The Outer Worlds is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from Obsidian. The first-person action RPG features a great setting, fantastic writing and remarkable, complex characters to meet. The moment-to-moment gameplay isn't as exciting, though, failing to measure up with the best in the genre. Still, there's plenty to like here as long as you know what you're getting into, not to mention the potential for a sequel to be much better, particularly if the developers had a higher budget to work with.

The Ninja Saviors needs little introduction, proving to be as faithful to the SNES classic as one can get. The updated presentation and new characters make this a one-way trip worth playing once again.

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a fun, engaging and content-filled game that, in addition to offering a strong online player-vs-player component, is packed full of content that will keep even the most ardent of solo-players engaged. Proving that Electronic Arts can get live service games right, because this will be a live service game thanks to the pending premium currency store, this is still one game that has taken me by surprise and I can do nothing but recommend to anybody and everybody.

A psychological thriller from beginning to end, Raging Loop takes the deduction out of the players hands and leads them on a visual novel that ranks among Uchikoshi's notable works.

Your enjoyment of Little Town Hero will largely depend on your patience for quirky JRPG systems. The game’s battle mechanics are unique and surprisingly deep, but can be frustratingly random and time consuming. Add in a story and world that have their charms, but are ultimately rather simplistic, and you have a Little Town that will only appeal to select tourists.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep pulled me back in after two years away from my guardian with the promise of ever-evolving seasons and new content to play once more. The initial offering was very light on story and loot but I can only hope to see more content come in subsequent Shadowkeep seasons.

It's impossible not to fall for Disco Elysium, from its intriguing murder detective work to the world it depicts, not to mention the voices inside your own head. It's an experience that could easily make the top of some Game of Year lists and for good reason.

Pride Run is a catchy, engaging and altogether good rhythm action game that's let down by one thing, the game doesn't tell you to follow the beat - rather, it misleads you by not mentioning it at all. Once you get into the swing of things and follow the music rather than simply pushing buttons, the game is at its best, with a funny, even self-deprecating sense of humour. Also, it just looks and sounds great. While not perfect, this is certainly a game worth picking up.

By far the best outing every by KT Racing/Kylotonn and in the WRC franchise as a whole. With a well-defined career mode, backed up by a wealth of stages, set across a variety of places within the world, all of which are well designed, WRC 8 offers a lot for fans who want yet another strong rally game to jump into. While not quite alongside DiRT Rally 2.0, it's certainly coming close.

Daemon X Machina can really look visually stunning and sound amazing. But when playing the game, I just can't shake a feeling of disappointment. Daemon X Machina can be beautiful and ugly, and only the biggest mech fans will be able to look past the less flattering half of the game's visage. Great music and a great sense of style can't mask the fact that this game feels either boring or frustrating to play.

Concrete Genie is a fantastic game that lets you explore a beautifully realised town as well as your own imagination. While there are some tiny annoyances, Concrete Genie is so dedicated to making you feel creative that you'll barely notice them as you play.

John Wick Hex is an exceptional licensed game, and a wonderful strategic shooter even away from that. It's the kind of game that's high quality and enjoyable, even if you are clueless about the John Wick movies themselves. The perfect kind of licensed game, that works as well as an introduction to the franchise as it does as an extension of it. Absolutely worth playing.

Both a beautiful character design and meaningful focus on the action aspects, both in battle and traversing around in Indivisible are so good that the weaker aspects only stand out more.

GRID is, by and far, one of the best times I've had with a racing game. Thanks to a great mixture of arcade and simulation, with a wide variety of options to let you cater the game to you, it's suitable for everybody. Not only that, thanks to the nemesis system and AI race-master, as well as the 400 unique AI personalities within the game, each and every race genuinely feels different. Simply put, GRID looks, sounds and plays great and is arguably the best all-around game from Codemasters.

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince is an enchanting new highwater mark for developer Frozenbyte, featuring the series’ best controls, visuals, puzzles, and bosses to date. Regular combat still feels a bit tacked on, but overall, Trine 4 remains a puzzle platforming dream.

