Games Radar+

Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is a landmark achievement in narrative development. Able to pull together story threads from over a decade into one cohesive tale, wrapping up everything superbly with so much expectation and pressure on its back is nothing short of astounding on the part of Square Enix’s development team. A pair of puzzling villains don’t do too much to put a dampener on some brilliant action, with Dungeons and every new location offering fascinating combat and storytelling developments alike.

Against impossible odds, Halo Infinite is both a familiar celebration of two decades of adventures with Master Chief and an expansive foundation for future evolution. 343 has siphoned the spirit of Combat Evolved and modernized it, delivering the best Halo campaign in quite some time in the process. Whether you're a series veteran coming in to finish another fight, or a new player landing on Zeta Halo to start one, this is one adventure you should jump right into.

Some of the bigger frustrations aside, the absence of a little polish and sophistication is forgivable, especially since the core action is as exhilarating as I could have hoped. If we aren't going to see any bigger budget games of this type, Chorus is a worthy attempt to fill the niche.

Solar Ash is a platforming playground that never loses steam, and it hides a memorable story of unfathomable tragedy.

Battlefield 2042 is a strong foundation for future expansion. DICE's multiplayer-only FPS has scale and spectacle, but there are elements in need of careful refinement and optimization.

Despite the issues, the moments of cringe, and the occasionally budget feel, developer Frogwares has carved itself a niche delivering Sherlock roleplay to the masses, and this will still scratch your investigative itch. It pulled me in and kept me intrigued - sucker as I am for pretty boys with an air of gothic melodrama about them, and I hope we get to see more of the hot and handsome young Sherlock soon.

Whether you love the movies, were the kid who couldn't tear their eyes away from dinosaur books, or just want a management sim that offers something beyond the usual civic planning or financial fiddling, Jurassic World Evolution 2 is a detailed and finely tuned machine of chaos and carnivores, and you'll be playing it for months.

A solid installment for the series with a satisfying story and great multiplayer balance.

Forza Horizon 5 is a stunning and beautifully crafted entry in the series that's full of memorable races, creativity, and fantastic additions

Riders Republic isn't perfect, but it is a hell of a good time. Ubisoft Annecy has clearly learned all the right lessons from its time working on Steep and applied them to a broader and more freeform experience, one that's built on the foundations of the best extreme sports and racing games that have come before it – Amped, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, Forza Horizon, SSX, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Don't sleep on Riders Republic.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy tells an utterly memorable story, with brilliant takes on the Guardians themselves, even if the gameplay could be more adventurous at times.

Age of Empires 4 is a game that I know I'm still going to be playing months and even years from now, and not just because developer Relic has said it wants to expand the number of civilizations in the future. There's so much depth in the gameplay, so many tactics to experiment with, so many weird scenarios I can build for myself in Skirmish mode, that it's hard to imagine ever getting bored of it. History, carnage, and teeny weeny elephants, Age of Empires 4 has it all.

Horror fans are no stranger to weak sequels, and we tend to have a soft spot for ongoing series even when they have a bad day, and despite the issues, the truth is that even at its weakest, The Dark Pictures Anthology offers a unique "trapped in a horror movie" experience that nothing else does, and is accessible enough to make for intense couch co-op with some friends. It's not a great horror game, but it's a decent horror game, and sometimes that will do.

Back 4 Blood is brilliant, co-op fun, with an interesting card system, but it's marred by terrible bots, awkward solo campaign choices, and a lackluster PvP mode.

Frustrating boss battles and cumbersome controls distract from an otherwise fun and isolating adventure

Marks a new era for the Far Cry series and delivers more explosive action and adventure than ever before, even as the story fumbles some of its more upsetting plot points.

It's a shame because there is plenty to love about Jett: The Far Shore. The world is stunning, the music is awesome, and the narrative is just weird enough to work. But whether you can get over the frustrations and quirks that you'll need to actually enjoy it is very much up for debate.

In terms of gameplay this is a four-star football offering. And gameplay is always paramount. But I can’t in good conscience award it those four stars when its most popular, and most profitable, mode feels so shamelessly focussed on making the kind of money that would buy Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Robert Lewandowski in real life. FIFA 22’s PS5 action sets the most wonderful precedent for its future on the field of play – punctured by a dreadful sense of foreboding for what upcoming installments of Ultimate Team have in store.

Sable is downright beautiful in its execution and storytelling, and captures an innate desire for exploration like few other open-world games.

Some moments feel crafted by the writers and characters designers to be truly special, like when you free a magical creature called Rufus who was trapped by the corruption, or at the ending which even made my withered old heart beat extra hard. Thanks to its storytelling and visual design there's just something warm and alive in Kena: Bridge of Spirits, which is perhaps fitting for a game that is so focused on death.

Lost Judgment proves a sequel can feel overtly iterative and still succeed. There are relatively few changes to be found from Yagami’s original outing outside of increased depth to an already-bombastic combat system, but that’s no bad thing when what came before was so enjoyable. Lost Judgment provides laughs aplenty with a brilliant array of side cases and characters, but it crucially tackles trauma and bullying with refreshing honesty and steely conviction when it needs to.

It's a first-person shooter that features a shotgun that can transform into a rifle. It's a sci-fi spy adventure that's stuck in the '70s. It's all of these things and none of them at all. My impression of Deathloop seemed to shift with every passing hour and, as a result, it's difficult to not be impressed – if not thoroughly enthralled – with what Arkane has pieced together here. It's different, it's stylish, it's new. You won't play anything else quite like Deathloop for a very long time.

The Artful Escape feels like the first game to truly capture the sheer transformative power of music, and it is an absolutely joyous ride from folksy start to electric finish.

Life is Strange: True Colors effectively leads you through an emotionally impactful story with strong character development through the power of empathy.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is just okay as a solo shooter, but the inclusion of friends makes the gameplay sing. As far as the curse of Alien games goes, Aliens: Fireteam Elite seems to have safely avoided it - this is a fun, frantic third-person shooter set to a score that feels like James Horner himself wrote it.