Every week, we produce our Highs and Lows feature, rounding up the week in news, games and whatever else is drifting through our heads when we write it on a Friday afternoon. Since it's the end of 2017, we've produced a special round-up of the year, with contributions across our global team. Enjoy, and check back tomorrow for our lows of the year.

Samuel Roberts: Age of Empires 4 exists

Here something I never would have predicted at the start of 2017: Microsoft bringing back Age of Empires. Not just with enhanced editions of the older games, but with a brand new fourth entry, made by the RTS specialists at Relic. Not loads is known about it, but at Gamescom it came out of nowhere with a trailer, and in 2018 we'll hopefully see a lot more of it.This is the first new Age of Empires in 13 years, which is crazy. Along with MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, it's cool to see series from that era of PC gaming return. It doesn't get more PC gaming than Age of Empires for me: that series was fundamental to my interest in PC back in the late '90s, after I sampled the first game on a PC Gamer demo disc.

I hope Age of Empires 4 comes with a scenario editor. Earlier this year, I wrote about how much I loved AoE2's scenario editor, and how it let you make 20 William Wallaces fight 20 Joan of Arcs. If we can't violate the truth of history with the most ridiculous large-scale encounters imaginable, it just won't be my Age of Empires. 

Andy Kelly: Paint it black

Okami is one of my all-time favourite games, but for years I had no easy, convenient way to play it. I don’t own any consoles, so I couldn't even play the 2012 re-release, and I had trouble emulating it at a stable frame-rate. So I was delighted this year when it was finally released on PC with 4K support. It finally looks like it looked in my mind when I played it on a PlayStation 2 and a tube TV back in 2006, and I’m stunned by how beautiful those ink wash-inspired visuals still are, even at modern resolutions.

A lot of great stuff was released for PC this year, so it might seem odd that my highlight is a re-release of an 11-year-old game, but I think that proves just how fond I am of Okami. As well as looking gorgeous, it's a grand adventure in the Zelda mould, full of interesting characters, beautiful locations, and puzzle-filled dungeons. It’s just a lovely place to exist in, and I loved every one of its 30+ hours. Yes, it's a big game, and the pace can be incredibly slow, but I can forgive that. It's a game to be savoured, not rushed.

Hell, I don’t even care that it’s locked to 30fps. In light of the game's quality, I'm willing to sacrifice a few frames per second. And I think it's healthy not to let technical limitations dictate your enjoyment of a game every time. When I first played Deus Ex it was at 15fps on a shitty laptop with onboard graphics, and it's still my favourite game of all time. So yeah, Okami is amazing and I'm glad I can play it whenever I like now. I'm listening to the soundtrack as I write this and feeling a powerful urge to return.

Tom Senior: Elite strats

This year I've been cheered by the gentle, ongoing presence of strategy games on PC. It's still rare to get a big blockbuster like Civilization VI every year, but War of the Chosen was brilliant, I had a good time with Dawn of War 3 before it seemed to falter after release, and Total War: Warhammer 2 is going to take over my Christmas gaming time. 

It has been an interesting year for 4X strategy games as well. Stellaris and Endless Space 2 continue to grow, and I look forward to returning to both games next year after they have had more time to mature. Age of Empires Definitive Edition will provide a nice reliable hit of nostalgia in 2018, but like Samuel I'm most excited about Age of Empires IV, whenever that's due. I've been trying to second guess Relic’s approach since the game was announced. The scale of the setting might inspire a move away from the micro-heavy approaches to recent games, and I wonder if we will see a move away from complex progression mechanics and unit upgrade systems in favour of a more sweeping, accessible RTS without the esports pretensions. The future is bright for strategy fans.

Tyler Wilde: Major players

None of my favorite games this year came from Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, Bethesda, EA, Microsoft Game Studios, Capcom, Take-Two, Warner Bros, or Sega. It's not that these publishers have stopped putting out games I enjoy—many of them published some fine games this year—but that the selection of great PC games is becoming more and more diverse and plentiful. My best of 2017 list includes Divinity: Original Sin 2, Night in the Woods, Rocket League (which didn't come out this year but is still my most-played game), Sniper Elite 4, Absolver, and Torment: Tides of Numenera, none of which were backed by a major publisher. I couldn't say the same thing five years ago. And ten years ago? Forget it.

Chris Livingston: VR isn't dead

This is a weird one for me, because among the PC Gamer staff I've perhaps been the most skeptical of VR (possibly because I lived through the first round of VR pie-in-the-sky promises in the 1980s). And by no means have I changed my views on it: it's simply not cheap or convenient enough to become a part of mainstream gaming. And won't, I think, for another decade. Still, I think (and have always thought) the technology is neat if impractical, and I was a bit worried that after it failed to truly catch on for the PC, it might simply wither and die.

So it's been great to see that some developers and publishers are still embracing it. Bethesda went all in this year, releasing a special episode of Doom plus the entirety of Fallout 4 in VR. Both games have their issues, but they're also both extremely enjoyable through a headset. Rockstar released a truncated version of LA Noire in VR, Croteam brought us Serious Sam VR, and there were some smaller games like Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality that use the technology astoundingly well. Gamers are still interested, too: a Kickstarter for an 8K VR headset asked for $200,000 and received over $4 million.

VR isn't dead, and that's good. There's a long road ahead, major advances in the tech needed, and way more games required. It just needs more time, and the more developers (especially big ones) that keep their hats in the ring, the more time it'll have.

Wes Fenlon: Japanese games had a hell of a year

Japanese game companies have been struggling for years, having to spend more and more money to developer big games that bring in less and less cash as their players switch over to mobile. For a long time, this was only a woe for console players—we barely got Japanese games on PC at all! But holy hell, has 2017 been a great year for Japanese games everywhere. Off the PC, the Nintendo Switch has been a phenomenal success, and it's a joy to play games on. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the best games I've ever played. Yazuka 0 was the talk of the town for months, earlier this year. Persona 5 is the most stylish RPG in ages. Nioh revitalized Team Ninja.