Dry Drowning is an intriguing, engaging, if flawed visual novel. While it's more expansive than traditional visual novels, it still lives and dies on the story, character and writing, which are strong and interesting, though let down by a rough localisation. However, even with this, it's well worth checking out, looking and sounding both fantastic, with an outstanding soundtrack that really adds to the game.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a very good 2.5D platform featuring a familiar experience heavily inspired by the Donkey Kong Country series and some interesting mechanics for the overworld map which deepen and expand the experience. While the game is not innovative in any way, it's an extremely enjoyable experience that no fan of platform games should pass on.

Magic the Gathering is the grandfather of a lot of deckbuilding games, but its introduction to the digital marketplace feels fresh, exciting and well worth the (free) price tag.

The more I played Contra: Rogue Corps, the more I could recognize its flaws yet at the same time, I was strangely transfixed by those fleeting moments of being an action badass with the right weapons, only for my dreams to be swiftly dashed as those weapons overheated and I was mobbed to death by giant alien bugs.

The Sojourn is the equivalent of one of those big books of crosswords you can buy at the supermarket check-out. Its puzzles are well-constructed and provide a nice mental workout, but they’re all rather one-note, and the game’s world is dry as toast. If you’re a hardcore puzzle nerd, give The Sojourn a shot, but those expecting to be taken on a deeper journey may be disappointed.

While Code Vein has a lovely art style, the story is the boring kind of bonkers. The combat is fun and the exploration satisfying, but the locations feel repetitive, the sidekicks annoying and in the end, it feels like Dragons Dogma's edgier cousin.

The Surge 2 is a definite improvement over the original game in pretty much every possible way. Combat is much faster and smoother, with an offense-oriented focus that makes it even more engaging, exploration is much more interesting thanks to the improved world design and the story will keep players moving from one dangerous district of Jericho City to the next in search of answers. The technical issues currently found in the game, unfortunately, do damage the experience a bit, and so does the fact that, despite the changes, The Surge 2 doesn't offer anything substantially different from the original game.

Borderlands 3 is another bountiful, bullet-filled buffet for fans. Hunting for that perfect gun is still addictive and the minute-to-minute action is better than ever, but flat writing, sometimes-frustrating level design, and a lack of polish limits the game’s potential. If you’re starving for more Borderlands, by all means, dig in, but you might find you’ve had your fill sooner than you expected.

Catherine: Full Body is the definitive version of a cult classic game, in terms of gameplay. When it comes to the story and romance simulation side of the game, I can't help but feel it's a step down when compared to what we already had years ago. Still a great game that deserves to be experienced, but Catherine: Full Body should only be essential for those die-hard fans and the competitive scene, everyone else can wait for a sale.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening looks gorgeous, sounds beautiful, and tells a twee and compelling tale. While the game can be played through in around ten hours if you know what you're doing in advance, new players will find a lengthy and engaging Zelda game to love. Whether it's your first time playing Link's Awakening or your dozenth, you will still find a gripping Switch game that you'll remember for another twenty years.

Daymare 1998 is meant to be a blast from the past but all it really does is destroy your old memories of those 90s horror games you played so long ago.

Despite its age and a sequel, Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch Remastered holds itself high above the competition thanks to an amazing mix of design, music and story.

Blasphemous is a fantastic souls-like Metroidvania, featuring an exceptional aesthetic design that adds to what is one of the most macabre worlds in gaming today. In addition to this, outstanding combat and a range of interesting enemies, bosses and more - supported by some great level design (with some issues in navigation), this is a game that I can do nothing but recommend to anybody and everybody. It's difficult, challenging and most of all, fun.

Once again, Uchikoshi has come out of nowhere with an utterly crazy murder-mystery that explores the link between witnessing horrific trauma and how it affects how victims dream.

GreedFall is the best game made by Spiders yet and a worthy RPG in its own right. While definitely not without faults in some areas, it delivers great writing, arguably the most refreshing setting seen recently in a fantasy game, and solid combat.

