Somewhere on the way the developers lost their grip on the game. What starts as an ambitious take on the works of David Lynch, slowly becomes boring button-push cinema.

In terms of storytelling this is a step forward to the pilot episode, but it still lacks gaming elements.

Compared to the PC version the controls are not as intuitive and sometimes even finicky. But once you get the hang of it you just can’t get away from this dark heavy metal ballad that combines dark fantasy with horror à la Lovecraft and a gorgeous art design.

The driving mechanics are an (arcade) dream come true, the visuals are fantastic and Australia as exotic location delivers a wide variety of environments, challenges and contest. It has its flaws like the still overly aggressive AI but nonetheless this is definitely the best game in this franchise so far.

Better late than never? I disagree. The visuals are outdated and although there are some interesting control schemes at work, the appeal that the pc version generated a few years ago just isn’t there.

How to Survive 2 could be a really good zombie slasher. Unfortunately every aspect of the game falls short or is superficial. It lacks depth, a good story, pacing – you name it. But if you have a few friends over you can overlook some of the shortcomings.

The direction is good, the actors are convincing. The movie experience is intense, but as a game it just never really takes off.

This is a little puzzle gem for Oculus Rift that would be even better with the inclusion of Oculus Touch. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

If you haven’t played any of the last NBA 2Ks this is the one to pick up. But even with all little improvements in almost every area it still doesn’t feel too different from last year – or the year before.

Solid action, that mixes retro-action à la Xevious with a 360-degree camera control and a hint of bullet hell. After Project Root this is a clear step forward for Opqam.

If you like your action-adventures Zelda’esque then this is for you. What it lacks in depth it makes up in charm and content.

The interest that gets sparked by the sheer “weirdness” of Touhou Genso Rendo goes as fast as it appears. Lack of content, lack of variation and especially lack of balancing take this generally interesting bullet hell mix out of the skies.

In theory 8-Bit Hordes is "just” a reskin for 8-Bit Armies with two new factions and campaigns – which in return means you get battles full of action that will entertain you every now and then.

Building on the strengths of last years damn good version in terms of mechanics this is the best NHL game out there. But having said that, virtually everything else is put on hold – especially in the careers that remind you more of spreadsheets than a world of ice hockey you can dive into.

I hardly identified with the protagonist in any other game as much as I did here: I just want to leave this godforsaken, boring and ugly place as much as he does.

The fights are intense and remind me of a slow Vanquish while the tight platforming delivers some of the most memorable moments of its kind in this generation. But overall the pacing is completely off, while the grand finale gets interrupted by drawn out core searches. The potential is there, but the execution lacks finesse and direction.

While the games in their entirety truly stand the test of time, still show that they got “it” and (at least on consoles) have never looked this good, the bonus content could be more plentiful.

If you like old school JRPGS and don’t know the 16 year old original or if you want to jumpstart your memories, you can’t miss this time traveling adventure.

PES 17 looks great, feels authentic and celebrates complex soccer with new tactical components. But the lack of progress in game modes (especially the career) is alarming.

Rive is as tough as it gets. But while the mixture of platforming and twinstick-action is very challenging and can push you over the edge, it has its heart in the right place.

While the core in theory is as charming and captivating as it was on Wii the technical shortcomings make this story a very short-lived tale.

Xbox fans had to wait a while, but now they also can experience this challenging puzzle experience. It is less adventure but more intensive puzzle marathon with creative tasks sometimes connected over multiple tiers that lacks a coherent combination of puzzle solving and story-telling.

Kudos to Capcom. In the umpteenth iteration of the quirky attorney I wouldn’t have expected such a progress on almost every level. Humorous, challenging, entertaining.

If only the mechanics or the content were as rich or voluptuous as the curves of the leading ladies, this could have been something.

This is a typical theme park experience: A lot to sea, an occasional highlight ride, but a lot of mediocrity to pass through.

