For a quick game this “Blockbattle Royale” is good choice, but after that it becomes too tedious too soon.

I wish I could love Kid Icarus more. Because in theory it has everything: A top-notch presentation, loads of minigames and stuff on the side that is almost more interesting than the campaign, a brilliant soundtrack. But there is one thing that overshadows everything: The frustrating controls!

Sneaking, hacking and puzzles: Gunpoint is rather short but very entertaining with its wild and unique mix of funny dialogue, challenging jump sequences and stealth elements.

Strong campaign, solid zombie mode and a multiplayer mode with potential: Black Ops 6 is a strong package overall, although more could have been done.

Meticulously catered to PS4 the remastered versions deliver – with increased playability and additional content.

Astro’s Playroom is a creative surprise. For the PS5 launch Asobi Team serves up a jump-and-run highlight – preinstalled!

Feral Interactive delivers a technically excellent Switch-port. But like in the original the artificially stretched campaign is filled not only with tension and panic moments but sometimes with outright frustration.

With what could you call Donkey Souls one of the best and hardest Jump’n’runs in recent years has finally come to 3DS. It it not pitch perfect though. But who cares about occasional framerate issues against the pure joy you can experience with this gem.

The art design and atmosphere of this puzzle adventure remind me Monument Valley. There is no story though, no alternative paths and too many collectibles.

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.

A very tasty Persona experience with a hint of Koei’s Warriors for good measure.

The dynamic fights could have been more challenging but the bosses deliver and in the grand scheme the fighting is just a small part of the complex Darksiders mosaic. If you like exploration, puzzles, secrets, the hunt for the bigger better loot plus the occasional scythe wielding, this year it will probably not get much better than this.

It still is a decent collection of one of the most difficult game franchises of the NES era.

Visually mostly breathtaking, the journey of Sora and his fight against the heartless ends after almost 20 years in a thoroughly entertaining way. Kudos to Nomura-San for actually finishing up all loose ends collected through the franchise history.

This is a lot of fun! Like Words With Friends the back and forth of challenges is quite entertaining.

This is a very good expansion pack. Arkane shows off a creative variation of the main campaign - diverse and challenging.

The basic concept might be a bit outdated by now but it still is as addictive as it is simple. And with the addition of gravity and indirect hits it gains a lot of creativity, although luck plays a bigger part than ever before.

A gorgeous presentation, motivating gameplay and amazing depth – the gathering of these beat-em-up-heavyweights is a sure hit regardless of your experience.

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 Californian devteam Playdek digitized the tabletop appropriately in terms of visuals and mechanics. Newcomer and veterans alike will enjoy this almost perfect board game conversion.

Hardly any major innovations, but many small improvements: The thrillingly fast color shooter Splatoon 3 offers a more rounded overall package than its predecessors.

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.

Right now military shooters share the problem of the WWII action games from about five years ago: Eventually you have seen everything and played everything, over and over, again and again. Sure, the campaign has its moments, but nonetheless Black Ops 2 would love to be Modern Warfare – and that is a five-year-old game. And so it is once again the established multiplayer with its plethora of modes and personalization option (all of which are basically known) that comes to the rescue of this run-of-the-mill shooter.

On PS5 (and Xbox Series) you’ll get the best version of Judgment. Framerates of the spiritual Yakuza successor are doubled and microtransaction are omitted.

I like Resident Evil. Still. And as a fan of the GameCube remake I enjoy the up-to-date presentation with 16:9 ratio and 5.1 surround sound. Nonetheless, one of the godfathers of survival horrors lost a little of its fascination over the years. It still is better and scarier entertainment than Resident Evil 6.

There is no hero in shining armor, you don’t even know what the soldiers are fighting for. What matters are you and your bitter fight for survival. Every day is a struggle against hunger, disease loneliness and loss of hope. Relentlessly and without judging 11Bit Studios show the dark side of armed conflicts, the suffering, the scars. It is a software monument against war – brilliant.

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!

Very good entertainment with a faceted battle system. It looks and feels great on PlayStation 5.

14-year-old adventure, which despite only minor adjustments is technically at its best on the PC. The dramatic story and the gripping soundtrack in particular still manage to inspire, but the price is high and the quality of the game is no longer quite as high as it was in 2010.

The fighting mechanics work well, collision detection is right on the money, online duels are as accurate as offline battles. The narrative though suffers from incoherent styles and a tendency to be drawn out.

Kudos to Grasshopper and Digital Reality: I didn't think that a side scrolling shooter could look this marvelous. This is a well-executed take on bullet hell action with a clever integration of slow motion.

If you know the original strategy gem be aware: This is rather a visually updated remake than a new iteration. But nonetheless the concept still is as fresh as interesting.