Gears 5 is excellent, albeit with a major narrative downfall. While the finale of the campaign definitely left a sour taste in my mouth, the game was so good that I want to keep playing the Horde and multiplayer modes just to get more Gears 5. The atmosphere and gameplay in the campaign were different to what I expected, in a good way, and I'm looking forward to where the series goes next and how this narrative finally finishes up in the sequel. Until then, this is the best Gears game in years, with an excellent multiplayer suite to back it up. Practically essential on Xbox One, and a great option for PC owners too.

NBA 2K20 is the series’ best showing in several seasons. The action is more refined than ever, MyCareer serves up a fun story with less grind, and MyGM mode is back on track. Microtransactions continue to be a concern, but the most egregious stuff is restricted to MyTeam mode, with MyCareer actually feeling less exploitative this year. Hopefully we’ll see a more substantial refresh in the next year or two, but, for now, the NBA 2K dynasty remains strong.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne comes close to matching the perfection of the first adventures with the Fifth Fleet but this new expansion is all but guaranteed to lead to more times being carted back to camp.

Episode 4 has some of the most exciting, challenging and emotional moments seen in Life is Strange so far. It connects with the player in a way that other episodes haven't without losing the signature style and pace of the stellar series.

Blair Witch is, undoubtedly, a very good horror with an enjoyable, albeit a little predictable story, great atmosphere and more involving gameplay, which all take full advantage of the license. Despite some issues here and there, like the excessive linearity, little replay value and technical issues, the game is definitely among the best titles created by Bloober Team. Recommended to all horror games fans.

At its best, Man of Medan is every bit as gripping, beautiful, and giddily silly as Until Dawn, but technical issues, a rushed story, and a confusing approach to player choice betray the limited resources the game’s creators had to work with. Man of Medan is currently the best option for those desperate for more Until Dawn, but I'm hoping Supermassive Games can scare up something a little more substantial for future The Dark Pictures titles.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey was such an interesting idea on paper but from its complex and unexplained environment to the severe lack of exciting objectives and goals to work towards, the game doesn't quite manage to entice the player to make the very best of humanity.

Astral Chain is, without a doubt, one of the best games ever released by Platinum Games and one of the best Nintendo Switch exclusives to date. With its combination of explosive action gameplay, which masterfully blends together mechanics taken from previous games developed by the studio, engaging investigation and exploration mechanics, an enjoyable story and huge amount of content, Astral Chain is a game that no fan of action games should pass on. That's even in spite of some issues here and there, such as the low challenge level and unbalanced evaluation system that makes it too easy to get S+ ranks.

Control features Remedy's most original setting yet, the studio's most open-ended game environment yet and great action combat that makes you feel like a badass. The game also stands out on PC as one of the finest examples of real-time ray tracing to date. It shouldn't be passed upon by any action/adventure game fans, even if it's not quite a masterpiece.

Oninaki is a heartfelt mess. Its unique world and challenging themes are more memorable and moving than anything Tokyo RPG Factory has done before, but it’s hard to fully recommend the game given its humdrum action and strange design choices. Depending on how much frustration you're willing to put up with for a good story, Oninaki may be worth owning, or perhaps better left beyond the veil.

Dark Omens is a fantastic level and one that stands out against some already stellar emergent storytelling and setpieces, and the Beastmen make it even more exciting to dive into. Unfortunately, the Winds of Magic game mode is a big step in the wrong direction for people that don't want to start from scratch again.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is a fresh coat of paint on a genre on a tired genre. While it's fun enough to play, though, other games have already revolutionised what this game seeks to improve upon.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses might be the best Fire Emblem game yet, and the best strategy JRPG I've played in years. Whether you're totally new to the series or a lapsed fan, this is an essential Nintendo Switch game for any JRPG fan.

