PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC; People Can FlyCapturing exactly what makes the genre tick, this is perhaps the best looter-shooter game since BorderlandsThe first proper gun you pick up in Outriders, the latest looter-shoot...

Hundreds of rare PlayStation 2 demos have been uncovered and archived, revealing how favourite games were developedIf you worked on video game magazines in the 90s, there was one sight you got used to pretty quickly. On every desk, in every drawer, the...

Feral Cat Den; Fellow Traveller; Switch, PC, Xbox OneThe big bang meets the whodunnit in this dazzlingly inventive point-and-click adventure spanning time and spaceAccording to theologians, philosophers and, seemingly, the makers of Genesis Noir, the u...

Electronic Arts, PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PCIspired by family-in-peril adventures like Frozen, this engrossing if didactic puzzler uses old-fashioned teamwork to great effectOne of the big cultural stories of lockdown is how friends are stayin...

Millions bought new consoles in 2020. But with the pandemic ruining big releases, there’s a shortage of games to play on themSince the pandemic began, the video games industry has been booming. Last year was a bumper year, with most of the world’s popu...

Nintendo Switch; CapcomFlush with flash new tricks, simpler action and a bulging roster of hostile creatures, the latest instalment of the enduring series is an absurd delightAfter you’ve felled a hard-scaled, fire-breathing dragon in Monster Hunter Ri...

Nintendo Switch; Marvelous Interactive/XSEEDBetter visuals for the farm-sim improve the interaction but slow loading undermines the laid-back flowIn this latest in a long line of farming-life games, you are once again thrust into the role of a young pe...

Abandoned homes, lurking enemies, approaching footsteps ... Warzone’s grim details are straight out of the horror rulebook, summoning dread from players’ ultimate need to surviveI’m lying on the roof of a bombed-out shopping arcade, watching tracer fir...

Nintendo Switch; NatsumeThis new iteration of the escape-to-the-country fantasy replaces all that was charming about earlier versions with an average adventure gameBefore Farmville, before Stardew Valley, there was Harvest Moon – a Japanese farming gam...

Revisit tortured first loves, explore a deserted town and make your daily plod around the park more exciting with Pokémon GoGiven that we are all sitting at home staring at our phones anyway, it’s a good time to take a break from the doomscrolling to b...

Drawing on her own cathartic relationship with role-playing games, Leilani uses gaming as a narrative device and an inspiration in her acclaimed debutThere is an extraordinary and telling moment in Raven Leilani’s acclaimed novel Luster, about a young ...

Epic’s court battle with Google over being banned from the Play Store, mirrors one it has launched against Apple over its App Store removalEpic Games has launched new legal action against Google in Australia over alleged anti-competitive behaviour afte...

Trading debut in New York prompts huge demand for game system with 200m monthly usersShares in Roblox, the virtual gaming world that has proved to be a lockdown winner with hundreds of millions of mostly young players, have surged 60% valuing it at $47...

(Graceful Decay; Annapurna Interactive; PC, PS4/5)This simple girl-meets-boy story plays out in a series of abstract dioramas, each one bigger than the nextMaquette opens with a conversation between two strangers in a San Francisco coffee shop, a flirt...

I surfed first-wave Pokémania. Today, the video games are as much a part of kids’ fiction as DisneyLast weekend marked the 25th anniversary of Pokémon Red and Blue (or Red and Green in their native Japan), the first video games in a series that truly w...

PC; Q-Games Its mix of planetary scavenging, alien-hunting and funky artwork ought to be a smash, but sluggish mechanics and onerous mission demands diminish the funA space rescue adventure from Kyoto’s inimitable Q-Games, PixelJunk Raiders has the bon...

Pokémon Legends Arceus and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl announced on the eve of the Nintendo series’ 25th anniversaryTomorrow marks 25 years since the first Pokémon titles debuted on Nintendo’s Game Boy in Japan – and developer Game Frea...

Noodlecake Games, iOS (version tested)/PC/Nintendo SwitchSpringwatch fans who crave mystery may enjoy this slow-burning minimalist adventureCombine the acclaimed rural mystery game Firewatch with an episode of the BBC’s nature cam series, Springwatch, ...

Online cheating has become an infestation – but the idea of bending the rules has been part of gaming culture from the startFall Guys had only been online for two days when it started. This bright, silly multiplayer game, in which rotund Day-Glo bean p...

The video game giant renews its commitment to VR and says launch date will be some time after 2021Sony has announced a next-generation VR headset for its PlayStation 5 console, launching some time after 2021. The original PlayStation VR headset was rel...

The developer’s BlizzCon virtual convention announced the return of classic games including World of Warcraft – and looked ahead to future releasesIn a normal year, Blizzard’s annual fan convention would have involved tens of thousands of cosplayers, e...

A tongue-in-cheek game called Electric Zine Maker saved me from pandemic burnout – and gave me a new communityWhen I sit down to play games, I am always more drawn to peaceful, low-pressure environments than high-pace adventure. I like those where I ge...

As Nintendo’s classic video game series comes up on its 35th anniversary, it’s time to put all the main entries in their place Continue reading...

Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC, Android; Tarsier Studios/Bandai NamcoNavigate Mono’s surreal, gothic world in a bid to free the adults from their TV addictionLike its 2017 predecessor, Little Nightmares 2 is a fever-dream made playable, with the c...

From old-school publishing models to a collective of indie game makers, funding has never been more important for an industry in perpetual fluxBrenda Romero, the designer behind Prohibition-era strategy game Empire of Sin, remembers the meeting as if i...