And on PC, the story has been just as great. Nier: Automata proved to be a smash hit beyond all expectations, and it's still being talked about constantly after being out for nine months. Sega and Platinum games brought Bayonetta and Vanquish to PC after years of fans pining, and both look and play as smoothly on PC as they deserve—easily the definitive versions of those games. Resident Evil 7 made the series scary again, something it desperately needed. With every success, it feels like Japanese developers and emboldened to plan PC builds of their games right from the start.

The highlight of my year was tapping into the excitement around Japanese games with an entire week of features devoted to them. The ones I'm most proud of are How Japan learned to love PC gaming again, which tries to capture the how and why of PC gaming finally sticking for Japanese developers, and Phantasy Star Online will never die, a feature about the incredibly welcoming fan communities still playing PSO to this day. I had both of these stories in my head for years, and publishing them was true catharsis. It's hard to imagine Japanese developers topping their 2017 output anytime soon, but that's okay. 2017 was a year of resurgence and renewed confidence, and I think everyone's excited about what comes next.

Jarred Walton: Ryzen shout, the CPUs are out

This year has been insane on the CPU front, and while we didn't award AMD's Ryzen our Best CPU of the Year, it's chiefly thanks to AMD that Intel has pulled out the stops and actually released some compelling upgrades. Starting with the Ryzen 7 parts, and then moving through Ryzen 5, Ryzen 3, and finally Ryzen Threadripper, AMD has become a viable competitor in the CPU realm once more.

My hopes for Ryzen were perhaps too high, but Ryzen 7 is still a very fast processor. The 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 models compete well against Intel's i7-5960X, i7-6900K, and i7-7820X, particularly in professional applications. But most games don't utilize lots of cores, so Ryzen somewhat unexpectedly does a bit poorly in games. It comes down to per-core performance, where Intel's architecture is simply better tuned at this stage.

But choice is a good thing, and we should see new Ryzen processors next year that build on this year's successes. Using an updated Zen+ architecture and a 12nm process should allow for higher clockspeeds, and hopefully AMD has refined the core design to improve latencies as well, which would boost gaming performance. There are rumors of new 400-series chipsets, but the new parts should be compatible with existing 300-series AM4 boards. Ryzen was this close to greatness, and the update may actually push AMD over the top.

Tim Clark: Finally winning something

When we moved into our new office our bosses decided to liven up the place with some motivational slogans on the walls. One of these is positioned just behind Evan's head and reads: "Results matter and success feels good". I have had plenty of time to ponder it, it wasn't until my trip to China in the summer that I truly I understood the management inspo. I was there following Muzzy's bid to win the Hearthstone Spring Championship, and though he ended up having a rough tournament, it was fascinating seeing how these young players deal with all the prep and pressure. My feature on that experience is my favourite thing I wrote this year, and China only cemented my love of the tournament scene.

I also got a tiny taste of what it's like to compete. Between the proper matches, Blizzard organised a press tournament to keep us out of trouble. Over the course of multiple 3-2 series victories (two of which I fell 2-0 behind in), and one absolute stomp against a nice Japanese lady who didn't seem to have played the game before. The rush of relief I felt when I won the final—and with a Pyroblast to face, no less—felt better than probably anything I've experienced related to gaming. Plus it meant I got to have my picture take with Ant and (the actual winner) Hoej, both of whom are absolute sweethearts.

Generally speaking I avoid any sort of serious competition, and though this was of course supposed to be a bit of fun, you better believe I took it seriously, even going so far as asking Muzzy for pick and ban advice. So I guess what I'm saying is results do matter, success does feel good. I just needed a children's card game to teach me.

This year's best mod is Fallout 4's Sim Settlements. Below, our writers share their thoughts on why it made such a meaningful difference to the game. To see the rest of our 2017 GOTY Awards, head here. 

Chris Livingston: Sim Settlements is sort of astounding to me. It gives Fallout 4 players an entirely new way to build settlements by, essentially, allowing NPCs to build their own. Designate zones for residential, commercial, or industrial buildings, and then sit back and watch your settlers erect their own buildings, randomly pulling from pools of assets so each building is a unique. As your settlement grows the NPCs will add on to their buildings, adding more props and features and even second stories. Each time you visit a settlement, you'll be able to see their progress, which gives your settlements a feeling of real life, and gives your settlers some agency. They aren't just standing around waiting for you to place every last door, bed, or stick of furniture.

The really great thing is, you can still use the vanilla settlement system at the same time, even inside the same settlement. Zone some areas for NPCs to develop, build some areas yourself. You can decide how hands-on you want to be. It's an amazingly thoughtful and well-made mod that could easily be incorporated into the game itself.

Joe Donnelly: Fallout 4's settlement system confused me at launch. With so many other things to get on with in The Commonwealth, who could be arsed piecing together makeshift HQs with rickety bed frames, recycled cinder blocks and filthy old toilet bowls? Not me, which is why I paid the Sim Settlements mod little mind when I first caught wind of it. Seriously, if I’m to be dropped into a brutal post apocalyptic world with a shed load of firearms and melee weapons at my disposal, I want to take the scores of weird, hostile and irradiated beasts knocking around to task—not playing interior designer. I get that rebuilding the world is a big part of survival, but I'd rather leave all that to someone else. Enter Sim Settlements.

To quote the mod's ModDB description: "It also feels bizarre that you have to micromanage all these people, and personally plant seeds and decide where people sleep—you're their leader, not their mother! You're supplying these people with security and tons of resources, why can't they kick in and help out with building up the city?"

To this end, my otherwise useless Sanctuary Hills-dwelling comrades were suddenly crafting buildings by their own volition in some sort of nuclear war-ravaged edition of 60 Minute Makeover. The tedium was removed from base building and it was great. And the joy of returning from several hours of roving the Wasteland to find one of my settlers' projects completed, as they toiled and moiled on their next venture was second to none. I mean, who'd have guessed Preston Garvey had such a creative streak? 

