20

Death Stranding

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima crafts a strange, highly contemplative dystopian adventure about a deliveryman who must bring hope, along with couriered parcels, to the lonely survivors of a supernatural cataclysm.

What we said: This uncompromising, unashamedly political work of artistic intent is 2019’s most interesting blockbuster game by a distance. Read the full review

19

Baba is You

The cleverest puzzle game of the year is this series of lo-fi mazes, in which blocks containing nouns, conjunctions and verbs can be rearranged to remix the rules of each conundrum. Ingenious and mind-bending.

What we said: From a simple premise, Teikari spins dozens of ingenious challenges … an invitation to play the role of a chaotic god, rewriting the rules of the universe. Read the full review

18

The Outer Worlds

Waking early on a ship bound for the furthest human colony in the galaxy is the intriguing start point for Obsidian’s epic and amusing role-playing adventure. With beautiful worlds and interesting characters, this treatise on unencumbered space capitalism is a joy.

What we said: The Outer Worlds is vital proof that mid-sized indie teams can take on the big guns at their own game, and leave them looking a little foolish. Read the full review

17

Sayonara Wild Hearts

Joyous adventure ... Sayonara Wild Hearts. Photograph: Simogo

Described as a pop album video game, this joyous adventure sends you scorching through a brash, electric neon landscape, collecting hearts and dodging obstacles to a synth-drenched soundtrack.

What we said: Embellishes its ideas in step with its fizzing tracks, which sustain second and third listens as you try to beat your score. Stylish, memorable game-making. Read the full review

16

Horace

An overlooked treasure, Horace is both an innovative and brilliant genre-bending platform-adventure game and an unexpectedly moving story about a robot butler, stuffed with references to the pop-cultural obsessions of its British creators. It spirals outwards from deceptively humble beginnings into a sprawling and singularly strange experience.

15

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

The grand tactical role-playing adventure returns, this time pitting three regal households against each other in a quest to rule the land. Players swap between battlefields and academy classrooms in a mix of war and romantic entanglements.

What we said: By turns grandiose and silly, but always engrossing, this bubbling school soap opera is a game to spend a summer with. Read the full review

14

Sunless Skies

A life-or-death gamble ... Sunless Skies. Photograph: Failbetter Games

A Gothic-horror space exploration game, where every journey between space stations is a life-or-death gamble. Inspired by the novels of HG Wells and Jules Verne, this is a singular sci-fi role-playing game, filled with weird characters fighting it out to survive in a galactic Victorian empire.

What we said: Depending on what you want from it, Sunless Skies is a merciless odyssey of oddball sci-fi survival, or a fantasy novel trilogy’s worth of wild, written ideas. Read the full review

13

Observation

On a space station floating in the ether, something has gone very wrong – and you watch it unfold not from the perspective of the astronauts, but as the station’s AI. A novel, intelligent space thriller that draws from several cinematic sci-fi greats, and doesn’t suffer by comparison.

What we said: An idea so good that you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. It’s unsettling and unconventional, and I was totally unable to turn away. Read the full review

12

Hypnospace Outlaw

A supremely clever, funny detective game set in a surreal recreation of the early-90s internet, complete with obscure message boards, dodgy low-bitrate music downloads and MySpace beef. You’ll never have played anything like it.

What we said: Rather than lazily pastiching the ugliness and awkwardness of turn-of-the-century web pages, it really conjures that time, when the internet was a place to go rather than a liminal omnipresence. Read the full review

11

Tetris 99

Genius and insanely moreish ... Tetris 99. Photograph: Nintendo

Of all the games to jump on the battle royale bandwagon, Tetris was surely the least expected – but it turns out that 99-player Tetris is genius. Insanely moreish, competitive and just chaotic enough to keep things interesting, this is one of 2019’s best multiplayer games.

What we said: Forget serene, calming Tetris, where you arrange blocks into pleasing configurations to make them disappear. This is survival Tetris, where you’re squeezing tetrominos into teensy gaps at high speed as the screen fills. Read the full review

10

Devil May Cry 5

A resurgent Capcom resurrects a dormant series to great effect. The screaming guitars and gothic fashions might be a bit early 2000s, but the hack-and-slash action is unquestionably stylish and the challenge enticing.

