Without a focus on MJ’s career, 2K23 doesn’t offer too much more than last year’s iteration. It’s a serviceable experience for newcomers and pros alike, it’s just a damn shame it’s becoming more and more a marketing tool than a game. What concerns me is, where do they go from here?

There’s a lot to like about Beyond Galaxyland, from its 80’s-vibe story full of vibrant characters to its enjoyable turn-based combat. It manages to pull together a number of different mechanics into a level of coherence (though some work better than others) in a package that impresses with visual flair and an identity wholly its own. This is the kind of sci-fi I love, the fish out of water tale where the impossible becomes possible and the characters all manage to feel unique to each other amongst a sea of weird designs. Come for the action, stay for the Boom Boom.

Easily the game with the highest meme potential of 2026, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream’s combination of zany (if repetitive) writing and player input makes for a memorable time. The open-ended play is balanced with a steady flow of bite-sized activities for structure, and while the game could have used a bit more substance, it’s surprisingly addictive nonetheless.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader not only promises, but delivers the very thing it was designed to be – a meaty, authentic Warhammer 40k game that feels right at home in its RPG trappings.

Eastward is a beautiful adventure, full of complexity and memorable characters that makes a world full of pixels seem larger than life.

In Sound Mind is a flawed but fun horror-adventure game. Flawed on the horror but fun on the adventure.

It does feel a little patchwork in places, but Crisis Core is a reunion worth going to. The emotional gut-punch of a finale remains one of the best in the long running series, and that alone is worth the price of admission.

Playing through the thoughts and emotions that Izzy's feeling during a difficult time in her life is confronting and heartfelt in equal measure, making it all the more disappointing that Lost Words' core mechanic lets it down so much.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a compelling tale of love and loss brought to life by phenomenal writing and performances with solid combat to boot, and it serves as a reminder that good storytelling remains a crucial element of video games.

It’s all too easy for me to say that WWE 2K26 offers the best gameplay this series has ever seen. The moment-to-moment gameplay was already excellent, but the improved collision and physics manage to push the presentation even further. While not revolutionary, the new match types offer new ways to have fun and widen the suite for folks who are on the lookout for authenticity. While it’s wearing a little thin for me as a concept, this year’s Showcase is solid, and the MyRise and MyGM offerings continue to impress. Isn’t it a shame, then, that all I can think about when I look at WWE 2K26 is how much this game wants to nickel and dime me, just for being a wrestling fan.

Aping great co-op shooters like Left 4 Dead but in the VR space, After the Fall provides a fun yet fleeting experience that could do with more to do.

FIFA 22 is the most enjoyable football title in years thanks to revamped player AI and gameplay mechanics that offer unprecedented realism on the pitch. Off the pitch, EA still has some work to do, but new additions to Career Mode and match days somewhat make up for Ultimate Team’s egregious tactics.

Gunborg: Dark Matter is a simple yet challenging arcade platformer that pushes players to perfect their timing and dodging abilities. The 8-bit world is beautifully coloured in a neon palette and complemented by a soundtrack that is absolutely jamming. If you’re a fan of testing your mettle in old-school style arcade shooters, Gunborg: Dark Matters is more than worth the $17.95 asking price.

Not a mere reboot or refresh, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons delivers a fiendishly familiar beat ‘em up that will have you hooked on its charming retro styles and clever modern trappings.

Saltsea Chronicles crafts a striking storybook world and populates it with deeply human characters on a fantastical journey into the unknown.

A fascinating precursor to FromSoftware’s multiplayer pivot, Elden Ring: Nightreign offers us a glimpse at the thrills, and pitfalls, of adapting the studio’s signature style to meet contemporary standards. Propulsively fun gameplay loops and a killer art direction gently usher in one of the least considered efforts from the studio to date.

Loco Motive does what it sets out to do – be a modern and faithful homage to the LucasArts adventure games. I’ve said it before, but modern game design has seen puzzles evolve beyond simply combining every item to progress and unfortunately, Loco Motive’s crime is that some puzzles pay too much homage, hurting the experience as it brings the game to a halt when you feel invested. Thankfully, the game’s captivating characters, funny dialogue and excellent pixel art animations mitigate the annoyances, and regardless, adventure fans should give Loco Motive a ride at some point.

This world that MoonHood has crafted captures the way those darkly comic stop-motion pieces invite us to a curious and frankly frightening place beyond reckoning, and ask us to simply accept what we’re seeing with little context or history. It’s art that has negative space, and it’s in that negative space that the imagination plays. We’re invited to observe strange rituals and customs, to break bread with the grotesque and the macabre, and to live by the light out of respect for the dark.

Need for Speed Unbound sees Criterion put its spin on the formula laid down by its predecessor and the result is a stylish racer that is mostly fun but sometimes frustrating.

With like-minded cleaners and a weekend spare, Back 4 Blood is a hoot. Lacklustre modes and a lack of identity dampen its long-term appeal.

Although the formula is bordering over-familiar at this point, it’s been long enough between entries that this return to the Mario & Luigi series is incredibly welcome. It manages to feel fresh enough with interesting new wrinkles that play on this new world and story’s overall themes, and its obsession with fraternal bonds results in probably my favourite take on the Bros. to date.

Despite it feeling really late in the game to drop this HD re-release, the simple fact is that Donkey Kong Country Returns is a masterclass in tough-yet-exhilarating platforming, and the Switch is now the best place to play it all over again – or for the first time.

Luigi, the loveable scaredy-cat that he is, returns for another outing that holds up well in its transition from 3DS to Switch. Despite being a straight port without any new features, it remains a gorgeous and inventive world worth exploring for old and new fans alike.

Humankind is an impressive showing of what Amplitude can do with historical turn-based strategy but is edged out by the series that clearly inspired it. The promise on the box of building a culturally diverse empire is not yet fulfilled, with successive playthroughs showing the moral choice and culture systems as being underdeveloped.

The magic of manual map drawing is curbed with the handy auto-map feature, yet pulling off risky expeditions into Etrian Odyssey's dangerous labyrinths remains unmatched.

Combining smooth gunplay and god-like telekinetic abilities, Synapse is a stylish roguelite shooter that more than deserves to be labelled as a PSVR 2 must-buy.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE could have used its inventiveness more concisely, but what’s here is still an enjoyable first entry for a new IP that holds plenty of promise now and hopefully into the future.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised at the quality of Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus. It does, after all, feature members of the same team that impressed with their Metroid fan game AM2R, before Nintendo politely (I guess) asked them not to. Arguably one of Nintendo’s smartest moves yet given the results we have now, a bright and beautiful adventure that puts signature Metroidvania pathfinding and action to better use as a clever little blossom within an equally clever world. It’s a pure delight from start to finish, one that deserves all the attention amongst a sea of highly regarded titles already defining 2024, that captures the spirit of old-school action titles and stands out with unique visual palette. It is, in a word, breathtaking.