Path of Exile is nothing truly new, but it is a well crafted and incredibly deep game in the loot grinding genre. Particularly recommended if you can play it with friends.

At first, Tokyo Dark seems to be little more than a pale replica of better Japanese adventure and horror games. The game’s presentation is amateurish, its characters are stereotypical, and its depiction of Tokyo doesn’t break any new ground. Thankfully, the game’s innovative SPIN system and focus on player choice heightens what would otherwise be an uninspired homage. Tokyo Dark falls well short of greatness, but hardcore point ‘n’ clickers looking for something a bit different may want to give the game a stab.

Metroid: Samus Returns is another wonderful 3DS game that gives owners yet another reason to pick up their 3DS consoles, even with the Switch’s growing library. It looks great, plays great, and is as faithful to older Metroid games as you could ask for. All we can hope for now is that this is just the beginning of the 2D Metroid renaissance.

Amazing art style, tedious battle system and a difficulty that's aimed at young children - not one for Monster Hunter fans, but maybe their kids. If they like Rock, Paper, Scissors, that is.

Tyranny: Bastard's Wound builds upon the excellent world-building and writing of the main game to offer a compelling side-story filled with engaging characters and twists where players choices matter as much as ever before. With the lack of any significant new mechanic, however, those who expected more than just a new story may be slightly disappointed.

Sparc combines the futuristic sport of Tron's disc battles with handball to create a unique PSVR experience that will have you moving and throwing with the greatest of ease. As a spectator V-sport, the focus on competitive online multiplayer makes up for the sparse amount of single player content.

Although the bullet hell action can be too intense at times, those that persevere and see Erina's adventure to the end will be rewarded with one of the best titles in the genre.

Pyre is an admirable attempt to create a new hybrid -- part sports, part RPG -- but only one of the game’s halves is a true success. Surprisingly, that’s the sports half. Pyre’s world is an enticing one, it just isn’t conveyed in the best way. If you’re a sports game veteran willing to try something a bit different or somebody who mostly enjoyed past Supergiant games for their sumptuous audio and visuals, Pyre should light your fire. Unfortunately, those hoping for another full-bodied action-RPG experience similar to Bastion or Transistor may be left a bit cold.

With Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition, Paradox Arctic managed to do make a computer RPG playable on consoles with little frustration, thanks to the cleverly redesigned UI and controls. For the rest, Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition is just as great as it is on PC, with excellent writing, world-building and characters, an involving and challenging battle system, and true roleplaying.

Before the Storm is a glimpse into a struggling mind. It is a not a blank canvas to create your own character, but the story of one person meeting another. Beautiful and flawed.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle looks, plays and sounds better than you would've ever expected from such a confusing crossover - an interesting take on the X-COM formula that can start to feel tedious, but starts amazingly and will keep many players stuck into the turn-based strategy shooter.

Albion Online is a fun sandbox MMORPG with a clever progression mechanic and deep player-economy. The mid to late game grind and hardcore nature might turn away anyone looking for a more casual experience.

Absolver features one of the best fighting systems to be found in gaming. In addition to this, it looks and plays fantastically. However, it's let down by a few balancing issues, some glaring design problems caused by the unpredictable multiplayer feature. The end-game, however, could make for one of the best multiplayer experiences the year has to offer.

It took years for Falcom to develop the perfect entry in the series, and with Ys VIII: Lacrimosa Of Dana, they finally managed to do so by refining the renewed story focus and gameplay mechanics introduced in Ys Seven without taking away what makes the series so enjoyable. With a well-executed, albeit not really original story, charming cast, fast paced battle system, engaging boss battles, tight challenge level and plenty of side-content, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa Of Dana is without a doubt the best entry in the series and one of the best action role-playing games released this year.