What we said: It’s bloody, spectacular and irresistible, all cheesy one-liners, guns, swords, explosions, and it plays like a dream. Read the full review.

9

Untitled Goose Game

Ramshackle whimsy ... Untitled Goose Game

Stealing people’s shoes and glasses, knocking over pints, fleeing from irate gardeners: who could have foreseen the fun there was to be had in waddling around as a horrible goose? There are those who remain resolutely uncharmed by Untitled Goose Game’s ramshackle whimsy, but we are not among them.

What we said: Certainly not fowl, most definitely worth a gander, it’s a whimsical little game full of charm and joy, a wonderful experience for just about anyone. Read the full review.

8

Legend of Zelda: Cadence of Hyrule

A musical Zelda spin-off that’s suffused with love and respect for Nintendo’s peerless series of colourful adventure games, remixing both the music and the sword-swinging monster-bashing.

What we said: Stylish and excellent fun, this tribute captures the excitement and sense of discovery that makes Zelda what it is: a real adventure. Read the full review.

7

Control

Supernatural adventure specialist Remedy Entertainment returns with another bewildering sci-fi romp, this time following Jesse Faden of the Federal Bureau of Control, a secretive agency invaded by paranormal forces. Literally nothing – not even the furniture – is what it seems in this dizzying thrill ride.

What we said: Remarkably, it all manages to hang together, providing a meaty, exciting and utterly unforgettable video game experience. Read the full review.

6

Telling Lies

Voyeuristic ... Telling Lies. Photograph: Annapurna Games

The follow-up to the fascinating CCTV thriller Her Story uses a similarly voyeuristic interface as you raid stolen National Security Agency archives for phone videos and webcam footage that may or may not implicate a group of characters in a major investigation.

What we said: Telling Lies requires a deliberateness from its players that turns us from viewers to active plot participants. It’s a game that doesn’t hold your hand, and ultimately it’s down to you to decide the truth. Read the full review.

5

Apex Legends

Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment takes on the battle royale genre, with 100 players descending on a bright, detailed sci-fi landscape to do deadly battle. Smooth controls, excellent weapon balancing and thoughtful co-op features make this a true contender to the mighty Fortnite.

What we said: You can’t really blame this talented team for shooting at the biggest target in modern gaming. And with Apex Legends, it scores a direct hit. Read the full review.

4

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Among the most difficult games of the modern era, Hidetaka Miyazaki’s sublime samurai game is punishing, extraordinary and dense with meaning for those with the time and skill to delve into it.

What we said: If you have frequent long evenings to throw at its mountainous challenges, you will find here an exquisite game whose subtle themes, gradually unfurling mysteries and beautiful sights reward the determined and skilled player. Read the full review.

3

Resident Evil 2 (Remake)

Chillingly up to date ... Resident Evil 2. Photograph: Games Press

Arguably the finest title in Capcom’s survival horror series is brought chillingly up to date with rookie cop Leon Kennedy and student Claire Redfield exploring a redesigned version of the zombie-filled Raccoon Police Station. All the old monsters and puzzles are there, but not necessarily in the places that veteran players expect.

What we said: A reminder of how beautifully crafted survival horror games were in their heyday. From a terrifying orphanage to the festering sewers beneath the city, the feel of the action is always perfectly matched with the aesthetics of the setting. Read the full review.

2

Disco Elysium

An amnesiac detective wakes up in a grotty hotel room with the hangover from hell and a murder to solve. From this noir-esque opening comes an open-world role-playing adventure like no other, mixing grim psychodrama with wonderful comic writing.

What we said: This is a quietly important game, singular in direction, filled with unexpected, thrilling effects on its player. Read the full review.

1

Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds asks you to plumb the depths of space in a ramshackle ship with a primitive clutch of gadgets, probing the mysteries of a capsule universe of bizarre planets without firing any guns or killing any aliens. Survive long enough without getting swallowed by a space creature or crashing fatally into an asteroid and the nearby sun goes supernova – but every time you die, you wake up at the start of a time loop, ready to piece together more knowledge of this mysterious little solar system and progress towards learning its secrets. Offbeat and exceptional, Outer Wilds is a game for the curious and the contemplative, an intricate and endearing space adventure with the ambience of a camping trip.