A technically flawed copy of Left 4 Dead that does not even have a proper Warhammer atmosphere. [13/2015, p.66]

An RTS disguised as a 2D platformer. Sounds weird but works surprisingly well. [13/2015, p.65]

Heart of Thorns is so good I forgot the flaws that made me lose interest in the original game after my initial delight with it. [13/2015, p.64]

I can’t express how delighted I was with the first episode. Unfortunately later the game lost some of its magic and oscillated between decent and really good. Despite that fact it’s by far the funniest thing I’ve played in years and I can’t wait to get my hands on the second season. [13/2015, p.63]

GHL is a great game if you’re playing it alone. I appreciate all the new ideas but I’m really disappointed that it is no longer a party game. [13/2015, p.62]

Life is Strange managed to land some punches on Telltale’s chin and blew Until Dawn out of the water. [13/2015, p.61]

You need to look at Devastation as a sandbox that lets you choose your toys and fight battles you dreamed of. [13/2015, p.60]

The developers failed to deliver on their promise to move the game to Unreal Engine 4 and therefore once again the visuals are at most passable. What’s more important though is that Train Simulator is still, well, the best train simulator. [13/2015, p.59]

The Deathinitive Edition improves very little, but Darksiders II is still a fantastic game definitely worth checking out if you haven’t done so 3 years ago. [13/2015, p.59]

The game seemingly had everything that was needed to bring back the glory of Forgotten Realms, but failed due to a shallow story, unimaginative quests and lack of identity. [13/2015, p.58]

Norwegian horror walker drowns in overused clichés but has some really scary moments. [13/2015, p.57]

Live 16 is a substantial step forward for the series and less demanding players will enjoy it, but it falls far short of NBA 2K. [13/2015, p.57]

Metal Gear Online has a great potential, but the developers need to improve and rebalance the game to make it shine. Playing it right after it was released felt like driving a supercar on a road ridden with potholes. [13/2015, p.56]

Dragon Quest meets Dynasty Warriors and provides dozens of hours of fun (one dozen less would have been beneficial though), tons of side quests, all Japanese DLCs and plenty of special attacks to discover. If you’re looking for a Japanese action RPG and you’re not allergic to Warriors, you should give Dragon Quest Heroes a chance. [13/2015, p.54]

A beautiful game that shines in co-op but doesn’t have much to offer to a lone player. [13/2015, p.52]

Both the single player and online modes are fun but don’t expect to be blown away. Despite a great story and a couple of very enjoyable missions the campaign as a whole is a tad boring. [13/2015, p.50]

The latest Halo is a big deal only for hardcore Halo fans. For me the single player campaign was unbearably pompous and despite 1080p and 60 fps the visuals are not as breathtaking as they once were in Halo 4. The game builds a solid foundation for Halo 6, but it’s not one of those games you absolutely have to play. [13/2015, p.48]

A real feast for RPG-loving console owners and one of the best games to play in co-op. [13/2015, p.47]

Another Assassin’s Creed game that you can either buy or ignore sight unseen depending on whether you grew tired of the old formula. Some innovations (e.g. the grappling hook) are a welcome addition, some (like two playable characters and their development system) feel forced and not really thought through. The brightest aspect of Syndicate is London, which might be the most spectacular city in the series. [13/2015, p.42]

After initial delight and ten hours of fun Anno 2205 became a bit boring. [13/2015, p.40]

WRC 5 is surprisingly good for a studio’s debut in the rally games genre but it’s pretty obvious that the developer ran out of time and money too fast. [13/2015, p.39]

Yuke’s made some improvements taking the series in the right direction, but do not expect any revolutionary changes, because the most important aspect – the combat system – was only slightly modified. [13/2015, p.38]

It’s basically the same great game we’ve played before but prettier and even more enjoyable. Actually the Tomb Raider series never offered so much fun. [13/2015, p.32]