Ys Seven is the first entry in the long-running series to feature a variety of features and mechanics that have become a staple of the series, such as a bigger focus on the story and the party mechanic. While the renewed focus on story slows down the pace a bit, especially with its slow first few hours, the game's fast-paced combat system, engaging dungeon exploration, and fun boss battles make Ys Seven one of the best action role-playing games released in years. With some technical enhancements and a 60 FPS frame rate, the PC version is the definitive edition of Falcom's excellent RPG.

Warriors All-Stars digs deep to bring together a roster of unlikely Koei Tecmo heroes, but the roster just isn't large enough to build your perfect five-person dream team.

White Day is a game that might not make a lot of sense, but is a very interesting touchstone for building a atmosphere of anxious, awkward horror.

This game is totally deserving of the hype its received since it first launched on PC two years ago. Although its not the prettiest, it is one of the most original.

While The Escapists 2 appears to be a bombastic, fun loving adventure through misfortune and triumph, it turns out to be mostly a long and patient game of planning, and luck.

Despite Yakuza Kiwami sharing a near perfect reflection of 80's Kamurocho from Yakuza 0, there's still an important story to tell. The city of Kamurocho welcomes all with a wide array of minigames, sidequests, and the most Majima cameos of any Yakuza title to date.

F1 2017 is the best in the series and arguably one of Codemasters best titles. A few minor flaws slightly blemish what is a brilliant game, which looks, sounds and feels fantastic to play. Furthermore, a more extensive career mode with a host of other modes gives the game great variety and longevity.

While LawBreakers isn’t the most popular game on Steam right now, it’s not something you should ignore. For FPS fans clamouring for something new and innovative, you have finally got what you’ve been asking for. If you are looking for a game with a high skill-ceiling that tries to bring new ideas to the table, definitely consider picking up LawBreakers.

It’s a complete, classic package, at a great price. Each character you play as feels just as you remember it, but sharper. Each classic stage starts as you remember it, and then transforms into something completely new. Sonic Mania is a love letter to fans and a testament to the Blue Blur himself - a modern classic that Sonic fans old and new have to experience.

Matterfall is a challenging game with simple controls and stylish combat. While some sections are more frustrating than others, it'll keep daring you to come back and try to beat it once and for all.

Observer is a very interesting first person adventure game featuring a well-crafted setting and characters as well as the team's signature transitions, which manage to carry everything forward in spite of the gameplay which gets slightly repetitive over time. While the single elements may not be particularly original, the sum of the parts more than makes up for it, making Observers a worthy purchase for fans of psychological horror and dystopian settings.

Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth is a surprisingly well grounded game. As mundane as the subject matter may seem at first, it's incredibly absorbing as you follow the lives of realistic people. While not perfect, suffering from general adventure game problems of backtracking and long-winded puzzles, the game more than makes up for it with compelling characters, a great script with fantastic voice acting and an aesthetic design that benefits the game greatly.

Sudden Strike 4 is a sound tactical game with a great depth of units and tactical options. It is, however, let down by limited AI which leaves missions feeling more like set problems to solve rather than dynamic battlefields, limiting any replay value.

Blending powerful imagery, unrivaled visuals quality, an excellent combat system and a unique setting that mixes Norse mythology with mental illness, Ninja Theory fully delivers on their independent AAA pitch with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. This is one of those titles that, albeit not flawless, should be experienced by every gamer at some point.

Cat Quest does exactly what it says on the tin - this is a full RPG experience, condensed into a few hours of play, stuffed to the brim with adorable kitties and cat puns. If you want a short but sweet RPG with plenty of moments that will make you smile, Cat Quest can be a great choice, especially for kids.

Children of Zodiarcs is a charming little tale that fits very comfortably in the Venn diagram between tactical RPG’s and games of luck.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is an intense shooter that stresses teamwork over running-and-gunning. The chaos on the battlefield truly shows you what it's like to be under fire.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel takes the best of the Trails in the Sky games and enhances it to new heights. While the school setting isn't particularly innovative, all surrounding mechanics have been masterfully implemented, resulting in a game that's incredibly engaging despite the slow pace and a few other minor issues. Additional, the wealth of PC exclusive features make the game one of the best consoles to PC port ever released.

