Stuck for Christmas ideas? We give you the tips for the best video games to buy. Photo: Getty
With 2016 yielding a bumper crop of indie masterpieces and beautiful remasters, there’s a range of fantastic video game titles available for the gamer in your life this Christmas.
These are The New Daily’s top picks from an excellent year in the rapidly growing genre.
Console: PS4
Sprawling, beautiful and heartfelt – in this narrative puzzle (for want of a better word) game, the player forges a friendship with bird-mammal creature, Trico, and together must escape a mysterious land.
Windows, PS4, Xbox One
Transporting players back to WWI, this update to the Battlefield saga is heavy on story and tactics, incorporating greater degrees of stealth and strategy than previous editions.
Windows, PS4, Xbox One
A stellar sequel to the 2014 smash hit; wreak havoc in your trusty Titan (a BIG ROBOT) or fight alongside your metal buddy as you bound through maps unleashing hell on fellow pilots.
Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One
Part The X-Files thriller and part slow-burn puzzler, Virginia is the story of a graduate FBI special agent tasked with investigating the disappearance of a young boy.
Windows, PS4, Xbox One
Earning instant cult status with team-based shooter fans, this irreverent first-person shooter offers unique characters and a creative weapons system as an antidote to ‘serious’ shoot-em ups.
PS4, Xbox One
Featuring an improved real-time battle system, this open-world, role-playing game is the latest in the popular franchise, which you either love passionately or you hate with apathy. Epic and memorable.
Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One
Aussie gaming studio Surprise Attack captured nostalgic hearts when it dropped this cheeky, social first-person shooter in March – where the only way to win, is to cheat!
Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Are you the ultimate team manager? Test your skills on and off the field with a new solo campaign and trading system, then compete with friends and foes online.
Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android, iOS
For anyone who wants, nay, NEEDS to be ‘The Bat’, this game is for you. Don the cowl of Gotham City’s caped crusader to solve riddles, fight crime and deliver the ultimate punchline to The Joker.
3DS
If you’re done with Pokémon Go, you can now take your game to the next level by capturing and training 81 new Pokémon in these new additions to the franchise.
3DS
Go, Chibi-Robo, GO! Look at this little robot, being all cute and addictive. Gift this platform/puzzle game to a friend or family member, and you’re guaranteed hours of silence.
3DS
An action-RPG that’s perfect for those new to fantasy or dungeon crawlers – you are charged with hunting and taking down fearsome monsters to protect the realm. That ol’ chestnut!
Android, iOS
Tinder for a Medieval Age! Kind of … Maintain your rule over your kingdom as you deal with requests from your military, your church and your people.
Android, iOS
Raise your sword and defeat the forces of evil to become a Sword Master in this beautifully styled and addictive side-scroller.
Android, iOS
If you love Tetris, you will die for _PRISM. A puzzle game as intricate as it is infuriating, touch and tap your way through various games and feel your Zen grow.