For the 20th anniversary of their role-playing saga, Atlus delivered a true masterpiece. All the elements, big or small or as trivial as they might seem sometimes, are well put together and interconnect in an almost unnoticeable manner. Plus: The presentation is plainly beautiful with a coherent colorful manga/anime art design that is a perfect fit for one of the best JRPGs out there.

It might have more options to adjust the visuals. But it still plays in the second league of open world games while the zombie outbreak lost its bite and Frank West lost his cynical touch, which was replaced by one-liners that would be too corny even for Evil Dead’s Ash Williams.

There are some problems with the procedural world generation. And the UI lacks a sorting function for objects, while the free building is a little awkward. But nonetheless this is a huge creative sandbox somewhere between No Man’s Sky and Minecraft.

Solid expansion that replaces the dynamic battles with tenacious fights in the trenches.

Flatout 4 is back on track. It takes a while to get into, but once you’re hooked to this arcade racer, you’ll look past its loose controls and the AI flaws.

The story premise is interesting, but basically everything else about this game isn’t. It could have been a decent coop action adventure, but it lacks finesse on absolutely every level.

Kona is an atmospheric, surprisingly varied modern adventure, mixing point&click tradition with survival suspense and the exploration aspect of recent game novels..

Shovel Knight is the love child of the challenge level of Mega Man and the mystic design of classics like Gargoyle`s Quest – a captivating retro platformer that will separate the men from the boys.

The creator of survival horror delivers a very unique blend of stealth-action and surreal adventure. It is not as groundbreaking as the original Alone in the Dark, but still deserves a look.

Gust opened the world, but it still lacks a more interesting story and better visuals.

There is a lot to love: The level design in this stealth gem is beautiful, the challenge level is high, the main character is a cynical bastard. Unfortunately in later levels the balancing is not as convincing.

While the concept of team action in an open world (in fact, the biggest one from Ubisoft yet) is interesting without a doubt, the execution is lackluster. This is a typical example for “Jack of all trades, master of none”, where every aspect of the game is overshadowed by competition which simply is more refined´.

It is a new start. For mankind. For the hero. For the franchise. For Bioware. And for the most time, it gives you decent entertainment, albeit very safe and carbon-copied from ME1 and other sci-fi franchises - Andromeda treats the original basically like The Force Awakens approaches the elements of A New Hope. Just don’t expect anything new or fancy. Plus: the script quality varies between good, fairly decent and outright embarrassing and awkward.

Interesting, but way too easy remake of the NES Classic.

This is an appealing mix of various sports. It would be even better, if it would offer a real career mode instead of the demotivating card collection progress.

Music based Tetris variation with its dynamically changing playing field is as good on consoles as it was on PC. A beautiful enhancement of a modern rhythm game classic.

I didn’t expect much. So maybe that is why I was taken by surprise with the challenging battles. Your freedom is limited, but within its borders these potatoes embark on an interesting space adventure.

Forget 1-2-Switch or Super Bomberman R. This is the multiplayer gem that Switch so desperately needs. Smart, creative and with a very distinctive artdesign this is a beautiful cooperative puzzle extravaganza.

This is not the Nindie you’re looking for. Stay away from this. The visuals are reminiscent of the N64 era and there is hardly any game to be found. I guess for every Yin like the excellent Voez there has to be a Yang like this so the world stays in order.

Nier Automata is an exceptional game that is very unique in the way it tells its very emotional and philosophical story, while Platinum Games’ signature action style makes sure that it always stays accessible.

There are not enough building options, it lacks content in general and it is not very pretty.

What a wasted chance. This could have been the multiplayer system seller. But with Bomberman’s past success in mind, the flimsy controls and lack of extras leave a lot to be desired.

The redux versions on console are definitely more entertaining than their PC brother – mainly thanks to the various difficulty levels, more areas and fresh enemies. But some main problems like the missing flow you’d associate with Descent-style games are still existent.

