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Layers of Fear showed early promise, Blair Witch demonstrated that Bloober could resurrect a dormant movie license to great effect, and Observer saw the studio successfully turn its hand to cyberpunk horror. The Medium is a similarly excellent game, serving as further proof of the developer's horror expertise and its credentials as an exciting creative outfit.
The third act is often the hardest, and with Hitman 3, IO Interactive has managed, somehow, to mix things up and make it feel fresh. Some will celebrate the lengthier, curated stories, but those who love Hitman for its replay value will be slightly dismayed at Hitman 3. Nonetheless, it's still a great bloody video game.
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.
A thoroughly enjoyable first-person adventure brimming with mystery, intrigue and intricate, well-thought-out puzzles, Call of the Sea is a journey into the unknown that proves both rewarding and memorable.
Immortals Fenyx Rising is a strange beast, then. Much of it feels very familiar, and you won’t find many things here that haven’t been done before. Yet, it manages to pull together so many different aspects with such proficiency and love for the source material that it’s impossible not to simply enjoy soaking it all up, in an adventure worthy of the Greek heroes of old.
For some reason, I always have a preconceived notion that I won't enjoy this year's Call of Duty. How can a series that releases every single year without fail possibly maintain a consistent quality bar? There are detractors who'd say it doesn't, but let's be honest – it does. Call of Duty: Black Ops
One of Codemasters' best racing games, DIRT 5 is an unbridled shot of adrenaline-fuelled fun that's impossible not to love. Superlative stuff.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is yet another impressive entry in Ubi's unstoppable franchise. The hidden blade is back and as lethal as it should be, combat remains a joy, and Eivor proves an immensely likeable lead in a glorious world of dizzying scope.
The Falconeer offers up an incredibly well-crafted world with a deep mythology that's begging to be explored further. Gliding over the open sea on the back of a falcon is pure fantasy, but while the game’s dogfights can occasionally be thrilling, they can soon grow rather repetitive. Samey missions and a lack of options in combat ultimately mean that The Falconeer doesn’t quite stick the landing.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is about the importance of friendship and striving to become a better person, which is a message we could all do with right now. It also happens to be a sensational new dawn for a series that's brave enough to shake up the formula and accomplished enough to pull it off with aplomb. To quote Ichi, “let's do some hero shit!”
A more than welcome return for a seminal crime classic, Mafia: Definitive Edition has all of the attributes you could possibly want from a great remake – fresh visuals, overhauled gameplay, and a reverence for its source material.
As far as immediate arcade thrills go, few games can compete with the level of gratification you're guaranteed to get from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2. If you enjoyed the originals or fancy seeing what all the fuss is about, you're in for an absolute treat either way.
At its core, Marvel's Avengers is so very nearly there, and while there are some glaring similarities to Anthem – BioWare's maligned attempt at aping Destiny – it's still an enjoyable and addictive game, for the most part, with a compelling gameplay loop that makes it easy to overlook the lack of multiplayer mission variety. If you were just to play Marvel's Avengers for its campaign, you wouldn't feel too hard done by, but clearly this is something that's built to last, and on that front we're unsure of where the game's fortunes will ultimately lie.
Manifold Garden is a stunning puzzle game, one that will leave a lasting impact on you, not just for its thought-provoking puzzles, but by virtue of the fact that you're essentially playing an actual piece of art. It's bloody delightful!
Yes, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the third Yakuza game for Xbox One this year, but on the strength of this, SEGA can keep them coming as far as I'm concerned. If you've played Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 0 (and even if you haven't) you need Yakuza Kiwami 2 in your life. You need Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima in your life. Now let's have Yakuza 3, 4, 5, and 6 on Xbox, please.
Carrion is an excellent power fantasy that casts you as the monstrous villain in your own horror film. The wonderfully gloopy animation and conception of Carrion's meaty monster makes it enjoyable to play, especially when tearing through the unfortunate humans that stand in your way. But dull exploration, a lack of memorable environments and disparate gameplay ideas that never really come together, mean that Carrion never truly reaches its full potential.
Destroy All Humans! is never better than when you're carrying out the remit of the game's title. When you're doing stealth missions, it's not nearly as fun. As far as its remake credentials are concerned, meanwhile, this is a perfectly solid, serviceable piece of entertainment, if somewhat unremarkable. That said, if you lapped up Destroy All Humans! fifteen years ago, you'll no doubt be more than happy to do it all over again.
Creaks is a wonderfully atmospheric game that is ingenious in its execution, with a unique art style and excellent sound design. The sheer number of mind-teasing puzzles can be a little relentless at times, but the way that the game's systems evolve and interact with each other over time is incredibly impressive. If you have any love for brain teasers, you should probably consider picking it up.
If this is how F1 goes out on current-gen, Codemasters should be proud of where it's taken the series, not only in making it more open and accessible to players of all skill levels, but also in bringing unprecedented depth, detail and immersion. Make no mistake, F1 2020 is the best Formula One game money can buy and a stellar racing experience in its own right.
Observation is without a doubt one of the best puzzle games of the year. You'll be instantly drawn into the story within the first few moments of being S.A.M. and become completely enraptured.