I always emphasize how much I like Tekken Bowling – and keep forgetting how much I missed Tekken Ball. With the extra content this would be the first choice for Tekken aficionados – but just if you use the ProController. The standard Wii U GamePad is made with a lot of games in mind but not beat'em ups.

Ring Fit Adventure is a nice fitness package, delivering a lot of fun while exploring the various modes with the Ring-Con. The adventure mode would benefit from more variety, though.

The unique adventure with great characters, an emotional story and a brilliant soundtrack was extensively modernized and improved meaningfully, making this a great modern take on an overlooked classic.

The brilliant visual novel is almost as good as its predecessor, once again offering a thrilling case for fans of mystery and crime with great puzzles and an overall fantastic presentation.

It gives me loads of things I wish for in racing sims. But the plentiful options aside Project Cars offers a mighty engine and authentic physics resulting in a convincing driving experience.

A basically competent campus construction simulation, whose humor doesn't hit enough and doesn't fully ignite with too much repetitive hard work.

It is so hard not to like DragonQuest Builders. With its mix of MineCraft-ish creative freedom, meaningful quests and a very superficial fight system this adventure sparks my curiosity and keeps me interested for a long time.

The game with the Lady and the giant sword may start slow, but the political background as well as the relationship of the main characters drag you into this beautifully designed world with its well executed tactical role playing.

Combining little blocks was never more stylish than with Lumines. Unfortunately this rendition is a mere shadow of its former PSP-self.

Splatoon 2 is the equivalent to a beautiful, but moody girlfriend. Mostly you have a great time, but sometimes the inherited quirks are too much to bear. Having said that, the mechanics of this ink shooter still feel fresh, but some lack of content is still evident - as is the problem with time restrictions with certain modes (e.g. Salmon Run) and the finicky online app. (updated 07/21/17)

A new star in the Metroidvania-sky: MIO: Memories in Orbit enchants with its magnificent art style, captivating atmosphere, and challenging but fair combat system. New abilities constantly motivate you to discover the world and push beyond your limits.

Charming, entertaining adventure game with a cat - attractive setting, strong graphics and the fresh hero make Stray more than just an insider tip.

Yakuza 6 sure has some weaknesses. But it also is a fitting finale for an underappreciated franchise, where storytelling, compelling minigames and above all, beautiful visuals craft one extraordinary experience.

The Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade for Kirby and the Forgotten Land offers more of the same and will definitely appeal to fans of the original.

A lot of games tried to copy Minecraft – or at least participate from its' success. But this two-dimensional take on the well known formula is the only game that is able to step out of the shadow of the indie phenomenon that inspired it. It leads you into a unique world full of creative magic.

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.

With Age of Mythology: Retold, the developers have managed to breathe new life into the aging title and make it presentable for a modern audience without losing sight of its roots. Players who already liked the fantasy spin-off back then will definitely get their money's worth here.

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 beautiful homage to the Souls-Franchise, even though sometimes it sticks a little too close to the formula for its own good.

It is loud. It is silly. It is wonderfully weird. The mixture of frantic action and skate acrobatics still delivers a very unique arcade action experience.

Its over-the-top presentation as well as the sardonic smirk after dozens of enemies died in a well-constructed labyrinth of traps make most tower defense contenders look bland. However while an update of maps, tracks, weapons and game modes is a welcome addition to the original, the sequel offers too little to be considered a full-fledged successor.

Captivating old-school RPG with an extensive turnbased battle system and stunning artdesign, but also quite some grind and varying quality in the storytelling for the eight protagonists.

Agent 47 started strong and after a continuous up and down with every episode finishes on a rather low note. The episodic format works well overall, though, and contains some of the most memorable locations of the Franchise. Something that can’t be said about the AI.

On console The Swapper is as impressive as always. An impressive puzzle platforming experience.

Even with the support of potent hardware, some of the technical problems remain. But nonetheless this is a fast paced action game that you don’t see too often on the PC – and it is surprisingly well implemented in the Metal Gear universe.

The seemingly simple puzzler quickly becomes an avant-garde masterpiece asking clever questions and challenging you with a hard to master and astonishingly complex principle.

The tense atmosphere aged well and still delivers exciting moments two years after the 360 release, while the explosive action is still better than most of recently released shooters.

This is what a nice clean conversion should look like. Visually it is not as crisp as its Xbox One counterpart, but the core delivers the same high octane mixture of acrobatic wallruns and mech-action.

As good as the concept was three years ago and as entertaining a successful coop session may be, in the end this is little more than an interesting design study.

In its mobile version Child of Light still is a charming adventure, combining elements of platforming, roleplaying and turn based tactics.

