Sony Playstation 5

£450 / stuff.tv/ps5

The PS5 is not a modest upgrade. Its hulking design means it’ll make a bad first impression on some, but spend time playing it and it’ll soon win you over – and then some. This is essentially a high-spec gaming PC for the living room: stupendously powerful, with greatly reduced loading times compared to the PS4. Most last-gen titles will run fine, many with a boost, and the line-up of new games is strong; we just hope developers make use of that fascinating Dualsense pad and its haptic feedback trickery. Stuff says ★★★★★

Huge power, clever hardware and a guarantee of great games to come make the PS5 hard to resist

Nintendo Switch £280 / stuff.tv/nintendoswitch

Nintendo’s console earned a promotion in our list after it impressed us with a growing list of fantastic games. Plus, no other device here offers the joy of portable gaming. Train journeys will never be boring again.

Stuff says ★★★★★

This 2-in-1 console is the real deal

Sony Playstation 4 Pro £350 / stuff.tv/ps4pro

If you’re in no great hurry to go next-gen, the PS4 Pro remains a supremely powerful console with a dizzying line-up of top-class games. It’s discontinued now, but there are still some kicking around.

Stuff says ★★★★★

The best last-gen system for 4K gaming Microsoft Xbox Series X ★★★★I £450 / stuff.tv/xsx

A fully future-proofed beast of a console that needs more games to make it sing. Microsoft Xbox Series S ★★★★I £250 / stuff.tv/xss

Delivers affordability without sacrificing key features, but still falls short on new titles.