What a wonderful game Humanity is. Tetris Effect developer Enhance has created something that's not only beautifully unique, but also ingeniously constructed and executed. Like the best puzzle games, you'll be dreaming of solutions all day. Its mechanics are also impeccable – this is the good stuff.

A remarkable feat, Final Fantasy XVI looks incredible and plays like a wonderful dream, the combat in particular being exemplary. There are some moments when the action lulls, but this does little to detract from a game that veers close to being a masterwork. Two years on, the game shines on Xbox.

This is still the best NHL game on the market, but one that seems to be running out of ideas. It is still a hell of a lot of fun, especially if you can get a full club of people up and running online. For those that have yet to sample an NHL title or skipped last year's, then this should be an essential purchase. For the rest of us it may well be a rental at best.

While this game may not be as strong as the original in terms of suspense or plot, it does make up for it with some neat innovations and a multiplayer mode that can be a lot of fun. For anyone in the mood for a good slice of storytelling then this is the game for them... and for those of you yearning for a return to Rapture, then this will be the perfect tonic.

Once again this is the best ice hockey game around, with flawless presentation and a sublime playing experience.

Dishonored was a genuine surprise when it launched four years ago; an innovative first-person experience that confounded expectations. That Dishonored 2 manages to once again surprise and amaze as much as the first game did is testament to what Arkane has crafted here. Dishonored 2 is quite simply one of the greatest games this year, and quite possibly one of the best of this generation.

A proper thrill-ride, DOOM Eternal is the sequel to DOOM 2016 that we wanted, and then some. Going to hell has never been so damn heavenly.

Bad Company 2 took the solid foundations of the original and built a skyscraper on it. Improving in pretty much every discipline, the sequel boasts a much more robust and comprehensive set of online tools, a pretty engaging campaign and one of the most immersive battlefields in the history of consoles.

Essential for fans and newcomers alike, XCOM: Enemy Within’s additions meaningfully alter your experience of the game, forcing players to take new approaches to an already loved title. Firaxis has done it again.

Manifold Garden is a stunning puzzle game, one that will leave a lasting impact on you, not just for its thought-provoking puzzles, but by virtue of the fact that you're essentially playing an actual piece of art. It's bloody delightful!

As far as immediate arcade thrills go, few games can compete with the level of gratification you're guaranteed to get from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2. If you enjoyed the originals or fancy seeing what all the fuss is about, you're in for an absolute treat either way.

An enormously enjoyable and rewarding dose of reverse bullet hell, Soulstone Survivors tips its hat to Vampire Survivors with chaotic roguelite action, a gratifying sense of progression, and masses of variety.

NHL 11 is every bit as solid and playable as its predecessor. Broken sticks add very little to the game, despite being peddled as a key new feature, but the numerous refinements show in the physicality on the ice and the returning up-close and personal fighting system.

Ori and the Blind Forest excels in so many areas. The fantastic level design, the inventive abilities, the touching story, the wonderful score and of course those scintillating visuals all stack up for one hell of an experience. Demanding a place in your collection, Ori and the Blind Forest is the best game I’ve played this year.

It may feature kings, castles, elves and wizards, buts its approach is fresh and vital. It has a character all of its own. This is due in no small part to the quality of the source material.

With Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Warhorse has favoured fun and impact over realism, and as a result, the sequel to the popular 2018 title has improved leaps and bounds. Stability and bugs are still an issue, but if you can get past that, then there’s a thoroughly enjoyable medieval romp to get your teeth into.

Yes, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the third Yakuza game for Xbox One this year, but on the strength of this, SEGA can keep them coming as far as I'm concerned. If you've played Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 0 (and even if you haven't) you need Yakuza Kiwami 2 in your life. You need Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima in your life. Now let's have Yakuza 3, 4, 5, and 6 on Xbox, please.

A truly magnificent game, you'll soon forget that Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is based upon only a small sliver of the original – it's astonishingly epic in its own right, with plenty of surprises.

FIFA 11 is almost as perfect a football game as you could ever expect to play and it does pretty much everything right. The passing requires a more deft touch and fine aim than previous, which can throw you off a bit at first, but other than that, FIFA 11 is the beautiful game in every sense. Personality+ seems like a far too subtle addition from our uneducated football perspective, but Be A Goalkeeper, Be A Pro, Career and other modes will keep you irrevocably hooked for months on end. It's a cliché, but FIFA 11 hits the back of the net, every time.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a stellar follow-up to MachineGames’ 2014 reboot of the franchise, one with super-satisfying combat and a wacky, engaging story. Sure, it might go a little too far at times, but you’ll have a blast with The New Colossus from start to finish, that’s a promise.