In doing so, Sim Settlements helps make Fallout 4's settlement system feel more connected to the rest of the game. Moreover, an adjustable needs system allows the basic needs of your settlers to change over time, meaning maintaining base happiness is more challenging and raid less predictable.

Phil Savage: It's such a great idea for a mod that the main game feels bereft without it. Fallout 4 is a game about communities, and Sim Settlements lets those communities work towards their own recovery.

Read Chris's impressions of Sim Settlements here.

With the right ensemble of mods, Fallout: New Vegas can look stunning. Instead of relying on a hotchpotch of player-made creations, though, one mod team is recreating Obsidian's Mojave-set interpretation of the post-apocalypse in Fallout 4's Creation Engine. 

Fallout 4: New Vegas is a project comprised of around 100 contributors from various backgrounds, and aims to reimagine Sin City with all of the 2010 original's "quests story and content, with additional gameplay elements and systems from the new and improved engine." 

Announced in August this year, here's a brief pre-alpha short:

Looks pretty neat, huh? The mod's latest ModDB devlog shows off how Fallout 4's dynamic weather system affects New Vegas with varied lighting and ever-changing atmospheric detail.Here's some screens to this end:

Fallout 4: New Vegas is without a hard release date, however its creators note that they're always interested in new recruits. If that's you, head in this direction for the mod team's application form. 

And since we're talking New Vegas, let me point you in the direction of Andy's recent reinstall. 

I'm attempting a non-lethal playthrough of Fallout 4 with the Knockout Framework mod, which lets me punch NPCs unconscious and carry them around in a sack on my back. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 

After getting punched by a bandit wearing power armor in Part 3 of my diary, I've decided I want my own set of armor, and so I'm headed to Concord where the settlement-obsessed Preston Garvey awaits. As I approach the Museum of Freedom, I bonk a few raiders unconscious with my cane, and after heading inside I bonk several more.

I'm actually starting to feel pretty confident with my non-lethal head-bashing. My biggest problem is that having put my focus on strength to be a decent melee fighter, I can't sneak worth a damn. Surprise attacks are impossible—raiders always hear me coming and turn around—and I tend to get shot a lot. Still, all the raiders I've encountered have been pretty easy to knock out, taking three hits at the most.

What's a bit harder is convincing Preston Garvey to open the door to his crummy little office for me. He insists that he'll only let me in once I've dealt with the raiders, and despite all the raiders lying concussed on the floor of the museum, the game doesn't consider them officially dealt with since they're still breathing. Which sort of sucks. Preston could easily just shoot their unconscious bodies dead himself, if only he'd open the door. But he won't.

Well, I've still got a big sack in my bag of tricks. I decide to try carrying a raider outside the building, and as I dump the first one in the street, I notice the quest log updates. Now it tells me I only have six raiders to "kill" instead of seven. I guess if they're out of the building, that counts as a kill to dear Preston. Out of sight, out of mind.

I sigh, then get to work. It's a pain, gathering up all the raiders, one by one, putting them in my sack, carrying them back downstairs, leaving the building, and dumping them in the street. But I repeat it until they're all slumbering unconscious on the pavement. Except for the one who suddenly wakes up and punches me as I go back inside. 

But the point is, as you can (sort of) see above, the quest decides I have killed all seven raiders, and I haven't actually killed any of them. I head upstairs for the eighth time, chat with Preston and his pals, and then reach the roof to acquire my very own power armor. I leave the minigun where it is and leap into the street, landing directly on two of the unconscious raiders, instantly killing them. Whoops! I have to reload and do it again—no killing allowed, even by accident.

I jump more carefully this time, land safely, and run down the street brandishing only my armored fists. I punch my way through a few more raiders until it's time for the main event: the deathclaw.

 It, uh, doesn't go so well.

The deathclaw punches me a lot harder than I punch it. Also, it's got the slick move of picking me up and body-slamming me into the pavement. Thankfully, I've got a few stimpacks and a backpack full of food, and I manage a quick retreat to heal before I start wading in again.

I've got something else, too. With all the raiders going down so easily underneath my mighty cane, I've banked a full-ass critical meter. I dash over to the deathclaw, target it in VATS, and unleash a might critical wallop.

The deathclaw goes down. It folds like a house of cards. I drop it like a bad habit. I have punched a deathclaw unconscious.

I'm also excited to see that the enormous sleeping deathclaw does indeed fit into my body sack. Hooray! I'm so thrilled I even jump up and down in the street, even though there's still a raider on a nearby roof taking shots at me. Let him shoot, I'll punch him to sleep after I've celebrated a bit.

Preston, unfortunately, isn't impressed with my unconscious deathclaw: the quest doesn't update to say I've completed it. In the meantime, though, I've got the power armor I was after and my own personal unconscious deathclaw that I suddenly realize I don't know what to do with. I even take it out of the sack back at Sanctuary Hills to have a look at it.

Yup, thats a big unconscious deathclaw I'm not allowed to kill! Well, maybe it'll come in handy somehow. I'll just carry it around with me until I figure out what to do with it.

Next week: I figure out what to do with it.

Inon Zur is a multi-award winning composer who has spent the majority of his career writing videogame scores. His resume boasts the likes of Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal, Dragon Age: Origins, Prince of Persia and Crysis, among a long list of other game projects.   

After cutting his teeth on 2001's Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Zur went on to compose the ambient orchestral arrangements for Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4—the latter of which is now being visited and revisited following the launch of Fallout 4 VR.

I recently caught up with Zur to chat about his career, what inspires him to write music for videogames, and how he approaches each project differently. 

PC Gamer: You've worked in television and film, but the majority of your work has been with videogames. What was it that first attracted you to games?

Inon Zur: Videogame score is very unique and a different process than movies and TV. Since the music cannot be locked to a picture (cinematics and cut-scenes being the exceptions), it has to carry a strong signature that can represent what’s going on in the game without hitting specific points. This is challenging, but the creative process is more open and the freedom to write a piece of music that has no boundaries or limitations is very rewarding. 

