Sam Loveridge
Super Mario Maker 2 is an almost perfect package, putting equal emphasis on discovery, creation, story mode, and outright brilliant gameplay.
The perfect blend of narrative and gameplay, coherency and strangeness, Control is a game we'll be talking about for generations.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening manages to feel new, but still maintain the essence of the amazing original. This is peak old-school Zelda, and it's never looked better.
Nintendo has made fitness fun again with Ring Fit Adventure, with a package that's as easy to use as it is a great workout.
Planet Zoo is a complex, deep simulation game with too much to give, if you can get past the minimalist tutorials.
Gameplay tweaks and attention to detail make Pokemon Sword and Shield the most compelling Pokemon world to date.
There continues to be nothing quite like Animal Crossing, and New Horizons proves that there's life in the old Nook yet.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is fun, light-hearted and a celebration of Super Mario with a strong story, great humour and brilliant characters.
Super Mario 3D All Stars' package of three of the best 3D Mario games are just enhanced and tweaked enough to be an enjoyable revisiting, but without removing the classic charm.
Bugsnax will be remembered for its brilliant crafted world, characters and titular Bugsnax for many years to come, despite some repetition and frustrating load times.
What Cyberpunk 2077 lacks in core campaign length, it makes up for with depth and soul, offering a world of intrigue and violence unlike any other.
Quirky, creative, and constant good fun, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury blends Mario gameplay old and new with great success, creating a title that feels worthy of his 35th birthday celebrations.
It Takes Two is a Pixar-worthy adventure that consistently innovates, offering players an excellent co-op experience unlike any other.
Repetitive, formulaic, and downright strange, Biomutant suffers from an abundance of problems that get in the way of great ideas.
And it's that connectivity that really feels at the core of this DLC. Everything you're doing is building your own connection to Jin, helping to flesh out the human side of the inimitable Ghost of Tsushima through his family, his friends, and new-found (if reluctant) allies. Sucker Punch's ability to weave beautiful narratives that will, ahem, sucker punch you right in the feels is more in the spotlight here than ever, and it's an utter success.
Microgame madness marred by overcomplications, WarioWare: Get It Together dissolves the fun with frustration.
Eastward might fumble the ending, but that doesn't stop it from delivering a fantastic journey.
Jett: The Far Shore is a frustrating jaunt through space, with a stunning world and narrative let down by clunky, awkward controls.
Back 4 Blood is brilliant, co-op fun, with an interesting card system, but it's marred by terrible bots, awkward solo campaign choices, and a lackluster PvP mode.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy tells an utterly memorable story, with brilliant takes on the Guardians themselves, even if the gameplay could be more adventurous at times.