Wattam reminds me of Chuchel and is the cutest game I have played in recent years. I love its absurd sense of humor, simple puzzles, adorable dancing and farting creatures, and the way music corresponds with the funny on-screen chaos. The game is rather short and doesn’t play too well with a controller, but other than that it is pure fun. [03/2021, p.52]

A horror game with a quite controversial and bold story that deals with such sensitive subjects as child abuse and torture and doesn’t shy away from gruesome sights. It’s just two hours long and might scare you away with terrible textures, poor character models and clunky animations, but it sounds really good and offers a grim atmosphere that did make my skin crawl a couple times. [03/2021, p.51]

Down in Bermuda offers pleasant relaxation but its mobile origin weighs it down. When you play it on a PC in longer sessions, it is hard to overlook its length (3 hours) and formulaic puzzles that become less and less rewarding with time. The port itself could have been better too, as the last map suffers from serious performance issues. [03/2021, p.50]

A very good adaptation of a board game that occupied one of the top spots of the BoardGameGeek list. The rules are the same, so the goal is to create new habitats for birds and attract as many specimens as possible. The game has a great tutorial, obvious educational values (I wish it presented more information about the species though), and the cards are lovely, but it is a shame that only North American birds are included. [03/2021, p.49]

Jet Kave Adveture is a fun, vibrant, varied platformer that brings to mind animated movies. It is also easy and its cartoon violence is very mild, which makes it great for young players. Seasoned gamers may find it not challenging enough, but still Jet Kave Adventure made me realize how much I miss such titles on PC. [03/2021, p.48]

As a highly addictive beat ‘em up and a great trip down the 16-bit memory lane, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World definitely deserved a chance to shine on new platforms. For a couple of days I was pretty much unable to put my Switch down. [03/2021, p.47]

You can definitely feel Shovel Knight vibes, which is not surprising, as the developers of the 2014 hit platformer offered to help polish Cyber Shadow and published it. The result is a spectacular game full of surprises, ingenious pitfalls and fantastic boss encounters. Add a simply brilliant level design, wonderful art style and great adrenaline-pumping music, and you get a game you want more and more of despite of dying all the time. [03/2021, p.46]

Unto the End is a minimalistic, very intense and ultimately exhausting adventure that requires patience. Enemies are always faster than our sluggish hero and almost always unpredictable, so even a lone foe can pose a challenge, while a stronger one will kill you with one strike. Not all encounters seemed fair, by the way. [03/2021, p.45]

With its very diverse (but still pop-oriented) tracklist and varied modes, Let’s Sing 2021 is without a doubt one of the best music games available, especially with SingStar gone. [03/2021, p.44]

Despite clunky animations, repetitive gameplay and some technical issues with the Xbox Series X version, I completed The Medium twice. Its dual-reality design, art direction and brilliant soundtrack often made me stop to take in a view or relish the music. Its mature story and atmosphere reminiscent of Silent Hill helped a lot too. [03/2021, p.40]

I appreciate the game’s originality, appealing art style, replayability and combat mechanics that leave some room for tactics. I find randomizing the difficulty level irritating though. Sometimes you get to fight softies, sometimes the same level greets you with enemies that kill you with a single punch (hello, permadeath!). Loosing simply because you were unlucky and had to face an impossible dungeon does not feel great. [03/2021, p.39]

The idea behind Skellboy is brilliant – you swap out parts of your body to change the way you fight and interact with the surroundings. I also enjoyed the art style with 2D sprites in 3D environments. Unfortunately, combat is boring, camera angles can be annoying and the story is dull. [03/2021, p.38]

An interesting mix of a card game and a tower defense, played in real time. You build your little rat town, recruit warriors, and defend against an ever-growing horde of enemies. Ratropolis is crazy fast and makes you think and act on the spot, but it has some serious issues which take away from the fun. Above all, your units are annoyingly sluggish and rarely reach the enemy in time (and if they did, I often felt I do not have sufficient control over my army). [03/2021, p.37]

Danish developers prepared a new set of fantastic sandbox environments, filled them with crowds, scattered useful gadgets all around, and said: have fun however you want. If the best Hitman missions for you were those based on freedom, exploration and watching the surroundings carefully, Hitman 3 is what you need. It is a worthy finale of an exceptional trilogy. [03/2021, p.30]

On paper, Pacer has everything a racing game needs, including a multitude of game modes and customization options, decent physics, nice sense of speed, and a lot of varied, visually attractive tracks. In reality I got bored pretty quickly due to its lackluster career mode, questionable AI, and overall derivativeness. [02/2021, p.63]

