Milestone settles into a cosy groove with MotoGP 24, building upon the work it's accomplished on the series in recent years, delivering another dose of realistic sim racing. Not short on depth and detail, MotoGP 24 is also a welcoming racing game that caters to players of all skill levels. Lovely stuff.

A bright and vibrant world filled with dull combat and a plodding story.

At a basic level, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is a perfectly serviceable brawler and a decent enough port of the 2017 arcade game, with a couple of additional levels to play through. However, one-note gameplay and a lack of unlockable extras make this a throwaway, short-lived affair.

A remarkably accomplished 2.5D metroidvania platformer, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU melds fluid traversal and combat with an emotional, heartfelt narrative. Its difficulty spikes can be a little off-putting, but it's worth persevering and pushing through to the end.

TopSpin 2K25 is a strong enough return for 2K's dormant Top Spin series, despite being a somewhat barebones offering, short on modes and bereft of fun extras like mini-games. On a fundamental level, however, this is a great game of tennis. Maybe we can expect more from TopSpin 2K26.

Harold Halibut's handmade world has bags of charm, but its sedentary pace and largely uneventful narrative might not be to everyone's tastes. Great stories stay with you, but, sadly, I'm not sure Harold's will.

Fans of the show will no doubt get something out of this, but on a fundamental level, South Park: Snow Day! emerges as a somewhat shallow and unsatisfying experience, despite its best efforts to provide depth through cards and other light RPG elements. After Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole, this feels like a backwards step.

While we'd hoped for better things from Aspyr's remastered Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection, this is nonetheless an adequate way to revisit a couple of shooter greats from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I mean the mid 2000s. No doubt further patches (there's already been a significant one) will improve things somewhat.

Cutter Slade's long-awaited return has flashes of jetpack-fuelled brilliance, but tiresome missions and a story that fails to engage ensure that playing Outcast: A New Beginning quickly develops into something of a chore.

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.

As remakes go, Alone in the Dark has a hard time measuring up to horror stablemates like Resident Evil. All of the requisite ingredients might be here, but they're poorly realised and implemented, resulting in a game that has its moments, but is hamstrung by shoddy combat, half-baked visuals, and more than its fair share of bugs.

A cracking return for Konami's iconic run 'n' gun series, Contra: Operation Galuga is both nostalgic and new – an unfettered shot of adrenaline-fuelled arcade action, and an unbridled joy.

The Outlast Trials is almost entirely devoid of fun as a solo experience. Add friends or other random players, however, and there's ample enjoyment to be had fighting through the unrelenting horror together. As long as you have the stomach for all that blood, guts, mutilation, death, and unsettling imagery, of course.

Reminiscent of vintage arcade-era SEGA, New Star GP is a racing game that also happens to be a fantastic homage to five decades of Formula One. If it's a fun, retro-style racing game you seek, then this'll do just fine.

Skull and Bones is a dull exercise in checklist progression, spiced here and there with some impressive sailing.

WWE 2K24 builds upon the robust foundations of WWE 2K22 and 2K23 with another massively entertaining and accomplished wrestling game, and a wonderful 2K Showcase celebrating forty years of WrestleMania.

As difficult as it might be to go back and discover those games you once loved haven't dated as well as you might have hoped, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is a wonderfully faithful and reverential collection of three classics, and nigh-on essential for new players and misty-eyed nostalgics alike.

A fine AA open world action RPG with a compelling story and decent combat, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden might be one of the bests games you've never heard of. It deserves more than a ghost of a chance.

Not nearly as irredeemable as you might think, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League actually has a lot of nice ideas and some nice, crunchy shooter mechanics. The endgame might fail to hold your attention, but the story is quite a ride while it lasts.

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.

After a bit of a difficult start, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth soon manages to hit the gas, its story proving an engaging affair amid an ocean of mini-games and other distractions. This is a massive game, but one you'll want to dive headfirst into.

More than the sum of its parts and some really quite magnificent visuals, Tekken 8 is a truly terrific fighting game, which, in the midst of a resurgence for the genre, is quite something. After thirty years, Tekken 8 proves there's a lot of life left in the series yet.

Like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy before it, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy brings together three Nintendo DS and 3DS cult classics, but with a slew of bonus material. Beautifully scaled up to pop on your big TV display rather than the dinky handheld screen, all three games look stunning - gruesome murder mysteries have never been so inviting.

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

Baldur's Gate 3 is an open-world RPG like no other. The insane depth, originality and ingenuity on offer truly sets a new standard for not just RPGs, but video games in general. A few bugs aside, it's as close to perfection as we've seen in quite some time. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a truly outstanding video game.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s true draw is Pandora itself, and while the gameplay can get a little repetitive and samey, there's enough here to keep you engrossed from start to finish. Come for the sights, stay for the sights.