Aven Colony has the trappings of a good city-building game but simply lacks the depth to make it so. While the game looks great and plays well, the setting of space is underused outside of its aesthetic and the lack of variety or challenge inevitably leaves the game feeling dull.

Archangel puts players into the cockpit of the only giant mech capable of resisting a global terrorist threat. It's a great way to spend an afternoon, although the higher price tag might turn off some players. If you want a finely crafted shooting gallery with a compelling story to match, climb aboard and prepare for battle.

Redeemer is a flawed title at best. It's a brawler at heart and succeeds on that line, offering visceral and often entertaining combat. However, the inclusion of cheap enemies and a hugely fluctuating difficulty curve makes for often irritating experiences in a number of levels. Though not a large concern for the genre, the story is a mess throwing in characters and concepts with no explanation.

It’s well polished and offers moments of great fun, especially in co-op, but as a single player experience the game is slow and starts to drag quite quickly. In some aspects it feels rough and unfinished. As it stands, if you have a friend to play Solstice with, you’re likely to enjoy your time with it - but if you’re going to attempt the game solo, then maybe wait for a sale.

I like Miitopia, but I can’t really recommend it to anyone. Maybe people who still regularly play Miitomo (do people still do that?) but other than that… Just, don’t bother. It’s a game that plays itself, and you’re supposed to derive your entertainment from simply watching things happen. It’s a struggle to suggest this even to younger gamers - I can see what Nintendo wanted to do here, but Miitopia is honestly a flop.

Hey! Pikmin is a fun 3DS game, one of Nintendo’s better handheld platformers recently, but still not up to the quality and polish we’d expect from console Pikmin titles. Pikmin fans might be a bit disappointed by this one, but anyone willing to give it a shot will find a surprisingly deep and fun little adventure to while away the hours.

Super Cloudbuilt is a high speed, low gravity platform game featuring an excellent level design, a lot of additional content and some online modes that help make the experience never feel dull. Controls may take some time to get used, but after a few stages, players will be able to fly through stages in search of the fastest way to complete it and score a high place on the Leaderboards as if it were second nature. Highly recommended to platform game and especially Sonic the Hedgehog fans.

Despite a few minor hiccups, Yonder offers a beautiful world to explore at your pace. You won't be fighting legions of demons to save the island, but you do collect cats and the likes.

More action than RPG, Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire focuses everything on the battlefield: story, character development, and the choices that will affect the entire kingdom. The unique take on ATB combat is perhaps Fallen Legion's greatest strength.

Accel World vs. Sword Art Online is a competent action role-playing game offering a simple yet solid combat system, good story and characters and plenty of content. Due to the very bland exploration and a couple of other issues, namely technical and controls issues on PlayStation Vita, the game can only be recommended to fans of both franchises.

Splatoon 2 could’ve done more to differentiate itself from its predecessor, but ultimately what we’re left with is an upgrade over the original in almost every way. Sure, returning players might be underwhelmed with the familiarity, but anyone jumping into Splatoon for the first time will be blown away. Another Switch essential, especially for those multiplayer fans – let’s just hope Nintendo’s smartphone app works as elegantly.

Perception builds upon one unique gameplay element throughout its entire brief run but fails to see what makes a horror game memorable.

The reason why the Battle Modes are so disappointing is because it’s so hectic.

Black The Fall is an atmospheric 2D puzzle platformer, and although it creates an interesting tone, the game itself can't quite hold up against the titans of the genre.

If you played Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age back in the day and want to go back for nostalgia, you’ll love this. If you’re a new player interested in playing for the first time – keep in mind that this is definitely a game that shows its age. Though, if you have sufficient patience, it’s a story well worth investing in.