In a day and age where the value of map packs and expansions are closely scrutinised, BC2: Vietnam is the epitome of value for money, offering the same exhilarating gameplay as its boxed counterpart, but with a fresh twist in an entirely new era and stunning environment.

After countless sacrilegious efforts in the Need For Speed franchise, Criterion has finally done the label some justice by bringing the heart back to the franchise. It looks like that Criterion did lose their way ever so slightly at times, losing what makes Hot Pursuit so much fun, but as a Need For Speed package, this is the best title in nearly a decade.

While it's a shame that classic cars have been nixed this year, F1 2021 is nonetheless an exhilarating racing game brimming with compelling modes and customisation features, as well as the new Braking Point story mode, for countless hours of wheel-to-wheel action. Another sterling effort from Codemasters, racing games don't really come much better than this.

NBA 2K13 scores big once again, although it fails to offer little in the way of sweeping changes or innovations. It's still the undisputed daddy of basketball games, but we'd have liked to have seen more ideas being brought to the hardwood.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a harrowing journey into the fragility of the mind. It’s a masterpiece in storytelling, and while the game mechanics itself might not complement that throughout, they do a decent job of allowing Ninja Theory to deliver a mature story revolving around a sensitive subject matter. We hope that this opens up the door for more budget priced triple-A experiences, because this one was one hell of a ride!

A fast and frenetic slice of heaven, Neon White is a sublime combination of tasty gunplay, twitch platforming, and speed-running that's unlike little else.

There's a good reason that all seven of the games included here still hold up. They were great when they originally came out, and they're great now. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is the perfect tour through Capcom's 1990s fighting heyday, and, quite possibly, the best fighting collection yet. Utterly essential.

TerraTech Legion is a pleasant surprise, emerging as a slickly presented, enormously playable, and endlessly addictive vehicle-based survivors-like auto-shooter experience that's well worth seeking out.

A masterclass in how to resurrect a dormant and beloved series. Like Streets of Rage 4 before it, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is another beautiful, fluid, and endlessly gratifying game that stays true to its classic forebears, while providing something that feels fresh and vital. Superlative stuff.

A triumphant return for Capcom's coolest series, Devil May Cry 5 is a stupidly slick game that does almost everything right. It'll totally pull your Devil Trigger.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is simply the finest Tolkien game we've played in quite some time.

Halo 4 represents a bold step forward for the franchise that feels both fresh and familiar. Boasting Halo's trademark multiplayer, a gripping campaign, an experimental co-op mode and the usual gubbins, Halo 4 like all the other Halos that have come and gone, represents incredible value for money.

Often, belated sequels carry a weight of expectation that's hard to live up to. Return to Monkey Island has no such difficulties, Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman going back to a series they quite clearly still love, and, you’ll love too.

A Satanic shooter that's as gratifying as Hell, DOOM pays due respect to its legacy with a game that delivers on everything that makes the series so great. You need DOOM in your life.

DICE should be praised for taking the risky move and turning back the clock with Battlefield 1, both in terms of the era and the direction for the franchise. Very often these moves can cripple a series, but thankfully for us – and DICE – it’s a move that has revitalised the franchise.

The Dark Souls games remain a high-water mark for the action RPG. Uncompromising, occasionally infuriating, yet constantly rewarding for those with the correct level of patience and dedication, Dark Souls III is a fitting end to a fantastic trilogy.

A very pleasant surprise and one that finally appeals to football fans of any ability. This game is simple to pick up and play but offers enough depth for veterans to still find something new. With plenty to do both on and offline it’s a real turnaround for a series that has had its share of criticism down the years.

If you’ve spent hundreds of hours with Kazuma Kiryu over the years, then the conclusion to his sprawling arc in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life won’t disappoint. And if you haven’t played a Yakuza game before, you’ll still get a whole lot out of this. Yakuza 6 is a sensational game.

With a tantalising story with some truly gripping and edge of the seat moments, new gameplay elements and some more of that previously promised deeper character interaction, The Lair of the Shadow Broker is what we call in outer space, a doozy.

DiRT 3 is Codemasters' finest attempt to totally obliterate the competition in the off-road racing genre, but it seems once again that the title suffers from a lack of direction and concentration at... Ooohhhhh, look! A rainbow!