The art design is noteworthy and the options to change nature are interesting, but the story remains boring from beginning to end.

In terms of suspense, pacing or action this still is a masterpiece. But after almost a dozen years visually you can feel the age. So if you played it on any other system, you can pass this one by.

The science fiction story is interesting, but in the end Psycho Pass is little more than an anime adventure in a multiple choice corset with exhausting dialogue phases.

This is what remaster should look like. Mechanically it feels slightly outdated, but nonetheless Lancer and Chainsaw Bayonet keep your adrenaline pumping – even without splitscreen co-op.

Livelock is a solid twinstick shooter that doesn’t excel at anything but also doesn’t make any major mistakes.

Comfy, charming, deadly – but also static and boring in the long run. It plays a lot like Renowned Explorers, but is inferior in almost every aspect.

The challenge level of the puzzles is quite low at times. But the design as well as the atmosphere and especially the dialogue between Ava and the AI will keep you going. If you think Portal is too difficult for you, give this one a chance.

This is definitely not what the fans wanted nor what they expected from a new Metroid game. But as a coop shooter it is fairly decent nonetheless.

Even though the track layout is too similar in the long run this is a great game for all WipEout or F-Zero enthusiasts. The VR implementation needs optimization, though.

It gives you everything you need to feel like a Monster Hunter if you don’t own a Nintendo System. Unfortunately the mobile origins of the series shine through at all ends, while I have to think long and hard to remember a game that would have benefited from a better tutorial more so than Rage Burst.

Although you’ll find just a few fresh touches within the proven formula, they lead to a few interesting new tactics to take your opponents’ worms down. You want Worms? You’ll get Worms.

It starts very promising. But eventually Blue Isle lost a grip on the direction this had to go. And at the latest when you experience that the life-and-death mechanics are superficial all that is left is to experience the interesting story and the sometimes beautiful visuals.

A clever digital board game in which the various elements connect quite well.

Although you’ll find just a few fresh touches within the proven formula, they lead to a few interesting new tactics to take your opponents’ worms down. You want Worms? You’ll get Worms!

The full extent of the brilliant driving physics can just be experienced with proper hardware. If you don’t own a racing wheel, the fun you’ll have with Assetto will be limited – not only by the clumsy pad controls but also by the seemingly overwhelming and sometimes even unfair AI.

Considering last years’ improvements this years’ focus on the ground game feels underwhelming – but definitely delivers a welcome layer of new choices at the players’ disposal. The new commentary moves it into regions held by NBA2K up to now, but even though there are some improvements in the franchise, the mode selection in general isn’t that much different than in Madden NFL 16.

This is a big step for Codemasters – well maybe not that big after last years’ weird “in-between” racing experience. But that aside the strong comeback of the career, the presentation and the good driving physics make this the best Formula 1 game in quite some time.

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.

Yes, the pathfinding can be disastrous at times, while the mission variety leaves room improvement. But the fighting system is intuitive, while reminding me of the classic Baldur’s Gate in its best moments – as rare as they might be.

On one hand Obduction follows the adventure traditions of Myst, while on the other it adds modern storytelling layers that remind you of games like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – just don’t expect a puzzle density like in The Witness.

While the fighting mechanics are as deep as easily accessible and the roster is filled to the rim, I just can’t warm up to the visuals. Leaving the sprites behind doesn’t do it for me, since in this version the well-known as well as the new characters can hardly keep up with their colleagues in the Tekken or DoA franchises.

On the surface there is nothing that Master of Orion does wrong – considering it is a new interpretation of a classic. But if you are looking for deeper gaming systems, more implications due to the various factions or any creativity, look somewhere else. In the end this is traditional 4X strategy – albeit looking awesome most of the time.

This is a beautiful example that “experiencing” a game is more important than the sum of its mechanical parts. While challenge and basic mechanics are merely average, the exquisite animations and the stylish backdrops turn this interactive ballet into an effective projection screen for your own emotions.

