Jimmy Donnellan
Its trial and error gameplay is going to irritate plenty of players, but once Outlast 2 has you, it's a nightmare that you won't be able or want to wake up from.
Shakespearean and endlessly relatable, What Remains of Edith Finch is a stunning piece of drama which will stick with the player for a long time, though it might be best played on PC.
Despite boasting a few interesting ideas and a story well told, Narcosis is often too laborious and testing to offer incentive to get through the bad design decisions on show.
Drawing on some pretty obvious inspirations, Shadow Warrior 2 doesn't have many original ideas of its own, but that doesn't stop it from being one of most purely fun FPS games on the market right now.
Perception is a good attempt at trying something new in the horror genre without ever really delivering on the scares.
Bursting with extra content and more addictive than sugar while giving the same rush, Super Cloudbuilt is an absolute delight and one worth seeking out.
Its lightweight story might not do enough on its own to suck players in, but once everything clicks with Sundered's combat and exploration, it all comes together as one of the most challenging and rewarding games of 2017 so far.
At its heart, when you strip everything away, Hellblade is a frank and unrelenting warning about helping others, to not let them drift further and further towards darkness. For that reason alone, Hellblade may just be the year's most vital game.
Boss Key's brand of role-shooter is an enjoyable rush while it lasts, but LawBreakers may not have enough beneath the surface to last the distance.
It's fun for a while, but Agents of Mayhem is just a lot of wasted potential.
The Long Dark is the perfect example of the kind of game you can make when you aren't rushed to release.
Absolver is great at its core, but it definitely needs more meat on its bones if it wants to stick around.
It's light on gameplay and may make a few missteps, but Last Day of June's important themes will resonate with plenty of people.
Terrible controls, non-existent world-building, and all-round sloppy execution makes DreamBreak a game that even the most ardent of retro gamers would find difficult to love.
Apart from some serious goalkeeper issues, PES 2018's gameplay is on par with last year's edition and is still as thrilling, if not even more so. The dated presentation, however, continues to hold it back - it needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into this decade sooner rather than later.
Ruiner is an enthralling and blood-pumping adventure into a nightmarish future that absolutely should not be overlooked. Get it, Puppy.
With PES 2018 failing to capitalise and build upon on its predecessor, FIFA 18 does just that to great effect.
Ultimately, Shadow of War is a good game that isn’t as endearing as its predecessor or as revolutionary in its ideas. While it adds layers of new mechanics on top of the emergent gameplay found in the first, its creaky fundamentals, questionable endgame, and lackluster story hold it back from being quite as essential as what came before it.
Bizarre and brazen but totally sincere, ELEX is a rough diamond that offers everything a hardcore RPG fan could want in a very rough and ready package. For everyone else, however, it's a total oddity and one that's hard to unequivocally recommend.
It may have made some design concessions that could dissuade fans of the original, but The Evil Within 2 is a far more engrossing nightmare that you won't want to wake up from.