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.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows delivers feudal Japan to the masses in style. Sure, Ghost of Tsushima beat it to the punch a few years back, but Ubisoft Quebec’s effort is wildly different in so many ways and an absolute pleasure to play. Whether you like stealth or action, Shadows is a light in the darkness.

Limited only by story levels that grow tired towards the end, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is nevertheless a wonderfully witty, fun romp with a huge cast of characters and an impressively large and varied open-world hub. TT Games has done it again.

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.

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.

Without a doubt this is one of the best multiplayer experiences you will find on the 360, however anyone wanting to go it alone will quickly tire of playing the scenarios over and over again. Repetition is kept to a minimum thanks to the A.I Director but unless you have LIVE and a solid squad of friends then you should probably give this a miss.

A fantastic third chapter in Capcom's brill Monster Hunter spin-off series, Monster Hunter 3: Twisted Reflection boasts a lovely anime style, an engaging narrative, and ample RPG depth. It's great.

Rare Replay is undoubtedly an insane amount of value for money.

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.

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.

A well produced title that will give you another slice of entertainment, whether you choose to go it alone or head online to kick ass and take some names. It's nothing new though, and single-player feels especially lightweight this time around, so there is still room for improvement. More of the same next year then – which is both great news and a bit disappointing really.

Art of Rally is an unbridled joy, its Career Mode and free roam options, in particular, providing hours of rally driving nirvana in an appealing package that celebrates a glorious, golden era of off-road motorsport.

Boasting chaotic and fun survivor-like auto shooter action with added mining, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is one of the finest examples the genre has to offer. If survivor games like Vampire Survivor and its ilk are your poison, then I'd recommend drinking this one up.

With two mahoosive games and a ton of additional content stuffed into the box, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is well worth the asking price, what with its sharp, pimped-out visuals and what not. If you've already taken this ride before on Xbox 360, you might want to think twice before parting with more cash for the Xbox One version.

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.

Platinum Games knows this hack 'n' slash schtick inside out, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is no exception, drawing upon the developer's experience within the genre. While it's no Bayonetta, Raiden's bloodsoaked outing is a superb action title.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredible but hugely flawed video game. At its core lies a deceptively deep-RPG, set in one of the most wonderous cities every created in video games and it’s genuinely an experience I’ll never forget. It’s just a shame it’s such a bloody bugfest, though.

If you've yet to play a Katamari game, then Once Upon a Katamari is as good a place as any to start. Its time-hopping adventure offers a fresh spin on the series, with new mechanics and additions that only serve to enhance a winning formula.

A textbook example of how to make a great sequel, Middle-earth: Shadow of War takes the first game's template and expands upon it in a meaningful and interesting way. The result is a follow-up that's not only a lot bigger, but it's also a lot better. It talks the talk, and yes, it also Orcs the Orc.

There's certainly enough new stuff in 2010 FIFA World Cup to make a purchase worthwhile and if nothing else, the new modes and refinements make this a perfect companion to FIFA 10. Simply put, this will be the best football game money can buy... Until FIFA 11 turns up.

Bad Company boasts a competent and fairly entertaining single player mode but their multiplayer mode is most definitely their fundamental selling point. One of the best multiplayer modes and battle systems on the Xbox 360 as far as I’m concerned.

The real strengths of this game are the dynamic OFF mode, the superb challenges and ranking system which give the game a superb long term appeal. Take to the skies with HAWX and you will not be disappointed.

With a genre that rarely sees any sort of risks or innovation, Resonance of Fate offers both in spades and comes through with high marks at every turn. The battle system could use a bit of a softening in the early chapters, as well as the game's overall difficulty, but once mastered it becomes a lot of fun.

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.

Hitman 2 is a solid follow-up to our 2016 Game of Year, delivering five huge killer sandboxes to explore to your heart’s content. Yes, the maps might not be as unique as iterations gone-by and there is seemingly fewer than normal, but boy, are they great maps. Factor in Contracts mode and the excellent Ghost Mode, and Hitman 2 is very much worth your time. Where else can you dress up as a mascot or get involved in a poisonous drinking game to take down a target? Answer: no-bloody-where!

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.

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.

Project CARS 2 is a great sequel to a strong but flawed first instalment. This time around, the flaws are far fewer, the racing is first class, and there's not much that Slightly Mad Studios hasn't addressed. Whether you're a sim aficionado or novice, Project CARS 2 is a racing game you need.

NieR: Automata makes some very brave choices when it comes to gameplay and direction. Platinum’s work on the combat and the bullet-hell comes off strongly and cleanly, and with Yoko Taro’s insane vision and obsession with morality and philosophy fuelling the narrative, the result is a game with a split personality that makes you fall in love with both sides. NieR: Automata is unlike anything else you can play on Xbox One.

