The best video games of 2021 so far

PC A gentle, board game style town building sim, which has you matching hexagonal landscape tiles to craft unique locations, laying on further puzzles and pleasures as you go. What we said: "This is game-playing at its most thoughtfully relaxing, with that rare chance, in video games, to be the architect of a world, rather than its conqueror." Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One Part jazz age murder mystery, part ontological odyssey to the birth of the universe, Genesis Noir is a point-and-click puzzler that operates more as a philosophical toy than a traditional game – but don't be put off by any preconceptions that idea might engender. What we said: "The game sizzles with invention, and its hyperactive flits from the cosmic to the prosaic combine to produce an astonishing, memorable and novel piece of work." Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X Agent 47 returns for a climactic series of assassination missions, taking in Berlin warehouse raves, Argentinian wineries and vast English mansions.