Kill a monster, make gear out of its parts, and hunt a stronger monster sounds like a gameplay loop that can get old fast, but Monster Hunter: World has taken that decade-old hook and perfected it. World has streamlined the cycle and made the introduction into monster hunting more palatable for newcomers all without watering down the deep action-RPG mechanics longtime fans loved most. With 14 unique weapons that all control entirely differently, endless armor customization options that change more than just fashion, and incredibly difficult fights that reward players with an incomparable sense of accomplishment, Monster Hunter: World is in a league of its own when it comes to endless replayability and challenge. Add in the fact you can hunt with your best friends, and you have a recipe worthy of the Meowscular Chef himself. - Casey DeFreitas (Read Our Review) 84. Resident Evil 2 (Remake) Titles that are released after this date will be eligible for The Game Awards ceremony in 2024. (Similarly, games that were released on or after November 18, 2022 are first eligible for this year’s awards),” The Game Awards organisers continued.

Brought to fans by EE, the UK’s number one network for gaming, the new award is the only category to be voted for by the global community of games fans. The shortlist was decided by a panel of games experts earlier this month and who were tasked with nominating six games that have resonated most with players around the world – capturing our imaginations and keeping us entertained and connected over the past year. No list of the best adult games would be complete without Cards Against Humanity. This game is a cult favorite for a reason. Marketed as a “party game for horrible people,” this is one extremely entertaining and wildly inappropriate choice, so it’s important to know the group you’re playing with as some topics are highly sensitive or triggering for some.To play, a question card is drawn, for example, “Who would you ask for help if you needed to leave the country?” or as awkward as, “Who snoops through their significant other’s phone on a regular basis?” Players then vote anonymously for the person they think best fits the question. Results are then tallied, and points are earned by guessing who voted for you. All Ghillied Up was my first glimpse of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in action, and as two camouflaged snipers worked their way through an irradiated Pripyat in Ukraine, I was instantly hooked. The highlight – not just of the demo but arguably of the entire game – was watching, breath held, as an entire armored patrol trundled past, inches from our hiding spot, and it’s a moment of tension that’s never been matched in a shooter since. Electric set-pieces and superb pacing make Modern Warfare’s single-player campaign one of the most memorable first-person shooters ever, but it’s the perfectly balanced multiplayer that made it the de rigueur online game for years to follow. Multiplayer shooters were never the same again. - Alex Simmons (Read Our Review) 62. Rise of the Tomb Raider This game comes in six different versions, all in various stages of appropriateness. So depending on who is attending your get-together, you can choose the right one. Both the kid-friendly (ages 7 and up) and adult-friendly (ages 17 and up) versions can accommodate the same number of players If you look at the list you’ll see PlayStation, Xbox and PC have similar categories - here they have just classified Nintendo as a category specifically by the company name rather than saying “switch” because they change their console name per generation unlike the others. It’s easy to underestimate Return of the Obra Dinn at first glance. A 1-bit game about being an insurance evaluator on an empty boat may not light your heart ablaze, but that simple shell houses one of the most clever, captivating, and unfalteringly impressive puzzle games you’ll ever play. It’s a mystery game that empowers its players to actually solve its otherworldly cold cases for themselves, relying on the real detective work of observation and deduction to uncover its secrets rather than highlighted objects and scripted set pieces. There’s very little else like Return of the Obra Dinn out there – and once you play it you’ll undoubtedly be wishing for more. - Tom Marks (Read Our Review) 73. Dota 2

TOTK has a bad, poorly explained, even unexplained story with key elements missing. It is supposed to be a sequel yet acts as it's own game. Almost nothing in the game suggests to or refers to the events that happened in the last game. There is no explanation of why after already activating towers you now have to go reactivate some completely different new towers. Why is every tower not working? Princess Zelda is a dragon (of course they explain why, but....honestly, why)? No real in depth explanation of the Zonai. They just included them to include them. The graphics and game play barely updated. Even more vast areas full of complete nothingness. The entire underground seems as if it is just meant to waste your time and life away. The Yiga clan have even less connection to the story than last time. I can go on and on. Completing this game felt like a chore. Ganondorf had a cool updated version, sure. But what even was the point? Brought to fans by EE, the UK’s number one network for gaming, the award – which was first announced in 2021 – is the only category to be voted for by the community of gaming fans. For the third year running, the shortlist was decided by a jury of games experts earlier this month who were tasked with nominating six games that had resonated most with players around the world – capturing imaginations and keeping us entertained and connected over the past year.

