Sometimes you need to take a step back to move forward – yes, it’s a platitude, but that’s exactly what happened with Valkyria Chronicles 4. Forget about Valkyria Revolution. The latest entry in the series goes back to the roots and reminds us why the first Valkyria Chronicles stole our hearts a decade ago. The developers restrained themselves from making unwelcome changes and if they decided to alter something, they did it wisely. [12/2018, p.80]

With its atmosphere, brilliantly written characters, action-packed missions skillfully set in the open world, and multitude of side activities, Red Dead Redemption can still rival games released years (and console generations) later. I recommend it even to those who don’t much care for the Wild West setting.

An adaptation of a board game that looks a bit infantile, but despite the seemingly trivial rules really makes you flex that mental muscle. If you appreciate puzzle games, you’ve come to the right place. If you have young children, Quilts and Cats of Calico will work great as family entertainment. If on top of that you also love cats, you will be purring with contentment.

A trip to the vast Crystal Desert is worth every penny if you’re mainly into PvE (the new maps are one-time affairs though due to lack of meta events), but it does not offer much to those who prefer PvP or WvW. [13/2017, p.44]

Hellblade can disappoint you with repetitive puzzles, linear structure and the fact that it was stripped down to most basic, indispensable mechanics. But Hellblade is not about gameplay. It’s about darkness and fear and despair. The emotional weight of this game is unbearable. Forget about The Last of Us, To the Moon or Telltale’s The Walking Dead. Hellblade is soul-crushing in a way I never thought a game could be. Remember Requiem for a Dream? That’s what Hellblade does to you. I will NEVER forget Ninja Theory’s masterpiece. [10/2017, p.38]

The new installment introduces a lot of changes, but does not depart from the atmosphere of the previous entries to the series. It’s an excellent turn-based strategy that offers not only an engaging campaign, but also graphics unmatched across the genre. The only thing Age of Wonders 4 needs, are improvements to the multiplayer, as right now it doesn't work great.

At first glance Blasphemous 2 may look just like its predecessor, but it offers much more content and significantly improved gameplay. It’s a polished, addictive metroidvania that every fan of the genre should play.

The Robot Entertainment crew didn't try to create anything original here but managed to combine the tried and true elements surprisingly well. [November 2011, p.57]

One of the best RPG games for 3DS. [03/2014, p.77]

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

It was a risky decision to drop the single player campaign and focus on multiplayer, including battle royale, which seemed like a cynical attempt to jump on the bandwagon. I’m a bit surprised to say that Treyarch did truly great. Black Ops 4 is one of the best online games of 2018 – its shooting mechanics are wonderful, Blackout (the aforementioned take on battle royale) is top-notch and the Zombies mode drifts towards... action RPG. [12/2018, p.78]

Papetura is a cute, very short gem that’s genuinely a joy to look at, to listen to, and to play. [07/2021, p.50]

As expected, Splatoon 3 is a terrific game. It’s addictive, its core concept is still brilliant, the story mode turned out to be surprisingly good and there are some minor overall improvements. If you haven’t played two previous entries to the series, you should definitely add something to the score. The disappointing thing is, five years were not enough for the developers to stir the old paint properly and for me Splatoon 3 often felt more like a DLC than a full-fledged sequel.

I was pleased with Mankind Divided. I had to play it in long, intense sessions to meet the deadline and I wasn’t tired of it even for a minute. The new Deus Ex is not a breakthrough in any respect, but all the great qualities of the previous game are here and they still work great. [10/2016, p.34]

In terms of technology it's not so fresh anymore, but the rest is really likeable. Thanks to the necessity of making choices (some of which are 'hidden' and not obvious) this time I didn't feel like a puppet in the hands of the writers and the multiplayer is amazing. [13/2012, p.42]

Despite being a spin-off, Judgment firmly stands on its own two feet, offering a great story, immensely fun combat and the usual truckload of cool side stories and engaging activities scattered around Kamurocho. The main plot line has some pacing issues and the detective mechanics are shallow, but you should definitely give this game a try, even if you don’t care much for the Yakuza series. [07/2021, p.68]

The game is dripping with pathos, but I couldn’t invest myself emotionally in it, because it all just feels fake. [01/2015, p.42]

This might be the most suggestive vision of hell I’ve ever seen in a game, both repulsive and entrancing. [05/2016, p.69]

Strange Horticulture is a puzzle game where you identify plants and mushrooms for the clients of your herbal store and explore the map following the clues. It’s a game for you if you don’t mind staring at one screen or browsing a swelling botanical handbook – especially if you enjoyed Potion Craft.

Brume Tower is less claustrophobic than Shulva and the second DLC did a much better job convincing me to revisit Drangleic and its surroundings than the first one. [Nov 2014, p.73]

The game is as well-designed and polished as the original Don’t Starve, but of course your reception of Together depends on who you play it with. [07/2016, p.65]

I have no clue how Villa Gorilla came up with an idea to combine a platformer with a pinball (was there a hat full of cards with genres on them involved?) but it works like a charm. Instead of jumping you use numerous flippers, which fit into the game world surprisingly well along with other elements that usually belong on the pinball table. In addition to being super fun to play Yoku’s Island Express looks and sounds great and is one of the most charming games I’ve come across. I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. [08/2018, p.77]

If you want to travel back in time to the period when adventure games posed a clever challenge, you won’t find a better game to do so. Epiphany is the best game in the series, so I’m genuinely sad there won’t be a follow-up. [06/2014, p.64]

Anno 1800 is a stellar strategy game and while the Console Edition has some flaws (e.g. large interface windows cluttering the screen, some technical issues, the lack of major expansions available on PC), they’re not so annoying as to suck the fun out of the experience. However, it seems the PS5 and Xbox version of the game was developed with novices rather than veterans of the series in mind. Regardless, I enjoyed my time with Anno 1800 Console Edition very much.

It’s more a fitness suite than game but it’s the ‘game’ part that draws the players in – and does it quite well. Right now it might be the best invitation for the players to get up from the couch and just move. [02/2020, p.60]

As a remake, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... is a bit disappointing, because in terms of graphics it only reached the level of NieR Automata, which means it doesn’t look great. The content, however, is still brilliant. It’s an amazing adventure you must experience. [06/2021, p.36]

A psychedelic, brilliant whodunit, brimming with even more crazily creative minigames and impossible to forget. [07/2016, p.68]

Saying that Two Point Campus is loads of fun would be an understatement. Its developers have learned from previous mistakes (very few, I might add, as Two Point Hospital is still great) and created a game that deserves a magna cum laude distinction – genuinely amusing, very pretty and hugely enjoyable.