You know when you were a kid, in the summer, you used to have huge pretend adventures in the back garden with all your mates? Where the shed was a castle and the hedge was a jungle? And it was like really having an adventure? This is sort of like that.
Great writing and environment design, combined with an epic story and wide range of player choice, make Tides of Numenera a wonderful RPG. The reliance on text won't be for everyone, but fans of the genre are going to love it.
The attention to detail and beautiful flat colour design really shine in this metroidvania about a brave probe exploring an alien planet. Though the difficulty curve can spike frustratingly, fans of Ori and the Blind Forest should enjoy Forma.8's travels
For Honor's multiplayer is special, but as a whole it's let down by the less good single player, sometimes dodgy matchmaking, and a surfeit of microtransactions. The combat, though, is fantastic — it's gutsy and weighty, and you feel like a badass.
A short, calm exploration of a beautiful island, where the conversations are like talking to real people. As an introduction to the larger world of Eastshade it's great, but Leaving Lyndow doesn't quite manage to stand on its own feet as a separate game.
A platformer that makes great use of shadows and light. You'll get emotionally attached to the candle as he burns through some lovely environments and tough platforming, but the ending is a bit of a damp squib.
Knee Deep's swampy noir mystery play is one of the most interesting and entertaining ways to frame a game you'll ever see. Just a shame the final act doesn't rise to the humid, neo-gothic heights of the rest.
Beautiful, unsettling, challenging. The fungal growths in it are cute little creatures rather than mushrooms (which are horrible). What's not to like?
A short but sweet point and click puzzle adventure that takes you from dairy farming in Norway out to the stars and beyond. Godspeed, Ruth, you were a joy.
There are some fantastic environments and old school style puzzles in Resi 7. The final section stops being survival horror and becomes a bit of a clunky linear shooter, but the first few hours are scary enough to put you off Louisiana for life.
Final Fantasy XV is about adventure and excitement. There are oddities, and it's not the FF you're used to, but it's a good time with some good boys, and has an unexpected emotional resonance to it. Sometimes it seems like it shouldn't work, but it does.
Watch Dogs 2 is missing a bit of refinement, and has had issues with multiplayer, but joining DedSec is still a riot and a half. It's high energy fun with engaging characters, and you can make an entire city your playground.
Dishonored 2 takes everything you loved about Dishonored and improves upon it without becoming bloated. It's a beautifully designed, layered game, stuffed with hidden gems and secret stories. Also you can stab people in mid air.
Skyrim Special Edition on console looks lovely and runs well, and with all the DLC included it's a great option if you aren't fussed about mods. If you are fussed about mods you might be disappointed. Or already have a PC.
Thumper is a great rhythm action game, with strong visuals, fantastic design, and more speed than Keanu Reeves on a bus rigged to explode.
XCOM 2 is more tense and thrilling than a turn-based strategy has any right to be. There are some great additions to the original gameplay, but the port to console is an imperfect one.
As a whole Virginia is wonderfully cinematic, and a fantastic story to inhabit as it unfolds.
It has the air of young men putting on silly costumes, not knowing what they're doing, and trying to style it out.
A wonderfully tense and oppressive atmosphere let down by the restrictions of live action interactivity.
The reality is that the games haven't changed, but you might have.