Another Nazi-blasting triumph, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is the perfect companion piece to The New Order, and proof positive that MachineGames knows exactly what it's doing with the series. The Old Blood is more of the same, which is certainly no bad thing.

Back after a six year hiatus, SoulCalibur VI proves that the series has lost none of its sparkle. If this is the final SoulCalibur we ever see (and we sincerely hope it isn't), at least we can rest assured that the series went out with a bang rather than a clang.

PES 2016 is undoubtedly a great football game, as good as it’s been in years. Sure, it’s better on the pitch than PES 2015, but it’s let down somewhat by some cavalier keepers who couldn’t catch a cold.

Lucid has succeeded in bringing Geometry Wars back with an almighty bang.

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.

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.

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!

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.

We need more games like this, please. Funny, irreverent, varied, and utterly superb, Lair of the Clockwork God is definitely worth snapping up.

Brimming with modes, UFC 3 is a massive game. It might only be an incremental improvement over its predecessor, but the gameplay remains stellar and the action is accessible and fun. As far as MMA games go, EA Sports UFC 3 is the G.O.A.T.

NBA 2K18 is yet another astonishingly good basketball game that delivers on the hardwood and in the suite of inviting modes on offer. Resist the urge to shell out for Virtual Currency and you'll be fine. Just focus on the great game at NBA 2K18's core, because it really is at its best this year.

Divinity Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition is a fine installment in the Divinity series and despite a few odd design decisions and the balance being completely out of whack, it’s still a truly memorable and enjoyable experience.

A few new gameplay mechanics and the Fantasy Draft mode might not seem like enough to make you part with your cash, but the subtle changes are enough to make every game feel like a new challenge.

While dyed-in-the-wool fans of the original might long for the pixellated sprites of old, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined succeeds in being a stellar, loving remake of one of the series' best, with a uniquely appealing 3D doll-and-diorama style. It's all rather lovely.

I'll admit that my interest in Telltale's well-worn adventure formula was starting to wane, but The Walking Dead: A New Frontier's opening episodes are proof positive that there's still plenty of life in it, as Ties That Bind Part 1 and 2 are both barnstorming episodes. Essential for any self-respecting The Walking Dead fan, regardless of whether you played seasons one and two in Telltale's series.

Picking up perfectly where Mortal Kombat left off, Injustice: Gods Among Us cements NetherRealm's reputation as a purveyor of fighting games with real heft and substance. A heroic effort that'll put a smile upon the face of all but the most demanding DC fighting fan.

I'll admit that my interest in Telltale's well-worn adventure formula was starting to wane, but The Walking Dead: A New Frontier's opening episodes are proof positive that there's still plenty of life in it, as Ties That Bind Part 1 and 2 are both barnstorming episodes. Essential for any self-respecting The Walking Dead fan, regardless of whether you played seasons one and two in Telltale's series.

This is still a great game of football and has a few neat improvements over last year's offering. However, the 360 degree control hardly seems groundbreaking and the rest of the package seems amazingly familiar. For all those that picked up the game last year, it will seem like very little has emerged to justify another full price release.

The lighting, the mood, the atmosphere ... everything is spot on. It could be defined as a must experience single player campaign with a less than inspiring multiplayer mode which fails to capitalise on what makes the single player so successful.

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.

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.

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 wonderful throwback to the 90s shooter, Shadow Warrior is a fine remake that doesn't purport to offer anything more than a rip-roaring blast through hordes of demons. Shadow Warrior is bloody, wilfully daft and rather brilliant.

Fun, simple and addictive, this game is a worth-while addition to the 360 roster, but is a little light. Hardcore Civ fans may want to stick to the PC versions, but newcomers will feel right at home.

From its tense opening to its blistering conclusion, Far Cry 5 is another cracking instalment in the series, streamlining some of the hunting elements and putting co-op up front for both the campaign and the bottomless Far Cry Arcade. The narrative and characters will live on in the memory once you're done and dusted too, as will the insane random minute-to-minute moments that always succeed in making Far Cry so unique.

In a lot of respects, The Veilguard is a vastly superior game when compared to Inquisition, but gone are the days that Dragon Age is a truly deep and innovative RPG. It's definitely more action than RPG these days, which is truly a shame. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty impressive package easily worth the price of entry.

Once again, Codemasters has proved that it deserves a place in the grand pantheon of racing game developers with GRID. Alongside the DiRT games and F1 series, GRID is another exemplary racer that will scratch the itch of even the most demanding racing game player.

