The winning formula of Hearthstone lies in its brilliant tagline, “deceptively simple, insanely fun”, and it’s really as straightforward as that. It is possible to play for days – weeks even – without once undertaking an “official” mission or task, instead following your own path through forest, desert and mountain.Could there really be any other winner? Blizzard managed to singlehandedly re-popularize the collectible card game with its groundbreaking debut into the genre, and Hearthstone has only continued to get better since first launching in 2014. While other developers use endless collectibles and highly scripted side-quests to encourage player exploration, Nintendo simply provides a beautiful environment filled with secrets and lets you go out and find them.

It is also a lesson in modern open-world game design. Featuring a full-physics system that lets you experiment with a host of interlocking elements, the game teaches you to be creative, attacking enemies and overcoming scenic obstacles in interesting ways. You battle monsters, level up, collect new weapons and items, slowly gain the strength needed for the final showdown.īut Breath of the Wild is much more than that. It’s an action role-playing adventure, following Link as he sets out to kill the evil sorcerer Ganon before this mythic monster can escape an enchanted castle and destroy Hyrule. In a lot of ways Breath of the Wild is a standard Zelda title. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo, Switch/Wii U) As ever, the fun is in mastering a range of platforming moves while exploring a universe stuffed with brilliant ideas and inventions.

The latest 3D adventure for Nintendo’s eternal hero sees him traversing fantastical lands – including the decidedly human New Donk City – to rescue Peach from the insistent claws of old enemy Bowser. If you want to communicate to someone the sheer joy of playing video games, show them this. Big in New Donk City … Super Mario Odyssey.

Most popular card games 2017