Mighty No. 9 suffers mainly from one problem: An identity crisis. Technical difficulties aside Mighty just can’t manage to step out of MegaMan’s shadow. It feels more like a solid homage than a serious contender.

This soccer game didn’t conserve any of its retro charm. In 1989 this was kind of a milestone. Nowadays this is not entertaining at all.

It is definitely one of the most intense gaming experiences I was lucky enough to play in the last few years. With simplicity and atmosphere at its core, it took me on an emotional journey with an intensity and ruthlessness I didn’t expect.

While Square is fighting with its tradition Atlus cements its status as a first class JRPG maestro. Yes: At its core Tokyo Mirage is as conventional as the art design is colorful. And the story is less captivating than the Persona mysteries. But when it comes to the multi-tiered battle system, #FE shines.

The episodic concept worked well already in Crimes & Punishments and serves its purpose here as well. Even with the low difficulty level spending the time with the sleuth was worthwhile.

As much fun the sporting events deliver, Wii U Olympians have to swallow the bitter pill that they not only had to wait longer than the mobile sports fans. They also get the less attractive package.

Quotation forthcoming.

I like the fact that the difficulty level was ramped up a bit. But on the other hand the AI still leaves room for improvement, while the setting is not as appealing as Sapienza with its freedom and beauty.

Don’t expect any revolutionary changes to the two year old PC release. But with added content, optimized controls and a solid core throughout you’ll find yourself spending more time on these islands than originally expected.

In times of knickknack DLC and overpriced mappacks Blood & Wine succeeds all expectations. This is nothing but the most complete add-on experience I have ever played. This doesn’t feel like artificially held back and “added”, but like matured and grown. Mechanically and dramatically a beautiful addition respectively continuation of an already rich RPG.

If you don’t mind sudden changes of direction and loopings, you should definitely take a look. It is a tad too minimalistic to challenge the likes pf WepEout or Fast Racing Neo, but nonetheless this is an intense future racer for the fresh VR headsets. [Tested with Rift and Vive]

Five years ago it was a solid old-school experience. But since then a lot has happened within retro action – most notably Doom. And compared to the glossy dynamics you can experience in id Software's latest hell on Mars, this plainly feels outdated in almost every aspect.

Not only is the concept unique, the execution is as well. In its best moments you actually feel like you are sitting at a computer terminal in a deserted spaceship trying to navigate the drones on a basis of schematic scanner data. In its not so good moments the path-finding and some other minor flaws destroy the immersion.

Politics are a cumbersome topic for a game. But on top of that Power & Revolution tries its best to push you away. The interface is plain ugly, the consequences of your actions and decisions are vague. And on top the devs weren’t able to decide if they want to go down the serious or the joking path. You will need more than patience to fathom the depths of this newest iteration of the geopolitical simulator.

Charming 2d-platforming with a bizarre design that lacks variety in the long run.

Grimsfield is not very challenging. And it is also quite short. But it is a clever adventure circling around an artist’s ideals and the reality of everyday life.

Platinum and Activision deliver again. But even with the action flowing fast and an art design straight out of the comic books, this brawler lacks the certain “something” that is evident in Platinum’s proprietary franchises.

In the wake of Street Fighter 5 games like Koihime Enbu have a decent chance to find their fans. The counter focused fighting system is rock solid, but the lack of content drags this beat-em-up down.

While the basic premise of controlling various aircraft in their descent and landing with its mission variety on the nicely designed maps stays intact, this is one of the very few games where the devteam was not able to implement a proper tracking of the Touch controllers.

From all expansions to Fallout 4 this is the content richest. A cursed island with some well executed scary moments, an atmosphere that reminds me of Alan Wake and greatly constructed quests with big decisions. This is a very good addition to the Fallout 4 core.

This is an epic beast. I despise its’ kitsch and cliché dialogue. But I love it for the depth and challenges it presents in its turn-based battles.

Quality rules over quantity. Overwatch might be a little short on the content side. But other than that, you get a well-balanced, varied and beautifully-designed online shooter with a remarkably diverse hero selection.

So this is what it looks like if Compile Heart looks at Dynasty Warriors and Monster Hunter and tries to put it into the Gamindustri universe. If it wouldn’t be for the sort of interesting team battles and the nurturing of the characters this would be a total failure.

For educational purposes or as an installation in a museum this could be interesting. But as a a game it is disappointing. [Tested with Oculus Rift and Vive]

It was and still is the pixelart-counterpart to a Jason Statham movie: brutal, excessive and slightly redundant – but fun nonetheless.

In theory Shadwen sounds interesting. But in reality this expedition into stealth-action from the makers of Trine suffers from problems within AI, controls and the general flow of the game.

Even though there is little progress in terms of the opponents’ troop movement, to me this is the most impressive Total War in a long time. The races are varied and even with the AI shortcomings the battles are as full of visual effects as they are of challenge.

The years of changes of direction and publishers didn’t leave the shooter unscathed. The stealth mechanics are superficial, the AI comfortably dumb and even the visuals are not up to par. Which is even worse considering that you’ll encounter the occasional tense moment, where you feel what this revolution could have been.