A triumphant combination of SimCity and Dungeon Keeper-style gameplay makes SteamWorld Build not only an excellent game, but a comfortable and immediately gratifying experience that should be savoured.

While Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection is a lovely bit of games preservation, the lack of behind the scenes material or any other extras make for a fairly perfunctory package. Not quite one big pile of, y'know, but evidently, some expense has been spared here.

After the brilliance of OlliOlli World, Roll7 has outdone itself with Rollerdrome, delivering one of the most mechanically accomplished, beautifully executed, and unique arcade-style experiences around.

A nice tip of the hat to the Naruto series after more than twenty years, Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is an accomplished celebratory package, albeit one that's unfortunately deficient in a few key areas.

A good solid slab of real-time strategy, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin will please ardent fans of the Games Workshop fantasy universe, while keeping those well-versed in the genre well occupied. If you love goblins and all that other stuff, you'll be loving this.

A disappointing campaign and a Zombies mode lacking in focus makes this a hackneyed Call of Duty entry that those thirsting for more multiplayer action will still enjoy. For anyone who plays for the campaign or loves to blast hordes of undead, however, Modern Warfare 3 is hard to recommend.

Persona 5 Tactica is a wonderful take on isometric turn-based tactical games like XCOM, that is good enough to satiate Persona fans, and maybe even win over a few XCOM fans at the same time.

A relatively short side-story it may be, but Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a blistering chapter in Kiryu's journey, a Yakuza 6 epilogue that brilliantly tees up what's next, while delivering on the unadulterated fun and weirdness the series is celebrated for.

Going all-in on realism, with the high level of difficulty that entails, Codemasters has outdone itself with EA Sports WRC, delivering a stern rally racing challenge that pulls absolutely no punches. If you've got the minerals, then this is the rally game for you.

Alan Wake 2 might feel slightly different than the original in terms of composition, but it’s still equally as brilliant. With two vastly different campaigns and perspectives, Remedy’s sequel is a great survival-horror game and a fantastic detective drama, boasting one of the best narratives in recent memory.

A lack of polish and a smattering of (optional) filler content aside, RoboCop: Rogue City is a good, solid shooter, imbued with a clear love for the movies it's based upon. I'd certainly buy it for more than a dollar.

An ever-so-slightly shabby single-player first-person shooter, Terminator: Resistance – Complete Edition still does right by the movies, delivering a decent slice of narrative, and robust action, to boot. Come with me if you want to be entertained for about 10-15 hours.

While not a particularly significant leap over its predecessor, EA Sports UFC 5 nonetheless tightens up and improves the series' fighting mechanics, while offering an expansive roster of fighters, and a nice selection of modes. Punchy.

A comforting anthology for diehards, with some disappointing omissions, sweetened by the inclusion of certain curios.

Furnishing Jack with a pretty significant upgrade, Ghostrunner 2 is a more refined, leaner, and more sophisticated game than its predecessor – bigger, better, and badder. Badder as in gooder.

A gratifying new spin on SEGA's iconic blue blur, Sonic Superstars introduces co-op and a smattering of other neat ideas for the best 2D Sonic game since Sonic Mania.

Offering more vehicles, new environments, a story mode, and a raft of new features, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged takes what worked in the first game, and turns up the heat. As far as knockabout, fun arcade racing is concerned, this is about as good as it gets.

Lords of the Fallen is enough to tide you over until the next Soulslike, and it has some arresting sights, but it lacks a focus of its own.

A fine game of ice hockey, NHL 24 improves upon last year's instalment, offering some slick new features, and all of the usual modes and other accoutrements you'd expect, all nicely presented.

The truth is, Forza Motorsport feels like it was released to tick a box on the Game Pass release calendar, rather than it striving to retain its place at the pinnacle of video game racing. And if this is the future of Microsoft's first party games, Game Pass might not be the big deal it's been treated as. Forza Motorsport no longer feels like a love letter to racing car fans, but instead feels like a leaflet someone has shoved through my letterbox.

In paring things back and zoning in on what really makes Assassin's Creed special, Mirage emerges as one of the most pure and enjoyable entries in the series for a while. Basim's origin story is certainly one well worth delving into.

FIFA 24 in all but name, EA Sports FC 24 continues the series' tradition of slick, authentic, iterative football, with more Ultimate Team, more Career mode, more Kick Off immediacy... more of the same.

Taking inspiration from Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Lies of P leads the pack of FromSoftware imitators. It has an intriguing and arresting world and some brutal, assured combat. With a hollow hero in the middle.

If you're hoping for a decent single-player experience, you're shit out of luck. Payday 3 is a resolutely co-op affair, but then, you'll need people you can trust to pull of the perfect heist. Either way, this is a first-person shooter that's criminally good fun.