I also feel that many of the producers and audio directors in the game industry value the music very much and are willing to invest in a high level of production, like recording live orchestras and so on. This is what I’ve found in the scoring for games world and this is why I like to work in this medium so much.

Do you play videogames yourself—what has your relationship with games been like over the years? 

I love games, although I don’t have enough time to play them since I have to score them. I will, however, usually play the games I’m working on to get the feel of the gameplay and to make sure the music does what we want it to do.

Under Bethesda's care, the Fallout series has often adopted a '40s-style rock music OST, despite being set well into the future. Does this style of music affect the application of your ambient orchestral scores? 

Usually no. Throughout the years I developed the ‘Fallout musical signature’ that is very unique to the Fallout world and for the most part has nothing to do with the ‘40s style of music. That being said, sometimes there are crossing points where I have to tie the two musical worlds, and in these cases I definitely take into consideration the “Fallout Radio” style and try to match it with the score.

How did your approach to creating the game's overworld music change from Fallout 4, to Nuka World, to Far Harbor, if at all?

I think that in general the Fallout music style is evolving and ever-changing, based on the game content. For example, in Far Harbor the feel was more haunting and sad in comparison to the main game. I used cello solo and female solo voice to highlight the uniqueness of these worlds. Nuka World was more like a theme park, so I matched that feel with the music. Overall the main signature is not very different but I can steer it in different directions based on the story and locations.

You've now composed Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 3. Firstly: Do you have a favourite? And secondly: Is there anything specific you must consider when composing Fallout music—are there any special techniques you've relied upon in all three games?

There is a definite creative approach that connects all these games when it comes to music. What we call ‘organic sound design’ is the main tool when it comes to the Fallout world of music. Rather than playing a traditional instrument to create traditional music, the way these instruments are used to being heard, I use them in a non-traditional way. Or I can use a non-musical instrument (practically any object or tool) and produce music from it.

This is what is so unique in the Fallout scores. The fact that you can hear music but not be really sure how it is actually produced. It is a nice enhancer for the mysterious and unknown world of Fallout.By the way, I also scored Fallout Tactics, which was way earlier.

Your career in videogame music spawns a number of very different games. How does your approach differ when writing a Fallout score compared to, say, Dragon Age: Origins, or Prince of Persia?

It all starts and ends wtth the story and setting. I will approach games like Dragon Age as a dark fantasy world. It has a very distinct, artistic setting—in this case, dark fantasy. I will approach it from this perspective and will try to bring to life this world from an emotional point of view within the boundaries of this style. 

The story of course has a lot of influence on the composition, but the style of the game and the world it resides in will be the biggest factor when it comes to the initial musical approach.

Of all the games you've written music for, which score have you enjoyed most and why?

I have to say that I can’t single out any specific title… I enjoy almost any project for its individual set of challenges and artistic world. 

Which game was the most difficult to write music for and why?

Usually games that don’t have a known definition—but rather a new approach in terms of the story and setting—those are the most challenging to write for. However, I must say that each project presents to me its own creative challenges, and even those that are a continuation of previous projects bring new and exciting creative opportunities.

I imagine it's a great feeling when the games you've worked on do well—not least the Fallout series. But how does it feel on your end when a game isn't received positively by critics?  

For me it’s most important to know that I did everything in my power to support the game with my music. It is sometimes hard to predict what people will embrace, but I think that I need to always stay true to myself, no matter what the outcome is. This way, even when some project is not well received, at least I know I gave it my very best.

You've won a number of awards for your work on games overs the years. Of those, are there any you're especially proud of?

Not necessarily. The awards, accolades and great reviews no doubt have a great impact and are reassuring. However, I know that they can’t really define if the score was truly deserving of such praise, they are artistic opinions that people have, and as much as I respect this, music is so very personal and subjective. 

Throughout your time in games, a number of series that you've worked on have been cancelled or discontinued. Is there any particular series you'd like to see revived?

Certainly! I would love to see Prince of Persia make a return! I greatly enjoyed working on the series and would love to write a score for a new game in this series.

Are there any series that you haven't worked on that you wish you could have been a part of?

I’m a huge James Bond fan so I would love working on a Bond score. That would be a dream project. I also like to write jazz music, so any projects that employed this style would be a real joy to compose for!

Speaking generally, how has the videogame music scene changed over time?

There are many factors that contributed to the evolution in videogame music. The first is the technical aspect—today we can fit a huge amount of memory into a game, so there is basically no limitation when it comes to space. Therefore, the quality of the music can be maximized; music can be broken into stems, the interactivity of the score can be enhanced dramatically since there are no memory space constraints and since the audio engines are more sophisticated today, the music can respond in real-time.

The second factor is the introduction of software like WWise, and other similar applications. These are working wonders when it comes to how the music is being implemented in the game. They expanded the audio director’s possibilities and made it easier and more creative than ever.

The third factor is the overwhelming success of the videogame industry—this brought more resources to the productions and therefore the composer has more budget than ever to create a high-quality score, with live recordings, quality mixes, for example.

Certainly music was always heavily valued by game developers and gamers at large, but today I believe it’s more than ever.

Inon Zur's work on Fallout 4's Nuka World and Far Harbour DLC is available now on Apple Music. 

I'm attempting to immerse myself completely in Fallout 4 VR. In my pre-war house, my husband takes a seat on the couch to watch TV, and I sit next to him—sort of. As far as the game is concerned, I'm sitting (I have chosen the 'sit' option with my controller) but while I'm positioned on the couch I'm still at my standing height. Only by squatting—physically, with my real body, I mean—can I feel like we're really chilling on the couch together, not a care in the world. It's a wonderful life, a relaxing husband and his weirdly crouching wife watching TV together, at least until the bombs start falling.

While Fallout 4 VR shows some of the shortcomings of retrofitting VR into an existing game, it's also impressively playable. I had my doubts about whether I'd really enjoy playing a game that one could easily spend 100 hours in while using a VR headset I typically want to take off after 30 minutes, but after several enjoyable hours over the weekend, I've found that VR is a great fit for Fallout 4.

