10 Best Video Games Of 2018 You Didn't Play

3. Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon

Many developers seem to be realising that the hallowed age of pixel graphics is damn-near immortal, when done well.

There's something about pristine HD pixels that just look inviting as hell - not to mention newer post-90s rendering techniques allow for particle effects and level detail never possible on older hardware.

Onto Bloodstained itself, and as we wait for the "proper" Castlevania: Symphony of the Night-followup Ritual of the Night from veteran dev Koji Igarashi, his team have licensed a throwback 80s 'Vania as a holdover.

Put simply: This is vintage NES Castlevania - the type many fans never thought they'd see again. Difficulty spikes can feel cheap and checkpoints brutal, but controls are sublimely tight as they always were, with a banging soundtrack and four characters keeping your moveset fresh.

Nostalgic with enough of a modern performance boost to hurtle along like older consoles never could, this is like some out-of-time "new" NES game. A marvellous idea, brilliantly executed.