With gameplay that can shock, amuse and satisfy in the same slowed heartbeat, Sniper Elite 4 is the best game in the series. While it graphics, story and characters can feel a little flat, the gameplay has always been the focus, and is so perfectly tuned to make the rest seem inconsequential.

The best grand strategy game out there. The setting is added an excellent level of authenticity with the battle-plan feature, excellent Ai and a world map that is absolutely splendid to look at and watch the war unfold. Combined with a well developed political and infrastructure system, there is so much that can be done in the game, one that will absorb your time and leave you with lost time.

It offers a real look at developing relationships, choice and consequence, all with the beautifully rendered backdrop of the Shoshone national forest. It's a game that will stick with you beyond the finish and one that you'll want to go back to.

The Witness is an excellent puzzle game, featuring many complex yet fair puzzles, a great atmosphere, an interesting narrative method and a lot of content. With no hand-holding whatsoever, The Witness certainly is not a game for everyone, but those who are up to the challenge will feel enriched once they solve most of the puzzles included in the game.

Dark Souls III is beautiful and terrifying all in one. Intense, atmospheric and so cruel. An essential game for RPG fans and one of the very best games of 2016 thus far.

An 80-plus hour rollercoaster of emotions and crime drama, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the perfect way to send off Kazuma Kiryu's lineage and pass the mantle on to the self proclaimed hero Ichiban Kasuga.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty builds upon what was an already great game to deliver more fantastic storytelling (with a spy thriller theme, this time around), exciting combat, and very high-quality side content. The perk tree overhaul is a major improvement to progression, and additions like vehicle combat and the overhauled police system are very welcome, albeit not game-changing. If you've been holding out on Cyberpunk 2077 until now, you'll find a huge game with over 120 hours of quality content and an incredibly immersive game world to literally lose yourself in. On top of that, it's by far the most beautiful and technically advanced game available if you have the hardware for it (PC and RTX 40 GPU).

Although it might not be a perfect game, the sum of NieR: Automata’s unique storytelling meshed with Platinum Games’ style of action, meld together into a title well deserving of being one of my personal Games of the Year.

Moonlighter is a wonderful game that uses a delightful separation of tools to make you want to keep playing. It innovates the dungeon crawler genre in the most ingenious way possible.

Though some of the skaters might be past their prime, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is an incredible example of how some classics just never go out of style.

Super Mario 3D World shows why Mario is an ageless franchise, with the seven-year-old game providing fresh fun and a delightful experience. Bowser's Fury is the exact opposite, showing just how exciting and experimental the series can be.

Project DIVA Future Tone is a celebration of ten years with the Vocaloid crew, bringing nearly every song and outfit handcrafted for the digital singers into one complete collection on PlayStation 4.

Project DIVA Future Tone is a celebration of ten years with the Vocaloid crew, bringing nearly every song and outfit handcrafted for the digital singers into one complete collection on PlayStation 4.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown's aerial dogfighting is absolutely exhilarating in multiplayer.

Martha is Dead meets every expectation and exceeds most of them. It is a true ghost story, perfectly designed to demand you keep playing while making you want to stop. Its near-flawless design sets a new benchmark in the quietly, weirdly, horrible.

If you're wondering whether bringing the madness to our doorstep, making the entire campaign co-op and including an impressive toolbox to create new levels and missions while still retaining that visceral gunplay the series is known for keeps Far Cry 5 fresh and worth playing on Day One, my answer is: yes, absolutely.

A new antagonist and rippling implications of gang warfare once again drag Kazuma Kiryu back into the action. Between exploring Kamurocho and Sotenbori, ultimately players are going to find out that there's only room for one Dragon in Yakuza Kiwami 2.

The mean streets of Yokohama offer the opportunity for a new cast, a new suit, and a new hero. Ichiban Kasuga might not be the role model in the same way that Kiryu-chan was, but this dragon's quest might be the most fun Yakuza title to date.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is undeniably one of the best games based on Akira Toriyama's series. With an engaging story mode that includes intriguing what-if scenarios, a combat system that's easy to learn but challenging to master, a massive character roster, and impressive attention to detail, Spike Chunsoft has created a must-have for Dragon Ball fans. If you've ever wanted to be Goku and scream your heart out before unleashing secret techniques, this is the game for you.

Taking a step back from Kim Hung Tae's character designs for a moment, Stellar Blade is a phenomenal action RPG that evolves from the framework of NieR Replicant and NieR Automata to become one of the next cult classics.

Silent Hill 2 is the best game Bloober Team has made. A faithful reimagining of the original, bringing it to the modern day without losing what made the original the best horror game ever, using modern game mechanics to improve where they could, and expanding on what was already an engrossing world. Without any shadow of a doubt, a resounding success, one that will likely come as a surprise to many.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a faithful follow-up to the first outing, managing to expand in every way while staying true to what made the first great. With solid gameplay, a fantastic story that's excellently acted and presented, and set pieces that could challenge even the biggest game in the industry, if you like the first outing from Asobo Studio, you will love this.

Turning the games that defined JRPG history into experiences modern players could enjoy was a daunting task, but Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake more than meets the challenge. With thoughtful gameplay and story additions that expand on the originals without losing their classic charm, a stunning HD-2D visual overhaul, and a beautifully rearranged soundtrack, these remakes stand as the definitive way to experience the beginnings of one of the most beloved JRPG series ever made.

With production values that are through the roof and an extremely engaging story, Death Stranding is among Hideo Kojima's best games. The moment-to-moment gameplay, however, falls short due to its repetitiveness, and the long stretches without any real action make it difficult to recommend the game to all open-world fans. Death Stranding is something different, and only approaching it with an open mind will reveal the brilliance of its themes, its characters and its hauntingly beautiful dystopian world.

Resident Evil Village is a wild, thrilling ride across seemingly every horror genre and idea that happened to pass through the mad minds at Capcom. Not every aspect of the game is perfect, but its highs are very high and solid core mechanics and excellent presentation hold the grisly patchwork together. You may survive Resident Evil Village, but your thoughts will linger there long after you’ve escaped.

Stray may be small and scrappy, but it’s also beautiful, lovingly crafted, and bounds from one genre and play style to the next with impressive grace. Even cat skeptics ought to be won over by the game, so don’t be afraid to invite this Stray in from the cold.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is one of the most unique titles ever developed by FromSoftware, and arguably one of their best to date. Adapting the traditionally slow-paced Souls formula into a fast-paced, co-op-focused experience with roguelike elements was no easy feat, but the Japanese studio has fully delivered, once again proving why they remain masters of their craft.

With a high spike in difficulty that demands respect and practice to scale over, DJMax Respect is a journey that will take you through the last dozen years of Korean rhythm games with a roster of many of the series' greatest hits.