Note: The gifs above and below are from video capturing the mirrored footage on my desktop while I play, which shows up at an odd resolution and not in full detail on my monitor. The game looks perfectly lovely in my headset.

Instead of racing through it for what is probably the 10th time, I spend a while in Fallout 4's introductory sequence just inspecting things. I lean close to one of my terrified neighbors as we descend into the Vault (in fact, I lean so close I can see inside her skull). In front of an armored soldier, I hunch over so I can peer into the barrel of his gun. (I don't know why—what do I expect to see in there, a bouquet of flowers?) When I meet Dogmeat I get down on one knee (my real knee) so I can look directly into his beautifully earnest doggy face. The sights and sounds I know very well at this point are made fresh and exciting again by being able to move around inside them and get closer to them than I've ever been able to before.

There's been some tailoring to accommodate the VR experience. One of the best things in Fallout 4 VR is VATS, which works a bit differently than it does in the original game. Instead of allowing you to target a specific area or areas on your enemy (or enemies) and then watching your attacks play out in a cinematic view, VATS in VR works more like a traditional bullet time effect.

Once activated, time slows down. You aim, physically, by pointing your controller (which looks like the current weapon you're holding) at your enemy. As you aim your weapon, parts of your enemy are highlighted as you center your aim on them. Then, rather than watching your attack play out as your action points are spent, you actually fire your weapon in slow-motion. Instead of pulling you out for a cinematic observation of the carnage, you feel like you're in one long unbroken fight. It's a great rethinking of the VATS feature. In fact, I found myself preferring the new VATS to the original: you feel more connected to the action. 

The Pip-Boy, unfortunately, doesn't translate quite as well. At first it's cool to hold your wrist up to your face to activate the screen (it enlarges automatically, though since you have no arms it's just sort of floating there) and scrolling through the options using the directional pad works okay after a little practice. But considering how often you use your Pip-Boy, it begins to feel like a bit of a chore after a while. Having a quick look at something, easy with mouse and keyboard, takes a good deal longer with the controllers.

The workshop experience is a bit clunky in VR, too (to be fair, it was already a bit clunky to begin with). Building elements appear nicely over one hand, as if they were little spinning holograms you were holding, and placing them is done with the other controller, though navigating the menus is much easier in the standard fashion than with the touchpads. Wearing power armor is another feature that doesn't feel quite like it should in VR. Apart from being a couple of inches taller, and having a new HUD attached to your vision, it doesn't really feel any different than running around without it.

Obviously, Fallout 4 VR hasn't been built from the ground up for a headset, and sometimes you can really feel it. I've spent some time recently playing Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, so I'm used to using my virtual hands to pull open virtual drawers and cabinets, and holding and turning items over while seeing a representation of my real mitts in front of my face. You can pick up items in Fallout 4 VR, but you don't see yourself holding anything, they just float there. Opening containers works like it does in the regular game, which doesn't do much for immersion or giving you the feeling that you can really reach out, touch things, interact.

But it's still a highly playable game in VR. I feel some of the wonder in a new way: watching the massive vault door roll open, looking up at Diamond City's gate as it rises for the first time, seeing ghouls and deathclaws lunging right in my face. I'm not one who feels motion sickness in VR, but it can sometimes be jarring or uncomfortable when something doesn't feel right. Fallout 4 VR feels right just about all the time.

Really, the only thing pulling me out of the VR experience is my knee beginning to hurt from standing on a hard floor for several hours at a stretch, but chalk that up to my old, shitty body and not to Fallout 4 VR. Without my bum knee and the inevitable sweatiness of the Vive headset, I could keep playing for hours more.

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to unspool across the decades, we decided to revisit the best superhero games on PC. The term 'superhero' is arguably a bit nebulous in games—you could say you're playing as a superhero in Dishonored or Mass Effect, for example, which isn't totally inaccurate, so instead we've focused on games that evoke superhero fiction in their imagery or themes. We've also included a non-superhero game that's fantastic for mods, and a cool themed quest from another non-superhero game. Enjoy. 

Injustice 2

As someone with only a light-touch understanding of the world of DC Comics, Injustice 2 is perfectly pitched for me. It is a delirious trip around DC's extended roster, that is nonetheless quite earnest and well-produced. Where else can I step into Aquaman’s finned lycra pants to batter a telepathic simian called Gorilla Grodd? The singleplayer story doesn’t make a huge amount of sense in the end, but I don’t mind that because it's a great superhero spectacle that has the feel of a big crossover event. Supergirl's disillusionment at discovering how Superman turned out made for a decent story hook, albeit one buried under appearances from 26 other characters who all have to magic up a reason to scrap. The super moves are hilarious too.—Tom Senior

Batman: Arkham City

Some purists prefer Arkham Asylum (not many prefer Arkham Knight), but for me the Batman fantasy isn't complete without Gotham, and it feels amazing to glide around those streets beating up thugs in an open city. In stealth and combat situations the Arkham games capture Batman's furtive power beautifully. More generally, Rocksteady's Batman games do an amazing job of realising that world and the rogue’s gallery in digital form—a hard task given how many artists have taken on Batman over the years. There's a bit of the Batman: Animated Series in there (thanks to Kevin Conroy of course), and the use of realistic textures with caricatured characters helps the game's villains seem luminous against the backdrop of that gritty, detailed city. It comes together so well that you don’t feel like just another punchy, angry videogame protagonist, you feel like The Batman.—Tom Senior

Saints Row 4

Games that make fun of superheroes can be as fun as games that take them seriously—not that Saints Row distinguishes, it will make a joke out of anything. SR4 is particularly good because the superpowers are hugely entertaining to use, in an unrestrained, game-breaking sort of way. Combining super run and super jump to vault skyscrapers is a winning feeling, and the sort of unrepentant power fantasy that I wish superhero games would capture more often. Also, the jokes are good. More jokes please. —Tom Senior