Outdoing previous Mortal Kombats in the gore stakes, and boasting a slew of meaningful and genuinely exciting single-player content, alongside the usual online offerings, Mortal Kombat 1 outstrips previous efforts, delivering one of the finest fighting games money can buy.

One part MotorStorm, one part Forza Horizon, The Crew Motorfest is a hugely accomplished open world racing game that brings across the best of The Crew 2, while sprinkling in a few neat ideas of its own. Also, the returning on-the-fly car, plane, and boat switching is enormously welcome.

Starfield is the perfect example of a video game that is equal parts brilliant, and equal parts flawed. Its open-world is nothing short of staggering, while its animations and dialogue are something best left in the past. Regardless of that, though, Starfield is truly an iconic experience, and will go down as an all-time great - of that I have no doubt.

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.

A cracking dose of fast-paced action, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is a triumphant return for FromSoftware's mecha series after a decade, which proves both sternly challenging and deliciously rewarding in equal measure.

A fantastical magic shooter epic with a smattering of light RPG elements, Immortals of Aveum combines enjoyable FPS combat, traversal, and exploration to great effect, making for a memorable, often spellbinding experience.

Ramping up practically every facet of what made the first game such infectious co-op party fun, Moving Out 2 is a sheer unadulterated joy, and the most fun you can have dragging a bulky sofa around. As William Shakespeare once said, don't forget to lift with your spine.

Stray is a wonderfully crafted game. It not only manages to successfully immerse you in the role of an adorable cat, where exploration is key, but it also tells an engaging science-fiction story along the way.

A little short on polish it might be, but there's no doubting Atlas Fallen's credentials as a decent slice of good (but not great) open-world fantasy action.

Not exactly a huge leap over last year's game, F1 Manager 2023 is nonetheless an impressively deep, all-encompassing motorsport management sim, with an enjoyable new Race Replay mode. Just don't expect any huge, sweeping changes.

A spicy blend of story and delicious South Indian cooking, Venba is a unique indie tale that deserves to be savoured. As developer Visai's debut game, this is stellar stuff.

Remnant 2 is not only an excellent Dark Souls-inspired shooter, but it boasts an incredible amount of creativity and ingenuity, the likes of which we’ve not seen in quite a while. It’s a game full of wonder, mystery, and will keep you on the edge of your seat... even when you're getting your ass handed to you!

An impeccably made multiplayer dino shooter, Exoprimal has all of the right stuff, but, with only a single mode to play over and over again, it can quite get repetitive rather quickly.

A crisp and cracking remaster of a little known Nintendo DS curio, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is Capcom doing what it does best – bringing back its old games in carefully considered, elegantly made revivals. This is no exception.

Like Red Bull Racing winning every single Grand Prix, Codies brings home yet another cracking Formula One racing sim in F1 23, bringing back the excellent Braking Point story mode alongside all of that other good stuff. Break out the champagne – this one's a winner.

Developer Milestone lives up to its name by reaching one with MotoGP 23, providing the most accessible entry in the series to date, with fancy Neural Aids helping to ease in new players. MotoGP 23 also happens to be a polished, authentic motorcycle racing game that will also please even the most hardcore of motorcycle nuts.

We love Katamari, and you should too. Like Katamari Damacy Reroll before it, We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie is a damn fine remaster, brimming with colour and verve. If it's a pure shot of fun you crave, then you can't really do much better than this.

Diablo IV boasts a new look, with its new open-world and online format, but at its heart, it’s very much a classic Diablo experience. A little old-school still, sure, but the core combat is still as fun and addictive as ever, and there’s RPG mechanics for days to sink your teeth into. What’s not to love?

As Street Fighter approaches its 36th year, Capcom proves that it still has what it takes to make a cracking fighting game. Street Fighter 6 not only feels fresh and vital thanks to its excellent World Tour mode and online Battle Hub, but it cements the series' credentials as one of the best around.

Sporting various improvements over its predecessor means Railway Empire 2 is a marginally more approachable game, but there remains a barrier of entry that may prove a little too high for some. All aboard, then? Maybe not, but we’d recommend at least giving it a go.

A robust and engaging mission, Star Trek: Resurgence does the iconic sci-fi saga justice with an intriguing original storyline that slots neatly into the series' lore, offering interesting and likeable characters, choices that feel like they matter, and its fair share of twists and turns. Engage.

A gleefully colourful and typically humorous LEGO game, LEGO 2K Drive is an enjoyable open world racer that unfortunately offers an uneven challenge and a Story Mode that can be something of a grind. And yet, throwing a LEGO vehicle around Bricklandia is good, clean fun. Swings and roundabouts.

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.

Redfall is perhaps one of Bethesda and Arkane Austin's most ordinary titles. A perfectly competent first-person shooter that does little to raise itself above the competition. The perfect Game Pass game that's not worth the money, but is worth a casual weekend of play.

