Despite a few puzzling design decisions and an almost glacial start to the campaign, Watch Dogs is worthy of your time. There’s no doubt about that.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham sweeps away any doubts we might have had about TT Games' well-established template growing tiresome. It might start a little slow, yet the game is nothing but an absolute pleasure to play throughout.

It may lack a certain level of polish, but for sheer fun you will be hard pressed to do much better, as the combat and puzzles are spot on and hark back to the classic Zelda games. The story does let things down a bit and the graphics are ragged in places, but as a slice of entertainment, this does a damn fine job.

A cracking first effort from The Coalition, Gears of War 4 might be the studio playing it safe for its first proper go around with Gears, but it successfully manages to retain everything that's special about the series while re-igniting mankind's struggle for survival on Sera. That means there will be sequels. Lots of sequels. Fortunately, Gears of War 4 is a superb game, so if they're anything like this, bring 'em on.

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 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.

Dying Light is a cavalcade of zombie ultra-violence that's hard to put down.

The single player story is absolutely engaging in Saints Row 2, with a great cast to boot. It’s great to know that a good story with a soul can make the same old city a lot more entertaining. The online co-op will attract a lot of attention and rightly so, but the multiplayer mode doesn’t really have much substance.

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.

The perfect homage to a series of true fighting game greats, the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is essential.

While the new F1 Life hub and the addition of supercars are no substitute for last year's story mode or 2020's classic cars, F1 22 is nonetheless another superlative Formula One game, and a damn fine racing experience in its own right.

Yet another sensational compendium of classic arcade fighters, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 brings together eight seminal classics, and although there are a couple of omissions, what's here is great. For anyone who whiled away hours in the arcades back in the 1990s and 2000s, you need to get on this.

Overall a well put together homage to Starwars told through the medium of Lego. Ranging from funny to frustrating it will keep you coming back for more.

If I were rating it purely on its artistic merits, I'd give it 100. As a game, its unique qualities mark it out as something that deserves to be played and experienced, but if you're hoping for something action-packed, you're barking up the wrong tree. Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is a great game that transcends what a video game can be as a medium; a perfect marriage of artistry and ideas that you absolutely need to delve into.

Shift 2 is a better game than its forebear, although it's still perhaps a bit of an acquired taste. Visually, it's an improvement and the handling and gameplay can be as realistic or as forgiving as you like. Hats off to Slightly Mad for taking on-board the criticisms levelled at the first Shift, addressing them and then some. Shift 2 kicks things up a gear, that's for sure.

An excellent return for an arcade classic, Samurai Shodown is a reboot that looks sensational, has a wealth of options, plays remarkably well, and possesses deep, hugely rewarding fighting mechanics. The Dojo mode is also superb, ensuring that Samurai Shodown doesn't just push the envelope, but slices it wide open.

Pure delivers on the promise of fast thrills and fun, so the very few minor issues seem non-existent. A definite recommendation for fans of both racing and arcade-style games.

A solid title from a company with years of experience making karaoke games, with a very real possibility of a steady revenue stream for Konami if they handle the DLC well.

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.

My Time At Portia is one of the most wholesome, relaxing and chilled experiences of this generation. It’s the perfect post-Sekiro experience, with a cast of wonderful characters, and a beautifully picturesque world with tons of activities to occupy your time. Sure, it’s very much like Stardew Valley, but the emphasis on engineering over farming makes it its own beast. The loops might not be as alluring as Stardew’s, but it’s game that you won’t regret playing, and will satisfy your inner soul.

Where the first EA Sports UFC failed to go big on content, EA Sports UFC 2 delivers big time. That it also successfully improves upon the strong foundations laid by UFC 1 in the gameplay stakes, makes UFC 2 nothing short of superlative. It's a winner.

A bigger and better game than its forebear, Sniper Elite 4 is ludicrously good fun, proving beyond doubt that there's infinite appeal in blasting Nazis' bits off. Scope it out.

After the confined spaces of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, Metro Exodus feels far more expansive, but never strays too far from what makes the series unique.

MachineGames has done the series the due service it deserves, delivering a thrilling and immensely entertaining Nazi smashing shooter that demands to be played and savoured.

Watch Dogs 2 is a game that wants to take you on a whistlestop tour of San Francisco’s not-so-hidden underbelly. For a game with a central cast of disenfranchised youths, I found it oddly relatable and compelling. Every bone in my body ached for me to hate DedSec, but instead I totally fell in with them and everything they were about. Marcus Holloway is to Watch Dogs what Ezio Auditore was to Assassin’s Creed: the symbol of a new era, the mascot of a franchise that has proved it shouldn’t be judged on first impressions, that has proved it can move with the times. It’s a strong, smart game that never takes itself too seriously, and the result is pretty special.

There's no doubting that Splinter Cell: Conviction is a great game, but it's a game that ultimately loses its way towards the end. It's almost like a 200m hurdle champion falling at the last hurdle, but still bumbling to his feet to make the finish line in a more than respectable time.

Star Wars Outlaws is a wonderful, albeit slightly rough around the edges, galactic space adventure that will appeal to both Star Wars and non-Star Wars fans alike. With a great story, a handful of really iconic locations and a whole host of variety running through its veins, Outlaws is a fantastic new world of adventure for Ubisoft Massive. Plus, it’s incredibly fun.