Interesting mix of action-roleplaying and shop management that offers added content on Switch, but suffers from a hardly readable font in handheld mode.

Driven by an incredibly tight and accurate fighting engine you'll find only minor flaws – but quite a few of those like the online mode that can't compare to the likes of BlazBlue. But even with all the rough edges, this is Tekken in its purest form.

With smart enhancements and general improvements Beyond is even better then Next, while the PSVR-enhancements literally give this game a new dimension.

An absolute recommendation for genre fans. With a great setting and an emotional soundtrack, Jusant climbs to the top.

The charm of this pixel adventure won me over fast. While it is a brilliant idea to stage it like a theatre with the party sitting at the table with the dungeon master, the role-playing reminds of the good ole days.

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.

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.

A beautifully designed platform adventure with quite a few surprises and good ideas, making this a playable artwork that will not leave you untouched.

Stylistically classy and mechanically elegant adventure about nine murder cases in an interesting time warp.

From Early Access to the 1.0 release: V Rising is now a promising survival game with vampire elements. If you're more interested in building than in blood, you'll know which game to capture in your cart.

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.

Complex, but easily accessible prison builder with an interesting campaign structure, but also a few bugs here and there, while the micro management can get out of hand sometimes.

There’s no other sports game that comes even close to the drama and direction the revamped career is offering. Plus you’ll get a plethora of on- and offline modes. But when it comes to core mechanics the differences to last years’ version are only subtle.

While the user comfort within these exceptionally bizarre anime thrillers is reduced due to lack of touch functionality, technically you can expect faster loading times and crisp visuals.

Intense and challenging arcade-action embedded in a great story.

With the gorgeous world and the team based battle system as a foundation, Monolith and Nintendo created an epic fantasy J-RPG. Not everything is perfect, but once you start exploring the fascinating and dangerous terra incognita with its breathtaking vistas, bizarre creatures and touching stories, it is almost impossible to get away.

If you feel comfortable with beat em ups from Capcom or SNK then you will enjoy Skullgirls with its tremendously high difficulty level and beautiful visuals.

If you missed out on The Wolf Among Us, now is a good time to enjoy the entertaining fairy tale crime story in all its glory, and on PlayStation 4 technically better than on the old systems.

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.

Kat's adventure has a lot in common with Mirror's Edge: Both games fascinate with their very unique way of movement. Gravity Rush almost breaks through all limitations into a nearly endless freedom. Also like Mirror's Edge it misses some attention to detail: A lot of fights play out too similar und besides the crystals there is not much to discover.

The Frozen Wilds is a very good expansion. If you enjoyed Aloy’s adventure you will get another roughly 15 hours of pure entertainment out of it.

Every minute in this uncommon setting is more satisfying than the usual map crawling in other action adventures. But in the end the story can’t deliver and with the omission of the PS3s’ motion controls an essential part of the experience is missing.

This still is a prime example of intelligent game design, proving how much fun a simple, but well thought through concept can be. The change of pace due to your actions delivers a very unique shooter mechanic.

An interesting step back into the early era of one of the best loved fighting franchises ever - filled with loads of bonus content.

A neat collection of JRPG classics for Switch, a little light on extra content though.

Beat Saber meets John Wick: Intense music action in VR with rather typical shortcomings in terms of modes and content.

Democracy wins: Helldivers 2 is an explosive, chaotic co-op shooter with crashes and rumbles at every turn.

Entertaining and visually appealing brawler that fits well into the extensive franchise. Definitely worth a look for both professionals and newbies, more characters would make the game even more attractive.

Planet of Lana 2 picks up seamlessly where its predecessor left off: Outstanding features such as graphics, atmosphere, and the cute sidekick Mui are just as appealing the second time around. The world is varied and the puzzles are moderately difficult. A no-brainer for fans of the genre.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is not a hardcore RPG, it’s more like a vacation. A well needed remake for the original.

Even though Life is Strange doesn’t utilize all its potential on the final stretch this is a strong emotional finish to a cracking mystery thriller.

If you're looking for a challenge and appreciate interesting game mechanics, Cairn is the right choice for you. However, the story and atmosphere fall somewhat short of expectations.

Explosive, difficult and gloriously daft: Broforce brings you pure testosterone in gaming form.

Dust is not only an excellent 2D-adventure for Fans of classic action-adventures like Metroid or Castlevania, but also an incredibly charming declaration of love to the whole genre. It plays great, looks damn fine and motivates you from start to finish.

What an experience! This little gem transports you right into a mysterious and charmingly designed world.

When the imagination knows no bounds, numerous bugs, a frustrating level of difficulty and strange design decisions bother even more.