Unfortunately on iOS the platforming is completely unresponsive and haphazard. You spend much of your time falling or being eaten by a T-Rex simply because the touch controls failed to register.

Disappointing, as I found the narrative intriguing and the music memorable.

Years ago I might have persisted but life is too short to put up with games that don’t function correctly.

I played the first two Gears of War games on the 360 and found them to be exciting and innovative for the time. Having largely ignored the series since I thought I would dive back in but I sadly couldn’t tolerate the writing and repetitive drone of the game for long. I did not even make it to the open world area but given I generally dislike forced open world gameplay it is unlikely it would have saved this game for me.

I am sure for people invested in the narrative this is a fine adventure but I was genuinely shocked at how little this game has moved forward since its first iteration. Masses of other games now do cover shooting in a more natural and dynamic way. I could not commit to many more hours of bullet sponge robot shooting, so unfortunately I gave up on Gears 5.

In its favour I would say the shooting is satisfying and the environments were interesting if a bit too obvious.

I did not play the online multiplayer so my comments only refer to the campaign.

Game of the Year 2020.

I referred to the last game as the best Metroidvania style game I had played in the last decade, well this is even better.

Everything about the original has been improved upon and rearticulated in new and exciting ways. The story this time is even more moving and your quest to save this hopeful world warps the very environment around you as you move.

I truly was spellbound by this game and will certainly play it again in years to come.

Probably the best new Metroidvania style game I have played in the last decade.

The art design alone is absolutely astounding and the score is worthy of the highest cinematic creations.

A few people have criticised the difficulty level of the game but I found it to be a fair and an understandable curve that you can level out through adventure within the world. There is also a healthy expectation that you will indeed die a lot and the point is to experiment with different strategies to eventually find a solution.

The sections in which you must escape surging doom at pace are utterly thrilling and clearly took a great deal from the recent and equally excellent 2D Rayman games.

This simple adventure shines precisely because of the narrow scope of its storytelling and emphasis on character development.

It feels like combing through an elderly relative’s home after they have gone. Revealing through each new object a tale subtly told.

I wish more games allowed for this pace and sincerity.

Videogames have taught me that every job on a spaceship no matter how relatively mundane is almost certainly going to end in your doom.

If you do not enjoy dialogue heavy exposition and sedate storytelling this game will not offer you much sustenance. Fortunately, I do.

It’s well trodden territory but the plot and atmosphere are executed well, it simply lacked some of the sharper writing of the developer’s previous outing ‘Gone Home’.

I think Skyward Sword is somewhat maligned because of the length of time people waited for it to come out only to be met with a slight iteration on what went before, but if you approach this adventure on its own terms what you find is refreshing and reverent to the legacy of Zelda in such a way I found absolutely enthralling.

Your enjoyment will of course largely rest on what you think of Wiimotion + (I found it added to the escapade) but don’t let that turn you away from some of the most inventive dungeons Zelda has ever seen.

What does Jonah actually do? I understand he’s a moral touchstone, but what is his purpose on these trips? He just gets captured and chats to people.

Alas, thankfully this game focuses more on puzzles and traversal than its weaker suit of combat. The challenge tombs, just as was the case in the previous game, are the key highlight and they are more than worth finding - even if the use of rope as a solution does become somewhat repetitive. They are also surprisingly difficult at times, a welcome change.

The story is highly convoluted. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was fighting particular foes or where in the timeline we were regularly. The last outing had a more compelling tale with an at least vaguely sensible plot. This follows something along similar lines but jumps right overboard with it. There is an entire section where you are allegedly acting undercover as a local priest/warrior and yet you are speaking cut glass English with the complexion of a European. We all suspend disbelief with videogames but that was truly peculiar.

Lara’s moral purpose seems to waver throughout and not in a way that was intriguing. There was an interesting point where the main adversary asks Croft “and what of all the people you have killed, and why” (paraphrased) to which I can only thoroughly agree. Aren’t you meant to be an archaeological researcher? Why are you slaughtering nomadic people who only have bows and arrows? This kind of chaos makes more sense for haphazard Nathan Drake or when Croft was killing mercenaries in Siberia, but at times it is jarring in this outing as you are in essence intruding on a relatively peaceful land.

For all this, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is truly beautiful and the climbing mechanics are probably just as good as Uncharted at this point. You really do lose yourself in the wonders of the Peruvian landscape and there are some very striking underwater scenes too. Just bear in mind that collecting everything in this game affords you almost nothing extra - by the end Croft is borderline invincible. Buy shotgun shells with your cash, not more weapons that do the same thing.