You spend your petrol on 30 seconds of racing and then wait a couple of hours for your tank to be refilled. “No Limits”? Is the title supposed to be a joke? [12/2015, p.74]

Only intrusive microtransactions could have ruined this great game, but fortunately it’s not the case. [12/2015, p.74]

The biggest problem with Mysteries of the Manor is the increasing necessity to revisit the rooms until you find required objects among randomly generated loot. [12/2015, p.74]

It doesn’t try to be innovative, but neatly adapts some tried-and-true mechanics. [12/2015, p.74]

With every segment I was more and more impressed with designers’ imagination. [12/2015, p.73]

Looks great, uses motion controls and apart from planes lets you choose a dragon. [12/2015, p.73]

Magic Flute stands out from the crowd thanks to its good visuals, wonderful music and well-designed puzzles. [12/2015, p.73]

Despite vast content and high level of polish I actually can’t find any convincing reasons to play it. [12/2015, p.72]

If the developers keep their promise to constantly expand this Diablo-like action RPG, it will stay on my iPad for long. [12/2015, p.72]

Rising Tide didn’t even try to reignite my faded interest in Beyond Earth. [12/2015, p.71]

Simply put, it’s one of the best remasters in history. [12/2015, p.70]

Great visuals, wonderful unique atmosphere, Icelandic voice-overs and an opportunity to familiarize yourself with some Norse mythology. I highly recommend this gem! [12/2015, p.69]

This very simple jRPG is the funniest game I have ever played. [12/2015, p.68]

Despite technical issues and weak story I found Armikrog really engaging. [12/2015, p.66]

Storytelling in 80 Days is so rich and polished that this adventure becomes your own. [12/2015, p.65]

The game failed to win me over because its simplicity was taken too far. [12/2015, p.64]

In comparison to Guitar Hero Live the new Rock Band game is way too conservative. There’s a certain tradition in the music business: when a performer grows a beer belly and can’t climb to the top of the charts anymore, you send him to tour Japan, so he can grab some more money from a bit more loyal local fans. After seeing Rock Band’s current shape all I can say to it is “sayonara”. [12/2015, p.63]

After the third expansion Destiny is the same “random loot generator” it has always been, just with some more story in between. [12/2015, p.62]

The expansion is not revolutionary in any way, but it makes Cities: Skylines an even more complete city builder. [12/2015, p.61]

An interesting and beautiful, but also slow and repetitive board game. [12/2015, p.60]

I had an impression that the developers intentionally butchered Tony Hawk’s classic formula in every way imaginable. For the last couple of years Activision has been trying hard to finish this series off and it seems it finally succeeded. [12/2015, p.58]

I was disappointed that the HD Edition did not come with some new content. It’s a shame that this pleasant, relaxing adventure last only two hours, because I really grew fond of Leo. [12/2015, p.57]

The story is satisfying, refers to choices made in Inquisition, adds a lot to the lore and wraps up some loose ends. [12/2015, p.57]

To be honest I do not understand why people are delighted with Dropsy. It’s an average representative of the old school of point’n’clicks and its story did not blow me away either. [12/2015, p.56]

A very enjoyable game rich with well-designed modes, none of which feels forced or redundant. [12/2015, p.55]

Let’s forget about terrible cutscenes directed by Spike Lee – the game itself is still a joy to play. [12/2015, p.54]

FIFA 15 was a huge disappointment for me and instead of playing it for a year (like I used to do with previous renditions) I buried it on the shelf right after I finished a bitter review. FIFA 16 showed up at my door with flowers and we worked things out. Casual gamer may not notice all the tweaks (i.e. more responsive defenders and better AI), but for me they were invaluable as they helped to rebalance the gameplay and made the game enjoyable again. [12/2015, p.50]

I see no good reasons to recommend this very short and very simple game, but it has a peculiar charm that makes it impossible to trash it either and is strangely enjoyable despite its mediocrity. [12/2015, p.49]

It has everything I seek in an economic space strategy, but unfortunately diluted by tons of completely unnecessary rubbish. [12/2015, p.49]