Stranded: Alien Dawn is an enormously varied survival sim and base builder, that has been remarkably well-adapted for consoles and stuffed to the gills with content, features, and options. This is as welcoming or as hardcore a survival experience as you want it to be.

A California scream, Dead Island 2 finally crosses the finish line after nine years as an accomplished and deliriously fun first-person zombie mash 'em up. The stomach-churning gore might not be for everyone, but fans of body horror and viscera will be well-served here.

Wonderfully, uniquely esoteric, Ghostwire: Tokyo is like little else. A cracking first-person paranormal yarn ripe with fresh ideas, oddly endearing characters, and an immersive world to explore, this is Tango Gameworks' most assured and accomplished game to date. Get wired in.

Made in a warzone, Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is a solid remake that covers all of the bases you'd normally expect from Frogwares' Sherlock series, delivering an absorbing mystery and a procession of nicely executed puzzles. It's a perfect stop-gap before Chapter Two comes along.

Despite competition from PGA Tour 2K23, EA Sports PGA Tour manages to set itself apart with polished presentation, tight mechanics, and impressive visuals. While a shortage of customisation options is disappointing, there's no arguing with the overall quality that EA's return to video game golf has to offer.

An improvement over WWE 2K22, which was itself a superb wrestling game, WWE 2K23 has one of the best 2K Showcases to date, and fluid gameplay that's easy to pick up and play, but tricky to master. The champ is here.

A remake full of changes and adjustments that stays true to the spirit of the original, Resident Evil 4 can't be seen as anything but a complete success. Some may malign what's missing, but the areas that have been added or expanded more than make up for what's been taken out. This is brilliant stuff.

A slow-paced, languid horror remaster, Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is not only a chance for western players to finally play a Japan-only entry in the series, but it's also a haunted house experience that delivers on creepiness.

Three-and-a-bit years on, The Outer Worlds still holds up as a fine example of RPG excellence, with choices that actually carry proper weight. On Xbox Series X|S, the Spacer’s Choice Edition looks great, although you can’t help but be left with a nagging feeling that it could be slightly more polished.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty sets itself apart from Nioh, Team Ninja’s other soulslike series, with plenty of inventive mechanics that thrust you into the midst of a war. But by spreading the action out over various disparate battlefields in second century China, with plenty of chatty characters to meet along the way, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty loses a little bit of its magic in the process.

A perfectly decent chunk of linear extra-terrestrial shooting, with a sprinkling of mild Soulslike elements, nice puzzles, and plenty of exploration, Scars Above is a double-A budget game that's worth a look.

Controversy aside, Atomic Heart is a robust first-person affair, albeit one that revels in glorified Soviet iconography and Wolfenstein-esque alternate history weirdness. The difference is, there's no ambiguity in shooting Nazis – here, however, you can’t help but have a sense of unease while playing.

While having to hunt monsters driven from their habitat by human intervention and a lack of food engenders a sense of Shadow of the Colossus-level guilt, there's no avoiding the sheer depth and consistent enjoyment that Wild Hearts has to offer.

If you've been wondering what all the fuss surrounding the Yakuza series' foray into Japanese history is about, then wonder no more. Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a superlative localisation of a compelling samurai story, that is every bit as good as the series' other best outings. Brilliant.

On paper, Wanted: Dead has everything you could possibly want from an action game, but it’s mired in poor execution, ropey presentation, and more than a few unusual design choices. Wanted? We’re not so sure.

If you're expecting a Martian mission like Total Recall, then recalibrate those expectations. Deliver Us Mars is a rather slow affair with little variation in its puzzles and a languidly delivered narrative. In spite of its issues, however, this is a journey just about worth sticking with.

Hogwarts Legacy is an absolutely magical video game, one that is packed with awe-inspiring moments full of mystery and wonderment. Come for Hogwarts itself, a magic school oozing with secrets to behold, and stay for the combat, the engaging story and the frankly astonishing Room of Requirement.

It’s good to see you again, Mr. Bond. After more than 25 years, GoldenEye 007 has still got the same magic that made it such a seismic event upon its release in 1997. This Xbox version might be missing online multiplayer and cheat codes, but don’t let that put you off. It’s still utterly wonderful.

The Dead Space remake successfully revives a beloved survival horror franchise with gloriously gory aplomb. Nothing that made the original so good has been compromised, even with all the new additions. Bring on Dead Space 2!

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.

As far as vertical shmups hauled out of the arcades and ported to home consoles are concerned, Raiden IV x MIKADO remix is just about as good as it gets. Nonetheless, this is really one for the die-hard fans of bullet hell.

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.

Persona 4 Golden has absolutely withstood the test of time, delivering a fantastic story with a truly likeable cast of characters. Could more have been done with the visuals? Perhaps, but it’s still a brilliant game nonetheless. A true classic, now available on your console of choice. Sweet.

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