Devolver Digital and General Arcade have slapped a new coat of USA flag paint on From Software's patriotic action game without smoothing out any of the imperfections that come with a combat system that's aged less than gracefully over the past decade.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall is an imaginative sci-fi strategy game that adds some interesting new layers to the series’ empire management and combat mechanics, but, ultimately, the game falls just short of greatness. Combat needs to be a touch deeper and standard 4X ingredients like trading, religion, and government policies are missed. Planetfall is certainly worth exploring, but not all strategy fans are going to want to set up permanent residence.

American Fugitive is a fun romp through a colourful, top-down GTA-inspired open-world crime-fest. While the game has some issues, such as repetitive missions, as well as stability problems on the Switch, it doesn't stop it from being an all-around fun and engaging title when you're actually playing. The freedom to explore a world of a decent size where there's actually a fair bit of content to go through, including side-elements like finding stashes, doing stunt-jumps and time trials. Is this the next GTA? No, nor was it going to be. Is it a fun, engaging and altogether decent title at a very reasonable price? Most definitely.

While Johanka's story is interesting, albeit with plenty of boring sections scattered throughout, Theresa's 'ordinary life' is so dull it made me want to do my own chores more than play a video game.

Mutant Year Zero: Seed of Evil is a good expansion, introducing a new compelling mystery, a powerful new character and some brand new locations. Sadly, it includes very little gameplay changes, and the new weapons, upgrades and ability ranks do not force players to change their tactical approach over the original game. Still, the additional content is definitely enjoyable, making Seed of Evil an essential purchase to all those who love Mutant Year Zero.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood just never finds the right groove. The game’s needless RPG elements, microtransactions, and sloppy non-linear structure are obvious mistakes, but it also has some surprising basic level design and pacing problems. Wolfenstein: Youngblood can still be good, visceral fun in fits and starts, but overall, the game lacks the maturity of the elder Blazkowicz’ adventures.

Accessibility and potential to solo aside, Shadowbringers continues that redemption saga that began with Final Fantasy XIV 2.0. The greater emphasis on story and solo play mean that even the players that haven't dipped their toes into an MMORPG recently could still get in and enjoy Shadowbringers, although much of the new content can't be experienced until level 70.

Pace yourself in the Blackout Club and it can be a fantastic game for a long time. From its various enemies and threats to its sinister suburban setting, the game feels great to play with friends, just as long as you don't spend too much time with it at once.

The gameplay does get bland and repetitive at times, but I managed to keep things fresh by mixing up different types of gear, skills, and talents. It is one thing if a game is difficult by design and encourages players to ‘Git Gud’ and its another if the devs artificially impose it for squeeze out more money. Oh, and the icing on the cake is that you can’t play the game offline.

I'm sorry Kill la Kill fans, but IF is not the game you were waiting for. The new story is disappointing, and the arena fighting is just not as deep as you want. There aren't enough modes to satisfy, and even the presentation feels like a step down from the usual Arc System Works titles. It still has that strong anime aesthetic, but other than that, it fails to impress. Once again, fans deserve better.

Gensokyo Defenders is a tedious game at the best of times, constantly throwing walls of text at you, most of which is littered with mistakes and also incomprehensible if you don't have a copy of the Touhou Project Wikia memorised. The gameplay is decent enough, to a point, though features a stupidly steep difficulty curve and suffers from the aforementioned tedium. Unless you desperately want a tower defence game, give this a miss.

Nowhere Prophet is a single player, deckbuilding roguelike that manages to balance each of its systems to create interesting, engaging and unique stories. While it isn't without faults, its complexity and intrigue make it something you'll keep coming back to.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is a dream come true for any Marvel fan thanks to the huge character roster and the serviceable story involving the Infinity Stones. Sadly, the game may not be all that appealing to those who are not particularly invested in the Marvel universe, as the combat and RPG mechanics, while solid, lack depth. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order gets quite repetitive after a while and the lack of content variety also means that even co-op will eventually feel old. A solid effort, for sure, but far from one of the best Nintendo Switch exclusives.

Etherborn looks nice and has some really interesting puzzles but they are presented in a way that's just a little too slow, not to mention a little too frustrating, to be truly enjoyable.