Even though the acrobatic slay-em-all gets dreary after a while, this is a solid action game set in the unforgiven Attack on Titan universe.

Quotation forthcoming.

With all its little problems like logic holes, AI mistakes etc. it would be all too easy to dismiss Mankind Divided as a good, yet unpolished project. But that wouldn’t do justice to the core. Dugas and DeMarle created an interactive novel, in which game and storytelling are combined in a mature way. A captivating cyberpunk thriller.

I still think that Monster Hunter belongs on a big screen. Having said that, even without a lot of innovation and relying on well-known mechanics this hunt still manages to entertain.

So this is what you get if you mix Castle Crashers, Guardian Heroes and Odin Sphere. But even though you feel right at home with its Golden-Axe’ish feel this in the end is as forgettable as the story.

It always has another trick or another joke up its sleeve. This is a gem with the neglected rolling ball games.

After quite a few systems, dozens of planets and hundreds of scans you don’t feel like a conqueror, but rather like Haviland Tuf from George R.R.Martins novel “Tuf Voyaging”: You’re a collector and explorer. But you can experience truly magic moments in this interstellar Terra Incognita. Nonetheless the fascination fades eventually and is replaced by frustration about the frequent crashes that in the end are effectively killing your motivation to continue.

A routine Telltale game based on the proven formula that slowly gets stale even with the Dark Knight as a protagonist.

It might be short, but Inheritance adds a new layer of drama to an already well conceived story, while giving the madness that you encountered in the original a fresh touch.

With its permadeath concept Necropolis is able to generate tension, while each fight could be your last. But progress is limited, regardless if you’re playing alone or cooperatively, so after a few hours it slowly becomes hard work.

What could have been an interesting mash-up of Streets of Rage and Dead Island, is nothing more than a bland zombie variation of runner mechanics – with a captivating artdesign, though.

Audio-visually this is a gem. An atmospheric composition of sounds and images that reminds you of Journey. But storytelling, mechanics and exploration are not nearly as elaborate as in the PlayStation classic.

Stylistically Brut@l is a close to the classic Rogue as Rogue-like can be. But with all its nods to its heritage, this dungeon crawler lacks character.

Song of the Deep is as beautiful as it is challenging, as picturesque as it is magical. This labyrinth exploration gets better with every hour.

Fighting and exploration in a visually stunning pixel-art world that manages to captivate you without a single spoken word.

Headlander is a uniquely funny, sometimes weird and visually very distinctive action-adventure.

While the visuals and the control scheme are well executed, storytelling and puzzles lack challenge and depth. [Tested on Rift and Vive]

That this highly complex simulation appears on consoles, is remarkable. But with its unoptimized and overloaded pad controls the challenge to make progress and eventually get into space is even higher then on PC.

The line between motivation and pure hatred is very thin. While I like the basic idea the redundancies as well as the strange jumping behavior keep me from getting invested more.

I like the theme. I like the narrative and I think it is an interesting approach to combine storytelling and management. It is in desperate need of variety, though.

I liked the idea of a stylistically different railshooter. And I like the seriousness with which Gal Gun treats the sometimes awkward situations and dialogues. But overall the quirky action gets boring quite fast.

As a party game, this is a sure hit: If you like to challenge your friend in couch-competitive play this is a thoroughly entertaining alternative to Bomberman and the like.

This anime roleplaying game from the Neptunia team is full of charming antiheroes as well as redundant mechanics.

Games like this are the reason why movie tie-ins have a bad reputation. Technically sound, but otherwise redundant, boring and worse than the 2011 game Sanctum of Slime, while totally overpriced even the multiplayer aspect cannot save anything.

I was very skeptical, but Prison Architect is a prime example that this kind of strategy can work on consoles.

Compared to Van Helsing’s first console adventure this is a step in the right direction. Nonetheless I still don’t understand why Neocore keeps on porting the entertaining, but faulty hack&slays one by one, while they have a Final Cut waiting in the wings.

