A fantastic sense of speed and exciting night-time racing help make Need for Speed Heat the best entry into the series in a while, even though the online component is mostly dead-on-arrival and progression can feel like a grind at times due to a stingy economy.
Thrones of Britannia is a thoroughly competent entry into the Total War series, though underwhelming battles and a lack of fresh ideas mean it will satisfy your craving for historical conflict, but without much excitement or many surprises.
Even though For Honor's core combat is essentially an elaborate quick-time event sequence in disguise, the production values and novelty factor are high enough that there is still a good deal of fun to be had here.
Though mechanically The Fractured but Whole can feel rather flat, it remains a genuine South Park production with all of the humor, farting and ridiculousness you would expect, and that should be enough to satisfy fans - even if it doesn't wow them.
Despite some frustrating missions and problematic Goo faction, this is one of the strongest traditional RTS games to have released in some time and will surely satisfy those looking for a nostalgic CnC-like experience.
Bridge Constructor Portal successfully melds bridge-building with classic Portal gameplay elements, though it fails to emulate the excellent humor of that series. Good value and creative levels with more than one solution make it a slick package for anyone looking to relax while using their brains a bit.
The gorgeous open world and excellent skiing and snowboarding of Steep outweigh some problematic design elements and less enjoyable air-based activities.
Divinity: Original Sin is a detailed and engrossing RPG with great combat and a healthy dose of charm, but the weak central narrative, goofy tone and myriad moments where you don't know what to do or where to go greatly mar the experience.
Crytek have made something that feels truly distinct with Hunt: Showdown. The tense, high stakes PvP action blends well with southern swamp-horror PvE to create a fresh and compelling multiplayer experience, though the extreme lethality of the combat and a current lack of content might leave you hunting for a sale.
Warhammer: The End Times - Vermintide shows that Left 4 Dead with an emphasis on melee and loot makes for a pretty fun co-op experience, though it would be even better without the glitches and performance dips.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst resolves the biggest issues of its forbearer and remains enjoyable thanks to strong core mechanics, and despite a weak narrative and uninteresting open world content.
Insurgency: Sandstorm sees New World Interactive successfully transfer their particular brand of hardcore tactical shooter to a modern game engine with just a few technical hitches, though you'll need to be content with a familiar Middle Eastern setting and somewhat limited set of maps and game modes.
Those tired of Enemy Unknown's formula will not find compelling improvements or changes here, though fans will find enough new content to merit another go at vanquishing the Alien invasion.
Rocket League represents a simple idea well executed, forgoing variables like powerups and dramatically different vehicles or maps in favour of balance and tight mechanics.
Establishing and expanding a colony while defending against increasingly difficult hordes of infected makes for a very engrossing experience in They Are Billions, though some questionable design choices make shambling through the lengthy Singleplayer campaign a bit of a slog at times.
Trials Rising offers up a great set of tracks with a good difficulty curve and the most fleshed out multiplayer options the series has ever had, though forced grinding to unlock later tracks in the campaign and intermittent performance problems create the kind of barriers you didn't want to see.
Day of Infamy is another solid - though visually dated - tactical shooter from New World Interactive that benefits from the shift to a World War 2 setting, and the more distinct weaponry and greater context that comes with it.
While it's a shame Tripwire didn't improve enemy variety or add a new co-operative mode, Killing Floor 2 has some of the most satisfying shooting around as the old formula holds up well thanks to high levels of polish, good perk variety, and solid maps.
Trying to steer the Forresters away from disaster from the perspective of multiple characters makes for a lot of compelling moments; sadly the destination isn't as worthwhile as the journey.
XCOM 2 is a bigger, deeper and more replayable follow-up to the successful 2012 reboot that, despite some technical issues, should provide hours of fun to fans of the series.