Freedom Force/Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich

Irrational's two real-time tactical games pay homage to the era of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, letting you control a squad of decent (mostly) Marvel analogues with a variety of powers. These influences are captured well in vivid-looking levels, complete with comic book-y visualised sound effects as attacks collide with enemies. Both Freedom Force games are on GOG now, and they're similarly charming and enjoyable, if a little dated. They each scored 88% in PC Gamer UK years ago, and they're still some of the most interesting superhero games around.—Samuel Roberts 

Lego Marvel Superheroes

It's a close contest between this and Lego Batman 2 out of the increasingly busy ranks of Lego superhero games on Steam, but a mash-up of the entire Marvel universe set in a nice open world Manhattan setting is just wish fulfillment for me. The story is all-new, and gradually brings more and more superheroes into the fray, including the X-Men and Fantastic Four before Marvel allegedly started brushing them to one side in favour of heroes that nobody likes (the Inhumans—though I do like the big dog). It's top fan service, and the character roster—which features everyone from Luke Cage to Squirrel Girl—has pretty much all the heroes you could want, minus Jessica Jones. She did pop up in Lego Avengers, though, to be fair.—Samuel Roberts

Chroma Squad

Even if you're not a fan of Power Rangers-type shows, you can tell that Chroma Squad was put together with love. In this funny and colourful tactical game, you're running your own show based in that genre, taking part in turn-based team combat against different enemies. It's possible you've already picked up Chroma Squad in a Humble Bundle. Give it a try if you haven't already.—Samuel Roberts 

Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3

The newest Marvel Vs Capcom didn't seem to go down that well this year, and I empathise with the disappointment towards the X-Men-less roster. Luckily, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, which came to PC earlier this year, brings Deadpool, Wolverine, X-23 and Magneto, as well as a far prettier cel-shaded art style. I can't vouch for the online side of things, since the daily player count is less than 50 on average according to Steam Charts, but it's worth getting just to enjoy the fan service.—Samuel Roberts

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

The second South Park RPG uses superheroes as a basis for both jokes and a solid roleplaying theme. You play a new superhero joining Cartman's Coon and Friends gang, and he gives you an appropriately gross origin story to set you on your way. The game's class system lets you choose which superhero archetype you want to be, affecting your abilities in battle, and the other kids come with their own classes too. Like with The Stick of Truth's fantasy theme, you sense that the creators are poking fun at superhero media because they love it.—Samuel Roberts

SpeedRunners

SpeedRunners is a fast and frantic competitive multiplayer game with the power to end friendships. On the face of it, your objective is simple: arrive at the scene of a crime ahead of your superhero pals and save the day. But in practice this means traversing garish obstacle-laden levels at break-neck speeds—firing off grappling hooks, bombs, power-ups, and a f**k-tonne of swear words as you strive to one-up whoever stands in your path along the way. Think Mario Kart meets N++ meets a caseload of Red Bull and you're on the right lines. Interestingly, SpeedRunners was recognised as an esport by the ESL in 2015, but the section was closed the following year as a result of inactivity. Told you it had the power to end friendships.—Joe Donnelly

Special mention one: Fallout 4's The Silver Shroud quest

Alright, it's just one quest, but it's also my favourite superhero experience from any game of the last few years. In The Silver Shroud, you borrow the costume and persona of the titular fictional radio serial/comic book hero, then police the grimy town of Goodneighbor. Ghoul pal and Shroud fan Kent Connolly points you towards crime on the radio, and you confront criminals while playing the character, talking in a ludicrous over-the-top voice while they regard you as a total weirdo. I'd play a whole game as The Silver Shroud. In fact, I kind of did, stalking The Commonwealth in the goofy noirish costume any time I wasn't wearing power armour.—Samuel Roberts 

Special mention two: Grand Theft Auto 5

While Saints Row was taking the GTA formula in a wild direction, GTA stayed relatively sane and stuck to social commentary in beautifully realised modern cities. Not a superhero game, then, until modders got hold of it. Then all of a sudden you could play as Iron Man and fly around the place blowing up cards with your hands. Or you could play as Superman, Green Goblin, The Flash, and even The Incredible Hulk. The finished experienced isn't as polished as a dedicated game, but GTA 5's city is so good that causing chaos for a while in the guise of a comic book hero is a lot of fun.—Tom Senior

"Get rid of Wolfgang. I don't know what he offered you, but I'll pay you 100 caps to kill that Jet-selling scumbag," says Trudy, the proprietor of Drumlin Diner. "Go get him," she adds when I accept her offer.

Thing is, I don't have any intention of killing Wolfgang: this is a non-lethal playthrough of Fallout 4. I also don't need to go get him because I've already got him: Wolfgang is currently stuffed inside the giant duffel bag on my back because I just beat him unconscious outside Trudy's diner.

I'm in the revenge business now! I'm using the Knockout Framework mod for Fallout 4, and while my first adventure was a bit aimless, my second provided more focus as I delivered an unconscious bandit named Ack-Ack to Abernathy farm so Blake could get revenge for his daughter's murder.

Now, Trudy wants Wolfgang dead, so here he is. I dump his body on the floor of the diner and wake him up with a stimpack.

It takes Trudy what I'd describe as an embarrassingly long time to finish off Wolfgang, especially considering his head gets stuck in the floor and he can't actually stand up to defend himself. It's not quite as satisfying a moment of revenge as it was with Ack-Ack, since I only carried Wolfgang about ten feet, but still! Revenge is revenge.

In other recent developments, I've upgraded my non-lethal gear. I've bought a cane from the wandering vendor Trashcan Carla, because something about pummeling people with a wooden cane just feels a little classier than using a tire iron I found sticking out of a dead dog. More importantly, I've now got a non-lethal ranged weapon: a shotgun. Shotguns are typically deadly, but I've crafted 30 non-lethal shotgun shells added by Knockout Framework's companion mod. Now I just need someone to test them on.

My wandering eventually brings me to Tenpines Bluff, a tiny settlement containing two potato farmers who immediately begin complaining of raider troubles. Sounds like a good opportunity for revenge, but the location of the raiders who have been harassing them is kinda far for a low-level cane-wielder like me. There's another raider hangout closer, Outpost Zimonja, which I decide to visit instead.

