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.

A more than welcome return for a seminal crime classic, Mafia: Definitive Edition has all of the attributes you could possibly want from a great remake – fresh visuals, overhauled gameplay, and a reverence for its source material.

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.

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 War of Mine: The Littles ones is a powerful, affecting game that covers an aspect of warfare not typically touched by the medium. Telling the stories of normal civilians caught in the middle of a war, it asks: what you would do to survive? The disturbing answer is: anything you have to.

Replaced is a decent mood piece, with punchy combat, an underwhelming story and platforming, and striking visuals.

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.

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.

Crimson Desert's rich and detailed open world is a remarkable achievement, and the crunchy combat is fun, but poorly explained game mechanics, performance issues, and a muddled, rather dull story tarnish what could have otherwise been a rather special RPG experience.

A fun game with very few major flaws, but by the same token it brings absolutely nothing new to the table other than the welcome online community option and enhanced player traits and consistency. That aside you will be playing the same old Madden and on that front, Madden NFL 12 just doesn't do enough to hold your interest for very long.

The story is simply awesome and very detailed. The world is actually quite small compared to some RPGs, mostly because you can't explore the world map that much. For most of the game, you simply select a town and go.

As an opening gambit and statement of intent from Blumhouse Games, Fear the Spotlight gets things off to a strong start, delivering a 3D retro horror experience that, while in thrall to its '90s influences, also manages to carve out an identity of its own.

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.

A compelling and absorbing action game free of handholding, Hell is Us pulls you in with a gritty narrative and setting, then holds your attention with smart puzzles, solid combat, and a dark, dystopian story.

A tough, terrifying and ultimate thrilling game that’s defiantly old-school in its approach. The result is one of the best survival horror games in recent memory.

Wearing its VHS horror influences on its sleeve, The Quarry is an engaging and immensely entertaining choice-driven adventure with a killer cast and a fun, knowingly silly storyline.

Another deep and compelling chunk of dinosaur wrangling, Jurassic World Evolution 3 also happens to be remarkably welcoming, though not at the expense of its detail and complexity. It also looks pretty slick, and it's got loads of Jeff Goldblum in it. That’s a win in my book.

FIFA 22 offers a slower, more deliberate game of football on the pitch, and that's a good thing. But with minimal investment in new modes or updates to existing ones, this is a good upgrade, rather than an essential one.

If you're in the market for simple, viscera-packed thrills, then you could do a lot worse than Shadow Warrior 2. Yes, it's a bit repetitive (it's getting repetitive writing the word 'repetitive'), but it's also a lot of fun.

Blackwood Crossing might be short but sweet, yet it's clearly an experience that's been made as a labour of love, and as such, it has a magical, almost ethereal quality that's impossible to forget.

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.

Battlefield V builds upon its predecessor in meaningful ways, DICE stripping away practically every one of the series' fripperies to get to the nub of what truly makes the series tick. This is Battlefield at its most undiluted and raw, and it's all the better for it.

EA Sports FC 26 is a matter of refinement over revolution in all facets of the game. It’s a slight change in course rather than EA Vancouver plotting a completely new course, and while it’s probably the best iteration of FC yet, a lot maybe put off by the price of admission for what is essentially a fresh lick of paint.

After the disastrous launch of WWE 2K20, 2K and Visual Concepts really faced something of a turning point, an uphill struggle, and after a lengthy hiatus, WWE 2K22 emerges as the best entry in the series for years. As per the game's tagline, it really does 'hit different'.

While many of the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers games included here are already available in previous collections, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium still includes a plethora of arcade classics, and you're bound to discover, or indeed, rediscover, something well worth playing.

Heading Out does the visual novel stuff perfectly well, but it fails to nail the breezy sense of freedom that should come with cruising the open roads of America. Flighty vehicle handling makes the driving part of the game an annoyance rather than something to revel in and enjoy.

Chorus might ostensibly look like any other space shooter, but, discounting a few annoyances, it has some cool ideas of its own, and frenetic action that will pull you right in like a tractor beam.

A party game that transforms a horribly mundane activity into something uniquely pleasurable – especially with friends – Moving Out provides co-op furniture shifting that will in all probability ruin relationships, just like Overcooked did. And that's got to count for something.