I haven’t been this disappointed with a Nintendo game since Wii Music. Superficial tech demos camouflaged as mini games. If at all, the fun is very short-lived.

In Switch’s launch lineup, this is the biggest surprise. A fascinating rhythm game that takes advantage of the touchscreen, sports a wide ranged soundtrack of almost 120 songs and an interesting art design.

The presentation is almost as boring as the battles, which are too easy most of the time – with the exception of bosses, of course. If it wouldn’t be for the interesting story, this could have been a disaster.

While Neocore missed out on the chance to bring the awesome Final Cut to the PlayStation, they nonetheless delivered the best console version of what is a modern hack&slay classic that emerged from the indie scene.

Fast RMX is a widely enhanced reissue of the currently fastest racing game, sporting 30 tracks, an unbelievable speed and challenging course design. But with some modes missing from the Wii U original the motivation takes a downturn here and then.

At its core Just Dance 2017 is solid party fun as always. But while the movement recognition always was quite tolerant, here it is too inconsistent.

It has its share of problems, but nonetheless this is a very good adaptation of Monte Cook’s bizarre sci-fi world - decisions, conflict and fascinating characters included.

Without the need for a portal this is a decent mobile version of the best Skylanders to date. Unfortunately there are certain import restrictions that devalue your collection.

This is the best Legend of Zelda since Ocarina of Time. While Nintendo might not be the ingenious pioneer of the 80s and 90s, they prove, that they are willing to evolve and are still able to set a creative mark. With its towers, the loot and the collecting appeal it can’t deny its ingratiation to the zeitgeist, but most of the time Nintendo does it better and more subtle than the competition.

A rather typical arcade snack: In short bursts quite entertaining, but the longer you play the fascination fades away, even though the varying rule sets enhance the Snake- or Chu Chu Rocket-like mechanics.

I can’t think of another franchise, whose hero is so well suited to be the star of a musou game than Guts of the Berserk manga. Having said that mechanically this is a step back, while in terms of storytelling, no musou game has ever been this atmospheric and tense – mainly thanks to the extensive inclusion of original anime scenes.

The presentation of battles and especially cut scenes is extraordinary. Unfortunately the tactical options are rather shallow, while there is not enough content to satisfy in the long run.

Some stages will test your stomach, but in terms of intensity and immersion Dirt Rally shifts into the next gear with PlayStation VR. Like with Drive Club the VR experience is a clear enrichment of driving games.

I like old-school brawler. I like pixelart. But Double Dragon 4 is too old-school for its own sake. Instead of trying to stay true to its roots and modernize the concept here and then this game seems like they just changed the sprites and backgrounds from Double Dragon 2.

No, Proton Pulse Plus doesn’t manage to dethrone my all-time favorite Breakout-clone Arkanoid. But with its neon design and the chiptune soundtrack it draws you into the roughly 50 stages. Unfortunately the VR experience is rather short, albeit intensive.

Once you get the hang of the core concept (which Bohemia lacks to explain for most of the time), you’ll start to enjoy this space sim that wants you to explore the red planet.

Unlike the action-adventure that started it all this is rather point&click’ish. But nonetheless this for me is one of the most interesting VR titles as of late. The script is top notch, the immersion impressive thanks to the beautifully designed areas. You feel like you’re starring in VR motion picture.

Motivating arcade-action with a retro suit and interesting geometry tricks. Dystoria manages to shine where lots of other indie games with old-school design fail.

This action roleplaying game demonstrates not only the technical competence of Guerilla Games. In terms of storytelling, quest design and characterization it almost reaches The Witcher 3. So even with its flaws like the abundance of crafting material and the superficial close combat this is another great franchise for the PS4.

While the story and the philosophical intention are well conceived the mechanical aspects are not well thought through and at worst boring with their endless resource grind.