They Are Billions offers an almost perfect gameplay loop, mixing tower-defence with city building and exploration, as you balance resource-management, defence and offense, all against your ever-impending doom at the hands of a world infested with the undead. The only downside to a game that looks and sounds great, offering a tense experience in a compelling setting, is a campaign that doesn't fully make-use of the gameplay loop perfected by Numantian Games, leaving the campaign feeling weak, compared to the survival mode, which is the real draw.

Blazing Chrome doesn't try to be anything more than a classic run-and-gun and thus easily exceeds expectations, although the length does leave something to be desired.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night shows that Koji Igarashi's genius with the invention of the modern Metrovania genre wasn't just a singular event. Through numerous teams working together to bring his vision to life, Bloodstained has become a modern classic for the evergrowing genre.

Dr. Mario World wants your money, and it really doesn't care if you have fun while it tries to pry your wallet open, and that really is the biggest damnation I can give to a mobile game. Don't bother downloading this, it's not even worth your time as a free curiosity. A massive disappointment, and one of the worst Nintendo licensed games I have ever played.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is better than the original game in every possible way, introducing many quality of life improvements and fixing some of the biggest issues like the linear progression system and more. And with a simple yet engaging story, excellent exploration, crafting and building mechanics and multiplayer features, the game is an excellent title that no fan of the Dragon Quest series and sandbox games should pass on, even if they never played the original.

Stranger Things 3: The Game is a decent throw-back to older titles and a strong tie-in to the current third season to the show. Being a game version of the third season, you need to have prior knowledge of the show, its events and characters otherwise it'll be lost on you. Beyond this, the game has a nostalgic feel with charming retro visuals and beat-em-up combat, combined with modern sensibilities like making the areas of Stranger Things explorable, with a decent amount of content thrown in to give the game a decent amount of gameplay value. The only major issue is that towards the end of the game there's too much repetition. Still, for the smaller price, it's more than worth it for fans of the series.

Sea of Solitude is sadly the least-essential EA Originals title to date. The game has heart and delivers a few brief powerful moments, but it’s held back by erratic design and a lack of content. Sea of Solitude is a pleasant-enough wade, but it isn’t the dramatic deep dive it could have been.

Judgment is an excellent Japanese adventure that feels incredibly familiar, yet engrossing all the same. With Judgment, RGG Studio has managed to create an excellent entry point for the Yakuza series, and a fantastic standalone adventure. While it's familiar to myself and Yakuza fans, if you're new to the series this might just be the very best place to start. A wonderful, though sometimes slow, adventure from beginning to end.

Anno 1800 is a visually stunning, incredibly compelling management-strategy game. One thing of particular note is just how great and addictive the gameplay loop is, hooking you in as you watch your cities develop and expand, made all the better as you unlock and build a wide variety of buildings. There are slight issues though, with an unintuitive UI and trade system, which due to the way resources are spread around the game can be irritating. Simply put, Anno 1800 is an incredibly addictive and engaging game, with a few flaws, but nothing that stops it from being a great entry in the series.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled doesn’t break any new ground, but the 20-year-old game at the heart of the package holds up well and Beenox has done a commendable job of updating it for the 21st century. Unfortunately, most of the extras that have been added, including Crash Nitro Kart tracks and the usual pile of unlockable cosmetics, aren’t terribly inspired, making Nitro-Fueled feel less essential than other recent Activision remakes. Hardcore CTR fans and those looking for a surprisingly-stiff challenge should give Nitro-Fueled a shot, but others might find it runs out of gas surprisingly quick.

F1 2019 is yet another excellent racer developed by Codemasters. With a wealth of positives, such as the improved feel of the racing, as well as how great the game looks and a number of new gameplay features, the game was bound to shine. The minor negatives, such as new modes like the Senna/Prost challenges feeling shallow, are minor blips in what is an otherwise outstanding game.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a very good GPS based AR game, but it borrows so much from the likes of Pokémon GO that it is left without a distinctive hook or personality of its own. It feels like a Pokémon GO reskin. A damn good reskin, with a lot of effort put into it, but a reskin nonetheless. This is unlikely to inspire the fans of other GPS AR games to jump on board, but if you're a Harry Potter fan that likes to go on walks, there is no reason not to try it out.

