I didn't think it was possible, but Ready or Not’s unique thrills and overwhelming controls have adapted well to the PlayStation 5.

It’s nice to play a Pokémon game that feels like it was made with love. Pokémon Legends: Arceus sure is not perfect, but it’s a loving attempt to take the series in a different direction, and it mostly nails it.

Lords of The Fallen delivers on the macabre, challenge, and exploration hallmarks of the Souls-like genre. It thrives in the eerie shadows of its obvious inspirations and shines a light on its best features by reimplementing most of them with the benefit of the sexy set dressing brought to life in Unreal 5. While the combat often frustrates when foes begin to crowd, Hexworks seems aware of this with its placement of enemies and world layout. Venturing between the living and the dead with the lamp transcends novelty. Surviving with a partner in tow is also exhilarating. If you can make it past the dense player onboarding that assumes you’ve beaten Dark Souls, then you’re likely to experience the best imagining of a Souls sequel this side of FromSoft.

Lone Ruin nails the brief on what makes an appreciable roguelike – combining a slick and sexy aesthetic with a core gameplay loop that can be rapidly picked up, but is deep enough to beg for mastery.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl take me back to a simpler time in Pokémon where Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and Dynamaxing didn’t exist. It’s a wonderful reminder of how far Pokémon has come and it feels like a love letter to arguably the most formative generation of Pokémon.

Scarlet Nexus surprises with its ecstatic, colourful combat and cast of characters. However, experiencing the story is a test of endurance due to its dull presentation.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl take me back to a simpler time in Pokémon where Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and Dynamaxing didn’t exist. It’s a wonderful reminder of how far Pokémon has come and it feels like a love letter to arguably the most formative generation of Pokémon.

After a slow start to the series, The Devil in Me is a satisfying end to The Dark Pictures’ first season with its fascinating setting and improved gameplay leaving me excited for the second season.

Despite some minor design flaws, Golf Club Wasteland is a solid, if depressing, round of golf on post-apocalyptic Earth.

The gameplay loop is the (black) heart of this game. While the narrative undoubtedly wraps a beautiful black bow around the whole, the core fighting and ability mechanics unite everything in a cohesive and affecting experience. The level of quality is surprising for a small team of four working in New Zealand, representing an impressively solid introduction to Hyporeal’s work and I’m actually scared of what they may accomplish in future. A final word for players and game publishers out there: pick up Blackheart before the world does.

Trigger Witch’s twin-stick action and RPG elements scream for a more defined identity, but that’s more than made up for by the game’s incredible aesthetic discipline. A lesser development studio would have tried to run with the idea of G-rated fantasy with [REFUSED CLASSIFICATION], but Trigger Witch is clever enough to let it all happen naturally. It’s a loud, proud, blood cloud of an action game that anybody with an interest in the genre needs to check out.

If one were to look at Darktide as a foundation for Fatshark’s newest co-op shooter legacy, you’d be impressed at the sheer girth of it all. This is a title that comes with a fat promise of more great things to come, while already awash in a sea of great things to see and do. Short of some critical failure on Fatshark’s part, I really can’t imagine a future where Darktide doesn’t establish itself as another fantastic team shooter experience for fans to enjoy for years to come. It is a great many things – gorgeous, fun, rewarding – but one thing it is not, is lacking ambition.

A unique, thoughtful narrative puzzler with a mind-bending recursive twist that succeeds by focusing more on evoking its themes than unpacking them. Some minor lapses in polish aside it's a short, sharp hit of emotion and wonder that should be on every indie puzzler fan's list.

A fast and fun action platformer that effectively utilises its core gimmick in inventive ways, Gunbrella is the noir punk indie that you should be looking to play when the weather calls for a coat and a brolly.

Almost like an alternate universe cosplay, Ghost Song is a game that aims to appeal to your nostalgia for the old school Metroid series, while mixing in some additions from recent iterations of the genre they spawned. A few minor missteps don’t detract from an otherwise sensational package, which has a giant, charming and weirdly adorable heart.

Regardless of how synonymous the characters now are with their big-screen depictions, this version of the Guardians of the Galaxy is far and away my favourite. The exceptionally well-written story is backed by a cast of unique and complex characters whose interactions with each other are equally hilarious and heartfelt. The fun and frantic combat may take some warming to, but the reliance on team synergy is thematically rewarding and visually impressive. Looking past the few technical issues and outdated exploration, this is an action game that will appeal to comic fans and gamers alike.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a story-rich, isometric stealth game that features heavily realistic close-up cutscenes, simple controls, layered depth and detail that creates an immersive experience. As you traverse through various locations, plan your strategies, sneak, and knock out many enemies, you’ll uncover just how far siblings will go for each other.

If what you want is to re-experience Horizon Zero Dawn – or experience it for the first time – with some of the prettiest visuals you’ll see in modern gaming, this will get you there. But more than that, if you’re interested in game design and production, especially on the artistic side of the process, it’s a fascinating look at what is arguably a “best-case” remastering effort where ambition and capital were clearly in abundance.

Dordogne’s strengths lie within its storytelling, making it very easy to empathise and resonate with the protagonist’s journey. I definitely recommend this to any gamer out there wanting a relaxing but intriguing game experience.

On the pitch, EA Sports FC 24 provides a promising foundation for EA to build on thanks to some strong gameplay improvements, but off the pitch it still needs a bit more love.

It doesn't reinvent the wheel by any stretch, but there's no denying that on the track GRID Legends is a fun time.

With writing this outstanding and characters this endearing, Zero fans get a satisfying conclusion to the Crossbell saga minus the sense of déjà vu.

Sand Land manages the tough task of translating an enjoyable story without overdoing the open-world mechanics in the process. It’s rough in places but is a respectful adaptation of Toriyama’s work and a pleasant experience throughout.

An unapologetically cinematic descent into the darkest parts of the human mind, Indika is a unique and crunchy little experiment that comes alive in its ideas and tone if not always its gameplay.

Hymer 2000 eschews traditional storytelling, instead offering players the opportunity to piece together a fragmented narrative using the very computer terminal that you have been sent to decommission. A starkly haunting exploration of what it means to be human, the experience will stay with you long after its end.

Despite some troubled animations and controls, Copycat plays its emotional journey excellently. As a cat owner and someone who has lived somewhat similar events in recent times, its tale of love and loss hit hard, but was a journey worth taking.

Constantly forcing you to balance risk with reward, Extraction is a difficult and tense co-op experience that scratches the tactical itch but lacks any long-term staying power.

Cronos: The New Dawn is easily Bloober Team’s best original work, delivering a challenging sci-fi survival horror experience with brutal combat in an immersive and tense setting. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t quite nail the resource management that would elevate it to greatness.