Who’d have thought that poncle could make a game as simple but addictive as Vampire Survivors, eh? Never played a first-person dungeon-crawler before? Vampire Crawlers is the perfect place to start - it’s a cracking fusion of turn-based battling and roguelite deckbuilding. Get it played.

A case of refinement rather than dramatic change, Assassin's Creed Odyssey nonetheless injects even more depth and detail into the series, with dialogue choices and the ensuing consequences that follow proving a worthwhile addition. If you enjoyed Origins, Assassin's Creed Odyssey will scratch the same itch, and then some. A sensational sequel that's thankfully not a Greek tragedy.

Fluid platforming and frenetic combat, with some lovely spectacle and a dull story.

Undead Nightmare might not tie-in to Red Dead's overarching story, but as an entertaining journey into an alternate tale set within that rich and compelling universe, it's an add-on that proves utterly indispensable for any self-respecting fan of the game.

Simply a better game than Forza 5 and with a lot more content to boot, Forza Motorsport 6 is an endlessly playable racer that deserves a spot in your Xbox One collection.

The weak and twitchy single-player - with many of the same old flaws - almost undermines all of the superb extra features and pretty much flawless multiplayer offering. Veterans and regular players still have the advantage over newcomers, but with Combat Training and the Zombie mode, there is plenty of fun to be had for even the most inexperienced players. Black Ops isn't perfect, but it's certainly getting there.

We may have been waiting a decade and a half for a sequel, but Double Fine’s efforts haven’t been in vain - Psychonauts 2 is an energetic, imaginative, and excellent 3D platformer, with brains and heart to spare.

The third act is often the hardest, and with Hitman 3, IO Interactive has managed, somehow, to mix things up and make it feel fresh. Some will celebrate the lengthier, curated stories, but those who love Hitman for its replay value will be slightly dismayed at Hitman 3. Nonetheless, it's still a great bloody video game.

There is a tone of playful improvisation to Ball x Pit – of pros in an experimental groove.

Pragmata is lusciously produced single-player action game, though not up to Capcom’s heights.

Continuing to go from strength to strength, PES 2017 is the zenith for Konami's stellar footie series, representing all of the pieces falling into place to create on-the-pitch nirvana. There are some extremely minor flaws, but all in all, PES 2017 is wonderful.

Titanfall’s now-classic speed works so well in this game - Respawn has studied everything that made the original game so enjoyable in multiplayer and built a solid story experience around those elements. The multiplayer is evolving, and whilst some may argue it's getting top-heavy, we truly believe that every alteration Respawn has made to the core Titanfall experience has been for the better, resulting in a stronger, better and more robust sequel.

A lovingly crafted dungeon crawler brimming with personality, Death's Door combines robust, rewarding combat with equally gratifying metroidvania exploration, and a story packed with oddball characters. An assured, sophomore effort from developer Acid Nerve, Death's Door is caw-fully good.

While the first Destiny had its shortcomings, they're not quite so evident here. Destiny 2 does everything that the release version of the original failed to do, with a worthwhile story and plenty of other activities to complete, right out of the box. A fantastically enjoyable and insanely addictive shooter, Destiny 2 is certainly well worth your time.

A definite step up from the original in more ways than one. Immersive racing, jaw-dropping visuals, an extensive career and a vastly improved online mode make up for the game's few minor annoyances... like riding in vehicles that just aren’t that fun.

A triumphant comeback for the series, Rayman Origins sees the influence of creator Michel Ancel at work once more, and a strong showing for Ubisoft's hand-drawn UbiART Framework, giving the game a unique and stunning style that's entirely its own thing. Rayman Origins is addictive, entertaining and quite possibly the best 2D platformer money can buy on Xbox 360.

A sensational nostalgia trip imbued with magical mutagen ooze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is a triumphant return for the TMNT that will scratch any and all scrolling beat 'em up itches, and give fans a sharp kick in the 'feels'.

While Persona 3 Portable’s monotonous slog through Tartarus might not have aged all that well, its narrative, characters, and soundtrack most certainly have. It’s great to finally experience the roots of the Persona franchise and the birth of the Social Link on Xbox.

Daiblo III is a pretty poor RPG but probably the best loot driven dungeon crawler on your console. So if you aren’t too fussed about the rushed story and are prepared to lose countless hours to find THAT legendary item and get your DPS just so, then Diablo III is probably for you. Everyone else will play the game once and wonder what the fuss was all about.

XCOM 2 is a great strategy game for the same reasons that Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within were, for the unique minute-to-minute gameplay, but as a sequel, this needed more innovation and less iteration.