It’s a remaster of the predecessor rather than a real sequel. It’s much prettier and more accessible, but also offers less content than the first Blood Bowl and the AI is simply terrible. [12/2015, p.48]

The figurines are great (the car from the starter pack became my son’s favorite toy!) and the really good platforming gameplay will keep both parents and their kids occupied. [12/2015, p.47]

It could’ve been a really good game, but the developers stumbled on the basics. Terrible interface, awful beginning of the campaign and mediocre AI take most of the fun out of Satellite Reign. [12/2015, p.46]

12 hour long expansion almost as good as the original game. [12/2015, p.42]

I parted with Soma with the same feeling that came over me while I was watching “Matrix”, “Interstellar” or “Inception”. Once again someone came up with something no one thought of before and took me for an amazing ride into the unknown. [12/2015, p.40]

I liked many new features and I think going back to the roots of the series was a the right decision. Unfortunately it seems the game was published half a year too soon, as it’s underdeveloped, full of bugs (some of which are very serious) and has performance issues. To put it simply – Heroes VII was botched. [12/2015, p.34]

At last I found a game that filled the void left in my life by Knights of Pen & Paper. Despite some technical issues Loot & Legends earned the space in my iPad for a lifetime. [11/2015, p.67]

It has some better and worse moments but for the most part Dungeon Travelers 2 is perfectly average and I can’t imagine any dungeon crawlers enthusiast being particularly disappointed or delighted with it. [11/2015, p.67]

Cute visuals and crude humor make this a pleasant game to play if you’ve got nothing else to do. [11/2015, p.67]

It’s fun when your characters gang up against a single enemy, music is fantastic and the idea for searching for a random mole in your team is an original one. Unfortunately tight budget made both the story and gameplay tediously clichéd. [11/2015, p.67]

A couple hours’ worth of fun, plus some bugs and illogicalities. [11/2015, p.67]

A great, fast, simple puzzle game that you can play anywhere. [11/2015, p.66]

Square Enix’s terrible, extremely boring version of Triple Town. [11/2015, p.66]

A very simple (but not easy!) and very addictive mix between crosswords and Sudoku. [11/2015, p.66]

Does Ultra Despair Girls have moments that drag out? Yes. Is it too easy too often? Yes. But it’s still Danganronpa, something you remember for a long time. [11/2015, p.66]

If you’ve already played Square Enix Montreal’s previous game, Hitman GO, their take on Lara’s adventures will not surprise you. It’s a simple but addictive and satisfying puzzle game that would work equally great without Lara. [11/2015, p.65]

A mediocre, ugly, boring beat ‘em up that has just one selling point – scantily clad girls. [11/2015, p.65]

It’s the best racing game on smartphones. Simply brilliant. [11/2015, p.65]

If you enjoy match-3 games, you can give Pokemon Shuffle Mobile a try. You’ll just have to bear with an awful tutorial. [11/2015, p.64]

Touch controls are worse than on Nintendo DS, the game looks bad, works bad and generally is bad. [11/2015, p.64]

Beyond Gotham is a good fit for mobile devices, as it features less combat (than e.g. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes) and more puzzle solving that does not require as much precision. [11/2015, p.64]

Who could have expected such absurdly high quality from a level editor? [11/2015, p.62]

Despite some problems with AI the single player campaign is a really solid, interesting set of challenges. It’s a deep, satisfying game with very different factions that forces you to adapt rather than employ universal strategies. [11/2015, p.60]

A great way to enter the world of Magic: The Gathering, but due to some simplifications and design choices that’s pretty much all Magic Duels is good for. [11/2015, p.59]

A tactical game in the vein of Commandos (but with active pause), rather ugly, schematic and a bit too easy, but despite all enjoyable. [11/2015, p.59]

The story promises a lot but fails to deliver, visuals resembling Planescape are great but often obscure, but dense atmosphere (think Dead Space) and music will not leave you indifferent. [11/2015, p.58]

