GTAIV shows the pretenders how it should be done, with an incredibly rich world, strong characters, great technology and a truly compelling story. Provided you can handle its skewed morality, it’s the year’s most essential video game.
It's not the most revolutionary game in Lego history, but Lego: The Hobbit delivers everything fans expect from a Lego game, with the usual grace, great humour and engaging, puzzle-packed gameplay. It makes the best of its unwieldy source movies, and it has enough new ideas to feel like more than a reskin of Lego: Lord of the Rings. It's also still a great game to play with the kids.
Trials Evolution was a great game and the same can be said for Fusion, even if it struggles to make meaningful advances. The worst thing you can say about it is that it's a refinement of a game that was pretty refined already, and that a few of the new elements seem unnecessary, almost working counter to the purity of Trials. Still, if it's a matter of opinion whether this is the best Trials yet, it almost doesn't matter. It might not be any closer to perfection, but what's here is more than good enough.
Octodad has brilliant ideas, endearing characters and a great sense of humour, but as a game it's not quite where it should be. The deliberately vague controls cause a little frustration along with the hilarity, and it's not long enough or rich enough to hold your interest for more than an evening or afternoon. There's potential here for something great, but Octodad needs to stretch those tentacles further if it wants to reach that point.
A lovable combination of classic Japanese RPG adventure and European folklore, dressed to look like a gorgeous, hand-painted platform game. It's a little too slight for classic status, but it still has some of the old magic and mystery of the nineties Square Enix greats. It's superb value for a download title, and unmissable whether or not you played and loved its inspirations.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe is a bit of a treat. It's a little too slight and lacking in major innovations to earn a place as a true platform classic, but it's big-hearted, generous, good-looking and bursting with imagination.
Bound by Flame looks like a budget RPG contender, and there are some nice ideas in the combat system and the Bioware-like treatment of the side-characters. Sadly, there's just too much about it that's generic, unpolished, badly animated, poorly implemented or uninspired. If you must have a fantasy RPG to play on PS4 then this might do, but there will be better around the corner, and this really isn't an easy game to love.
We love the latest Wolfenstein for the respect it pays to iD's original, and for the ways it tries to take the series somewhere new. We're not so keen on some elements of the gameplay, and it must be said that not all its loftier ambitions quite pan out. What we're left with is a solid FPS that's always interesting - and one with an identity all its own - even if it can't make it up there with the best-in-class.
Watch Dogs is a very good game - and occasionally a great one - but not a landmark game or any sort of classic. It's a fine open-world game with a fantastically detailed setting, and one you'll happily play for weeks. In fact, with a good thirty to forty hours of content, that's probably what it's going to take.
It's early days, but WildStar has a lot of potential. It's focused on doing what MMO fans know and love about the genre that little bit better, and it has a lot of the excitement of World of Warcraft's early days. Quests are the game's biggest weakness – a little more thought and variety wouldn't hurt – but there's enough interest in the game's clever Path missions and structure to compensate for that. If you love MMOs, you'll probably like WildStar. If you're a recovering WoW addict, this might be the last thing that you need.
Tomodachi Life is more a weird interactive soap than a game, but that doesn't make it any less compulsive. You might not be entranced by the simple, repetitive gameplay, but you'll become embroiled in your Mii's virtual lives, and you'll be surprised, baffled, boggled and bemused by the whole shebang. If you found The Sims or Animal Crossing dull then it's not for you – there's less to achieve and this is even less a game – but for everyone that hates Tomodachi Life there will be others who keep coming back for more.
Murdered does its best to suffocate some great ideas while its investigative gameplay has its flaws. Yet there's something refreshing about this spooky detective story, and if you can live with some cardboard characters and scenery then the engaging narrative will pull you through. There's potential here for something smart, unusual and compelling, even if this first instalment doesn't quite make it happen.
Entwined is a beautiful game with stunning visuals and some lovely music. It has the guts to embrace big themes and some will find it a surprisingly emotional experience. All the same, it doesn't quite have the perfect flow of the synaesthasia games that came before it, and it can be hugely frustrating in its later levels, particularly if you struggle with synchronising two activities at once. Still, at the price it's well worth trying, whether you end up loving it or not.
EA Sports has created a visually stunning, impressively detailed MMA game featuring most of the biggest figures in the sport. However, the complex controls and mechanical feel can make it a difficult game for outsiders, and you'll face a steep learning curve before you get much satisfaction out of it.
Valiant Hearts isn't perfect, and not everyone will like its tone, its graphic novel style or its story, but it's a strange, beautiful and genuinely special game. Let's not get carried away; as a work of World War I art it's no Paths of Glory, Regeneration, Birdsong or All Quiet on the Western Front. It's not even a Blackadder goes Forth.
It's too rough around the edges for awards and higher scores, but we'd recommend Sniper Elite 3 all the same. It's beset by bugs and some really strange AI, yet the core sneak and snipe gameplay is still enthralling, and the open levels and sandbox approach make for a refreshing departure from the shooter norm. You'll see slicker shooters later on this year, but will they be this much fun?
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! is one of the most welcome revivals in years. It's a sympathetic HD update that looks better and plays better without sacrificing any of the personality of the original game. That can make it harsh, unforgiving and even frustrating, but it won't stop you working your way through. While some vintage remasters rely on nostalgia, this one doesn't need to. It still feels as fresh and original as it did first time around.
Hearthstone does for collectible card games what World of Warcraft did for MMOs: taking a niche genre and transforming it into a mainstream-friendly hit that's primed for success. It's hugely accessible and incredibly enjoyable, even when you're getting crushed, yet there are layers upon layers of strategy to be explored. If you haven't tried Hearthstone yet, then do so - just don't blame us if you can't give it up.
The visual upgrades are more modest than you might expect, but the extra definition and detail and the enhanced effects make The Last of Us even more stunning and richly cinematic, while the steady frame rate improves the gameplay. There's probably not enough of a difference to justify buying the same game twice, but if you have a PS4 and haven't played The Last of Us, then you can consider this edition a must-buy.
Not just the definitive version of Diablo III, but the best action RPG on next gen consoles – even if the competition isn't exactly fierce. Diablo III: Reaper of souls - Ultimate Edition is slick, gorgeous and ferociously addictive, even if the minute-to-minute gameplay is one-note. It's all-absorbing played solo, but virtually unbeatable as a co-op action RPG.