Super Mario Maker 2 is another Nintendo Switch essential. With more things to create with, more unique stages to play and better online functionality, this is the definitive Super Mario Maker experience. Honestly, the game is good enough to have the story mode sold separately, but the fact that it's bundled with such a powerful stage creation tool is incredible. This is one of the best Mario games of all time.

The Sinking City is probably the Lovecraft inspired game currently available on the market, thanks to its oppressive atmosphere and its story, which utilizes the lore masterfully without deviating from the canon. AI and technical issues, as well as the clunky combat, are often immersion breaking, but the excellent investigation mechanics and exploration features make it easy to look past these issues. Highly recommended to survival horror fans and those who live and breath Lovecraft.

Steel Division 2 is a game with some excellent ideas, such as the Army General campaigns, the attention to detail and the sheer size of battles in multiplayer and, to a lesser extent, skirmish. Also, it looks great and, despite the sheer size, can be really engrossing to play. At least for the most part, with the game being let down by an incredibly high barrier for entry, offering no help because the tutorial is a sheer Berlin-wall of text and an AI that seemingly decides it's only fair for it to cheat, all of which can take you out of the game.

Cadence of Hyrule ends up being a shocking blend of a rhythm game, action game, puzzle game, dungeon crawler, and roguelike, all in one. It's actually pretty stunning how well the developers have managed to blend all of these elements together and still come out with a cohesive and refined experience. The game looks amazing, plays marvelously, and the music is not only the most important part, but it's the part that delivers the best. The Crypt of the NecroDancer formula isn't for everyone, but this game is borderline unmissable.

Outer Wilds gets most of the “big picture” stuff right. It boasts a solid structure, wonderfully imaginative planets, and an involving slow-burn mystery. Unfortunately, clunky controls, a few irritating design choices, and a multitude of other little issues bring the game back down to earth. If you value originality over execution, Outer Wilds is worth the ride, but expect some turbulence.

Driftland: The Magic Revival offers an interesting turn on strategy games, both with a unique setting and interesting hands-off control system, which can offer some especially compelling gameplay online and in a skirmish. However, despite the interesting setting, too little is used from it in what is an anaemic at best campaign and a very much limited and shared asset pool between factions. Despite these issues, there is an enjoyable time to be found here, especially for strategy fans.

Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland is one of the best entries in the Atelier series. While the story is not particularly exciting, the charming characters, enjoyable world and streamlined game mechanics can keep players engaged for a very long time. Highly recommended to fans of the series and to those looking for a nice JRPG that's not too demanding.

Draugen is an enthralling series of mysteries wrapped in a beautiful, haunting landscape. Although some of the game might leave you stumbling around or questioning its direction, it's hard not to play it to the end to find out what happened.

Zanki Zero drops the investigations for average survival RPG gameplay and explores themes of life, death, and rebirth with a sadistic story that goes places that Danganronpa wouldn't dare explore.

Conan Unconquered isn't the most polished RTS to be released this year, but it is filled with unique ideas, challenging enemies and fun emergent moments.

Unruly Heroes is a decent action-platformer that has a fantastic art style and genuinely looks beautiful. The platforming and combat, for the most part, is sound, with a huge amount of variety to find in the levels. However, the controls can be a little unresponsive and the game does have issues with some very forced 'comedy', though comedy is always subjective. Is Unruly Heroes worth buying? For what is a reasonably low price, it is a decent title to pick up and is worth spending some time with.

Blood & Truth is a fantastic roller coaster ride from beginning to end, coupling together an actually decent crime story along with two-handed gunplay that could only work in VR.

Layers of Fear 2 is an extremely gripping first-person horror game that keeps players engaged from beginning to end thanks to its story, which touches some very interesting themes. The game, however, is far from a masterpiece that could appeal to a wider audience due to its simple gameplay mechanics, linearity and excessive similarity to its predecessor. A solid game and a must-have for fans of psychological horror stories, but definitely not for everyone.