I love old school role-playing games. But I am Setsuna almost makes me fall asleep. Too static, too easy, too monotonous.

If you need an example for a funny idea that should have stayed a funny idea, look no further. All the new influences are definitely not enhancing the gameplay.

The immersion is fantastic – you feel at every corner that Adrift was conceived with VR in mind. But all too soon the fascination is replaced by boredom. In the end this is nothing but an impressive tech demo. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Lucky’s Tale carries a lot of potential. But in the end it suffers from simplistic game design and quirky development decisions. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Up to now no other games manages to capture the illusion of actually sitting in a speedy spaceship like CCPs space action developed exclusively for VR. It might not be completed yet, but it shows off what VR can do to gaming. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

It wants to be a survival tale. It wants to be a storytelling experience – but in the end it is neither. The survival aspect is one-dimensional, while the rest of the content seems disconnected. [Tested with Rift and Vive]

How can you not like Lego Star Wars? Top notch presentation, an impeccable timing for the trademark humor and slight improvements within the proven mechanics make this a blast. Unfortunately the difficulty level is still very low while an online-option is still abundant.

Even if it doesn’t reach the fascination of the other parts of the series, this still is a solid and entertaining mystery adventure and a bucketload of moral decisions and consequences.

On the consoles Stoic presents a very good sequel that builds on and improves the mechanics of its predecessor while the narrative and decisions reach new dramatic heights.

Thanks to the timeless art design it is hard to guess the age of the original. But what’s even better: Odin Sphere Lefthrasir also plays like a modern masterpiece. Of course some of the flaws of the eight year old action-RPG are still evident – but all in all it was and still is a hell of a ride.

Despite technical faults and chronically strained servers, Pokémon Go managed not only to spark my initial curiosity but kept me motivated – in its weird, strange way that defies all gaming definitions.

Tetris meets music: The creative concept sill delivers an exceptional arcade-experience.

A clever puzzler that sort of plays like the swinging counterpart to TIS-100.

Poker flair, card tactics and conquest like Risk come together in a game that beautifully manages to port a commendable tabletop game on tablets.

Pinball in VR is fun. With the physics on the high Zen-standard and the addition of immersive surroundings I caught myself playing one game after another. Unfortunately there are only three tables included. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Don’t be fooled: At its core Edge of Nowhere is nothing more (and certainly nothing less) than old school survival horror – unfortunately blended with too much stealth. But it is nonetheless a very good example that you don’t need new concepts to deliver an engrossing VR experience. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

The strongest criticism to the original release was the pad controls. This game was screaming for motion tracking and roomscale of sort. Now it has it and delivers. Still some potential is left untapped.

With its Souls-lite fighting system and the beautiful art design that successfully manages to use VR within a “classic” gameplay mechanic you Chronos pulls you into a magical world. Nonetheless it is rather just a first step, while it leaves a lot of potential untapped. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Short lived, but quite engrossing B-game with absurd ideas and over-the-top fender benders.

If you consider how long we had to wait for Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness, everything seems rugged. Nonetheless this cornerstone of JRPG-franchises still manages to entertain on a solid level.

Space Run Galaxy captured me in the very beginning. But too soon the missing depth in this interesting tower defense variation took its toll. It just doesn’t live up to its potential.

Compared to the remastered version of RE6 this is definitely the better game. But as a HD remaster it fares far worse. Especially the choppy framerate shows that somehow the team responsible for the port wasn’t able to optimize the engine perfectly for the new system.

This is a beautiful tactics RPG with an enormous storytelling arc, varied turn based battles and a motivating troop management.

It was clever to cut the name Resident Evil from the title. Even better it world have been to cut all ties to the Zombie-IP. With its technical flaws and abundant content this shooter is as much needed as another Operation Raccoon City or another hole in the head.