For Honor stands for a unqiue fighting mechanic and clever multiplayer battles at its very engrossing core – but also for connection problems and a boring campaign.

I didn’t think I would enjoy VR Ping Pong that much. But the physics and control at its core are spot-on. Unfortunately it is harmed by a serious lack of content.

It has been more than two years when I first stepped on the disco light panels of the musical dungeons of the NecroDancer. And I still enjoy it thoroughly. It was and still is an extraordinary hybrid of dungeon crawling and rhythmic strategy.

While on part of this scenario collection is plain silly (and thus breaking with the gritty and dark undertone of the main campaign), another is merely an homage to Jigsaw’s sense of gaming torture that was evident in Saw. If it weren’t for “Daughters” I would suggest to skip this DLC.

Visually Robinson proves again, how beautiful and immersive a VR adventure can be – on a potent PC it looks plainly awesome. Unfortunately the exploration and puzzles can’t live up to this.

Promising, but unpolished interpretation of the classic Pang! that needs refinement in almost every aspect.

While the AI still has its downs in certain situations, it is a major improvement over the last time we met Karl Fairburne. Sniping in all its infamous glory hasn’t been this entertaining in a while. But the extreme X-ray camera is not for the faint of heart.

A simple, yet entertaining old school point&click adventure.

The story focusing on the next generation on ninjas in the Hidden Leaf Village never gets into second gear. The themes are well chosen, but the execution lacks finesse. But with the proven fight mechanics and the over the top special effects this is a decent add-on that offers a glimpse into the future of the Naruto (or Boruto) tale.

Even the inconvenience aside that this year (unlike 2016 and 2015) the console DLC is not included and has to be paid for separately the direction of the dominant wrestling franchise is still unclear. You have more wrestlers than ever before, but with just marginal enhancements of the proven fighting mechanics and reduction of modes you wonder what’s next.

Solid but totally unpolished and unspectacular fantasy roleplaying game with turn-based battles.

While Diluvion shows off some great ideas and a very distinctive artdesign, the execution of all the ideas seems superficial at times. Unfortunately this deep sea adventure lacks depth…

Solid races in selfmade gliders. The immersion in VR is hampered by the cumbersome pad controls in the menus. One of the few games that isn’t necessarily enhanced by VR integration.

The first tactic game within the Musou-Universe since 2003 delivers decent fun. It is superficial at times and overall too easy, but with the character development and plenty of weapons console strategist get a fair amount of content.

Don’t get fooled by the cheesy description “Sci-Fi Romance”. This is an intelligent adventure novel. Unfortunately the puzzles can’t live up to the storytelling.

What a ride! Even though Team Ninja takes a lot of inspiration from the Souls-Franchise, with their varied fighting mechanics and the game world deeply rooted in far east mythology they create some magic on their own.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

In a surprisingly emotional way A Normal Lost Phone not only is a coming-of-age tale. It manages to be informative without being obnoxious, to be authentic while being playful. A wonderfully different storytelling experience.

This is it. The final compilation of the enormous storytelling universe that is Kingdom Hearts. And it delivers. Especially in terms of filling some gaps in the early story while convincingly bridging games from Birth by Sleep up to Dream Drop Distance while preparing for Kingdom Hearts 3.

Capcom finally realized that the return to the roots must not only be promised, but implemented. This is the return to classical survival horror everybody was waiting for with the added ego perspective for heightened tension and convincing VR inclusion.

Captivating mechanical puzzles that are taxing as well as sometimes a little too confusing.

Slight changes in the fighting system, and slightly rearranged visuals: Even 30 years in the past Yaukza is the game it always was. The concept is still cool – but feels slightly overused.

It doesn’t drastically change the “passive” tower defense. But Alien Shooter TD adds some fresh elements that inject the genre with interesting new impulses.

This is basic computer sciences in gameform. But unlike the similar Shenzhen I/O this is much harder to get into – and not as rewarding.

