ARMS is a unique-feeling brawler with a surprising amount of depth. It also looks great, combining a colourful flair with some of the most realistic environments and characters the big N has made for some time. Its motion controls are also a resounding success.
The Fractured But Whole is still undoubtedly one of the funniest video games ever made. Packed full of more hilarious moments than most gaming franchises manage in a decade and boasting a surprisingly deep combat system, this is undeniably a great little game.
Blasting your way through hell on the go is still an experience we can’t quite get over. With FPS games largely being a bit rubbish on portable systems, playing DOOM in all its glory on the train or during a flight has been a bit of a revelation.
Ropey dialogue may keep this from being a must-play experience, but if you’re looking to embark on a compelling and surprising co-op adventure with a friend, A Way Out is more than worth the price of entry.
While it may not push the franchise in a bold new direction, Let’s Go feels like the perfect stopgap before next year’s brand new Pokémon Switch outing. And with a whole new generation of kids now discovering Pokémon for the first time too, we can’t think of a better way to introduce them to the wonders of Kanto.
Despite some early concerns, Overcooked 2 is an undeniably brilliant co-op experience.
Humanity’s invention and weirdness makes it the perfect tonic to an increasingly risk-averse industry, offering a welcome return to the kind of eccentric oddities that endeared millions to PlayStation in the first place.
For those who wished that God of War Ragnarok offered a bit more challenge or that Bayonetta had a bit more weight to its combat, this slick sci-fi slasher is the perfect tonic, offering both the perfect entry point into the Souls-like genre and a refreshing refinement of the well-worn character action formula. It may lack the naval gazing intelligence of the excellent Nier Automata, but when you’re having this much fun, it’s hard to care.
RIGS proves that a fast paced multiplayer FPS can be done in VR. It pushes graphical boundaries and creates an impressive sense of presence, in many ways, showcasing the medium’s glorious potential. It’s also a lot of fun to play, if your stomach can handle it.
While it’s definitely not the globe-trotting adventure of a full, numbered Uncharted, this expansion has a few great moments of its own. If you’re desperate to lose yourself in another treasure-hunting escapade, Lost Legacy will be just the ticket. For everyone who still feels satisfied by the giddy highs of last year’s Uncharted 4 though, your money is probably better spent elsewhere.
If you can endure the game’s more tedious aspects and embrace the bad with the good, Detroit’s branching endings will undoubtedly compel you to dive into countless chapter replays and spark heated conversations for years to come.
Nintendo are famous for reinventing the wheel with their games, and throwing new ideas into old series that should have long become tired and repetitive but, sadly, Yoshi’s New Island just isn’t one of these titles. It’s enjoyable enough and has its own sense of atmosphere as well as a few unique ideas, but overall this actually feels like one of the decent but highly-iterative sequels that Nintendo is usually unfairly criticized for making. It is still fun, though, and while it may not innovate or be a classic, its joyous aesthetic and “pick up and play” nature make it at the very least a good choice for getting through the daily commute.
The Ascent is an atmospheric power fantasy, a cinematic cyberpunk escape where you can disengage your brain and indulge in copious virtual violence. If you’re a Game Pass subscriber, it’s worth a try – at £25, it’s harder to recommend.
Ugly, unpolished and ultraviolent – Suda51's kitsch curio fires on all cheaply made cylinders
This grainy, gore-soaked katana caper slowly morphs into a compelling meditation on vengeance
Mixing the colour palette of 80s comic books with post-apocalyptic bloodlust, movement in this fluid game feels sublime. Until you get shot in the head
Nintendo's deft touch is missing from this crossover game from Ubisoft that fails as a Mario outing but succeeds as a turn-based battler
Technical problems and an evident lack of development time take the shine off this ambitious new outing for the world-conquering critters
One man and his dog traverse the English countryside after an alien invasion in this haunting, wordless game: a masterclass in foreboding sound design and minimal storytelling
This wonderfully weird creature-hunter has an unending supply of memorably unhinged, massive foes; it may not be an all-timer but it's fun while you're fighting