Along the way, I'm happy to discover my new non-lethal shells work like a charm. I run into yet another small group of raiders (see above) and blast them unconscious. Now I can shoot people without actually killing them, and I don't have to rely on just walking sticks anymore. Awesome!

A little less awesome is the situation I find myself in at Outpost Zimonja.

Oh, yeah. I forgot about Boomer. He's the lead raider at the outpost and he's wearing a full set of power armor. Regular raiders have been going down with two shots from my gun, but Boomer is still standing after multiple shots, and he's pummeling the crap out of me.

With the careful administration of various drugs and a lot of chowing down on irradiated food, I manage to survive long enough to knock out Boomer and the rest of the raiders at the camp. I also decide that punching people while wearing power armor, as Boomer was doing to me, would be a lot better than punching people while not wearing power armor.

The problem is, while I can help myself to the various parts and pieces of Boomer's armor while he's unconscious, I can't remove the power armor frame itself. The mod allows you take everything from an unconscious NPC's inventory except their clothing, and I guess the frame counts as clothing. I need that frame.

Well... there's a settlement of farmers who are mad at raiders nearby. And now I've got an unconscious raider wearing something I want. If I being Boomer to the settlement and the farmers kill him, it's a sort of revenge, kind of, with the added bonus that I get what I want, too. I stuff Boomer in my sack, bring him to Tenpines Bluff, dump him next to the farmers, and wake him up.

It's a great plan except for what happens next, and what doesn't happen next.

Boomer wakes up and, well, he just sort of runs away. And the settlers, who I was hoping would be murderous at the sight of any raider, even the wrong raider, simply go on with their potato farming. Come on, guys! Raider! Almost certainly the same one you were complaining about, probably! Do something vengeful!

They don't, and I have to chase Boomer down myself. Luckily, he runs smack dab into a trader caravan with a few bodyguards, and they wind up killing him for me. Unluckily, for some reason, even though he's dead, I still can't remove Boomer's power armor frame. Maybe it's the mod, but I think perhaps it's just karma. I let a man be killed in a false revenge scheme because I wanted some cool armor so I could punch people harder. Shame on me.

I still really want some power armor, though, so maybe it's time to visit Concord. Yes, there's a Deathclaw there, and even worse, Preston Garvey. But there's also a set of armor with no one wearing it. It's time for an actual quest.

Next time: The Museum of Natural Fistory

I've just spent the morning getting the shit kicked out of me at the Abernathy farm. As a quick recap, I'm playing Fallout 4 with the non-lethal (and great) Knockout Framework mod, which allows you to knock out NPCs and creatures, and even stuff them into a sack and carry their unconscious bodies around. The non-lethal part is going well, except for when it comes to myself. While I haven't killed anyone, the Abernathys have killed me about six times in the last 30 minutes.

The problem is, I'm not simply trying to play non-lethally, but also trying to prevent anyone else from killing things, too. And, with Codsworth hanging out in Sanctuary eager to kill anything that attacks me, and with molerats infesting Red Rocket Truck Stop attacking me each time they wake up from being knocked out, I don't have an unoccupied settlement where I can craft in peace. My idea was: knock out the Abernathy clan and relocate them in my sack—I don't know where, exactly—and then take over their farm. Thing is, these farmers just won't go down. Last week I knocked out a raider with two hits of my baton, but these rustic farmers, who I am beating on repeatedly with a tire iron, simply won't drop.

Me? I drop. A lot.

Sometimes they shoot me to death, sometimes they pistol-whip or baseball-bat me to the ground, and usually it's a mixture of the two. Even when I manage to disarm Blake, the other two farmers overwhelm me.

After my umpteenth pathetic death, I decide to give up. I want to fight some easier targets than the surprisingly indestructible Abernathy farmhands. Maybe I should actually do a quest, then? I'm supposed to be playing through Fallout 4, after all, not obsessing over settlements and getting schooled by melon-farmers.

Blake Abernathy has a quest: to retrieve a stolen locket from the raiders who murdered his daughter, who are holed-up in USAF Satellite Station Olivia. I accept the mission, though after witnessing the durability and brutality of these farmers, I'm left puzzled why they don't just get the locket and kill the raiders themselves.

After my repeated humblings at the hands of a small collection of peaceful settlers, the quest perks me up immediately. I run into a group of raiders along the way, knock them all out, and leave them unconscious. At the satellite base, I dash up to the first raider and put his lights out with one swing, then take down the next two, before heading into the bowels of the base and bashing my way through four or five more. I do take some damage and have to hide and heal for a minute, but I'm having much more luck, and fun, fighting heavily armed psychopaths than those three quiet farmers.

Even the lead raider, named Ack-Ack, who is armed with a minigun, falls quickly before my fearsome tire iron. After I retrieve Blake's daughter's locket and do some more looting, I find myself stuffing the unconscious body of Ack-Ack into my sack. 

An idea is formulating. It's not exactly a non-lethal idea, I'm afraid, but I think I'm going to do it anyway. I carry Ack-Ack back to the Abernathy Farm along with the locket. I've completed the quest, but brought along a bonus for the farmer.

I dump Ack-Ack on the ground next to Blake Abernathy. Let's face it: knocking out people is fun. Carrying around people in a sack is fun. Trying to make sure nobody dies: not so much fun. It's time to make a small adjustment.

I figure the sight of the raider responsible for killing his daughter will make Blake crazy with rage. It, uh, doesn't. Even after waking up Ack-Ack, Blake continues with his peaceful melon-tending. Ack-Ack, meanwhile, begins yelling and punching me in the face. I can't say I blame her.

Finally, Blake notices his daughter's murderer punching the helpful stranger in the head, and actually does something.

Okay. That was way more satisfying. I've delivered a murderer to the father of her victim, and allowed him to dole out true justice. I mean, eventual true justice, after he finally took a break from his damn melons and casually shot his daughter's murderer in the back after she spent a minute punching me in the mouth.

