Fighting form

It may not come as a shock that we’ve been thinking a lot about structure recently. Structure (with a capital S) is at the heart of Sloclap’s Sifu: think of it as an equivalent to Sekiro’s posture gauge, where a full bar leaves your opponent stunned, and open to takedown finishers. Of course, you also have a meter of your own to keep an eye on. But then there’s a lot to think about full stop, not least the game’s structure – and this time you’ll note we’ve moved to lower case.

Sifu’s ageing mechanic is designed to encourage mastery. Muddle through the first stage and you’ll probably be too old to make it much farther – instead you’re encouraged to dust yourself off and try again until you’ve made it through as a fresh-faced young whippersnapper. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and that’s the point: it’s designed to evoke the journey of any would-be kung-fu master.

It’s not the only game this issue where structural adjustments yield effective results. Pokémon Legends: Arceus at times feels almost like a proof of concept – and yet, setting aside its evident budgetary constraints, this is the most exciting Pokémon game in years: a fleet-footed reinvention that should hold you captive until its legendary final encounter. Rainbow Six Extraction, too, is a surprising experiment with form, sending you on three-mission excursions in which you gamble against your own ability to survive: permadeath for operators means you might want to tap out early, but naturally the biggest rewards come when you take a risk.

The same applies in the most successful act of reconstruction here. OlliOlli World sees Roll7 triumphantly reinvent its skateboarding series by lowering the barrier to entry while keeping the skill ceiling somewhere in the stratosphere. Its convivial vibe, cheerful aesthetic and more expansive levels (each with multiple routes) combine to create a game that prizes perseverance, but never leaves you feeling defeated.