Persona 5 Royal is a stunning game that takes something which has already captured millions of hearts, and makes it even better. This is the quintessential Persona experience. If you're new to the franchise, this game is for you. If you're a seasoned veteran, there is enough new and improved content that this game is still for you.
At the end of the day – the long hard day of being a naughty little goose – Untitled Goose Game is something truly unique and special. It's a beautifully clean and simple puzzle game which will have you howling with delight, both when you play it through for the first time, and when you pass the controller to your partner saying, "You absolutely need to play this game where you're a naughty little goose…"
This is the kind of game that makes you want to reach out and tell your nearest and dearest you love them. And you should — life's too short as it is. If you're a fan of games like Beat Saber, but something to unwind with, this is the game for you. If you want something that tugs on your heartstrings, this is for you. If you have a PlayStation VR and you like rhythm games, this is the game for you.
Bugsnax is a unique and wonderful experience, and a must-play for anyone who can get their hands on it. If you're lucky enough to have secured a PS5, make sure you make the most of PlayStation Plus and pick up your free copy while it lasts. If not, this game is still well worth your hard-earned cash.
Alba is the kind of game that all young people should play. Not only is it a heart-warming romp where you get to look at animals, it's educational and empowering, inspiring and beautiful.
You should absolutely get Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. It's easy to be critical and nitpick, but it's worth remembering we're looking at the DLC for one of the best and most-loved games of the PS4. The PS5 upgrade for Intergrade looks and feels incredible, and the chance to play as Yuffie is warmly received, especially when she completely changes the tone to something more light-hearted. However, the DLC isn't quite perfect and, despite the filler, it feels very short for its price, especially if you're not interested in the side missions.
Pokémon Legends Arceus is a must-play game for fans of the franchise. Not only is it the very best Pokémon game yet, but it elegantly takes the formula and flips it on its head, creating a unique new challenge that fans will love. With the nods to the anime and Pokémon games abound, Arceus feels very much like a love letter from Game Freak.
With all the wit and charm that you would expect from Gilbert and Grossman's writing, Return to Monkey Island is a decades-long reverie made reality and absolutely essential for fans of the series.
A Plague Tale: Requiem gave me the chills. The graphics, sound design and writing are all phenomenal, and the gameplay is fantastic. There are a few issues with sneaking sections feeling samey, the puzzles being a little too easy, but these are forgivable for just how excellent Amicia and Hugo are as characters. If you enjoyed the first game, or you're just looking for something narratively compelling, Requiem is the game for you.
Cassette Beasts is simply one of the best Pokémon-like games I've come across, and I'm looking forward to earning a 100% completion. With a massive end-game and modder support built in at release though, I feel like I'm going to get very sidetracked on the way there.
If you're a fan of strong narrative experiences, Final Fantasy lore, breath-taking graphics and a particularly sassy Moogle, and you don't mind a sprinkling of The Witcher, The Handmaids Tale and the many accents of Old Blighty, then Final Fantasy XVI is the game for you. Heck, it might just be the best Final Fantasy yet!
Sea of Stars has clearly been made by people with a deep and abiding love of JRPGs. That level of passion is hard to mimic, and the result is a heavily playable game with morish visuals, a cracking story and deeply considered level design. However, while it is very good, it isn't quite perfect. Combat needed to be deeper (or at least escapable) and while the dynamism was a great touch, it wasn't enough to carry it all the way through to the end.
Persona 3 Reload is a dream come true for Persona fans. With far more than just a visual uplift, this is very much the best possible edition of the game, even if it can't quite be called 'definitive'.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a beautifully crafted experience that fans old and new will absolutely love. It almost goes too far in correcting the first game's linearity with broad open areas stuffed with things to do, but there's also key additions to the combat, and the story running through this middle chapter is masterfully retold. Really the biggest problem you'll have once the credits roll is knowing that it will be far too many years before we can finish the trilogy.
Red Matter is the most immersive puzzle game I've played in a long time, thanks in no small part to how well it makes use of VR is utilised.
If you didn't get a chance to play this as a kid or take the opportunity to play the remake, I'd strongly recommend giving it a go before Abe Soulstorm - the reimagining of the game's sequel - arrives on the PS5 next year. Though the humour is juvenile at best, with Abe often communicating in chuckles and farts, it is a perfect example of someone finding light and hope in utter darkness. We could all do with a bit of that right now, couldn't we?
I didn't expect Cardpocalypse to resonate with me as much as it did. It's a cute, clever and charming little homage to what CCG life used to be like.
Like the characters in the game, Shady Part of Me is elegant, but troubled. At its core, the game is a well-designed puzzle game about a girl who has to cooperate with herself to overcome her mental health condition. Between this and the moody, melancholy aesthetic, the game hits home in all the right ways, which is why it's such a shame that the ending just doesn't stick the landing.
Persona 5 Strikers is an excellent welcome back party for the franchise. It takes a formula that is proven to work and takes it to a new place by adding a whole new combat system that allows you to play as the whole team, rather than the main character we're all used to. This said, and although Persona 5 Strikers is excellent in its own right, there's enough that's been stripped back to make this game work that it can't reach the lofty heights of the original.
Black Book feels in some ways like a D&D campaign through rural Russia that inadvertently teaches you history and folklore along the way, which I absolutely love, that comes down to card-game battles rather than dice rolling which, again, I love. The pacing is off, the addition of Durak is a bit pointless and there are quality-of-life issues that could do with a bit of polish, but I'd still strongly recommend this game to anyone who thinks they might be interested.