Rise of the Necromancer brings in what could be the games most entertaining class yet. Hugely adaptable with the ability to both summon minions and be active in the battle, the Necromancer has an excellent duality. However, this new class pack is very expensive for what it offers. Whether it's worth it or now will be very much down to how much you like Diablo III.

Dungeon Defenders II offers the same unique blend of action RPG and tower defense games of its predecessor while adding some new features that deepen the experience. The tower defense elements are still more important than the action RPG ones, but there's still plenty to keep fans of both genres engaged. Things, however, can get grindy if you want to unlock everything without spending money, so don't expect the experience to feel fresh if you plan on doing so.

While Breath of the Wild's first DLC pack contains some fantastic moments, on the whole it feels light and, frankly, not yet worth the cost.

When anything and everything isn't actively trying to kill you, being able to replay Crash Bandicoot's first three adventures is a nostalgic trip to when platformers were first exploring the possibilities of 3D and none were more experimental than the Bandicoot himself.

Ultimately, I couldn’t enjoy my time with First Strike Final Hour. It feels like the worst parts of micro-management games, without any of the growth and payoff you earn from those titles. While not the worst RTS by any measure, it’s certainly not one of the better ones on Steam.

Trading spell books for cell phones, Nihon Falcom proves once again that they are masters of the action JRPG subgenre.

Nurse Love Addiction might not do enough to bring in players who detest visual novels but there's an attention-grabbing story hidden beneath that white nurse's cap that simply won't let go.

Secret World Legends is far from perfect, but it's certainly captivating. With storytelling unsurpassed in the MMO genre, it features some incredibly compelling narrative and development, set in an atmospheric world. It isn't without its problems, with a dull at best combat system and irritating limitation on the number of quests you can carry. If you're looking for a unique and interesting story, this is the game for you, so long as you can live with some flaws.

Dropping the tactical experience of the Chronicles series, this spinoff opts for a darker take on war, focusing on swordplay and subterfuge in a tale of revenge that will forever shape the future of Europa.

In Ever Oasis you’re trying to make your oasis grow, and as you do, so does your strength, and your relationships. It’s a straight-forward, simple action RPG that takes some inspirations from Harvest Moon and The Legend of Zelda, but none of those are a bad thing. Ever Oasis feels distinct and unique enough to be its own, strong title – if you haven’t abandoned your 3DS for the Switch yet, Ever Oasis is yet another great 3DS game.

God Wars: Future Past is certainly a JRPG from another time, when the tactical genre was a mainstay on the Playstation 2 (and even has the aesthetics to match). If you've been craving another tactical title in your life, God Wars is a pretty safe choice.

If you can find some like-minded friends to join your adventures fresh out of Starfleet, Star Trek: Bridge Crew makes for a great social experience. Those that opt for a more single player experience might find themselves missing out on the magic.

There's no questioning that Get Even offers a different dimension to the first person shooter genre, yet it struggles to maintain the aspects that make it most unique, quickly devolving into a repetitive cycle.

At best, MotoGP 17 can be described as a stopgap. With only minor at best improvements, the game leaves a lot of areas lacking. The major feature is a new career mode which is engrossing as you work your team up through the ranks. Sadly, the game does have plenty of bugs and technical issues, as is the norm for Milestone games at release.

Nex Machina manages to tribute arcade games of the past such as Robotron and Smash TV without relying on nostalgia alone, offering a deep experience that doesn't require sub-systems to please players with a strong competitive attitude.

Wipeout Omega Collection offers that rare blend of arcade fun and serious racer. Fans of both can enjoy this game and there's plenty of options to make sure no one feels left out.

ARMS isn't the best fighting game, but it's a damn good one, and one of the most instantly enjoyable and accessible I've ever played. Probably not EVO material, but will be hours of fun with friends.

DiRT 4 is a very good game, that much is certain. Retaining the fantastic control of cars from DiRT Rally, albeit made somewhat simpler, it offers almost endless rallying with a procedurally generated track system and a number of changing online challenges. Not without its flaws, including an oversimplified gamer control scheme and anemic career mode, it's still a worthy entry of the core DiRT franchise.

