It’s time to go through the ten best games of the year (according to NGB’s writers and editors)!

10 – GUACAMELEE! 2

Guacamelee 2 is an incredible Metroidvania with an excellent soundtrack and a wonderful art style. It’s one that picks up right where the last one left off, and it doesn’t let up in terms of the humour, action or Mexicana. As someone who doesn’t normally “get” Metroidvanias, this is a fantastic game that kept me on the hook from start to finish.

Andy: Ayayay! The original Guacamelee was a fun Mexican tinged Metroid-vania with a wicked sense of humour and, while ostensibly more of the same, Guacamelee 2 is the perfect continuation.

9 – Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Andy: Still a relatively new title but, without a doubt, an incredibly deep and generous fighter with loads to enjoy. Maybe it’s not everyone’s bag, and that’s cool, but it is simply the cherry on top of what has been an excellent year for gaming.

Charles: I haven’t felt the hype for a game in a while but this smashed it. Not only did the release fill me with excitement but now that it is here, every time I have to turn it off I am sad. It’s like resetting a timer that I watch every second tick away from until I can play again. It is also so refreshing to have a game that doesn’t insight “pay to win” tactics. You play to unlock characters. The way it should be. I may be sliding into the realms of being a retro generation when it comes to games now, but Smash ticks every box on my nostalgic heart whilst adding enough new criteria for me to stay interested.

8 – HITMAN 2

Hitman 2 is, for all intents and purposes, Season 2 of one of the best games of 2016. An incredible set of levels, culminating in quite simply the best mission environment that has ever been included in a Hitman title. A wonderfully silly sense of humour permeates the game, with a few glorious easter eggs, and a deadpan delivery of Agent 47’s lines in the most ludicrous of situations. It also allows you to import all of the original game’s content so you can experience everything all over again with *sharp intake of breath* working mirrors! Simply put, this is one of the best games of the year and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you miss out on it.

7 – Yoku’s Island Express

Yoku’s Island Express is a solid little title that mixes up pinball with platforming to great effect. Playing as the titular bug while shifting around a huge ball, the way in which the platforming is achieved is kept fresh throughout with a series of evolving mechanics and increasingly zippy pinballing. Brilliant stuff.

Deb: Yoku’s Island Express is one of the most charming and delightful games I have played this year! I knew it would be my type of game but I underestimated just how much I would love it, I am still head over heals for it! Following a small bug with a big heart it was one monumental adventure. An amazing experience from beginning to end, I could not wait to share it with everyone and was all I was talking about for weeks. I couldn’t help myself in recommending it to anyone I knew who loved games. The music is infectious and uplifting and the hand painted character and world design is absolutely adorable. It is unique, quirky and ingenious and I advise everyone to add this to their collection!

Andy: A sweet little Metroid-vania with some Sonic Spinball influences, Yoku’s Island Express is an absolute delight.

6 – TETRIS EFFECT

If you’d told me at the start of the year that a new Tetris game would be on our Game of the Year list, I’d have been checking your calendar and making sure that everything was OK at home. But here we are. After its initial unveil at E3, I was captivated. A game from Mizaguchi, the architect of Rez,