“Measure thrice, cut once”, my shop class teacher used to say. It’s a shame no one told these words of wisdom to the guys from Frozenbyte. The addition of the third dimension turned out to be very costly, both literally (the game ends abruptly because the developers ran out of money) and figuratively (gameplay and puzzles are shallow in comparison to Trine 2). It’s not a bad game, it looks great, but it is a mediocre Trine. [11/2015, p.56]

Fallen fails to take even the smallest step outside the basics defined in the 90s by Jagged Alliance and X-COM. [11/2015, p.55]

Do not expect depth similar to Capitalism 2, you will not have to care for share prices or company’s reputation, but if you enjoy tycoon games, Big Pharma is a well-designed one. [11/2015, p.55]

The game grew in scale since the previous Shadowrun – locations are a bit larger and story lasts for over 20 hours. The visuals and the interface were improved a bit. The third trip to The Sixth World is worth every penny, but the game mechanics could really use a facelift. [11/2015, p.54]

I regret not having played Dishonored when it originally came out, because the Definitive Edition looks like time has been standing still for the last three years, at least when the PS4 version (which does not offer 60 fps, by the way) is concerned. [11/2015, p.52]

A good standalone expansion with one new faction and 8 new maps. [11/2015, p.52]

A good game that relaxes you with its leisurely gameplay and has a great potential, but is simpler than World of Tanks in terms of tactics and in my opinion was released too soon. [11/2015, p.50]

If you’re not against cheerfully dumb sexploitation movies that inspired Z2: Chaos, you’re gonna have loads of fun slashing the undead. [11/2015, p.48]

I don’t believe games can breed psychopaths, but if any game was to evoke murderous instincts, it would be this one. You decide which of the suspects is guilty based on clues (shabby, obscure visuals do not help) and then you flick the switch of the electric chair and listen to him scream in agony. [11/2015, p.48]

The main storyline could have been longer and more thrilling. Despite information that both parts are not going to be closely linked, the ending of Part 1 seems to be a prelude to something larger. [11/2015, p.46]

A barely interactive horror film about typical American teenagers. You know, with a cabin. In the woods. And a psychopath. We’ve all seen that, we’ve heard these dialogues, we all know these characters. Still Until Dawn has a pretty good story and is a nice homage to horror flicks and despite being a collection of simple QTE’s can both engage and surprise. [11/2015, p.44]

A fun beat ‘em up wonderfully devoid of any deeper meaning. It’s one of those games you’ll forget about very quickly, but you’ll be playing it with a big smile. [11/2015, p.42]

I really don’t know how to recommend this game when there are so many classic platformers that blazed a trail and not just reminisced about old times. [11/2015, p.41]

A disappointment developed by amateurs who were unable to utilize capabilities of Unreal Engine 4 and I presume chose the dream setting to avoid writing a coherent story. [11/2015, p.41]

Despite an average story Fran Bow was an interesting journey that even left me feeling uneasy in dark places. [11/2015, p.40]

Forza 6 is friendly even towards inexperienced players, rewards good maneuvers and does not punish minor mistakes as strictly as it could have. [11/2015, p.38]

An enjoyable, pretty and well animated game that lacks any interesting, original mechanics that would justify a long-term relationship. [11/2015, p.37]

Beyond Eyes is a weak story and an even worse game – completely linear and in my opinion painfully boring. [11/2015, p.37]

A stealth game with a minimalistic art style but sophisticated contents. It proves that games can successfully tackle difficult subjects as long as gameplay remains the most important element. [11/2015, p.36]

PES 2016 is a football simulation for gamers, not for football enthusiasts, because in terms of realism it falls way behind EA Sports FIFA. Pro Evo simply chose another path and doesn’t even try to convince you that what you see is an attempt to recreate the real thing. It goes back to the roots – to wonderful PES 6 – and that’s why I had so much fun with PES 2016 and fell in love with it. [11/2015, p.34]