The Town of Light tackles some very controversial themes in such a direct way that it's impossible not to be emotionally invested in Renée's story. Vastly enhanced by the faithful recreation of the Volterra asylum, The Town of Light manages to be an incredibly engaging experience thanks to the narrative flow, which drags players into this Hell on Earth and doesn't even let them go after the game's incredibly bittersweet ending.

Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind certainly offers some great quest lines and a fantastic nostalgia trip for those familiar with Vvardenfell. However, it feels a lot emptier, with monsters being simply unexciting and the new PVP being abysmally balanced. The new Warden class, however, offers an interesting new way to play.

ClaDun Returns: This is Sengoku! Is a wonderful return to the Classic Dungeon series and an experience that rogue lite fans shouldn’t miss out on. With the PlayStation Vita version having some performance issues and lacking in online multiplayer, I would recommend the Playstation 4 version unless you’re sold on the portable experience. Either way, this rogue lite should be appreciated by fans of random adventures and Sengoku history buffs alike.

With its focus on being true to the motocross sport, MXGP3 offers a surprising amount of depth to its control and riding finesse. While it may not have much to offer to bring in new fans, those that enjoy riding a 250cc bike in the mud will certainly appreciate the best entry in the series to date.

This is possibly the best Tekken has ever been, and a slightly slim selection of modes can’t take away from that. If you want one of the best fighting games to be released this year, Tekken 7 is essential.

The Long Journey Home is a roguelike that tries to do things differently but it still fails to become accessible enough to a wider audience. While there are some interesting mechanics and features, the bad controls for both ship and lander and the lack of precise information will put more than a few players off.

While I can't flaunt the game for anything bar a broken inventory system, I struggle to find anything outstanding to say about it as well.

Jupiter's Forge expands on Offworld Trading Company, taking you to Jupiter's moon, Io. With this new area comes two new factions, a range of new buildings and a whole new way in how to manage resources. Io is a dry planet, there is no water to pump and the game will challenge you in a way that makes it feel fresh.

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers is nice for fans of the series, but anyone else might feel ripped off paying full retail price for a game with so little new content. Great for online play, bad for basically everything else.

The steep learning curve paired with the limited tutorial, lack of any significant matchmaking options and the currently low player count make it hard to recommend Mirage: Arcane Warfare to anyone who isn't already a fan of their previous game Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. There's a lot of room to improve, though.

After such a long and troubled development, many feared that RiME would be a failure, but Tequila Works proved that there can be light at the end of the tunnel. With peculiar storytelling, varied puzzles, well-crafted platforming elements and gorgeous presentation, RiME can rival with the unique beauty of Team ICO's games.

Endless Space 2 is a great 4X strategy game that is almost guaranteed to improve. While not free of bugs, including a few large ones, it's a title that oozes character. Each and every game offers the flexibility to play the way you want to and adapt as you please, while offering some excellently told stories with every game also offering a fresh emergent story to boot.

Guilty Gear is a hardcore fighter, both to its benefit and its detriment. On the one hand, fighting game players will adore Guilty Gear for its fast paced gameplay, beautiful art style and deep tools for learning advanced techniques, but for anyone not either immersed in fighting games or the Guilty Gear series it’s a tough, if not impossible sell. A wonderful game, but not one likely to earn any new fans.

All in all, Injustice 2 is surprisingly fantastic. Combat feels very weighty and satisfying, the graphics look incredible, characters look fascinatingly detailed and even the bass-heavy sound design is top notch. DC and fighter fans should definitely be giving Injustice 2 time.

Spirit of Sanada is more than just a Samurai Warriors side story, bringing the series to new heights with its largest roster and longest battles to date. The new multi-stage battles will have players take a more tactical approach if they want to reap the rewards.

