If you ever wondered whether you’re cut out to be a programmer, and you complete 7 Billion Humans, than yes, you have an aptitude for real coding. The most important thing though is that it’s a great game. [11/2018, p.60]

This game does for Spider-Man what the Arkham series did for Batman. Immensely satisfying movement system, excellent combat, fast pace, superb visuals and wealth of side activities converge to bring a wonderful experienced, diluted only by some minor missteps in the story and a couple of stealth sequences where you control supporting characters instead of Spidey. [11/2018, p.54]

The action is fast, spectacular and satisfying, but also short (especially for a roguelike), because I finished the campaign in around six hours and was left with a bland challenge mode. [10/2018, p.87]

Relics of War made me realize how much I need a Civilization game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Gladius is not there yet, but it is on the right path. It ditches trade, diplomacy, religion and cultural development and focuses on the military side of things, which of course is in line with the setting. I did miss other strategic layers a bit, but the game’s main problem is that it offers merely four factions. Other than that it’s very decent. [10/2018, p.86]

I had an impression that the developers were not sure what game they’re making. As a result their jumble of (sometimes good) ideas turned out to be a safe and tasteless mush – you will neither get excited while fighting off pirates, nor relax while fishing. [10/2018, p.85]

A perfect party game, simple but brilliant. [10/2018, p.84]

With its dated, slow combat system, no intention to evolve the series, bugs, and no tension, The Banner Saga 3 is sadly just a game you tick off to get closure, not a spectacular finale. [10/2018, p.82]

The Boomsday Project is a great expansion. The Magnetic mechanic is brilliant, the new cards are very interesting and the return of Dr. Boom is a nice nod to nostalgic players. [10/2018, p.80]

These are mostly unchanged Mega Man X games, but if you haven’t played them yet, you owe it to yourself to catch up on these gems – and Legacy Collection is the best occasion you can get. [10/2018, p.78]

In the first episode of its final season The Walking Dead is prettier than ever, sounds better than ever and does a better job at pretending to be a game. Telltale’s attempts to refresh the series are too conservative but I still appreciate them, even if it feels like praising a notorious sloven for washing his hands before Christmas dinner. [10/2018, p.76]

A crazy, innovative and funny variation on pool, where the tables are full of life and the balls try to avoid being hit. The only aspect I have to reprove is the game’s repetitiveness – the scenery changes but basic mechanics always stay the same. [10/2018, p.74]

Not having played Yakuza 6 yet, at first I was disappointed with the Dragon engine, which offers only painful 30 frames per second. New tech has its advantages though, as you may enter most of shops, restaurants etc. without annoying loading, which is a significant step forward from the first Kiwami, as are the physics engine, animation system and enhanced control over combat. Overall it is a very good game, but not as brilliant as Yakuza 0, especially in terms of the story. [10/2018, p.70]

I’ve steered clear of Japanese games since I figured out long ago they’re not my cup of tea. But Yakuza is something else. It was my first contact with the series and although at first I did mind the fact that it trails behind Western competition in many aspects, I quickly ceased to notice it. I know it’s an overused cliché, but damn, Yakuza has a soul! And an exceptional story, one of the best I’ve experienced in games since I started playing them almost thirty years ago. Even if you avoid Japanese games, do yourself a favour and give Yakuza 0 a chance, because it is ridiculously fun and you need to experience it too. [10/2018, p.69]

I’m not going to remember this game fondly, as it left me bored, annoyed with absurdities and frustrated by burdensome tactical missions. [10/2018, p.68]

Vampire kids clash with Casa Bonita’s latin music and family picnic vibe in an amusing way, but the DLC offers shamelessly little content and therefore is not worth your money if bought separately. [10/2018, p.63]

The new character class (the Final Girl) quickly became my favourite and I think I enjoyed this well-written, fun slasher parody more than The Fractured but Whole itself. The DLC is quite short (I did everything there was to do in three hours), but I actually appreciated that, as I found the original campaign to be dragged out mercilessly and pointlessly. Definitely the best DLC for The Fractured but Whole. [10/2018, p.63]

There’s a lot of love here, both for the genre and the main character – and that love is contagious, especially since Heroki is surprisingly polished for an indie game. However I have no idea why someone decided that assigning movement and aiming to the same analogue stick is a good idea. [10/2018, p.62]

A very simple interactive story revolving around lucid dreams. Radiant One is light on traditional gameplay and the fact that it only lasts approximately one hour prevented it from telling the story properly, as it feels rushed. The game is priced accordingly to its length though and I found it to be worth my time, mainly due to its level design, uncommon subject and exceptional audio. [10/2018, p.61]

To truly enjoy this variation on parkour sprinkled with some Portal madness, you need to be a bit of a masochist. If you relish overcoming your weakness and don’t mind dying dozens of times in a single level, you’ll find plenty of fun in Impulsion’s exceptionally fluid, simple yet deep gameplay. [10/2018, p.60]

If you want to see what an exemplary roguelike looks like, look at Dead Cells. It does everything right – the controls, the level design, the combat, the character progression system, the pace – and collecting cells remains a joy even after dozens of hours. [10/2018, p.58]

Retrofuturistic, totalitarian world created by Compulsion Games is fascinating, as we see bits and pieces of Kafka (a clerk rebelling against the system), Clockwork Orange (extreme violence), Douglas Adams (humor) or Half-Life (architecture) floating around. What failed is the execution, which turned We Happy Few into an unintentional parody of stealth games. The enemy AI is so lame that I repeatedly had an impression of starring in a lost episode of The Benny Hill Show, especially since the combat system is crude and production values leave a lot to be desired. [10/2018, p.56]

An enjoyable old-school metroidvania with wonderful pixel art, focused on platforming rather than combat. [10/2018, p.54]

When Dave Gilbert decided in 2014 to put an end to Blackwell, arguably the most remarkable series of contemporary point’n’click games, he burned a hole in my heart. When I finally accepted the thought that the wound will never heal, Wadjet Eye is back with another gem, a terrific mix of a point’n’click and an RPG that’s right up there with Gilbert’s previous work. [10/2018, p.52]

I’ve been waiting for a good action game with mechs for quite a while and WTF did not reward my patience. It’s a simple, low budget game lacking in every single aspect and dated in terms of execution. [10/2018, p.51]

Semblance’s ace up the sleeve and key mechanic is the ability to deform environment, and in my opinion it does not work ideally in a puzzle game. I often felt like I was cheating, as if I forced a cubic block into a round hole in a kids’ shape sorter, and it fit, because it was flexible enough. This feeling often robbed me of satisfaction one should derive from solving a puzzle. [10/2018, p.50]

Phantom Doctrine is an addictive mix of improved combat mechanics from Hard West and XCOM’s strategic layer (but you also manage particular soldiers, not just your base). I recommend it if you revel in silent executions and infiltrating enemy facilities without leaving any traces, especially if you enjoyed Invisible, Inc. and don’t mind a game being somewhat rough around the edges. [10/2018, p.48]

Battle for Azeroth offers everything you could expect from a World of Warcraft expansion, but its scale is visibly smaller than Legion’s and there’s no truly new quality here. All that doesn’t change the fact that the charm of this extraordinary MMORPG appeals to me almost as strongly as 13 years ago. [10/2018, p.42]

Despite some flaws and obvious low budget Youropa is a very solid game that constantly evolves and causes the “one more island” syndrome. [09/2018, p.69]