The concept is interesting, but the freeform rhythm mechanic needs way more finetuning to live up to its promise.

Mechically and in terms of storytelling disappointing VR premiere from Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Larry is back. Not as lude, but charming nonetheless. Too bad that the finicky inventory as as well as sometimes illogical puzzles con become frustrating at times.

Tense battle for survival in space with very limited ressources. The console version show a few new facettes.

This whodunnit adventure has its flaws, but in its best moments this is an intense, clever constructed as well as challenging experience.

Finally: A season, where Sports Interactive invested more time in revamping whole systems instead of just finetuning. The result is the best franchise entry in years. If you are a soccer fanatic urging to find out what it is like to coach a team, this is your dream come true.

The driving physics are unique, the track layout is mostly spectacular and together with the clever battle system this is one of the best arcade racers in recent years - despite some minor technical flaws.

With the Architect’s Edition you get lots of content for this re-imagination of the classic Sim Tower. But even that can’t help the lack of mechanical diversity.

In some areas (most notably the lack of voiceover) you can recognize the age of the originals. But with its slightly different, more puzzle and exploration oriented approach to the Lego formula the trip to Hogwarts still stands out.

I expected more. The concept is interesting, the puzzles at their core entertaining. But everything seems disconnected somehow.

The disputable song selection aside Let’s Sing shows promise: With four possible vocalists, the original music videos in the background and asynchronous online sing-offs it offers a lot. Unfortunately the voice recognition leaves something to be desired.

For most of the time Call of Cthulhu moves in the right direction, but mechanically and in terms of storytelling always gets lost. While it tries to lure you into this world, it always loses grip on intensity, freedom and above all, challenge - thus losing the player in the process.

Some problems with AI are still evident, but the creative freedom you enjoy while trying to figure out ways to eliminate your targets is something else.

With added partygames Taiko no Tatsujin on Switch is significantly better than its PS4-sibling. Nonetheless the poor JoyCon controls stick out.

The song selection is quite huge, but also very “special”, while the mechanics are merely solid and depending on the presence of the Taiko-Controller.

I really want to enjoy The Quiet Man. But with seriously flawed design decisions, either in terms of screenplay or mechanically as well as dramatically, it becomes tedious too soon. And that is saying something for a game that last only three to four hours.

Well executed conversion of the demonic hack&slay that might not look as crisp as the other versions, but manages to conserve the spirit and the motivation cycles woven into the very fabric of the mechanics.

A charming, but monotonous shooter bar any noteworthy elements.

Ten years after its original release, The World Ends With You still is an interesting and above all original roleplaying expereience. A bizarre story, interesting characters and dynamic team battles show off its creativity.

What a powerful outlaw opera! Visually and in terms of storytelling Rockstar exceeds all expectations. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a remarkable game that will be talked about and referenced for years to come.

Yes: It is short. But it still brings to the plate what is needed for an entertaining puzzle adventure: creativity, intuitive controls and a mysterious atmosphere.

Even with overshadowing qualities of the original sequel and the compromises you have to make in terms of visuals and control this is still an entertaining ghost hunt.

I always thought that the Soulcalibur series is superior to Tekken - and Soulcalibur 6 as rather a reboot than a sequel proves my point. The fighting mechanics are among the best on this console generation. Unfortunately some lackluster solo modes hold the whole experience back.

Charming but too soon redundant mix of coffee house management (including cookin rhythm minigames) and raising a dragon with very obvious technical problems.

Sometimes this becomes an interesting tactical cat-and-mouse-game. But mostly you’ll find that the beautiful art design doesn’t match the dreary game design.

The story is great, the voice-acting top-notch and the visuals are among the best that Lego games have to offer. Mechanically though, this is as far as Traveller’s Tales can stretch the current mechanics. The core gameplay desperately needs an overhaul.

A great re-imagination of the toys-to-life concept with great ideas, a solid line of toys and great visuals. Unfortunately it seems that together with the rather mediocre story in the last third Ubisoft Toronto ran out of inspiration when it comes to mission design.

The concept might seem interesting, but poor visuals, poor driving physics and the totally incoherent co-driver make sure that this works neither as a rallye game nor a GPS racing simulator.

With the revamped visuals, the very first Disgaea finally looks at least like a game from the last console generation, while the content proves roughly 14 years after its premiere that as a tactical roleplaying experience Laharl, Flonne and friends are still a force to be reckoned with.

While in terms of story-mode finally on par with the sports game competition and filled to the rim wrestlers, modes and match-types, technical issues and longterm problems dragged around now for years hold this years’ wrestling back.

