There’s a simple formula to Pokemon games: Nintendo announces one, I throw money at my screen and for several months I refuse to shut up about my undying hatred for Bidoof. There’s also another simple formula regarding the release structure of these games: Two versions will be released, each one will contain Pokemon unique to them like Cha-Chingmon, and eventually there’ll be a third game to complete the trilogy.

More than just a tech demo for the DualSense controller, Astro’s Playroom is a stunning showcase for the PS5 and the very first game that you have to try out on the next-gen system. Fine-tuned for maximum haptic feedback fun, Astro’s return is a marvel that celebrates the past and the future of the PlayStation.

Sony’s kicking off its PlayStation 5 era with a remake of Demon’s Souls, but it’s not the next-gen console manufacturer on the block that has a FromSoftware RPG as an attention-grabber. Announced a while back, Microsoft’s also venturing into those die-and-try-again waters with Elden Ring, a game that is being headed up legendary developer Hidetaka Miyazaki and features some world-building lore from celebrated pirate George Arr Arr Martin. I think, I’m not big on fantasy.

While that appears to be an Xbox Series X testing out next-gen campfire technology, it’s actually a cheeky ruse that’s easy to pull off provided that you’re fond of puffing out self-righteous hipster smoke at a level that would raise even the eyebrows of your local Bob Marley fan club.

There’s also a load of new items to build and craft to make your underwater journey a little safer, despite the massive hungry fish floating about in the depths.

Buying a new console this generation and looking to impress people in an attempt to justify spending money on something that makes you happy? Then you’re going to need a launch game for validation purposes! With the PlayStation 5, you’ve got two games in particular that can help you gloat about the five-dimensional device in your living room: Demon’s Souls and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

This console generation is off to a bit of a different start. While backwards compatibility has always been a big part of previous generations, this year the lines seem blurrier than ever before. The PS4 and Xbox One era had no shortage of remastered and repackaged games released during its lifecycle, but the PS5 and Xbox Series X are essentially handing players free remasters with many an existing title.

CD Projekt Red’s ambitious sandbox was originally meant to launch on April 16, but that date was then moved to September 17. From there, the game would be delayed again to November 19 and once more to December 10. That’s some Duke Nukem Forever territory right there. Anyway, this looks to be the final delay, but that hasn’t stopped people from theorising that Cyberpunk 2077 will move once again towards a 2021 release.