I thought I would enjoy Pathologic 2, but its needlessly mundane and cruel systems take too much away from its otherwise interesting and strange world.

Life is Strange 2 - Episode 3 continues to impress in terms of soundtrack, setting and character development. It's not as fast paced as the others in this series, but it works perfectly for the emotional narrative underpinning the overall journey.

Team Sonic Racing is a shadow of the All-Stars Racing Franchise, losing more than just a fun cast of racers in the transition. There's still some fun to be had in this derivative kart racer, but you're better off seeking two other racers to join you on the track.

Observation spins a solid sci-fi yarn steeped in ominous atmosphere, but it fails to live up to its intriguing “Play as HAL 9000!” pitch. Too much of the game feels like irritating busy work as you wait for something interesting to happen. Folks who care about story first and foremost will want to give Observation a look, but those hoping for both an engaging plot and mechanics may find this space odyssey a drudgery.

Surviving Mars is a management game that's really simple to pick up but hard to put down, and Green Planet continues improving on the tested formula.

Total War: Three Kingdoms is as close to flawless as you'll find, with a fantastic balance of 4X strategy and character-focused development and emergent storytelling. The battles are frantic, with increased tactical opportunities through duelling. City development is more intuitive and less restrictive, though still requires thought and all of this takes place on a China that looks downright fantastic, where even the UI and menus look great. This is the Total War experience and a new high for the series.

Ghost Giant is easily one of the most accessible PSVR puzzle games available in 2019, despite the control issues I encountered during my playthrough. There is a deep story about mental health here, but its impact is certainly softened by the cartoony adventures of Louis and his oversized ghost friend.

Rage 2 is ugly, silly, and dated, and yet, I still enjoyed the hell out of most of my time with it. The game delivers the kind of low-stress, high-satisfaction fun you don’t often get from big-budget games these days. If you’re willing to check your brain at the title screen, I suggest you jump into this apocalypse now.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is definitely among the gaming surprises of 2019, exceeding expectations in the best possible ways. With its gripping tale, charming characters and solid gameplay mechanics, the game is a must-have for those who like single-player games with a strong focus on story and character development. Even if the tale does not take in you, A Plague Tale: Innocence still offers a compelling third-person stealth experience that fans of the genre will surely appreciate.

Were it not for the lack of resources and having to push the game out, I can honestly say that Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey could have been a very good game, though not without the known issues of the tediously slow movement. All in all, if you want to play through an interesting story with a compelling core cast of characters, masterfully voice acted, then you could do a lot worse than Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey.

All things considered, though, I would heartily recommend Close to the Sun. With some fantastic world-building, an incredibly well detailed and atmospheric setting that's enhanced by a cast of interesting characters with great voice acting. The real issue comes from the lack of replay value, though for those who like to explore the world and story, there are reasons to go back.

Konami's first anniversary collection for their 50th anniversary contains some notable arcade classics, but the fact they've been previously released digitally with more options should appeal to only the most ardent of nostalgic fans.

Rise of Industry is fundamentally sound, but it goes from boom to bust too quickly. Poor tutorials make the game hard to get into, and once you do get the hang of things, you’ll find the magic is short-lived due to a lack of depth and polish. There is fun to be had with Rise of Industry, but budding tycoons concerned about value may want to invest elsewhere.

FAR: Lone Sails is a remarkable game that attempts to convey a message through its presentation and gameplay, without using any words, and totally succeeds in doing so. The experience may be on the short side, but if you're looking for something truly artistic and beyond much that has been done so far, look no further.

Dark Devotion looks good and clearly has a lot of imagination behind it, but the systems that keep repeating throughout the game don't do much except getting you lost, confused, or frustrated.

Boxboy + Boxgirl is perfectly pleasant platforming that anyone can enjoy. If you’re looking for a new puzzle game to play on Nintendo Switch in bitesize chunks, look no further than Qbby and his new friend in Boxboy + Boxgirl.