The Game of Throne actors will take on the roles of Ellie and Joel in HBO’s adaptation of the blockbuster video gameGame of Thrones actors Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal – who also stars in Disney’s Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian – have been cast in ...

Nintendo Switch; NintendoOne of the brightest and cutest Mario games with a novel adventure as a side dish Almost every significant game Nintendo made for its interesting but ill-fated Wii U console has found its way on to the vastly more popular Ninte...

Hackers claim to have copied source code for a number of CD Projekt’s biggest games The company behind troubled gaming blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077 has been hit by a ransomware attack, it has said.In a post to its Twitter feed on Tuesday, CD Projekt, the...

Gamers are furious with the rise in price of new releases – but the (virtual) reality is a little more complicatedIn the Guide’s weekly Solved! column, we look into a crucial pop-culture question you’ve been burning to know the answer to – and settle i...

From detective missions to prison breakouts, playful puzzles to cosy diversions, here are some great games perfect for twoAs the long, boring Covid winter drags on and sitting in front of Netflix together has long since lost its appeal, video games rem...

PC, Nintendo Switch; Skeleton Crew Studio/Devolver DigitalWith fast and fun fighting, a swashbuckling Lord Faraday explores a ruined archipelago where he has been shipwreckedSometimes you can tell when a game is a labour of love. Olija is a one-person ...

Coming up with sneaky routes to glory has long been a guilty pleasure in video games that feature flexible play systems It’s clear how the Viking raids in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla are supposed to work. Ubisoft’s latest historical adventure has you pla...

Xbox Series X/S, PC; Bloober TeamThis beautiful-looking exploration of intergenerational trauma is ripe ground for innovative storytelling, but fumbles its big themes The nights are still coming in early this January lockdown, and the end of winter is ...

PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC; IO InteractiveIndustrialised murder probably shouldn’t be this entertaining, but this final part of the trilogy is a minor masterpieceIt is when I am shot by two armed guards while attempting to...

PC, Mac; Tim SheinmanIn this brief but insidious information game, you’re an aide to a defeated commander-in-chief who is refusing to concedeThe terrible truth about conspiracy theories is that they’re fun. Making and sharing connections offers a sense...

During lockdowns, handhelds have come into their own: here’s our Top 20, from Gizmondo to NintendoOK, it’s here more for the amazing backstory than the qualities of the handheld itself, but Gizmondo did momentarily look like a contender back in 2004, o...

Although details are sparse, fans are hopeful the game being developed by Massive is just the epic narrative adventure they are looking forUbisoft is working on a new open-world Star Wars adventure, the company has revealed. Development will be handled...

PC, Nintendo Switch (version tested), Xbox One, smartphone (forthcoming); Team MeatPrecision and playfulness made the original irresistibly difficult, but this vindictive sequel feels more like a punishmentTen years ago, attempting to conquer Super Mea...

The global video gaming industry took in an estimated $180bn in 2020 – more than sports and movies worldwideIt would be incorrect to say video games went mainstream in 2020. They’ve been mainstream for decades. But their place in pop culture feels far ...

An ultra-stylish trip to Gotham, a new Hogwarts adventure and a long-awaited sequel to Psychonauts lead our preview of this year’s most anticipated releasesLast year’s ensemble Avengers game was a bit of a disappointment, so DC fans will be hoping for ...

You heard all about The Last of Us Part 2, Animal Crossing and Cyberpunk 2077. Here are the overlooked gems that kept us sane in the pandemicBy Lewis Packwood, Matthew Castle, Laura Hudson, Jay Castello, James McMahon, Lewis Gordon, Keza MacDonald, Edw...

About 25 million logged on to the PC gaming platform Steam on the biggest ever Christmas Day for the video games industryThis Christmas has been the biggest ever for the video games industry, as lockdown, technological leaps and new consoles combine to...

A queer coming-of-age story charmed us, a balletic shoot-em-up raised our adrenaline and the star game of lockdown provided a desert-island escape from real lifeMore on the best culture of 2020 Continue reading...

Sector grows as developers continue to work and consumers search for Covid boredom reliefThe lockdown boom in video games has put the spotlight on the global success of British game makers, attracting the attention of deep-pocketed US giants looking to...

Starring Keanu Reeves and hyped to the heavens, Projekt Red’s dystopian but glitchy romp has been pulled from sale. What went wrong? Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most-anticipated video games of the year was released last week. A dystopian romp around a B...

Developer forced to add health warning and apologise after launch of hotly anticipated gameSony has announced it is pulling this year’s most-hyped video game, Cyberpunk 2077, from its online PlayStation store after complaints of bugs, compatibility iss...

Devotion first caused controversy in 2019 after gamers found poster seeming to insult Xi JinpingAn award-winning Taiwanese horror game was removed from storefronts by the beleaguered developer CD Projekt Red amid a backlash from Chinese gamers, hours a...

PC (version tested), Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PS5, PS4; CD ProjektBlade Runner meets Grand Theft Auto in this sprawling hellscape of a role-playing game, which is extraordinarily immersive but let down by misogyny and xenophobiaSo here we finally are...

CD Projekt Red, developers of science-fiction epic, have apologised for the state of the game Disappointed gamers have been offered refunds and an apology after the year’s biggest game was released in a barely-finished state for owners of current-gener...

US games company behind Fifa franchise scuppers deal with rival Take-Two InteractiveBritish video games maker Codemasters has become the focus of a £1bn bidding war after accepting an offer from California-based Electronic Arts, scuppering a previously...

Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC; Out of the Blue Games / Raw FuryCarefully crafted puzzles and clues in the story give this game, set on a Polynesian island, the satisfying feel of a journeyThis first-person puzzle adventure is set on a mysterious Polyne...