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!

Odd, compelling, and ultimately engrossing, Death Stranding: Director's Cut is a genre mash-up with more than a few ideas of its own. Not quite a work of genius, it's nonetheless something that once again demonstrates the madness and brilliance of Hideo Kojima. Five years on from its original release, it's only gained in relevance.

Yakuza makes its long-awaited debut on Xbox One with the best entry in the series. Yakuza 0 is a superlative game, boasting outlandish and violent combat, bizarre peripheral characters, and a story that introduces two great protagonists in Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. Play it and you'll quickly become fully invested in all things Yakuza.

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.

Building upon everything that has continued to mark out the Forza Horizon series as something special and unique its own right - beyond being Forza Motorsport's carefree sibling - Forza Horizon 4 demonstrates once again just how recklessly entertaining driving roughshod across an open environment can be. Revelling in what makes Britain great, Forza Horizon 4 also proves once more that Playground Games is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to delivering a polished, deep, and thrilling open-world racing experience.

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.

A tight, calibrated tactical shooter that harks back to the genre’s best days.

A brilliantly effective blend of the old and the new, Resident Evil Requiem succeeds in just about every conceivable department. It's tense, compelling, and an all-round good time.

Backed by an amazing art style, a great soundtrack and a selection of heartwarming characters to take you through the story, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is pure platforming perfection.

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.

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.

Earthion is a dream of future past, a late-career gem from Yuzo Koshiro, and a sharp-edged shooter that keeps you coming back.

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.

As an RPG, Final Fantasy XV has everything you’d expect: a compelling, emotional story; a tapestry of complimentary mechanics; a significant lifespan; a cast of relatable and well-written characters and a world that’s dense enough to be a character in and of itself. As a Final Fantasy game, it lives up to all the tropes, despite the variations it’s taken from the more ‘classic’ games. Final Fantasy XV is a title that's aimed super high, and although maybe it hasn’t quite hit the targets it set for itself, it certainly doesn’t disappoint, and is a strong enough RPG experience to stand aside The Witcher as one of the best open-world role-playing games of this generation.

A breath of fresh air for the series and one that should appeal to fans old and new, Forza Horizon may have toned down on the realism but the open world environment and host of quirky ideas more than make up for any discrepancies. This is a racing game that has plenty under the hood, and leaves you wanting one more shot at racing glory.

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.

A ludicrously polished and tight game of basketball, NBA 2K17 is representative of a series that's at the top of its game. There are a few flaws, as ever, but they pale into insignificance against the consistent excellence that shines through in almost every nook and cranny of NBA 2K17. This is a shoo-in for All-Star status.

A singular work of brilliance, What Remains of Edith Finch is one-of-a-kind; a real breath of fresh air that serves as a welcome reminder of video games' capacity to surprise and tell incredible stories. Stunning.

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.

The truth of the matter though is that beneath Bulletstorm's bravado and crude exterior beats the heart of a shooter that will challenge how you think about and play shooters, possibly forever.

Once again, The Coalition proves itself as Gears of War's ideal custodian. Gears 5 is one of the best entries in the series yet, delivering an unrivalled package that still boasts the best headshots in the business.

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.

Forza Horizon 6 is developer Playground Games at the very top of its game, delivering the biggest and most diverse series entry yet, and a triumphant celebration of cars and car culture. It helps that it looks utterly stunning too.

South of Midnight is Compulsion's best game by a country mile, emerging as an assured and beautifully crafted Southern Gothic folktale that feels like a bracing breath of earthy, swampy air.

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'.

Fallout 4 might not be as technically advanced as, say The Witcher 3, but it’s a game full of charm and substance, which makes up for an aging Creation Engine. Fallout 4 boasts an incredible world full of intrigue, mystery and suspense, backed by a whole host of weird and wonderful characters. It’s a world you’re going to want to go back to, time and time again.

Life Is Strange: True Colors is a return to form for the franchise, which delivers a captivating story from start to finish, one that will see you go through all the emotions. Just like Alex Chen herself.

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.