Chris Tapsell
An eerie, hypnotic sleuther - and a cracking first effort from a miniature team.
Exceptional characters, heartfelt storytelling and enjoyable action threaten to be engulfed by endless bugs and hasty, uneven design.
New tricks will make the headlines, but Sports Interactive's best move is to breathe new life into the brilliance that's already there.
Pok'mon Sword and Shield's final expansion is a fantastic, enticing endgame area that also shows just how great these games could have been.
With some imperfections, Toys For Bob delivers an enjoyable, goofy, deviously challenging and occasionally genius sequel.
A mostly thorough remake of 2002's original, Mafia: Definitive Edition has its moments - but it struggles by the standards of today.
Draknek masters a genre with a game of little touches, big challenge, and giant heart.
Limited by a rote and rigid world, Sucker Punch's samurai homage pairs okay action with enjoyably committed, if awkwardly fawning melodrama.
Riot Games delivers a masterclass in competitive integrity, soulless precision and zealous, life-consuming obsession.
Pok'mon's first ever expansion offers sunny vibes and another, more open world, but is still lacking the substance to do much with it.
A predictably grim spin on a legendary action license that really deserves better, Predator: Hunting Grounds is unworthy prey.
A likeable indie with cracking source material and a special setting, The Flower Collectors is just missing the magic of detail.
Pok'mon Sword and Shield add some brilliant new creatures, but like their gargantuan Dynamax forms, the games feel like a hollow projection.
Competent strategy pastes flat-footed, surface-level sci-fi over a genre that lives and dies by its nuance.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a gold-standard remaster, capturing the loveably janky, off-brand spirit of classic CTR - and then some.
Ambitious and sometimes overwhelming, Three Kingdoms does a great job of capturing the complexity of China's vivid past.
The former Civ 5 director's long-running passion project is filled with nice ideas, but they never threaten to pull together.
Pok'mon's Switch debut deftly toes the line between returning fans and all-new ones, with a few small wobbles along the way.
Quality of life tweaks and vast depth can't overcome Football Manager 2019's uncharacteristically clumsy, all-consuming training rework.
Messy, boisterous, chaotic - Civilization 6: Rise and Fall is the antidote to the Enlightenment.