POCKET GAMER PEOPLE’S CHOICE

I remember at the time playing it, it was great with cool physics you could manipulate but games like Prey or deus ex are much better now if that's your thing. Both the original freeware version of Spelunky, and its 2008 HD remake are two of the most influential games of all time due to their monumental impact that shaped the entire roguelike genre. The HD remake was largely viewed as being a near perfect game, in particular. That is, until Spelunky 2 came along 12 years later and somehow managed to improve upon every single facet of its mechanics without ever sacrificing the procedurally generated magic that made Spelunky so special. Spelunky 2 is a game all about storytelling, only the stories told aren’t the ones the game scripts for you, they’re the ones you craft for yourself by exploring its constantly changing worlds, fighting against nearly impossible odds, with both the successes and the failures being equally memorable. - Mitchell Saltzman (Read Our Review) 74. Return of the Obra Dinn

Dishonored 2’s wildly fun skillset is perfectly paired with its chaotic playground; tinkering with both means no two playthroughs will ever be the same. Bend Dishonored 2, try and break it, and you’ll be amazed and how deeply it caters to your most deranged experimentation. Like its predecessor, it’s also incredibly stylish, the Southern-European city of Karnaca bursting with ideas and history. Play it low-key, and Dishonored 2 is one of the best stealth games ever made. Play it high-chaos, and you’ll never settle for a mere gun in a first person video game again. - Lucy O’Brien (Read Our Review) 59. The WitnessAccording to The Game Awards, “winners are determined by a blended vote between the voting jury (90%) and public fan voting (10%).” And if you’re curious as to why some games are (or aren’t) on the nominees list, The Game Awards reminds us that “games eligible for The Game Awards this year must be available for public consumption on or before Friday, November 17, 2023 at 9pm PT.” EE runs the UK's biggest and fastest mobile network, offering superfast connections in more places than any other operator. EE brought the first 4G network to the UK in October 2012, and launched the UK’s first 5G network in May 2019. What can you say about the definitive fighting game, the game that has spawned countless imitators, acolytes, and sequels? Street Fighter II remains a classic in video game lore, making series mainstays Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li as well as words like “Hadouken” part of the public lexicon. Everyone has a favorite character and that’s because of its diverse, fantastical character design. While exceptionally balanced, the imaginative design and high-end graphics for its time helped set it apart. Street Fighter II became perhaps the first fighting game global arcade smash and it is still celebrated today. - Christian Holt 21. Super Mario Bros.

League of Legends exists in a magical place that lies somewhere between intense competition and fun and enjoyable strategy. Though there’s a lot to master, League of Legends is equipped with great modes that make the MOBA easy to learn, yet is still incredibly challenging as players scale the competitive ladder. While the excellent Summoner’s Rift stands as the primary battleground for competitive play, the other modes also provide a great means for a fun chance to practice with Champions when things get too tense. With continuous improvement updates and a constantly changing roster, League of Legends stands as one of the best competitive games in existence. - Miranda Sanchez (Read Our Review) 92. Mega Man 3Edge Magazine launched in 1993 and published a list of the top 100 games to play today, which informs our shortlist. (Image credit: Future) Dr Jo Twist OBE, Chair of the Games Committee at BAFTA, said: “In a year when games have been an invaluable way to stay socially connected and entertained for so many around the world, we are delighted to be working with EE to give the global community of games fans the chance to choose their favourite. The shortlisted games are all excellent contenders and I look forward to seeing which title the public choose to crown our first ever winner of the EE Game of the Year Award.” Tara Saunders, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, said: "Huge congratulations to all of this year’s nominees for the EE Game of The Year award. All six of these games have captured the imaginations of people around the world and represent a diverse range of genres, storylines and gaming experiences. Our other category nominations will be revealed live on BAFTA's Twitch channel on Thursday 2nd March, and we can’t wait to announce the winners on Thursday 30th March.” To me, everything about Skyrim was a vast improvement over its predecessor, Oblivion. The craggy, intimidating peaks of the Nord homeland and the saga of the Dovahkiin were much more interesting than the relatively sedate happenings of their neighbors in Cyrodiil. But what’s more, there’s so much lying just around the corner, off the beaten path, that you could never even stumble upon it in a hundred hours as the Dragonborn. But the fact that such care for detail, for world-building, for exploration and for immersion was paid to every tome, tomb, and quest, is enough to cement Skyrim as one of the absolute best role-playing games we’ve ever seen, and one of the best games of all time. - Brandin Tyrrel (Read Our Review) 40. Resident Evil 4