Still crazy after all these years, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered takes the 2006 classic and burnishes it with meaningful visual upgrades, refined combat, and other modern touches. And it retains all of its original charm, that unique eccentric spirit left entirely intact.

With NetherRealm firing on all cylinders, Injustice 2 is not just a great looking comic book fighting game, but it's also a remarkably deep, gratifying and consistently entertaining one too. The gear system is great too, ensuring you'll be playing for months on end. A triumphant return for DC's heroes and villains.

Control is another absolute hit from Remedy, one that delivers from both a gameplay and narrative perspective. One of the generation’s most intriguing game worlds and almost perfect pacing, the only thing that holds Control back from being an all-time classic is its unfortunate and frustrating technical issues.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is not just a beautifully gory return for Team Ninja's twenty-one-year tenure with the series, but it's also vintage PlatinumGames, serving up a relentlessly paced flurry of swords, lopped limbs, and buckets of blood. What more could a ninja fan possibly want?

If you're none too keen on roguelites, then Absolum is unlikely to change your mind. But, if you like the idea of a stunning beat 'em up beefed up with the various trappings that come with a roguelite experience, then this will prove to be an unmitigated delight. Turn on the assists, and players of all skill levels can enjoy this.

Another unadulterated dose of raw arcade-style gameplay, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 follows in the wake of THPS 1 + 2, delivering another duo of reverent remakes brimming with secrets, skateparks, and new things. Soundtrack shortcomings aside, this is cracking stuff.

The Division 2 is almost certainly a step up from its predecessor, offering more content than you can shake a stick at and enough tweaks to make it feel somewhat fresh. While Massive has attempted to rectify the issues of the original, it hasn’t quite managed that yet: yes, enemies are still kind of bullet-spongey and the missions can get quite repetitive after a while, but aside from that, The Division 2 is an impressive follow-up, building upon what was already a solid foundation.

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?

Halo 5: Guardians is an exciting Halo package, marred only by some questionable design decisions, like microtransactions and some shoddy friendly-AI in the campaign. It’s not a classic Halo, but 343 is moving in a good direction with the franchise.

While it has one or two irksome flaws, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is, nonetheless, a fine solo experience, with characters that you'll enjoy spending time with, fast-paced combat, and an engaging original story.

Your Shape is truly Fitness Evolved in not only name, but in nature as well, and it presents a great opportunity for people to workout in their own homes with their own fitness tracker and personal trainer. I find it hard to believe that it will replace gyms and your general workout regime for anyone who is currently active already in these fields, but it makes a perfect supplement, and for those who want to do more, this is the perfect tool.

Immortals Fenyx Rising is a strange beast, then. Much of it feels very familiar, and you won’t find many things here that haven’t been done before. Yet, it manages to pull together so many different aspects with such proficiency and love for the source material that it’s impossible not to simply enjoy soaking it all up, in an adventure worthy of the Greek heroes of old.

NetherRealm has outdone itself with Mortal Kombat X, delivering an uncompromising fighting game that revels in blood-drenched ultra-violence. Not just essential for Mortal Kombat fans, MK X is something that deserves to be enjoyed by all fight fans over the age of 18. Brutality!

It's pole position once again for Codemasters' F1, despite a lack of any real, meaningful changes over F1 2012 beyond the addition of F1 Classics. F1 2013 is still a superb racer, but we're expecting big things for next year.

Short it may be, but Resident Evil 3 is also delightfully sweet. Or as sweet as a survival horror game possibly can be, anyway. Pared back, streamlined and completely brilliant, you'll have a blast outrunning Nemesis all over again.

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.

One part Hotline Miami, one part Duke Nukem, Mullet MadJack is an uncompromising and beautifully straight-up shot of first-person shooter adrenaline with a neat roguelike twist, all fed into your brain one frenetic minute at a time.

A startling return to form for EA's flagship racing franchise, Need for Speed Unbound offers an enjoyable open-world, with challenging yet gratifying racing, and an infectious sense of gritty urban style.

This is about as close to a slam dunk the series has been in recent years. NBA 2K25 delivers on the court where it counts, while bringing meaningful changes to the staple MyCareer and MyTeam modes, in particular. MyNBA Eras remains a major highlight, too, sure to please ardent NBA fans and nostalgics alike.

Turns out a reboot is just what the doctor ordered. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the best the series has been in quite some time.

With a wealth of new ideas, including taming and controlling animals, a non-linear story and an upgradable village hub, Far Cry Primal isn’t just Far Cry 4 with cavemen. Much of the gameplay will feel familiar, but the additions are just about enough to keep it fresh.

For some reason, I always have a preconceived notion that I won't enjoy this year's Call of Duty. How can a series that releases every single year without fail possibly maintain a consistent quality bar? There are detractors who'd say it doesn't, but let's be honest – it does. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is very good.