A deep and colossal monster melee, Monster Hunter Rise is both enormously fun and uniquely rewarding. Snap it up.

Tango Gameworks’ rhythm-based actioner is not only one of the most enjoyable games in years, it’s also one of the most stunningly beautiful, with fantastic music and beat-matching combat to boot. Hi-Fi Rush is, indeed, as its name suggests, a rush.

On paper, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii sounds like a step too far into unfettered silliness for RGG Studio's crime saga, until you remember the series has always revelled in daftness. Submit to the game's enjoyable pirate fantasy, and you'll find that there's a lot of fun to be had here.

While Halo Infinite's campaign structure is new territory for the series, and will likely divide opinion, it tells a good story, and creates moments that rank it in the top half when it comes to good Halo campaigns. Throw in a phenomenal multiplayer arena and some stellar shooter mechanics, and it's safe to say that 343 has finally put its stamp on the wonderful world of Halo.

Okami HD is essential, especially if you've never been lucky enough to play Clover's 2006 classic before. And even if you have, you owe it to yourself to play it and love it all over again. It's utterly sublime.

This is the premium driving title out on the 360 at the moment, and a must own for any fans of the racing genre. When buying a car in real life, it isn't about the miles per gallon, but about the smiles per mile. This game will definitely make you smile.

The DiRT game that rally fans have been craving, DiRT Rally is a triumphant return to form that every self-respecting video game racing aficionado needs to own. Don't be put off by the steep learning curve, DiRT Rally is worth getting to grips with; it's super rewarding and ultimately a fantastic rally title.

There’s no doubting that EA have delivered a knockout punch with Fight Night Round 4 and it truly is the closest we’ve come to boxing without strapping the gloves on ourselves. The physics are spot on, as is the visual appearance of the game, but the inability to map the punches to the face buttons leaves it just short of truly epic.

Civilization is finally back on consoles and boy is it still bloody fun to play. With plenty of new systems to get your head around, some fairly intuitive controls and the ability to wage war on your neighbours because they look at you funny, who can possibly say no to that?

Cuphead is the kind of game that you only need to play for 10-minutes to realise the attention to detail Studio MDHR has poured into it. It looks incredible, sounds wonderful and is a pleasure to play… then the difficulty kicks in and it turns you into a quivering mess. It’s a game that can evoke frustration one minute and pure elation the next. Cuphead will go down as a classic, that's for sure, and it's quite possibly the hardest game I’ve ever played, but you just have to try it. If only for a short-while. Just get out before that blood pressure rises!

An old skool RPG if ever there was one, Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition should be on your shopping list if you’re a strategy and RPG junkie. It’s as close as we’re going to get to a new Baldur’s Gate, and while it has its quirks and suffers from agonising load times on consoles, it’s still a joy to play.

DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition proves that DmC is still brilliant. A slight resolution upgrade, frame rate boost and additional content make for a good value package, but if you've already played DmC on last-gen platforms, you may want to carefully consider re-purchasing this, despite it remaining deliciously devilish.

This is undoubtedly one of the best RPG games to emerge in recent times and has a perfect balance between out and out fun, mixed with action, romance and comedy.

Not exactly a massive Air Jordan-style leap over NBA 2K15, this year's game is nonetheless a substantial enough evolution to warrant a closer look.

Nobody can argue with Titanfall’s minute-to-minute gameplay. It’s a wonderful blend of verticality and brilliantly frenetic combat, and is sure to be the new standard of awesome when it comes to competitive multiplayer shooters. What you can argue with is the package as a whole, which could be described as a little light and lacking in some places.

There is a platform here for Crystal Dynamics to take Lara’s shenanigans to a new level, but a reliance on fairly bog standard shooter mechanics just doesn’t do the franchise any justice and as a result, means Tomb Raider falls short of being a truly great game.

Long time players will easily get sucked back in to grinding for legendary loot, but the rest may well be mystified by the obsession. Still this is undoubtedly the version to get if you haven’t been sucked in before now and all the bells and whistles add to the overall appeal.

Persona 3 Reload is an absolutely brilliant remake of a 2006 classic. While the original P3 is effectively where the current behemoth of a franchise marked out its identity, Persona 3 Reload is most certainly the best iteration of that series-defining game that has ever existed.

Pentiment is an incredibly enchanting adventure game that really is like no other. It doesn’t quite have the same depth and ingenuity that Disco Elysium has, but what it lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in charm. After a slow start, this murder mystery really becomes the talk of the town.