This is the most mature pinball experience from Zen Studios to date.

Very basic and simple mixture of strategy and action-roleplaying.

A labour of love that serves as homage to 16-bit RPG classics and MMOs, but also manages to stand on its two feet, even though technically not everything is as solid as it should be.

Clever time manipulation puzzles with too much trial-and-error.

The mix of brutal anime action and the core mechanics of the Yakuza franchise works surprisingly well, but it lacks consistency and depth, while definitely not looking as crisp as Yakuza 6.

Even with the sheer amount of content and the decent visuals, Super Mario Party fails to impress, mainly because of the mediocre minigames and the minuscule online-mode.

Technically surprisingly sound now you can dive into the beautifully disturbing world of Dark Souls on Switch without second thoughts - but do yourself a favor and use the Gamepad.

The mixture of roleplaying, card strategy, fantasy and turnbased tactics within the world of The Witcher works surprisingly well.

It doesn’t pull you in with the same force as Darkest Dungeon does, but this a more than decent alternative. If you like your turn-based tactics mixed with a hefty does of science fiction, this is definitely for you.

This is the blueprint for all future VR platformers. Charming, full of surprises and visually stunning, this is the best VR experience you can get on PlayStatio VR right now.

Postapocalyptic RPG mixing elements from Mad Max, Terminator and Armored Core with old-fashioned mechanics, storytelling and visuals.

The scale of Odyssey is epic - on almost every level. Ubisoft shows a new quality in storytelling that surpasses Biowares latest efforts. Mechanically though this is rather an Origins 2.0 with some of the old shortcomings still all too visible. Having said that, this is the best Assassin’s Creed since Revelations.

The world design is top notch, the story and quest integration is much improved. But there are also a few new elements, above all the Heart of Azeroth, that fall flat.

Even though the world seems alive and the characters are quite charming, the work as a sleuth doesn’t feel methodologically sound.

A beautiful start to an emotional road trip that makes me want more, even though some of the delicate topics are handled in a fashion that is too cliched and stereotypical.

It finally had to come to this: Where Konami’s competition stagnates in terms of mode selection here you get a lot of content but hardly any progress on the pitch.

A good soundtrack and VR immersion are not enough to outweigh the diffuse storytelling and mostly bland visuals.

Thoroughly entertaining turn-based tactics with visual novel appeal and some weaknesses in terms of storytelling as well as minor mechanical flaws.

While Kylotonns rally games showed positive tendencies with the WRC series, this is a serious setback. This is a disappointing comeback for the franchise.

At its core this is first class hockey. But the virtual standstill in almost all areas while focusing more on arcade aspects makes me go back to last years’ version.

The no-frills fighting system welcomes beginners and experts alike. But they will find hardly enough content to keep them busy.

As an experimental VR experience Transference is interesting, but stays mechanically bland most of the time. Without VR it loses a lot of its fascination.

While I am a fan of retro collections, this one is rather disappointing. The games itself are chosen well, but they also show with little to none mechanical progress over the years, why this genre is more or less extinct. And there is hardly enough bonus material to keep you happy, either.

With the pressure from NBA Live mounting, Visual Concepts outdid themselves on the court, while the cinematic part of the career mode is the best in years. Unfortunately the impact of microtransactions on the career and development of the player is still felt - although the grind to get virtual currency in-game has been reduced.

No matter the season: Forza Horizon 4 delivers spot on driving physics, a stunning gameworld and loads of thing to do so you can escape boredom even before you switch to 2nd gear.

In terms of content and options you get everything (and more) that the other console versions had to offer. But it also pushes the hardware to the limit and beyond. Up the the point where there is no fun left when you look at the framerate drops that grow analogue to your city.

Challenging battles and dungeons filled with intelligent puzzles are overshadowed by lack of direction in almost every aspect: artdesign, storytelling, quality assurance.

A sequence of boring dating situations with mostly dull dialogue choices. The two chapters as a female character are just as disappointing.

A solid dungeon crawler for anime fans - especially if you are not detered by nurturing dozens of characters.

Like on the other platforms Hyper Light Drifter on Switch is a visually and mechanically captivating action adventure that you can’t help but admire.

The quality of the cardboard peripherals is way higher than the quality of the games that come with it.

JRPG veterans will enjoy the updated and enhanced, yet still deeply in old-school-virtues rooted presentation and mechanics. This is a labor of love - and it shows.

Shooter mechanics in a world that is a conceptual carbon copy of Dark Soul? In theory it could be interesting, but the execution is lackluster and leaves a lot to be desired.