You don’t always need “bullet hell” in a shoot-em-up. Raiden 5 is a solid old school arcade experience with an interesting rhythm to the action while delivering a decent challenge.

On one hand id shows once more where its core competence lies: fast brutal action embedded in impressive technology. And while I appreciate that Doom tries to merge old-school run-and-gun with modern elements as well as a new dynamic, I miss dramaturgy within the action. There is no element of surprise. The action becomes predictable.

This was and still is a very challenging turn based tactics gem with cleverly induced real-time elements and a beautiful, timeless art design.

The best I have to say about this reboot is that the included bonus material centered around the Amiga original is better than the game itself, that shows a lot of potential but gets caught in clumsy controls.

Content-rich and challenging 4x strategy that is too superficial in some areas.

This is yet another one of those games that suggests easily accessible racing fun in the tradition of Maicro Machines or Mario Kart, but fails to deliver on a wide scale.

The space battles and Warhammer flair are top notch, but the strategic core is too generic.

Interesting variation of classic tower defense with a well planned rotation concept.

At its core this a small interesting alternative to Pilotwings. But there is a high tendency for motion sickness. [Tested with Vive]

Who would have thought that puzzle games would be the apps to look at within virtual reality? And Carpe Lucem takes combines usability and playability with ease, resulting in one of the best games you can get for your Vive system. [Tested with Vive]

A pinch of Borderlands, a splash of MOBA and a collection of diverse heroes: While solo players get bored very fast, the coop- and versus-modes deliver solid action.

An artdesign reminiscent of The Wind Waker is not enough to make a mediocre action-adventure interesting. Cornerstone shows a lot of potential as well as ambition, but in the end that is not enough.

You don’t fight your opponents with bullets, artillery or troops but with share prices, market value and austerity. Soren Johnson's unusual take on real-time strategy doesn’t deliver an epic campaign but gives beautifully intense skirmishes and multiplayer battles with a well conceived, albeit simple economic base system.

Even with its flaws within the control schemes or the mission design, this is a very unique take on RTS.

The Park is atmospherically tense and suspenseful, but the trip into the depth of the human mind stays very superficial in terms of actual gameplay.

Visually Uncharted 4 is a benchmark for this generation. But it is so much more. Within the franchise's constraints the characters show tremendous depth while the action is varied as never before. And while not everything is perfect (too easy puzzles and AI faults come to mind) this is one gorgeous action-adventure.

Visually interesting and filled with good intentions this interactive experiment lacks depth and direction.

Petroplyph captures the spirit of Command & Conquer almost perfectly. Nonetheless it feels unfinished: 8-Bit-Armies offers only one faction, not a lot of troop types and generally not enough content.

Quotation forthcoming.

An interesting dungeon crawler with a distinctive artdesign and tight touch controls. This is the kind of game that makes it worthwhile for Vita owners to be patient.

Why the loot and upgrade system, Housemarque? At its core Alienation is a glorious twinstick shooter with interesting classes, beautiful visuals, top notch pacing and a challenging coop mode. It didn’t need the Diablo-ish influences that pull me right out of the flow.

This could have been one of the truly great RTS games. The sheer dimension of the mass battles is impressive. And while pathfinding and AI deliver, the game design, campaign and diversity of the two fractions disappoint. It’s a shame.

If Platinum Games is involved, you can expect something exceptional. But with Star Fox Zero this is not always a good thing. Basically the fun and your ability to look behind the outdated visuals depends on how well you get along with the unintuitive control scheme that takes a lot of time to get used to.

Interesting at first, but in the long run this turn based tactics experiment gets quite monotonous.

It was a beautiful board game. And now it is a beautiful interactive experience. Poker, card tactics and Risk-like conquest merge and draw you into a world of scheming, bluffs and Cold War.

A small game with a simple concept. Well executed though and with sufficient VR support you can get your daily speed fix. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Gunjack is like other early Vive titles: fast food without depth. Targeting via head movements works extremely well though and it is literally easy on the eyes. [Tested with Vive]

Less complex than Dwarf Fortress but visually more appealing Gnomoria places itself somewhere between the Settlers, the Anno franchise and Minecraft. Not a bad place to be.

As a door opener into the world of Vive-VR Valves tech demo The Lab is the perfect start. But when it boils down to games and mechanics there is not enough substance. [Tested with Vive]

It shows some flaws in terms of interactive storytelling, but nonetheless 1979 delivers a tense political thriller with strong characters.

Stories is a charming, but mechanically slightly superficial action roleplaying game, that heavily relies on its charismatic narrator and its open story structure.

This old-school dungeon crawler will give you enough content to spend a long time in the depths hunting for loot. But you should bring patience and a high tolerance for stale, dowdy presentation.

Is this game to the film to the game a reboot? A remake? A director’s cut? A best-of? Actually it is sort of all of the above and bigger as the sum of its parts. It is great to see Insomniac go back to their beloved action-duo, while on the way they produced the best movie related game since Rockstar’s The Warriors.

If you’re looking for another addition to your collection of twin-stick shooters, you might give this a try. But the art design aside this is average throughout. Fun, but average.