I've finally found a good use for my sack, and a stronger purpose than just punching random people unconscious. I will still attempt to play non-lethally myself, but I will, on occasion, become an agent of sack-based revenge killings by others.

Next week: Heroes wear a sack!

In 2015, Kyle Hinckley sat down to play through Fallout 4 without killing anyone or anything. He remained seated for a very long time, eventually chronicling his non-lethal playthrough in a 37-part YouTube series, in which a lot of Hinckley's time is spent manipulating NPCs into doing his killing for him.

I don't have that kind of patience, but do I have something Hinckley didn't: the Knockout Framework mod for Fallout 4, which lets you render NPCs unconscious by punching them. When using it, your foes will lose consciousness instead of dying when their health runs out, and after a brief period of time, will wake up again. A companion mod by the same author makes a number of melee weapons non-lethal as well, and adds craftable non-lethal ammo for a few guns. Plus, the mod lets you pick up knocked-out enemies and carry them elsewhere in an enormous sack on your back. I don't know how practical that is, but it's kind of hilarious.

My plan: to play Fallout 4 non-lethally with the Knockout Framework mod, and avoid killing anything. But I want to go full-on non-lethal: not only do I not want to kill anything, I don't want anyone—companions, other NPCs, creatures—to kill anything either. If anything dies during a fight, even if I don't personally kill it, I'll reload a save and try again.

I should mention that the mod is configurable through MCM to allow even the player to be knocked unconscious, but after a test I've decided to leave that option disabled, because once knocked out, the player appears to remain in an unconscious state indefinitely. It's funny to watch, though.

With the mod installed, I begin a new game, and after awakening in the Vault I make my way to the surface. My first test is a single radroach. Boom. Knockout. The mod works perfectly: the roach isn't dead, and I pick it up and put it in my sack. Unfortunately, I can't remove it from the sack because I don't have my Pip-Boy yet, which means I can't open my inventory and pull out the roach. It's no big deal, but thinking about a giant twitching sleeping roach in my backpack is kinda grossing me out.

The rest of Vault 111 is, of course, just more roaches. I knock them all out but one, which I accidentally stomp to death by attacking while it's too close to me. Stomping is still lethal, so I reload my save and knock them all out again, being careful not to get close enough to trigger a stomp. Gun-bashing, too, becomes non-lethal with the mod. It looks brutal, but all those roaches are still alive, and as you can see, the mod allows XP gains even though I'm not killing anything.

I dump the unconscious roach near the Vault exit and ride the elevator to the surface, then make my way to Sanctuary Hills, where I discover two little hovering problems: Bloatflies, and Codsworth. 

The flies are an issue because, as far as I can tell, flying creatures can't be knocked out using the mod. Punching or bashing them kills them (I try it with the bloodbugs down by the river as well and get the same result). Codsworth, meanwhile, is a problem because he will kill the bloatflies (or anything hostile) in the vicinity, and while those deaths might not technically be on my hands, I want to have a truly non-lethal experience. Nothing will die on my watch, if I can help it.

As I stare at Codsworth I begin to realize he's kind of a big problem, actually. I was planning on setting up shop here in Sanctuary to do some gathering and crafting, but Codsworth will be hanging around, and I can't make him my companion (and thus send him somewhere else) until after I complete the Concord mission, which seems a bit daunting at the moment since it involves a deathclaw that I would have to defeat with my fists. Punching bugs in the face is one thing, deathclaws are something else. (Though I'm dying to know if I can put a giant deathclaw in my sack).

While I'm mulling over my options in Sanctuary, I realize I haven't yet tested the mod on a human yet. I know from my last visit here (when I attempted to play Fallout 4 without ever leaving Sanctuary, another terrible idea) that there's a raider living in a shack just across the river. I pay him a quick visit.

The mod works perfectly: both are knocked out with my baton, and I'm able to stick the raider in my sack. I don't take him anywhere, but the point is, I can if I want to. I'm also able to loot his body of weapons and armor (though not clothing). I take the dog's collar, too, just because, then leave them both slumbering in the woods. 

As far as my Sanctuary and Codsworth problem, I decide instead to set up shop at the Red Rocket truck stop just across the bridge. I meet Dogmeat, then immediately dismiss him to Sanctuary. It's sad to watch him go, but I can't have a deadly dog ripping people's throats out when I'm trying to be a knockout artist.

As anyone who's been to Red Rocket knows, mole rats have moved in. As they burst through the asphalt, I begin bashing them with a tire iron I found. One by one, I bonk them unconscious, then immediately realize I have a new problem. Knocked-out NPCs don't remain unconscious forever, and I can't be tinkering around in my shop with a bunch of mole rats waking up and attacking me every few minutes.

Okay, I can put the mole rats in my knockout sack and... lock them... in jail? Using the crafting bench, I hastily build a floor and walls and a door, then one-by-one, put each sleeping mole rat in my sack and dump them inside.

Perfect! Except not perfect. As soon as I'm done, I remember the thing about mole rats—the very thing I witnessed a minute ago and shouldn't have had to remember—is that they can tunnel through the ground. My jail isn't going to hold them once they wake up: they'll just burrow out. Dammit! Now what the hell can I do? The other settlement option nearby is the Abernathy farm, but it's unfortunately occupied by several Abernathys. Nice folks, but they'll create the same problem Codsworth does: they'll kill any interlopers.

I kind of thought this non-lethal knockout thing would involve more punching people in the face and less logistical work on how to deal with all the unconscious bodies. Oh, well. If Sanctuary has Codsworth and Red Rocket has mole rats, maybe I can work something out with the Abernathy family, like punching them unconscious and relocating them somewhere else. Of course, I can't take them to Red Rocket because they'll fight the mole rats, and if I bring them to Sanctuary, what if they act hostile when they wake up and Codsworth and Dogmeat try to kill them?

Ugh! I'm just gonna wing it. There's already been too much thinking and not enough punching.

Next week: I visit Abernathy farm and they all punch the shit out of me.