The reality is that the games haven't changed, but you might have.
As a whole Virginia is wonderfully cinematic, and a fantastic story to inhabit as it unfolds.
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.
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.
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.
A point and click adventure for the now, Thimbleweed Park takes everything great about classic Lucasfilm games and leaves out the flaws. You might not love all the central characters, but this is as weird and compelling a town as Twin Peaks.
Marked improvements in style and story, coupled with Bungie's always excellent shooting, make this continued space epic a winner. But that never ending grind, though...
The secret stories Father Lafcadio uncovers are lovely, but you won't always enjoy the process of uncovering them. Still, a series of elegant murders, with elegant stories, in an elegant mansion is enough to show anyone a good time. Time and time again...
It's a shame the story is so strangely paced, but you hardly need it. Fortress Assaults are great set pieces, and there's a lot of fun to be had with the upgraded Nemesis System alone.
Despite imperfections, Splatoon 2 improves on the original, and is a colourful, joyous addition to the Switch.
Assassin's Creed Origins has vastly improved combat and an astoundingly beautiful world to explore, but it felt a little afraid of going all in with its new direction.
A tabletop-esque strategy game with surprisingly variable routes to success, Antihero is stylish, fresh, and beautifully designed.
Reigns: Her Majesty manages to defy a lot of your expectations, and will keep adding more surprising cards into its deck as you play.
A cyberpunk exploration of humanity, manipulation and getting tanked, The Red Strings club is lovely and melancholy and well worth a look.
A game about a game within a game, Legendary Gary is weird and cool and utterly, genuinely unique. Some parts may be frighteningly familiar, and surprisingly emotional.
Performance issues are a huge let down, and it feels more Dragon Age than Mass Effect. But if you like open world exploration with fast paced gun fighting, and a hero story like an OTT Hollywood action movie, you'll probably like Andromeda.
Mankind Divided hasn't lost the soul of a Deus Ex game, but it doesn't hit the heights it's reaching for.
It'll all feel very familiar if you've played a Lego game recently
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.
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.