Bland plot (which prevents Above and Beyond from being a truly magnificent experience) and somewhat cartoonish characters did not spike the game’s guns. I was impressed with the scope and details of the environments, and gunplay was awesome because the weapons have a nice kick to them. If only the controls were better… I lost count of the situations when I picked up a wrong object or ended up giving myself an injection instead of throwing a grenade. [02/2021, p.62]

Don’t expect a revolution. The PS5 version of the latest FIFA looks better, runs at 60 fps in 4K, and loads matches much faster, but the only feature truly worth focusing on is the creative use of haptic feedback (e.g. as your player gets tired, triggers gradually become harder to press). [02/2021, p.61]

Colorful, pretty scenery, decent voice acting, lots of interactive objects, and a couple of interesting puzzles give the impression that the game has more to offer than it actually does. The atmospheric first half is good, but the repetitive second part disappoints. The plot makes no sense and the direction it takes is predictable to anyone acquainted with Lovecraft’s work. The further you go, the narrower the path is and you bump into invisible walls all the time. It’s a shame the game’s considerable potential was squandered. [02/2021, p.60]

The problem with the new Super Meat Boy is that it’s not the old Super Meat Boy. We have waited a decade for the sequel and it turned out to be an autorunner, which is not necessarily a welcome surprise. Two buttons is all you need, which makes CMBF very easy to grasp, but limited control over the protagonist can be maddening, especially that the game is even harder than the original. Having said that, the developers managed to squeeze a lot out of the simplified control scheme, and while I understand the game disappointed many fans, I still recommend it to those of you looking for a serious challenge. [02/2021, p.58]

Set in atmospheric Chicago in 1920s, Empire of Sin puts you in a role of a crime boss aiming to become the biggest fish in the underworld. It borrows from many genres and all its intertwined gameplay mechanics (business management, RPG elements, turn-based combat that bears a striking resemblance to the XCOM series) are deep enough to create an engaging experience that requires constant attention. Apart from shallow diplomacy and unsophisticated enemy AI, Empire of Sin’s problem is that while it was skillfully put together from tried-and-true components, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. [02/2021, p.56]

Doom 64 for Switch was overshadowed by Doom Eternal’s release on Nintendo’s handheld, but it would be a shame to ignore it. Do not mistake it for a port of the original Doom. Developed for Nintendo 64, it features a completely different campaign, offers more complex levels, and goes for a darker atmosphere. The enhanced Switch edition looks better, brings six additional levels, and fits the platform perfectly. [02/2021, p.55]

I have no idea how Panic Button managed to cram one of the most spectacular action games into Nintendo Switch. It’s an amazing achievement, but of course it came with a price – the game runs smoothly enough at 30 fps, but looks ugly, and playing it with the Joy-Cons is a nightmare. I highly recommend using the Pro Controller, or better still, experiencing this terrific shooter on another platform. [02/2021, p.54]

The Coalition spared no resources to bring us a story DLC that’s absolutely on par with the base game in every aspect. Hivebusters offers three highly enjoyable hours and left me hungry for more. [02/2021, p.53]

Morbid tells a mediocre story, but offers a great Lovecraftian atmosphere. The most important thing though is the game’s soulslike combat system, which is pleasant and takes the protagonist’s mental health into account alongside his stamina and HP. Don’t fear the “soulslike” label, because Morbid is not as frustrating as most games of that genre. [02/2021, p.51]

Faster and more fluent – is there anything else to wish for, especially that the game itself is still amazing? Actually, the Special Edition has much more going for it, including a new difficulty level, new rendering modes (up to 4K 30 fps with ray tracing), and the ability to play as Vergil. Sadly, the new character doesn’t come with his own levels. I also need to point out fps drops in the 120 Hz mode, and lackluster use of DualSense’s features. [02/2021, p.48]

I fully recommend Orwell’s Animal Farm as a great way to familiarize oneself with the timeless novella. It lacks a lot as a game though, because the adaptation is completely faithful and therefore restricts the player’s freedom heavily. [02/2021, p.47]

The main goal of Haven is to relax you, and all gameplay mechanics work in harmony to help convey the beauty of living in a happy, trusting relationship. Exploring an alien planet indeed is calming, but monotony creeps in after a couple of hours. [02/2021, p.46]

Although it is very short (only two hours!), Lucifer Within Us is one of the best puzzle games of 2020. Set in a world infested with evil forces, it puts you in a role of an inquisitor/detective who must interrogate suspects, identify demons that possessed them, and perform exorcisms. In terms of mechanics, the developers somehow managed to blend Phoenix Wright with “The Exorcist”. Don’t ask how that works, just try it out. [02/2021, p.45]