A messy remaster of three genre-defining open worlds, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition fails in giving GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas the treatment they deserve, but beneath the slightly shabby veneer, those same great games remain.
While Jurassic World Evolution marked a rock-solid dry run for Frontier's prehistoric theme park management sim, Jurassic World Evolution 2 is a meaningful, erm, evolution, with the new Chaos Theory mode providing engaging scenarios in which you can attempt to set things right. A diverse suite of modes and slick interfaces ensures Jurassic World Evolution 2's status as an excellent sequel.
We'll be damned if this isn't another fine Call of Duty game. The solo campaign is excellent, multiplayer delivers on practically all fronts, and Zombies provides a neat co-op diversion. Call of Duty: Vanguard represents great value, and enough new stuff to warrant taking a look.
Featuring characters it's difficult to give a shit about, as well as an entirely throwaway narrative that you'll immediately forget as soon as the credits roll, Bloodshore is mildly entertaining, but only in a “look at how bad this is” way. Don't waste your time.
While it has one or two irksome flaws, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is, nonetheless, a fine solo experience, with characters that you'll enjoy spending time with, fast-paced combat, and an engaging original story.
A blistering return to zombie-slaying nirvana, Back 4 Blood is an excellent spiritual follow-up to Left 4 Dead that ticks almost all of the right boxes, except for the one labelled 'solo progression' – if you're planning on playing offline on your own, you might want to steer clear for now. Otherwise, jump right in.
Starting to feel like a case of diminishing returns, Far Cry 6 retreads the same formula that's stood the series in good stead for a while, but it's a formula that's starting to wear a bit thin. Still, there's some fun to be had here, despite there being little that's new or innovative.
Expertly aping past glories, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a definitive compendium of remastered classics, stuffed to the gills with bonus modes, extra characters, and party games. It is, without question, the most fun you can have rolling a monkey in a ball around a maze - that is an empirical fact. You’d be bananas not to buy it.
A cracking little arcade racer from a studio better acquainted with motorcycle sims, Hot Wheels Unleashed is like sticking both hands into a big toy box of die-cast cars, pulling them all out, then thrashing them around a racetrack. And what is there not to like about that?
A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing voyage of soul-searching self-discovery, Sable is also a rewarding jaunt across an otherworldly desert that involves climbing, hoverbiking, and gliding. And rather good it is, too.
As solid as it’s ever been on the court, NBA 2K22 is still an astonishingly good sports game, but its continued reliance on cynical microtransactions in MyCareer and MyTeam leave a sour taste.
If you need additional proof that developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is a master of its craft, then look no further. Though slightly flawed in places, Lost Judgment is, nonetheless, yet another deeply compelling detective story, brimming with murder, mystery, intrigue, and more twists than a bag of pretzels.
A fine remaster of a good 3D Sonic game, Sonic Colours: Ultimate delivers speedy thrills aplenty, with its rainbow of Wisps injecting a smart twist to platforming. With more than enough replay value to keep you coming back, Sonic Colours: Ultimate will last far beyond its initial 4-5 hour runtime and slake your thirst for speed.
Simplistic it may be, but there's an inherent charm to The Big Con that proves infectious. A sweet, coming-of-age yarn that happens to involve a lot of stealing and skullduggery, Mighty Yell's game is full of heart, soul, and '90s nostalgia.
While not bad enough to be nuked from orbit, Aliens: Fireteam Elite regrettably falls short of what I'd hoped for from the franchise, especially seven years on from Alien: Isolation, which remains the high watermark. A lack of atmosphere, tension, and interesting stuff to do beyond shooting things, makes for a somewhat disappointingly flat experience.
It looks lovely and plays well enough, But Greak: Memories of Azur is hamstrung by awkward puzzles, maddening boss battles, and annoying backtracking that'll have you rolling your eyes out of their sockets.
Art of Rally is an unbridled joy, its Career Mode and free roam options, in particular, providing hours of rally driving nirvana in an appealing package that celebrates a glorious, golden era of off-road motorsport.
A grim, dystopian future shock, The Ascent is an action-packed ARPG brimming with guns and ultra-violence. It's enormous fun, especially in co-op, but bothersome bugs and repetitive quests unfortunately put a dampener on things.
A lovingly crafted dungeon crawler brimming with personality, Death's Door combines robust, rewarding combat with equally gratifying metroidvania exploration, and a story packed with oddball characters. An assured, sophomore effort from developer Acid Nerve, Death's Door is caw-fully good.
While it's a shame that classic cars have been nixed this year, F1 2021 is nonetheless an exhilarating racing game brimming with compelling modes and customisation features, as well as the new Braking Point story mode, for countless hours of wheel-to-wheel action. Another sterling effort from Codemasters, racing games don't really come much better than this.