There are deeper strategy games, but few where you'll feel quite so invested in the outcome. Recommended.
A promising, assured start, and a welcome return to form for Telltale.
The result is almost certainly the definitive version of Smash. Not all of it works, but plenty does, leaving us with a fine solo game and a wonderfully, wilfully chaotic multiplayer brawler. Smash is still too unrefined to be the choice of the Nintendo connoisseur, perhaps, but as long as you don't take it too seriously, it is riotously good fun.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger that's agonising in more than one sense, and a 'next time' preview that leaves you decidedly unclear on where Clem and the gang might go next. What could easily have been a mid-season lull feels instead like a peak. If Telltale can maintain this standard for the rest of the season, it could yet top The Walking Dead's first run in terms of quality - if not novelty.
A warmly affectionate remake of a browser classic, with enough new pieces to justify its existence.
Not as unique as you’d perhaps expect given the premise, but still a very stylish, characterful and funny adventure.
A fascinating setting and fizzing gunplay make for a lean, thoughtful exploration-led shooter.
Made with affection and artistry, this retro appetiser is a very pleasant surprise.
By turns breathless, brilliant and fist-chewingly demanding, Velocity 2X might allow its tempo to drop too often, but it approaches excellence often enough to recommend - you might just fall in love.
Still a magical creative toolkit with an outstanding interface
Far from the quick-and-dirty update it might have been, Shadows of Valentia is no Awakening, but an enlightening and worthwhile history lesson.
Call of Duty may aspire to realism, but it's a better game when it acknowledges its silly side.
Comfortably the best of Disney's toy-to-life outings so far, Infinity 3.0 is not without its flaws.
An injection of speed and creativity results in the best Skylanders game to date.
This unorthodox take on squad-based strategy can be muddled and mulish, but it’s also thrillingly distinctive.
The series' dwindling popularity has proved a tough nut to crack for its publisher in recent years; COD: WWII proves that maybe a Sledgehammer really is the right tool for the job.
Kazuma Kiryu's final outing is an emotionally charged tale of familial bonds and the violence that threatens to rip them asunder
Marrying astonishing spectacle and overwrought drama, The Wonderful 101: Remastered is one of the most memorable action games you'll ever play. Its delirious excesses come with a price, and it's one that's at little harder to forgive this time, with the original's flaws remaining untouched, and a few compromises made to accommodate the Wii U version's dual-screen set-pieces. But for all its minor frustrations, it's a game that rewards patience and perseverance. Grit your teeth through its control quirks and camera foibles and relish the giddy spectacle of a game that doesn't know when to stop.
Familiar, lightweight but almost impossible to dislike, this is an effortlessly enjoyable action RPG.
Lacking fluidity and dynamism, football's reigning king has lost its crown.