garrison of archers you completely missed.

It seems backhanded to say that a game is only worth playing if you can find people to distract you from the actual game, but if your group wants something mindless to wind down after an intense night on Warzone or Rainbow Six: Siege, Back 4 Blood is ideal.

With a near-perfect balance of nods to the past and fresh ideas, Metroid Dread brings cinematic flair, fast-paced action and a surprising story to the side-scrolling classic. This is the comeback fans have been waiting for.

If you’re interested in another Far Cry game that does the Far Cry stuff the way it’s been doing it for 10 years, you’ll probably have a good time, but if you’ve already hit your limit with this kind of game, Far Cry 6 is the ne plus ultra of why open-world game design is so badly in need of a revolution.

An uneven action experience gets by on a huge amount of charm and a gorgeous visual treatment that more than holds its own ten years later.

Banana Blitz is a joyous celebration of what are still arguably the three best games in the series. There are a few slight performance issues and we have no doubt die-hards will argue about the overall feel, but there's a wealth of entertaining banana-hunting here regardless.

FIFA 22 is the best in the series to date, even if its revamped animation isn't as revolutionary as billed. As a standalone title it's fantastic, even though avid players will likely feel that changes are negligible compared to last year.

There’s nothing wrong with a game about doing simple things, and enjoying a relaxing journey in between, but in Sable, we could never relax.