Sad Owl Studios has delivered a puzzling experience that's both instantly approachable and inventive enough to keep you guessing throughout. Viewfinder is simply wonderful – a breath of fresh air that shouldn't be ignored.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 improves on its predecessor across the board, while saluting the superhero genre over the last 30 years as a whole. With a captivating narrative and unrivaled spectacle, it's the quintessential superhero game, in story and mechanical terms
It's a game that understands everything about itself and how it works. It's the best stealth game ever made and feels like a game-changer for the medium as a whole - through its scope, the freedom it offers its players, and its deft structure. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is the apex of the series and a fitting way for Kojima et al to bow out: as one, as best, as Big Boss.
This year has blessed us with many massive, must-play releases. Her Story regally joins the list and is one that we're sure will be discussed for years to come.
Which is what makes Metal Gear Solid so relevant today: its unwavering capacity to adapt and evolve. It's a game that understands everything about itself and how it works. It's the best stealth game ever made and feels like a game-changer for the medium as a whole - through its scope, the freedom it offers its players, and its deft structure.
Football Manager returns with a kitbag full of new and overhauled features. It's the best at what it does, and FM 19 is the best it's ever been.
Sifu is a gorgeous, original and intelligent brawler whose self-confidence is leveraged by its masterful ageing mechanic and super tight combat.
Sniper Elite 5 is the best it's ever been with a new game mode that'll blow your mind.
Motive Studio's Dead Space is a horror remake done right.
"Easily the game's crowning features, Blasphemous 2's blockbuster boss showdowns are spectacular affairs, sometimes bizarre and always brutal."
"This sequel brings Croteam back to the top of that table, where it's more than earned its place."
"Just when you thought Ultros couldn't get any more outlandish, it has its own gardening system."
Fans of Supreme Commander and Total Annihilation will lap up the similarities, but Ashes of the Singularity is far more than a clone. When you take all of this into consideration and add unsurpassed scale to the mix, you’re definitely onto a winner.
It's been just two days since I last player Ether One and I've not stopped thinking about it since. I thought about it before I went to bed last night, and the night before. I thought about it when I woke up this morning. I thought about it when I had lunch. So far I've sunk 12 hours into a game easily completable in four. I've not nearly managed to restore all of the projectors. And I've hardly scratched the surface.
Match this with the Californian outfit's reimagining of Killer Instinct last year, and it would appear they know what they're doing when reinterpreting the classics. By adopting a Metroidvania-guise here, rather, gear-gating, Double Helix shows that it can in fact teach an old dog new tricks.
In essence, BattleBlock Theatre is not without its frustrating moments, but such is the nature of all puzzle platformers. Any negatives noted here exist, but are slight and surely nothing more than minor blips in what is a very rewarding, very well presented, and very enjoyable and hilariously funny puzzle platformer. As the landscape of these types of games becomes increasingly bigger, it's nice to see a game strive so hard for innovation. And in doing so can make the player feel like the cat who got the cream. Perhaps I should leave the jokes to The Behemoth experts.
Stellaris is simply wonderful. If you enjoy grand strategy games then you'll love this. If you don't then this could be the one to change your mind. If you've been too intimidated to try the genre before now, then here's your ideal starting point.
The quintessential football management sim is back with its most ambitious undertaking in years.
Ashen's slant on the Soulslike subgenre isn't revolutionary, but is a wonderful example of the familiar formula executed well. It's thoughtful, gorgeous, challenging and a dream to explore.
An intense and thrilling psychological survival horror sequel that improves on its forerunner in almost every way.