Despite a bit of self-plagiarism and some laziness on the part of the developers, World of Goo 2 tries to earn the title of a full-fledged sequel and… almost succeeds, because the goo is still as entertaining as it was years ago. I look forward to future new installments. Because there will be new installments, right? Right?!

When I look at fantastic Schim screenshots, I wonder if I was too harsh. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a pretty and charming game. However, a moment later I recall that after the first 30 minutes of euphoria from playing it, monotony and disappointment took over. Completing this game was neither a relaxation nor a cool challenge for me.

At first glance, The Sims 4 Lovestruck is a very good expansion, inviting players to delve deep into gameplay and explore the new mechanics. However, the closer I looked at it, the more shortcomings I noticed. EA took a step in the right direction, but still failed to offer us a full-fledged add-on worth its price.

The writers created a great setting, had a good idea for the plot and prepared excellent dialogues, but at the end of the day Nobody Wants to Die resembles an impressive technology showcase more than a proper game. I had fun, but the gameplay’s limited formula and modest length of this adventure are significant drawbacks.

Dungeons of Hinterberg is a very well-designed dungeon crawler that combines gameplay mechanics known from Zelda with social aspects of Persona. Despite the limited development budget, it gave me a ton of fun thanks to its designers’ ingenuity and creative approach to the implemented systems.

Set during World War I and dripping with darkness, Conscript can be frustrating sometimes but its atmosphere, boosted by an excellent soundtrack, makes it worth the time spent. This old-school survival horror is a true gem that should satisfy everyone interested in war-themed titles and keen on flexing mental muscles.

Star Wars Outlaws turned out to be less of a typical Ubisoft game than I feared, offers a lot of great atmosphere and lets you roam around the galaxy quite freely, experience numerous gangster adventures and feel at least a little bit like a real smuggler. It can only gain in the coming weeks if the developers roll up their sleeves and fix some issues that include god-awful enemy AI and a couple of bugs.

This slightly graphically improved re-release of the classic demonstrates that Beyond Good & Evil – a game where despite many crazy adventures your main weapon is your camera – can still evoke emotions, be appealing and stand out against much younger titles.

Boring and lazily made, Phantom Fury desperately tries to be an homage to FPS games of the second half of the 90s but in reality is only a faded copy of them. You can find shooters that are much better in every respect, so don’t waste your life on this one.

Still Wakes the Deep’s interesting setting and successful mix of a cosmic horror and a drama are enticing. Although it’s set at sea, the game manages to avoid Lovecraftian tentacled clichés. The great foundation for a survival horror was there, but sadly the final result turned out to be a walking sim that completely lacks any sense of threat and fails to pose a challenge.

The developers clearly had ambitions to create an interesting game, but something was lacking. Skills? Money? Time? Whatever the reason, Chornobyl Liquidators turned out to be quite a disappointment even though I approached it with moderate expectations. Pretty much nothing in this game fits together and every gameplay element falls short in some way.

Songs of Conquest modifies various aspects of the Heroes of Might and Magic III formula, and while not all these changes are indisputably positive, in the end we get a game that can easily be called a worthy spiritual successor to the cult classic.

Shadow of the Erdtree is a great, challenging add-on to an excellent game. It’s filled with surprising lore, chock-full of new content and, above all, well thought out. Distilling what’s best in the base game worked great and we can only regret that this first Elden Ring DLC is also the last one. I want more!

Men of War II is an extremely expansive – and still somewhat buggy – RTS set in World War II, which could put many turn-based strategies to shame with its complexity, attention to detail and regard for historical accuracy. It’s more suitable for hardcore fans of the genre, who will appreciate its immersive and enjoyable gameplay.

Ghost of Tsushima is a good, but by no means outstanding open-world game. All its magic lies in the distinctive atmosphere of feudal Japan and the romanticized vision of the samurai world. If bloody sword fights shown against the backdrop of beautiful nature appeal to you, you are unlikely to find anything better on the market. As for the PC port, there is nothing to complain about, although I feel it could look a little better.

Sand Land is a very enjoyable action RPG focusing largely on driving vehicles, but neatly combining a wide variety of gameplay mechanics. Although the limitations of the not-so-high production budget sometimes manifest themselves, the whole game is a well-done tribute to Akira Toriyama.

After the failure called MotoGP 23, the latest entry does more than just put the series back on track – it elevates it to a whole new level. If I were to rate MotoGP 24 solely against the previous installments, I would give it a 9 out of 10, but overall, an 8 accurately reflects the quality of the game. The bottom line is that we’ve just received the best MotoGP game ever.

Is it iconoclastic and anti-Christian? Yes. Humanistic and empathetic? You bet! Indika is not afraid of condemnation, and its developers speak their minds openly and consistently, though sometimes rather bluntly. And the fact that they draw inspiration from Bulgakov, Tarkovsky, but also Spyro the dragon? Well, such are the charms of this religiously engaged metagame.

Another Crab’s Treasure neatly combines soulslike basics with accessibility and friendliness towards novice players, including young ones. It offers a cheerful story in an interesting setting and deserves to at least be checked out.

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.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau offers a typical metroidvania experience and it’s a shame that the team led by Abubakar Salim lacked the courage to put some kind of a twist on the genre’s formula. Surgent Studios has the potential to create amazing games, but unfortunately this isn’t one of them.

Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is as beautiful as it is original. The developer’s ambition and fresh approach to the city builder genre are commendable, but the decision to force players to discover the game’s mechanics on their own has brought mixed results, while the lack of a proper challenge becomes a problem during longer sessions.

The use of stop-motion-inspired animation alongside hand-crafted characters and environments makes playing Harold Halibut a truly unique experience. However, I wish the game was a bit shorter and more interactive.

Children of the Sun is an insanely addictive puzzle game cleverly pretending to be a shooter. It’s an excellent title for those who prefer solving problems over spectacular action. The developer knew exactly how to build tension by gradually unlocking new mechanics that increase the difficulty, and as a result this indie gem is more fun than many AAA products.

Broken Roads is narratively competent, philosophically aware and relatively complex in terms of dialogues, while the moral compass mechanic stimulates the player intellectually. However, all the other elements of the game are not as exciting (or even solid) and gameplay is marred by bugs.

Hellblade II is a Celtic-Nordic odyssey that focuses on the issue of working through universal human traumas and on a natural depiction of the world as perceived by a person experiencing psychosis. The sequel is an audiovisual masterpiece with a strong message, even if it still seems very limited on a gameplay level.

Stellar Blade is, above all, a collection of ideas borrowed from other titles, but combined in such an intelligent and fresh way that it turned out to be a full-fledged game undoubtedly worth giving a chance. I had a fantastic time playing it and will probably revisit it one day.

A very interesting attempt to combine a hack’n’slash with a rhythm game. The mechanics of striking enemies to the beat work great, but Beat Slayer disappoints by artificially dragging out playtime, which results in a series of monotonous, identical battles.