Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a harrowing journey into the fragility of the mind. It's a masterpiece in storytelling, and while the game mechanics itself might not complement that throughout, they do a decent job of allowing Ninja Theory to deliver a mature story revolving around a sensitive subject matter. We hope that this opens up the door for more budget priced triple-A experiences, because this one was one hell of a ride!
Hogwarts Legacy is an absolutely magical video game, one that is packed with awe-inspiring moments full of mystery and wonderment. Come for Hogwarts itself, a magic school oozing with secrets to behold, and stay for the combat, the engaging story and the frankly astonishing Room of Requirement.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is the game that Dragon Age II should have been. Set in one of the most diverse and awe-inspiring game worlds in quite some time, Inquisition will have you searching every nook and cranny, spreading your influence as far as you can get it. Let down by a few bugs and some questionable design choices, it's still one of the year's best RPGs. Easily.
A triumphant return for PES this year, after spending many years rotting away in the lower leagues. While PES 2015 might not match EA and FIFA's spending power in terms of licenses and what not, where it matters, on the pitch, this ageing superstar is getting a recall to the first eleven.
Watch Dogs is an unmitigated triumph, that's for sure. Considering the game is a new IP, it does a lot of things incredibly well and lays the foundation for a franchise that has the makings of being a potential Assassin's Creed beater. Despite a few puzzling design decisions and an almost glacial start to the campaign, Watch Dogs is worthy of your time. There's no doubt about that.
Forza Horizon 2 is another impressive racer from Playground Games. That said, while the original Horizon nailed the single-player and lacked on the multiplayer front, Horizon 2 is the polar opposite to that. If they can nail the two at once in the inevitable sequel, then Horizon will surely take the crown off Motorsport.
Halo 5: Guardians is an exciting Halo package, marred only by some questionable design decisions, like microtransactions and some shoddy friendly-AI in the campaign. It's not a classic Halo, but 343 is moving in a good direction with the franchise.
PES 2016 is undoubtedly a great football game, as good as it's been in years. Sure, it's better on the pitch than PES 2015, but it's let down somewhat by some cavalier keepers who couldn't catch a cold.
Rare Replay is undoubtedly an insane amount of value for money, shining a light on one of the world's most celebrated developers and 30 of their biggest titles. A great mix with some classics, not so classics and games that slipped under our radar, all brought together with slick presentation and an incredible amount of fan service. All hail Rare.
Hitman 2 is a solid follow-up to our 2016 Game of Year, delivering five huge killer sandboxes to explore to your heart's content. Yes, the maps might not be as unique as iterations gone-by and there is seemingly fewer than normal, but boy, are they great maps. Factor in Contracts mode and the excellent Ghost Mode, and Hitman 2 is very much worth your time. Where else can you dress up as a mascot or get involved in a poisonous drinking game to take down a target? Answer: no-bloody-where!
Divinity Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition is a fine installment in the Divinity series and despite a few odd design decisions and the balance being completely out of whack, it's still a truly memorable and enjoyable experience.
The Division 2 is almost certainly a step up from its predecessor, offering more content than you can shake a stick at and enough tweaks to make it feel somewhat fresh. While Massive has attempted to rectify the issues of the original, it hasn't quite managed that yet: yes, enemies are still kind of bullet-spongey and the missions can get quite repetitive after a while, but aside from that, The Division 2 is an impressive follow-up, building upon what was already a solid foundation.
My Time At Portia is one of the most wholesome, relaxing and chilled experiences of this generation. It's the perfect post-Sekiro experience, with a cast of wonderful characters, and a beautifully picturesque world with tons of activities to occupy your time. Sure, it's very much like Stardew Valley, but the emphasis on engineering over farming makes it its own beast. The loops might not be as alluring as Stardew's, but it's game that you won't regret playing, and will satisfy your inner soul.
Control is another absolute hit from Remedy, one that delivers from both a gameplay and narrative perspective. One of the generation's most intriguing game worlds and almost perfect pacing, the only thing that holds Control back from being an all-time classic is its unfortunate and frustrating technical issues.
Civilization is finally back on consoles and boy is it still bloody fun to play. With plenty of new systems to get your head around, some fairly intuitive controls and the ability to wage war on your neighbours because they look at you funny, who can possibly say no to that?
Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredible but hugely flawed video game. At its core lies a deceptively deep-RPG, set in one of the most wonderous cities ever created in video games and it’s genuinely an experience I’ll never forget. It’s just a shame it’s such a bloody bugfest, though.
Diablo IV boasts a new look, with its new open-world and online format, but at its heart, it’s very much a classic Diablo experience. A little old-school still, sure, but the core combat is still as fun and addictive as ever, and there’s RPG mechanics for days to sink your teeth into. What’s not to love?
Remnant 2 is not only an excellent Dark Souls-inspired shooter, but it boasts an incredible amount of creativity and ingenuity, the likes of which we’ve not seen in quite a while. It’s a game full of wonder, mystery, and will keep you on the edge of your seat... even when you're getting your ass handed to you!
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a fine follow up to the cult classic original. With some ingenious gameplay and a captivating open-world, it's a stunning fantasy exploration simulator. If some of the main story missions had better structure, and the game didn’t feel so disjointed at times, this could easily be in the conversation to be crowned one of the best action-RPGs of this generation. It's still bloody good, despite that.
Persona 5 Tactica is a wonderful take on isometric turn-based tactical games like XCOM, that is good enough to satiate Persona fans, and maybe even win over a few XCOM fans at the same time.