The fighting mechanics are easy to pick up and the all-female cast is varied. Nonetheless almost any fighter from ArcSystem gives you more in every aspect.

Fighting and exploration in a visually stunning pixelart world.

A simple but tough through concept makes this exhilarating cocktail of dungeon crawler, dual-stick action and bullet hell a blast.

With its gorgeous track design, the fantastic driving mechanics and the uncompromising gameplay this is the place to go for all rally enthusiasts.

Six years after Demon’s Souls the series comes full circle. Dark Souls 3 is as intense as merciless. A beautiful conclusion to one of the most influential franchises in recent memory.

Of course it looks better than on the old gen consoles a few years back. But the conceptual and mechanical shortcomings are still evident. This serves as a warning in which direction Capcom shouldn’t go with the sequel.

Once you get into the concept it hard to get away from this fast paced fight for survival. This is Geometry Wars in the form of a first person shooter – nice!

Unfortunately there are only 14 disciplines included, but those deliver quite some fun.

While the story and the first class presentation show off Remedy’s skills, the shooter mechanics are not as convincing – even though the time manipulation is pretty cool.

The game design is as flat as the pretty ladies are curvy. A totally irrelevant collection of minigames with a hint of Tamaogotchi. But not even the boob bonus can save this beach vacation.

The discrepancy between visual and game design couldn’t be bigger. While the pixelart is simply beautiful throughout the fighting mechanics and collision detection need an overhaul.

A short but worthy trip with Nova, thanks basically to the gorgeous mission design.

Well executed expansion to Colossal’s city builder that adds nice new elements, but doesn’t implicate them on all maps.

The technical flaws definitely impact the flow. But even with this in mind XCOM on Vita still is a gripping strategy experience.

Call me an adventure romantic, call me crazy, but I love Day of the Tentacle and still think it is one of the best adventures ever made. Modernized in exactly the right spots and with an added developer commentary and alternative controls this is a masterpiece with beautifully crafted puzzles.

If you can look past the boobs that seem to be moved by hydraulic systems and the sometimes unbearably embarrassing dialogue you’ll find an interesting fighting system that gives Koeis Musou-games a run for their money.

If you don’t own a New 3DS, stay away from this, since the old-gen 3DS-systems can’t cope with the technical requirements. If you are the owner of a new system though, you’ll get the same musou fun in Hyrule as on the Wii U.

At first it looks like a dream come true for oldschool gamers who grew up with Metroid, Turrican or Contra. But I fails to deliver at all ends.

The systems you encounter on this mysterious island expedition are interesting at first, but become tedious and dreary too fast.

Once you get over the shock of the very simplistic design My Tower, my Home becomes an interesting mix of tower defense and arcade-action. Unfortunately the fun is short lived.

This is arcade racing at its best. Yes, it is not perfect. But the few weaknesses are peanuts compared to the on-the-spot racing experience it delivers.

While Natsume spent the last years trying to recapture the former glory of its Harvest Moon brand without avail, this one man project gives you exactly what you've been missing. I just wish that Stardew Vally would at least once in a while leave the well known path and show some more identity.

The visuals deliver but the fighting mechanics leave a lot to be desired, while the content side of the fighting pocket monsters falls flat.

Technically sound, this mix of tower defense, resource management and turn based tactics is as entertaining on Xbox One as it was on PC almost one and a half years ago.

It might lack horror and scares, but the hike through the mountains delivers tense moments, even though the performance on the PS4 is less then stellar.

It looks better than on consoles. And the added racing wheel support also helps to differentiate this racer from its siblings on PS4 and One. But the disappointment about all the wasted opportunities still is omnipresent.

This feels like From Software developed a Castlevania of the Amiga era. At every corner you will encounter a Dark Souls déjà-vu. But this is much more than just a carbon copy in 2D, since Ska Studios added a lot to the proven recipe.

An improvement over its predecessor in every way. But there are still shortcomings in a few areas, most notably the improved, but still uncharismatic career, while beginners will miss a decent tutorial. Nonetheless this is the MMA game any fan should get.

In the rare moments where its elements come together, you’ll be playing a neat, but irrelevant Hitman clone. But most of the time you’re just annoyed by technical and AI shortcomings.

Yes, Stella Glow gives you nothing but old-fashioned tactics roleplaying. But it also is challenging, while adding a motivating character development.

This is an interesting pilot for a season of contract killings. You’ll get a lot of creative freedom when it comes to fulfilling your contracts while the online-missions keep you motivated until the next episode arrives.

I like the fact that Rufus returned to terrorize his environment. This destructive journey is a wild ride spiced up with time tiers. Classic point & click doesn’t get much better.

In theory (and when it runs without problems) Into The Stars is an interesting fight for survival in space somewhere between Wall-E and FTL. But bugs and the weak presentation drag you back down to Earth.

Challenging twin-stick action with charming characters and clever enhancements of the well known mechanics.

With dozens of prominent characters taken from loads of franchises, the sequel doesn’t change the formula. But it still gives you plenty of entertainment with its unique take on turn based battles.

Bezier is short – even for a twin-stick action treat. But it also is very intensive. This one man project delivers a lot of “Ouch” and “Ommph”. Well done, Mr. Bak.