Lee Bradley
Overwatch abandons a lot of what we've come to expect from multiplayer shooters to create a fresh, exciting, fantastically entertainingly experience. I may never play anything else.
Despite its vast scope, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt tells a personal, intimate and touching story, filled with characters you'll love and hate, and stuffed with monsters to slay. I completed the main storyline in around 50 hours and - yes I know this is a cliche - I've barely scratched the surface. The Witcher 3 is an astounding achievement.
Alien: Isolation is a tough, terrifying and ultimate thrilling game that's defiantly old-school in its approach. The result is one of the best survival horror games in recent memory.
Brilliant. Ubisoft Montpellier has created one of this year's most memorable games. A story of adventure and tragedy played out against the backdrop of World War I, Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a game everyone should play.
A gorgeous, joy-filled, characterful platformer. Aside from a few minor niggles, Rayman Legends deserves a place alongside the very best examples of the genre. It looks ever-so slightly prettier on Xbox One, but that's about it. Nonetheless, Rayman Legends is still highly recommended.
Ori and the Blind Forest excels in so many areas. The fantastic level design, the inventive abilities, the touching story, the wonderful score and of course those scintillating visuals all stack up for one hell of an experience. Demanding a place in your collection, Ori and the Blind Forest is the best game I've played this year.
Far Cry 4 is Far Cry 3 dialled up to eleven, with more animals, activities, missions and abilities. And while throwing more stuff at the player isn't the perfect recipe for success, I was happy to play a richer, larger version of one of my favourite games in recent years.
The Dark Souls games remain a high-water mark for the action RPG. Uncompromising, occasionally infuriating, yet constantly rewarding for those with the correct level of patience and dedication, Dark Souls III is a fitting end to a fantastic trilogy.
This War of Mine: The Littles ones is a powerful, affecting game that covers an aspect of warfare not typically touched by the medium. Telling the stories of normal civilians caught in the middle of a war, it asks: what you would do to survive? The disturbing answer is: anything you have to.
With a wealth of new ideas, including taming and controlling animals, a non-linear story and an upgradable village hub, Far Cry Primal isn't just Far Cry 4 with cavemen. Much of the gameplay will feel familiar, but the additions are just about enough to keep it fresh.
Saints Row IV: Re-elected may score low in terms of its visual overhaul, but the game's ability to amuse and thrill is undiminished. This is a riotous experience that prioritises fun over everything else and thanks to the generosity of Volition it's bigger than ever, with five extra hours of gameplay in the form of previously-released DLC and the brand new Gat Out of Hell expansion. Not played Saints Row in a while? Give this one a bash.
Metro Redux offers two flawed but enjoyable games with a substantial visual upgrade and a number of thoughtful additions.
Free from Kinect, Frontier has been able to deliver a game that revels in split-second timing and precise controls. The result is the studio's best Xbox game in years that's a brilliantly fun coaster-racing, track-building, building destroying experience in its own right. ScreamRide feels like a reaction to the studio's Kinect work. Where Microsoft's motion-detecting device demanded games without precise input, ScreamRide revels in it. The result is a joy.
Brilliant combat, a sumptuously produced story and some of the best visuals we've ever seen make up for the limitations of the gameplay. Ryse: Son of Rome is bloody good fun.
A co-op, third-person cover shooter with a whole load of loot-based, ability upgrading, gear crafting, stat levelling stuff built in, The Division is an entertaining game. If you want to play through all the content and move on, you'll have a good time. If you've a weakness for loadout-tinkering and don't mind grinding, it could be your new obsession.
A fun, engaging arcade racer with thrills, spills, explosions and crashes aplenty, Need for Speed: Rivals is let down by the largely pointless AllDrive and a lack of race types. A mixed bag.
Fast, silly, disposable fun that excels at couch competition but falls short of our expectations for online play, #IDARB is nevertheless a brilliant laugh. Get a few mates 'round and fire it up for guaranteed giggles.
This year's most beautiful game so far, Unravel doesn't quite display the design prowess to match its wonderful visuals, but it's nevertheless an enjoyable, charming experience. And in Yarny, EA has an adorable new mascot.
Zombie Army Trilogy isn't an especially well made game. It's a bit buggy and cheap and it's decidedly dumb. But it's also capable of being really fun. Get online with a few friends, get the beers in, and laugh together as you massacre Hitler's undead army, one squishy head at a time.
Evolve is brilliant in the right circumstances and with the right people, but it's hard to unreservedly recommend to everyone. Those with dedicated teams will get the most out of the game while those in matchmaking will find mixed results. Still, Turtle Rock deserves recognition for attempting - and almost nailing - such an ambitious project.