Three years on: still a classic, and with its biggest weakness fixed. If you own a Switch it's a no-brainer – especially if it's your first time.
This is a remarkable, progressive, absorbing game, one sure to prompt fervent discussion among its players, no two of whom will have shared the same experience. Your actions and deductions may not lead to a virtual arrest or conviction, but the curiosity of your inner Columbo will surely have been sated.
Beautiful, hypnotic and frequently surprising, Tetris Effect is a bravura reinvention of a classic game that deserves to be recognised as a series peak. The odd difficulty spike aside, there's little to fault in what is undoubtedly one of 2018's very best games.
With smarter AI opposition and an altogether smoother online experience, PES 2017 is close to the complete package. FIFA’s new story mode might be the most headline-grabbing feature of either game this year, but it’s clear Konami is in no mood to relinquish its title as king of the virtual pitch.
PES returns to the Premier League in its best iteration in years.
A daring, exciting and bleakly powerful payoff that handsomely rewards your investment in its characters.
The sharpest writing around, wrapped inside a surprising adventure that's tough but rarely unfair. Failbetter's finest hour.
An accessible and captivatingly strange new breed of versus fighting game, Arms is another Nintendo knockout for Switch.
Slight in form, but deep and consistently satisfying. Nex Machina is a gem of a shooter.
Challenging but immaculately calibrated controls power an exciting and enormously rewarding sci-fi roguelike.
It's like, how much more Nidhogg could this be? And the answer is none. None more Nidhogg.
A bare-bones refit, but this remains a captivating JRPG, marrying slice-of-life drama with stylish demon battling.
A handsome and brutal strategy sequel that benefits from a range of intelligent improvements
Not just for the masochists, Cuphead is a demanding but supremely rewarding modern 2D shooter that looks and sounds fantastic.
Combines robust storytelling with consistently inventive, surprising missions. Not just a return to form, but a new series peak.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy brings a great series to a close in fine style. It doesn't take many risks with the established formula, but its story is engaging, intelligently written and compelling to the end.
A blend of mismatched genres that somehow works, Yoku's Island Express is a beguiling game of modest brilliance.
For all that FIFA promises something for every football fan, from the casual observer to the full-kit fanatic, I still find myself wishing that EA Sports would spend a little more time focusing on the basics. You could probably create the perfect football game by letting Konami handle everything on the pitch, with EA Sports responsible for everything off it. But FIFA plays well enough that the gains elsewhere – in terms of licensing, authenticity, and big-match atmosphere – more than compensate for those shortcomings. For my money, PES is still ahead where it counts most, but The Journey gives FIFA something unique and rewarding. If you can afford it, this year it might just be worth getting both.
FIFA 15 is still one of the best sports simulations around, with superb animation and big-match atmosphere.
The kind of game you'll be quoting for years to come.