Think of films like Bladerunner, Total Recall, The Matrix, the novels of Philip K Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) and William Gibson (Neuromancer), or the classic anime films Akira or Ghost in the Shell and you’re delving into the gritty but futuristic genre of cyberpunk.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a game featuring cybernetic body mods, the ability to experience other people’s memories, and a starring role for Keanu Reeves. It features hacking, and combat – though it can apparently be completed without killing - and is all set in the huge open-world, heavily stylised dystopian metropolis of Night City, California, controlled by corporations and conflicted by gang rivalries.

Created by Polish developer CD Projekt Red (CDPR) who made the much-lauded Witcher game series (helping popularise the books and leading to the TV series), this new game promises to give players at least 40 hours of main storyline as well as 75 optional side quests.

The game is loosely based on a tabletop role playing game by Mike Pondsmith, who has been consulting with CDPR

With plans for the game announced way back in May 2012, it has been a long time coming and has to be one of the most anticipated games in years.

That may be partly because of the contentious release date. Originally billed for April this year, CDPR has since delayed Cyberpunk three times, saying at first that it needed more polishing and fixing, then – after having promised fans no more delays – said it would need more time to ensure everything would work smoothly.

This was in part because the studio was working – from home during the pandemic – on bringing the game to next-gen consoles, which it originally had not planned to do.

Regardless, CDPR is known for its high-quality work on immersion and detailed, emotional storytelling with deep characterisation, and if Cyberpunk is anything like The Witcher 3 (2015, can you believe it’s been five years?) gamers can be expected to be raving about this new franchise.

Oh, and Keanu Reeves? He’s in the game as a rockstar terrorist called Johnny Silverhand, having done the voice and motion capture – and apparently requested double the screen time and got it.

Format: First-person action RPG

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia

Release date: 10 December 2020 (probably)

Vikings! Druids! Norse Gods! … and inappropriate sexual conduct (not in the game).

The Assassin’s Creed series has been sending players back in history to tackle corruption by killing those in power since the first title launched alongside the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in 2007.

Each time, developer Ubisoft brings a new period, moving from the crusades and the Italian renaissance through to ancient Egypt and mythical Greece.

The latest iteration, showcasing the Viking expansion and invasion of Britain, is the 12th main AC title and is a natural progression for a series which combines bloody violence, historical revolutions and a hefty dollop of conspiracy and mythos.

Unsurprisingly, you play as a viking who has settled in Anglo-Saxon England. The developers worked to make the vikings of this game not bloodthirsty brutes but farmers and people just trying to make their way in the world. In this, judging from the trailer, it draws heavy inspiration from the Vikings History Channel TV series.

Though you play as an assassin of sorts on a quest for vengeance – against another viking who killed your parents (same old...) – some of your tasks can be resolved diplomatically, and a sizeable part of the game involves helping manage your settlement and developing it to prosperity.

The game was touted by its creators as bringing some cohesion to the overall series, which has arguably in the past suffered from the churn of yearly production and reusing ideas while its narrative threads became more convoluted and disparate.

Critics have largely welcomed the narrative risks the game took and praised the game content. The game also cut down on the problem of re-used and generic locations in previous titles. However, technical bugs, limited stealth mechanics and lack of innovation in gameplay have continued to predominate.

It’s worth noting too that creative director Ashraf Ismail stood down from Ubisoft in June this year after complaints of extramarital affairs with younger fans, and an overarching culture of sexism, misongyny and sexual harrassment in the company’s management. Another executive was also removed.

A sign of this culture perhaps was the rejection by executives of developers’ plans to feature a female protagonist only. They feared it would not market well and decided to include the male and female options. The creators said they wanted it to live up to the viking ideal of women and men being equally fearsome warriors.

Regardless, if you want to spend the summer as a vengeful viking - communing with the gods, defending the weak and exploring ancient Britain - this will certainly do the job.

Format: Third-person action RPG

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X

Release date: 10 November 2020

At first blush, Among Us is a cartoony space game. At its heart though, it’s more like playing hide and seek while taking a lie detector test, or party games like Werewolf or Mafia.

The idea is you and up to 10 of your friends (or strangers on the internet) are a crew gathered together to fix your spaceship. The trouble is, some of those gathered are imposters: psychopaths who run around graphically murdering the others.