As a die-hard Resident Evil fan since the first game arrived in 1996, Resident Evil 7 hits all of the right notes while feeling like a natural evolution for the series. Building upon what makes Capcom's survival horror so special, while effectively telling an entirely new story, Resident Evil 7 is a fantastic game that ought to please those looking for scares and fervent Resident Evil faithful alike.

It's not often we play a puzzle game with such a unique hook, but Chants of Sennaar's glyph deciphering conundrums and other gameplay twists make for something that's pretty much unlike anything else.

Mortal Kombat is a great return to form for the franchise though and a veritable gore-laden treat for fans. A joy to play in any mode, MK simply needs its multiplayer refining to make the experience smoother and more gratifying to play. Its roster could have used a new character or two, but the 25 on the disc and two unlockable pugilists will keep the hardcore players happy.

A bright new beginning for Dante, Ninja Theory's DmC is a triumph and a positive first step towards things to come. Capcom's most successful collaboration with a western studio to date, DmC is also Ninja Theory's finest game. SSSensational.

A hugely enjoyable, exciting and eye-wateringly good-looking fighting game, Dragon Ball FighterZ is utterly essential for any and all self-respecting DBZ fans. And even if you're not, you'll still probably get a big old kick out Arc System Works' exuberant fighter.

A solid but ultimately uninspired instalment in the series, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is comprised of ideas that are starting to wear thin.

Harmonix has made some great innovations and additions in Dance Central 2, but the lack of competitive gameplay over Xbox Live is an oversight that stops the dance-tastic title from breaking that much sought after 90+ barrier. Still as much a killer-app for Kinect as before, but still missing that one key ingredient.

Holy awesome video game, Batman! LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is the culmination of TT Games' decades of experience and knowhow with plastic bricks, albeit one that borrows liberally from Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy. The resulting game is a joy and a fitting celebration of DC's iconic Caped Crusader.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a fine follow up to the cult classic original. With some ingenious gameplay and a captivating open-world, it's a stunning fantasy exploration simulator. If some of the main story missions had better structure, and the game didn’t feel so disjointed at times, this could easily be in the conversation to be crowned one of the best action-RPGs of this generation. It's still bloody good, despite that.

If you worry that single-player capers with plush budgets and a modest claim on your hours are destined for a museum, hopefully this will delay the entropy.

NetherRealm continues to evolve its fighting games with each one it makes, and as such, Mortal Kombat 11 marks the pinnacle of what the studio has achieved to date. A flawless victory, then? So very nearly.

A better game than the first one but not by much and it never really convinces you that it is a full blown sequel rather than a mere upgrade.

A true cinematic gaming masterpiece, Max Payne 3 is not just another triumph for Rockstar, but it's also testament to what the developer can do when it turns its hand to linear storytelling. Max Payne 3 might be a stylistic shift for the series, but it's also a raw and brutal portrait of a man pushed to the edge that deserves a place alongside Rockstar's superlative open-world efforts.

NHL 12 is yet another great ice hockey title that will appeal to new fans of the sport as much as it will to the old guard. The only quibbles tend to be minor ones, but the main issue is that this game is yet another in a growing line of updates rather than sweeping revolutions.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a strong sequel to 2013's reboot, building upon the potential of its predecessor while adding to the sense of wonder and exploration-based aspects more in keeping with Ms. Croft's roots. Of course, more tombs and puzzles to solve would always be welcome, but Rise is nonetheless a fantastic blend of entertaining combat encounters, traversal and open-world exploration, and arguably a cut above the previous game in gameplay terms, if not necessarily in story terms.

Forza Horizon 2 is another impressive racer from Playground Games. That said, while the original Horizon nailed the single-player and lacked on the multiplayer front, Horizon 2 is the polar opposite to that.

Silent Hill 2 is an assured and richly made survival horror, a fine celebration of the past.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was great, and, happily, Jedi: Survivor is even better. In its current pre-patched state, its performance is a bit of a letdown, but look beyond the irritating bugs, and you’ll find what might just be one of the finest Star Wars games of all time. No, really. Also: Spawn of Oggdo. Nuff’ said.

A series that has reached the height of its powers and shows exactly why dance games reign supreme on Kinect. The ridiculous, quirky story is a wonderful diversion and, as ever, partying and shaming your friends is the way to play. Subtle tweaks and changes have helped to mould Dance Central 3 into the definitive dance experience so pull on your flares (or equivalent gear) and hit the floor.