It’s about time that the Xbox 360 had a party, karaoke style game that felt at home on the console. Everything about Lips is right on the money; the microphones are fantastic, the selection of tunes is sublime and the singing interface is the best in the business.

LEGO Lord of the Rings is another triumphant addition to the series and uses a great open world structure, plus cleverly designed levels and abilities, to ensure you will have a plethora of tasks to see and do.

WWE 2K25 continues a strong run of wrestling games with another enormously enjoyable and robust entry, full to bursting with modes and playable Superstars, and an interesting new distraction in The Island. This is well worth swandiving into.

Codemasters Birmingham has excelled in improving upon F1 2010, resolving some of the issues that held back its first effort, with a game that offers the definitive Formula One experience.

The visuals, audio even the character scripts are carefully chosen to add life and a new experience to AC veterans and newbies alike.

Except maybe Viva Pinata, this is the most enjoyable family game I've played thus far. I can't in good conscience give it a score to rival any of the fabulous shooters or RPGs on the console, but it is far removed from the dredges with Golden Compass or Jumper.

Digital Extremes has delivered the goods with The Darkness II, marrying story, action and great gameplay. It might be a little on the short side, but the story warrants multiple replays and co-op adds a little bit of much-needed longevity. So go on, embrace The Darkness. You know you want to.

Volition gets many things right in Saints Row: The Third in what is no doubt a fine sequel, but it's very much a case of sequelitis for the THQ franchise. The zany and over-the-top nature, well-written script and whole host of sandbox toys are held back ever so slightly by the oddly paced and repetitive proceedings of the game's main story.

Top Spin 4 is a great sports game and one that depicts tennis as if you were playing the real thing. Every aspect of the franchise has been tweaked almost to perfection, and only the relative speed of progression and ease of the career hold it back from perfection. Tennis fans should certainly pick this up, and it will certainly hold its own against most other sports games out there too.

Split/Second is a total blast and keeps up the pace for race after race. The only problem is that the novelty eventually wears off and the whole thing starts to feel a little shallow. As an arcade racer, this one is hard to beat though, with thrills galore and it is even more fun to dish out some of the pain online too.

Dead Island surprised us by being a tightly crafted experience, full of interesting locales and intriguing missions. It can lose its way at times, but you will find yourself coming back for one more go time and time again, as crippling zombies and saving bikini clad females never gets dull. Losing yourself on Banoi will feel like the vacation from hell, but you'll love it.

Bungie’s latest storytelling method in ODST is certainly unique and captivates the imagination from beginning to end, but the problem is, just when you really start to get going, the experience ends. The single player campaign is far too short and can barely push 7 hours on the hardest difficulty, but there is plenty of replayability within the game’s new Horde, I mean, Firefight mode.

In order to truly appreciate it, you’ll have to look past all the monotonous traveling and the repetitive missions and get sucked in to the immersive world that Ubisoft Montreal has created.

Another triumph for Twisted Pixel, The Gunstringer is not just a worthy addition to the stable of games for Kinect, it's quite possibly one of the best games you can buy for the device.

It might not be as big as Red Faction: Guerrilla or offering the same open-world, but Armageddon is nonetheless a worthy sequel with enough new ideas of its own to set it apart. Play around with the magnet gun and the plasma weapons, and you'll be hard-pushed to find something as mindlessly fun.

Another strong offering from EA Canada, the series' first go with the Frostbite engine has breathed new life into FIFA. Arguably the best one since FIFA 14, FIFA 17 is a positive step in the right direction, despite failing to deliver a game of football that's as responsive, smooth and eminently playable as PES in its prime. That said, FIFA 17 represents a more complete football package in terms of content, delivering unparalleled authenticity with its licenses, commentary and overall presentation.

Without doubt, UEFA Euro 2008 is the pinnacle of Football games.

A great addition to anyone's collection, especially for sandbox fans. Without being a direct superhero game, it takes the best parts of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, throws them in a blender with a unique story and out comes a game that goes down smooth.

Eden Games has successfully built upon the solid foundations laid by the first TDU for Test Drive Unlimited 2, creating a genuinely inviting and gratifying racing title, online or offline. It surpasses its predecessor with fantastic visuals, hundreds of extra miles of roads to speed along and more cars and races than you can shake a gearstick at.

UFC Undisputed 3 is a triumphant return for the ultimate fighting champion, with more modes and options than you can shake a clenched fist at. In the octagon, the action is tighter, more fluid and still fun to play, but the submission system seems like a misstep and overall, we can't shake the feeling that deep down, it's essentially more of the same.