The real crew’s goal is to either complete all their tasks or figure out who the imposters are and evict them ... into space. The imposters’ goal – as stated – is to run around murdering the others, but without them finding out and voting you off.

Released in mid-2018, Among Us has been a sleeper hit that exploded into popularity in September thanks to streamers – the drama of watching people lie through their teeth to their friends to cover their tracks is not to be sniffed at.

The increase in popularity was so dramatic, the small indie developer even cancelled production on a sequel so they could work on improving and adding to the original.

It’s also cheap – about $5 in New Zealand – and accessible, on mobile as well as PC (even old ones with low specs).

If you want to hang out with people and have a bunch of fun, Among Us is a good option, just don’t get angry when your best buddy lies right to your face – they’re just doing their job.

A final note, be careful of app downloads – there are reportedly at least 60 fake versions which are distributing malware. Download from the official app store, or buy it on a game platform like Steam.

Format: Online multiplayer social deduction

Platforms: PC, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch

Release date: 15 June 2018

A tribute to 2017’s Breath of the Wild, this adaptation borrows the art style, music, characters and more but supplants it all into a very different type of game.

If you’ve ever loved playing Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda – a series which has been close to my heart since Ocarina of Time (1998) – it may be worth checking out some gameplay videos before committing to this one.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a hack-and-slash game from the Dynasty Warriors tradition: fairly light on story and heavy on swinging a sword, firing a bow or slinging magical powers at vast hordes of monsters.

Set 100 years before the events of the highly rated Breath of the Wild, this iteration does build on the characters and is well presented, offering the chance to relive the dramatic historical battles BOTW hints at.

The fun of this kind of game is less in the complexity of the gameplay, or the strategy, or even the challenge – mostly it’s about the satisfaction of having your hero cut through wave after wave of evil creatures.

Not to mention, if you’re a Zelda fan, you may well enjoy the homage this pays and the narrative it weaves as you wait for Breath of the Wild 2, expected for release next year.

Format: Third-person hack-and-Slash

Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Release date: 20 November 2020

Surfing the web isn’t always this fun.

This latest Spiderman game features young Miles Morales as Peter Parker’s protegee, left to defend New York while his mentor is on a work assignment overseas.

Following on from Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2018, this one is a bit shorter, but still a fully fleshed-out story.

The gameplay has always been the main attraction for spiderman games, with the ability to swing from rooftop to rooftop offering a rush of freedom and thrill. The combat is very punch-and-dodge, similar to the Batman: Arkham games, along with various classic spider-themed tools and abilities for slinging, swinging and sneaking.

Miles has a bit of a different skill set from Peter, making for some nice variability.

While the map is the same as the game’s predecessor – only, in winter – this story is more focused and suffers from far less unnecessary padding than that one, and focused on telling the story of Miles well. They did a good enough job that Kotaku ranked it the top Spidey game of all time.

Format: Third-person 3d platformer

Platforms: PS4, PS5

Release date: 12 November 2020

If you’ve ever watched Luke Skywalker doing the death star trench run and thought ‘I could do that’, this may be the game for you.

Squadrons gives you the chance to jump in the cockpit of an X-wing or other classic Star Wars fighter ships, and pilot them in large-scale battles in two multiplayer modes, or a single-player campaign set after the Return of the Jedi.

The gameplay for the 14-mission single-player mode is estimated to take about seven or eight hours – not a huge game by any stretch – but considering the lower than average price for a big studio game and the endless multiplayer, it’s not bad.

Players can take the role on either side of the Star Wars conflict – the New Republic or the Empire – and the single player campaign follows pilots from each side as well, offering a somewhat new perspective for fans of the IP.

The focus on deep gameplay mechanics in flying allows the game to be challenging and rewarding, with genuine skill and/or practice required to do well. Part of this is the ability to balance your ship’s systems power, boosting weapons or shields for an edge at a given time.

The Fleet Battle multiplayer mode sets pilots objectives as well as shooting each other out of the sky making strategy and good communication a benefit, one of the things that truly makes multiplayer games fun.

For those with the gear or a wallop of extra disposable cash, the whole thing can also be played in VR. There’s also at this stage no microtransactions or need to spend extra money to rank up.

Format: First-person flight combat

Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One

Release date: 2 October 2020