The Resident Evil 4 remake is the series' most relentlessly exciting adventure rebuilt, refined, and realised to the full extent of its enormous potential.
It Takes Two is a beautiful, breakneck-paced, co-op adventure that's bubbling over with creativity.
Dead Space is a superb remake and undoubtedly the definitive way to experience one of the best survival horror shooters that Capcom never made.
Alan Wake II is a superb survival-horror sequel that makes the cult-classic original seem like little more than a rough first draft by comparison.
Sprawling, enthralling, and packed with dynamic brawling, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t just the best turn-based Like a Dragon game, it’s one of the greatest games in the entire series.
Disney Infinity 3.0 is the most polished, cohesive and enjoyable game in the series so far.
Yakuza 0 is another sprawling entry in the open-world series, packed with an extraordinary amount of things to do and centred around a genuinely compelling crime story. Since it’s a prequel, it’s also unburdened by the series’ increasingly intricate backstory and thus far more approachable for newcomers than the last few Yakuza games. While its melee combat may lag slightly behind modern genre standards, Yakuza 0 still hits far more than it misses and is a big, bold and bruising tour through the Japanese underworld.
Metro Exodus brings its survival horror to the surface without sacrificing any of the series' signature tension.
Judgment is a superficial detective experience, but an extremely good Yakuza one.
Don Bradman Cricket 14 for PC is the most enjoyable and fully-featured cricket game ever made.
Quantum Break is a stylish, often-exhilarating third-person shooter wrapped up in a tautly paced tale of time travel.
If you’ve already played the original LEGO City Undercover on Wii U, then there is little reason to pick up this re-release. However, if you were one of the many who missed it the first time around then LEGO City Undercover remains a hilarious riff on police procedurals, built upon a GTA-for-juniors open world blueprint, and stuffed with enjoyable side missions and collectibles to hunt down. The addition of split-screen play, cursory in its execution as it may be, only makes the game more appealing to players who would prefer to experience LEGO City Undercover with a friend riding shotgun. And what's a good police story without a partner in crime-fighting?
If you’ve already played the original LEGO City Undercover on Wii U, then there is little reason to pick up this re-release. However, if you were one of the many who missed it the first time around then LEGO City Undercover remains a hilarious riff on police procedurals, built upon a GTA-for-juniors open world blueprint, and stuffed with enjoyable side missions and collectibles to hunt down. The addition of split-screen play, cursory in its execution as it may be, only makes the game more appealing to players who would prefer to experience LEGO City Undercover with a friend riding shotgun. And what's a good police story without a partner in crime-fighting?
Ashes Cricket isn't pitch perfect, but it's the best videogame representation of the sport to date.
Despite the fact that the made-for-PlayStation 4 Yakuza 6 was only released a few short months ago, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the best and most fully formed Yakuza game of 2018 even though it's a remake of a game that's now two console generations old. Its storyline is gripping, its weapons-heavy fighting system accommodates no shortage of spectacle, and it serves up plenty of enjoyable side activities – both mini and macro – to divert to or return for after the story wraps. Yakuza 0 may still be the high watermark for the series on the PS4, but Yakuza Kiwami 2 isn't too far behind.
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories is a dark, strange and utterly compelling journey.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is an enjoyable re-release, but doesn't stand quite as tall next to modern platformers.
Enjoyably tense and frequently hysterical, Moving Out is a must play for fans of same-screen multiplayer games.
Desperados 3 is a Western that's as wily as it is wild, and well-suited to anyone after a serious stealth challenge.
Brilliantly paced and palpably tense, The Medium is a psychological horror adventure that's all thriller and no filler.