Sometimes it is too evident, if the game in question is a solo project like Spheroids. But nonetheless: If you like the oldie Pang! you’ll find some fun behind the technical shortcomings.

This is a neat take on retro action as served by Contra or Turrican so long ago. Plus: all the easter eggs and references on video games are a blast. Unfortunately it crosses the border between challenging (but doable) and relentless trial & error on too many occasions.

Toby is as close to Limbo as you possibly can be without lawyers getting involved. But where Limbo is a piece of art where every element comes together this is merely a collection of mechanics that do a decent job. Or with the words of Oscar Wilde: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

Right now this is the best musou action not coming from Tecmo Koei.

Like on One or PC, this is no quaint river rafting trip where you can sense the spirit of Huckleberry Finn. This is a relentless beast that let’s you die without warning. But even once you got the basics covered this is not as engrossing as Don’t Starve – even though artdesign and music are top notch.

You can sense the good will and the intention to deliver a decent shooter . And while the splatter factor is satisfying and the shooter mechanics well thought out, technically this needs a lot of work – or the change to the newest version of Unity as BadFly implemented it on PC in September already.

This was and still is a very special and charming J-RPG. It might not be as pretty as we remembered, while some of its problems got worse over time. But this still is a captivating gem straight out of Japan’s colorful roleplaying history.

This is the total package for all fans of the vocaloid popstar. Over 220 songs, hundreds of costumes, haircuts and accessories as well as the proven and enhanced rhythm game mechanics make this a blast to play – unless you despise J-pop. In that case you should run. Fast.

This is the total package for all fans of the vocaloid popstar. Over 220 songs, hundreds of costumes, haircuts and accessories as well as the proven and enhanced rhythm game mechanics make this a blast to play – unless you despise J-pop. In that case you should run. Fast.

As long as the Queen of Gravity uses all her abilities to fight the Nevi this is an action spectacle. But not every mission takes advantage of the freedom of movement while camera and controls could be tighter.

15 years after the original release the visuals are outdated – even with the HD stamp while the font size is borderline small. That aside the search for the most efficient production routes is still captivating.

Immersive futuristic sports game collection with good roomscale usage, but no multiplayer.

This is kinda weird. On one hand Transport Fever manages to improve an almost everything that was good on its predecessor. But on the other hand some of the weak points like the abysmal economic system remain untouched. But if you are into figuring out the best logistics route for a variety of goods and needs, this is definitely for you.

With over 20 Towers and Traps, three distinctive character classes and 13 maps that can be discovered even after the campaign is finished this is an entertaining hybrid of classic tower defense and hack&slay.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

The stylish diving through the enemies bullets is a perfect fit for roomscale VR. It is quite short, yes. But nonetheless this is an exceptional game and a great addition for any action archive.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

Rivals is a great expansion for the Rock Band 4 platform. Rockumentary and even more so the Rivals mode will keep you coming back. Together with the content patches that arrived in the last months, Rock Band Rivals is the game that Rock Band 4 should have been to start with.

Zen Studios are not afraid to take a risk. I can appreciate that. Because even though they went a tad too far with the roleplaying elements with the Skyrim table, these are well thought through unrealistic pinball machines that only Zen can create. And Doom ranks among the best table they have ever made.

I can appreciate the effort, but in the end John Yesterday’s first adventure was better in every aspect. Having said that, the supernatural story with its bizzare dialogue and the clever designed puzzles still deliver a rock solid mystery thriller.

If you’re surrounded by the right group, this is tremendous fun, where the innovative connection of communication and teamwork is the key to success.

As an interactive audio book The Dwarves works surprisingly well even though some of the cutscenes seem rushed. But as soon as you enter the battlefield the fascination fades and is replaced by hectic, chaotic and sometimes buggy skirmishes.

Regardless if you are a newcomer to the series or a veteran that knows SMT 4 inside and out, this alternate version of the JRPG classic will keep you busy for weeks.