Game of the Year: #9 - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Unless they're making the same sort of leap in quality as Assassin's Creed II did, sequels often struggle to drum up the same sort of excitement their predecessors did. A known quantity going into a second game, it's a common criticism Respawn Entertainment managed to avoid in a follow-up that's bigger and better in every way. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is video games from a galaxy far, far away at their peak.

Likeable protagonist Cal Kestis returns for a more confident adventure that makes exploring vast planets and slicing the Dark Side antagonists you meet along the way the big focus. Lightsaber stances allow you to customise combat to suit your needs — even introducing a Blaster — while wandering off the beaten path proves rewarding with skill points, new puzzles to solve, and more. With a growing home base to return to during downtime, it doesn't quite fit the definition of an open world game, but its many extensive play spaces replicate those genre greats. Even unlocking new secrets once the main campaign is over, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor makes traversing its worlds just as rewarding as it is addictive.

What elevates it is a story just as satisfying. A cast of returning characters and new faces (both human and alien) offer help to Cal on his quest to squash the Galatic Empire and find a way to hide away from them on a planet thought to be lost to time. Doing so bolsters your ranks back at home base, and it creates a satisfying loop where you're creating a welcoming home at the same time as searching for the one safe place your friends can emigrate to. With new personalities like Turgle and Skoova providing genuinely funny comic relief, you'll laugh just as much as you'll cry during the 20 to 30-hour campaign.