Apart from some serious goalkeeper issues, PES 2018's gameplay is on par with last year's edition and is still as thrilling, if not even more so. The dated presentation, however, continues to hold it back - it needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into this decade sooner rather than later.
Terrible controls, non-existent world-building, and all-round sloppy execution makes DreamBreak a game that even the most ardent of retro gamers would find difficult to love.
It's light on gameplay and may make a few missteps, but Last Day of June's important themes will resonate with plenty of people.
Absolver is great at its core, but it definitely needs more meat on its bones if it wants to stick around.
The Long Dark is the perfect example of the kind of game you can make when you aren't rushed to release.
It's fun for a while, but Agents of Mayhem is just a lot of wasted potential.
Boss Key's brand of role-shooter is an enjoyable rush while it lasts, but LawBreakers may not have enough beneath the surface to last the distance.
At its heart, when you strip everything away, Hellblade is a frank and unrelenting warning about helping others, to not let them drift further and further towards darkness. For that reason alone, Hellblade may just be the year's most vital game.
Its lightweight story might not do enough on its own to suck players in, but once everything clicks with Sundered's combat and exploration, it all comes together as one of the most challenging and rewarding games of 2017 so far.
Bursting with extra content and more addictive than sugar while giving the same rush, Super Cloudbuilt is an absolute delight and one worth seeking out.
Perception is a good attempt at trying something new in the horror genre without ever really delivering on the scares.
Drawing on some pretty obvious inspirations, Shadow Warrior 2 doesn't have many original ideas of its own, but that doesn't stop it from being one of most purely fun FPS games on the market right now.
Despite boasting a few interesting ideas and a story well told, Narcosis is often too laborious and testing to offer incentive to get through the bad design decisions on show.
Shakespearean and endlessly relatable, What Remains of Edith Finch is a stunning piece of drama which will stick with the player for a long time, though it might be best played on PC.
Its trial and error gameplay is going to irritate plenty of players, but once Outlast 2 has you, it's a nightmare that you won't be able or want to wake up from.