Lacking some polish in the audio and with a highly derivative story, it's hard for Skylar and Plux to stand out from the crowd. Its visuals are nice, however, and gameplay is solid and enjoyable enough. Children will love the vivid colors and silly characters, but not enough is done to appeal to the mainstream gaming crowd.

Regalia: Of Men And Monarchs does quite well what it sets out to do, tributing classic JRPGs by mixing a variety of features and mechanics. While not overly original, the game developed by Pixelated Milk manages to be quite entertaining thanks to the charming characters, lighthearted tone, and challenging battles. If you loved JRPGs back in the 90s, early 2000s, you will find plenty to like in Regalia: Of Men And Monarchs.

This might be the most well-rounded and best Fire Emblem game on 3DS.

Although a tribute to the likes of Persona and the Tales of series, Akiba's Beat doesn't have quite enough substance to recommend another Sunday visit to Akihabara.

A more than worthy continuation of the Trails in the Sky saga, tying up some loose ends from the previous game while setting up events for the following entries. The dungeon crawler game flow of the 3rd may put off some, and the presentation may look outdated, but do not let this discourage you, as the game is one of the best Japanese role-playing games released this year in the West.

Operation Babel feels too similar to its predecessor with a weaker cameo-focused story & reused assets but exceeds it in every other aspect of gameplay. The new subclass system provides extra control on party depth.

For fans of The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, it’s been a bittersweet twenty years. Those who have been on that journey all this time will enjoy the chance to send those characters off one last time, although newcomers might only get to understand parts of the story. Cameos and past events fill out a majority of Dreamfall Chapter’s setting, but there’s still an entwined story beneath it all that can be enjoyed by newcomers nonetheless. Although the Unity port’s performance doesn’t handle particularly well under pressure on the Playstation 4 Pro, the journey is still worth taking just to see Kian and Zoë’s stories come to a close.

At the end of the day, playing Syberia 3 is an exercise in patience that’s hardly worth the effort. With bad writing, immersion killing issues such as bad English voice acting, unresponsive controls and general lack of polish, there’s almost no reason for adventure games fans to pick up Syberia 3. Puzzles are the only saving grace of a game that definitely required more time in the oven.

Expeditions: Viking, while not perfect, offers outstanding tactical combat, with excellent character and world development. You'll encounter a host of interesting characters, fulfilling quests and important decisions as you travel from Denmark to Britannia, in a quest to save your clan.

The Caligula Effect is a bit of a difficult RPG to quantify and narrow down my feelings on. Caligula’s combat stands out as the best reason to pick up and play this Vita-exclusive RPG, second to the story that should appeal to fans that just wrapped up Persona 5 and want something more in that vein. FuRyu might not have a fully-polished RPG on their hands to deliver, but it’s a worthy title that stands out from the rest on the Vita.

What Remains of Edith Finch has raised the bar for interactive stories and visual storytelling. The impact of static objects, while the story is beautiful and heartbreaking. This, like the Finch family members, cannot be improved, merely built upon and remembered.

Fated: The Silent Oath is a brief Nordic experience that teases something greater, but will ultimately leave the player wondering if there is more to come.

Although redesigned for a modern audience, much of The Silver Case is left behind in the past. The avant-garde storytelling and newly added chapters are the only things to properly stand the test of time.

Little Nightmares is a freshly scary experience that feels like a gothic storybook come to life despite some technical hiccups and awkward controls.

Although I would always prefer if each episode was slightly longer, it felt as though there was too much filler in this one.

Dragon Quest Heroes II is a great improvement on its predecessor in almost every way – while it’s far from being a perfect game, those put off by the last might actually find this more to their tastes. Dragon Quest Heroes is becoming a great action game series in its own right, though still has plenty of room to grow.

Dripping with Christian lore and barrels worth of red blood, Outlast II is a gruesome horror experience that never lets up.

Bulletstorm is back and it is still as ridiculous as you remember. The Skillshot System provides an awesome challenge for FPS players who want something a little different than your typical military shooter.