A top-quality shooter with oodles of style.

With its thrilling multiplayer now backed up by a surprisingly excellent single-player campaign, Titanfall 2 is every bit the sequel I'd been hoping for.

Dark Souls 3 relies too much on former glories to reach the heights of Bloodborne or the original Dark Souls, but that doesn't stop it being another superb adventure.

It's a gorgeous game, and one that runs at a framerate speedy enough to justify why it doesn't support older models of iPhone and iTouch.

The core driving is never anything but exhilarating, visually it's almost flawless and the Autolog features are genre leading. There's still something missing, though. While the high-speed pursuits are up there with the best gaming experiences of the year, the game needs more than that: car tuning, a resemblance of a story - complete with cheesy acting - and a reason to explore the open world.

This is a port, but it's more than a port. BioWare, with a little help from a friend, has made one of the best RPGs ever made even better.

Dark Souls isn't a game you play for fun. It's something you do to say you've done; like running a marathon or climbing Everest. You won't enjoy it like you will other games, but you won't forget it either, and you'll be damn proud of yourself for seeing it through to the end.

In parallel with the superlative Chinatown Wars, The Ballad of Gay Tony restores a sense of playfulness to the GTA franchise, cementing Rockstar's status as King of the DLC.

Back with a vengeance, Phantom Liberty builds on the high notes of Cyberpunk 2077 to deliver a gripping storyline packed with both heartfelt moments and refined RPG systems.

Perhaps more appealing than the brain teasers is Fez's mesmerizing setting. I'm not usually a fan of low-fi aesthetics for the sake of looking retro, and initially Fez might resemble an 8-bit throwback, but upon closer inspection it's a finely detailed world simply made out of cubes with scenery as varied, atmospheric, and inspired as any triple-A title I've played.

The core gameplay mechanics are as good as ever, the presentation has been toned down for the better, there are some brilliant new multiplayer options, and everything feels more streamlined than before. Well worth adding to your playlist.

Experts will tear through the campaign quickly enough, but it's just the starter, whetting the palette for the main course, a hugely engaging multiplayer extravaganza. World In Conflict is brilliant RTS fun for experts and newcomers alike.

Even with its previous-gen roots, Burnout Revenge is a brilliant Xbox 360 title that deserves a place in your collection. If you own or have played a lot of the Xbox or PlayStation 2 version, it's a much harder decision to make.

Yes, you could get by with last year's game, but you will be missing out on what will probably be the best sports game of 2010.

The Final Shape is Destiny 2 firing on all cylinders, balancing a story of overwhelming odds with expertly paced combat and puzzles, all set in stunning environments. Much of the earlier complaints about the barrier to entry have been addressed, making for a seamless entry into the latest campaign.

There's something entrancing about the way this game plunges you into the violence, the corruption, and the sadness of post-war Los Angeles. Each of the four major desks has a remarkably different tone, and while the slow reveal of Phelps himself is the major narrative thread, it's equally true to say the dark heart of the city itself is an equally important protagonist.

Death Stranding 2 manages the rare trick of being both desperately monotonous but profoundly engaging, banking towards one of these two poles depending on how much you’re willing to put in. It’s a game that demands that you meet it half-way and shed expectations, your pace dictated by your stomach for patience and perseverance. But if you do, it’s a wonderfully strange and roaring spectacle.

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing has all the best qualities that Mario Kart initiated years ago and features controls tailored to the portable iOS devices. As such, this is certainly one of the best iDevice racers you'll play this year.

The boss fights are distinctly underwhelming - presenting yet another great big thing to kill when you might have hoped for something more subtle, intelligent, and perhaps disturbing, to tackle.

It's about controlling the terror levels of the countries you need money from, calming the alarm of your squad members as their leader is killed and their behaviour grows erratic and your own fears as you try to remain level-headed in the face of a terrified populace, a concerned council, and the sharp, poisonous appendages of a trio of chittering creatures advancing towards your wounded sergeant. After all, remaining calm under such overwhelming pressure isn't so easy when the person in mortal danger is named after your partner or best friend.

What saves Norco is that the visions on offer belong as much to the imagined as the troublingly real.

From its calming audio, uplifting imagery, clever conundrums and everything in between, Monument Valley feels like the realisation of a holistic vision; each aspect working together and complementing the whole.

Kojima's oeuvre is as bold as it is hokey, and for all its faults this is an engaging universe that is never dull except for when it is.

Dead Space 2 is sometimes a confused and disappointing production, but more often than not it's tense and fascinating.

Dreams is devoted to the realisation of exciting wishes, and with it Media Molecule has its defining, if not quite definable, game.

Perhaps the strongest compliment I can pay Eidos Montreal is this: with its grand design, dynamic play and sheer wealth of ideas - not to mention its old-fashioned pre-occupation with air vents - Deus Ex: Human Revolution is reminiscent of the best efforts from the golden era of PC gaming at the end of the 90s. It's a modern release imbued with the finer qualities of an age gone by.

One of the year's best games, even when it forgets to hand over the controller and let you have a turn.

I’ve had a great time leading the Inquisition. It’s unusual to be able to look back at a game like this and have such fine memories, despite being so underwhelmed by its opening hours. For some, it may well feel like too much of a grind to begin with, and for time-poor players those 15 hours may be far too much of an investment.