Entertaining escape from a bizarre alien world, that shows a few minor problems when it comes to platforming.

This enhanced and in terms of story completed re-release of the 2014 action RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms still has some interesting ideas, but also still doesn’t manage to give Diablo 3 or Victor Vran a run for their money.

Electronic Arts is on the right path. In terms of presentation there is still a lot to do to challenge NBA 2K, but the more arcady playstyle and the not heavily featured “in-your-face” integration of micro-transactions makes this a decent challenger for the NBA crown..

Konami sets the wrong focus, namely myClub etc.While the core gameplay is really good the Master League and career are stale and old-fashioned.

Challenging old-school platforming with a brilliant chiptune soundtrack and tight controls.

A worthy finale for the reboot trilogy. In the future I could do without all the collecting nonsense and the superficial ability system.

This is a timeless mecha-action classic that didn’t lose much of its appeal since the original release about 15 years ago. The VR implementation is far from ideal though.

This puzzle platformer is charming and relaxing, but a bit clunky at the same time.

This could be the future of competitive tactical action, especially if it offers more mode variety and gets optimized matchmaking.

In terms of story-telling and direction this might as well be an addition to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe with its high production values. But as soon as you stray away from the main plot, you’ll land in an open world that is mostly beautiful to look at, but where some positive elements meet quite a few that are only average at best. Nonetheless a great superhero romp throughout.

Entertaing no-frills co-operative arcade-shooter with decent visuals. It says a lot if the highest praise you can give it, is to say, that it doesn’t do anything wrong.

This is how role-playing games must be ported from PC to consoles. Content-rich and with a well conceived as well as executed control scheme you will get more than 80 hours of exceptional entertainment.

In terms of content and base mechanics this is just as good as on PC, but Neocore still has problems to translate their engine to console. And it shows in a lot of areas - especially on the standard systems.

Juan's first adventure was a vital part of the Metroidvania revival. And Guacamelee 2 is an almost pitch perfect continuation. A great action platformer with high difficulty, a brilliant art design and co-op play for up to four Luchadors.

With all its technical shortcomings that show the age of the originals, these adventures are a prime example for good story-telling and still show more atmosphere, character and soul than a lot of open world playgrounds in recent years.

Ambitious try to make console players feel like a train driver that lacks variety as well as decent visuals.

It is a lot of fun to be the clinic director in the spiritual successor to Theme Hospital. But the jokes get stale a tad too soon, while the beginning phase of each hospital becomes too routine.

While the Switch version of Victor Vran maintains to keep the basic fascination of the action-adventure/-roleplaying hybrid, the technical conversion leaves quite a few things to be desired.

A decent remake of the best Yakuza episode in terms of storytelling.

The concept is interesting, but this tower defense with its mobile heroes feels unfinished.

Forget the lame story and the superficial exploration. The battle system and the art design could convince you to sink your teeth into this turn based tactics RPG.

Compared to H1Z1 on PC, this port is not only technically worse off, but the generally superficial battle royale is also limited in terms of content, thus influencing tactics and tension on the battlefield.

This feels more like an elaborate add-on. While the new recipes and locations generate a lot of fun and the online-capabilities deliver, the story-mode once again is just another accumulation of uninspired levels.

Ambitious action-adventure with a strong story and a beautiful visual direction. The superficial mechanics are average at best, though.

The entertaining story with its interesting themes is held back by bland minigames and clunky controls.

Is it better than last year? Theoretically yes. The visuals are improved, so is the running game. But there are also still some old problems left to fix, while the continuation of the Longshot story mode suffers from an irrelevant script.

Flat Heroes is “good old” platform action filled with ideas, challenge and high playability.

It was restored with great attention to detail. The main problem is that the source is as average nowadays as it was for its original release.

Compared to last year, this is “just” an evolution, but captures motorsport perfectly once more and gives you one of the best careers in racing games.

Intense and motivating action in a visually impressive fantasy world.

Amateurish, clumsy but challenging at times. Tiny Hands is miles away from the quality of its role models like Crash Bandicoot. This is more like Trash Bandicoot.

Challenging action in a beautiful pixel world with loads of interesting weapons and a slightly misbalanced repetition per hour ratio.

Collect research data on the Enterprise D, fight against Romulans and Borg - TNG enhances the technically sound VR experience with motivating content.

A nice idea held back by its boring execution that pales in comparison to Rogue Aces.

Charming horror comedy adventure with cool abilities and choices held back only by the puzzles hardly setting a challenge.