In the end, Civilization 7 remains a Civilization game at its core. BUT: The new gameplay mechanic with changing ages is a double-edged sword. I'm honestly still not sure what to make of it after all this time with the review version. I see Civilization 7 as a solid foundation for what's to come in the future. In a year's time, this game could look completely different, let alone in three or four. But whether you're ready to embark on this adventure right now is up to you. You might love it. You could hate it. Or, like me, you could be caught between the two.

If you are looking for an XCOM-like experience in the Warhammer 40K universe that also allows you to take a more aggressive approach, then Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters is the game for you.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger manages to avoid mundane JRPG-formulas and even adds some fresh ideas to the genre. There are still some minor issues, but they don't take away from the fun the digivolution is adding and the massively improved pacing, compared to its predecessor.

This emotional rollercoaster really had me on the edge of my seat.

This still is Baldur's Gate and even in this version it remains a highly worthwhile experience, especially when it comes to party dynamics, lore and the tactical fighting system, even if it sometimes comes across as a bit too reliant dice throws. It is still a big pleasure for anyone who likes their RPGs big, challenging and most of all classical in their setting. Which again brings me to the squandered potential of this re-release. They could have made something really brave and interesting with this. They didn't. So, even when this runs in a more stable manner than it does now, this hardly becomes an essential release.

Improved and expanded compared to its predecessor. In some areas not yet the absolute top class that it could be.

You have to have some interest in speedruns and an affinity for dexterity games from the first-person perspective with a Quake-like pace. Then you might love it, even though you still have to look past an overly obscure level-design.

All in all, the port is well executed and especially Snake never looked better. But that is hardly a good enough reason for veterans of MGS 3: Subsistence to return to the jungle.

On the whole, F1 Manager 2024 is an improvement and, not least thanks to the option to create your own team, the best version of the series to date. The other new features do not completely turn the game upside down - which was not to be expected - but are welcome additions that add a little more depth.

I don't want to minimize the issues any more than those few technical errors, because even as a big fan of the original, I do sometimes feel lost. On balance, however, I'm actually happy to put up with this. Because in its entirety, the great freedom, the striking setting, its remarkable antagonist are simply great and make for an immensely engaging experience, just like back then.

Initially bulky and a bit messy, Metal Slug Tactics is a tough nut to crack at first, partly because of its roguelite approach. But once you get into it, you'll enjoy the clever 'synch' mechanics and the search for viable movement patterns and powerful synergies.

You get a good amount of gaming for little money and you will feel like a happy kid for a while with MotorStorm RC. In the end it´s the completely missing online modes which keep it from higher praise.

Successful VR version of Assassin's Creed, which works well except for the open battles and offers immersive sneaking and parkour fun.

Songs of Conquest would have profited from losing some of the inherent ticks of this particular sub-genre, but it is still one of the most beautiful and relaxing "just one more round" games of the year.

Eighteen years after the last installment, Samus Aran finds herself lost in her most linear, easiest game yet. Nevertheless, the unique atmosphere, solid foundations, excellent visuals, and several neat dungeon ideas make Viewros well worth a visit.

Of course, it's not a grand adventure with an epic story and powerful character development. Shredding your way through the snazzy dioramas - always careful not to lose valuable experience points, and soon so nimble that you bravely duel bosses yourself - is much more engaging than it might look on pictures, though. No wonder, then, that it had to be Devolver, who snatched up this gem. You'd best do the same!

Authentic and competitive playstyles bring flexibility to this year's version, but also limitations. Otherwise, EA Sports FC 26 offers some nice new features and sensible gameplay optimizations, while FUT continues to utilize pay-to-win mechanics.

Every puzzle, every piece of dialogue, every punchline and every single one of the sprawlingly hand-drawn backgrounds is pervaded by the charming eccentricities we only got a glimpse at in the first game. Where other second games in a trilogy often fail, this middle-part manages to marry the obligatory cliffhanger-ending in the run-up to Episode three with a whole-heartedly satisfying conclusion of its own.

A good conversion of the PC city builder for consoles, which also unfolds its addictive potential there. The controls work well, but unfortunately the season passes will not be released for consoles.

Don't Nod has arrived among the greats: Banishers combines a huge, enthralling world and a engaging narrative with good technology and effortlessly entertaining Kratos-style action-adventure combat.

New content might be lacking, but the simulation is still excellent and accessible even to newcomers as Milestone double down on their smart, optional driving aids.

With a humorous script, lovingly designed characters and a goofy story, Date Everything turns out to be a really cool dating sim.

The camera does its part in making some sequences a tad bit annoying, but that's just a small irritation in a game where everything else is so absolutely spot on. The whole game world feels like a gigantic box of toys come to life, bustling with charm and lovable characters.

It might be lacking in structure and its online systems seem ancient. As a golf game, though, Mario Golf World Tour is solid beyond any doubt. Its inner mechanics just are some of the best in the genre.

If you have been waiting for a good honest FPS on the Vita, this is it. In fact, there aren't many ways in which Killzone's debut on Sony's starving handheld could have been much better.

Don't Starve can be a real pain. But if you know what you're getting yourself into, you'll not regret answering the call of this cute, but somehow distressingly terrifying wild.

Rarely did I enjoy getting to know the numerous facets of a vivid world as much as I did here. And rarely did I miss in-depth systems as little as in this cleverly constructed stealth puzzler - in which sneaking, puzzling and quiet exploration come together in pleasingly varied situations.

Undeniable technical difficulties aside, with a price tag of only 20 bucks nobody should miss out on State of Decay. It's easily one of the most complex and elaborately designed XBLA title to ever grace that service, so clever and mature I'm struggling to name another open world game that has felt this fresh in the last three years since Red Dead Redemption rode along.

Granted, there's no real competition as of yet, but Sonic and Racing All-Stars Transformed on the Wii U easily takes the role of a really, really good Mario Kart game. It is the definitive game of this sort - and not by virtue of being the only one. The plumber will have to give it his best shot to regain his pole position on his own console.

As much as Disgaea 3 can get along on the qualities of the original and of course still is a good game: you just can´t help the feeling, that the Vita should instead have deserved the fourth release of the franchise.

If GRID Autosport is Codemasters' way of saying 'sorry' for the last one, consider the apology accepted.

This is a seasoned series delivering sure fire quality. It might not be for you, but if it is, you'll go happily and satisfied into this new round. In the end, it is what you expected: Call of Duty. Love it or hate it. This game doesn't care.

Telltale has a way with words, its authors consistently producing quite powerful stuff. It might well be that they still manage to turn this season into something special with the final episode. I just wish they had sealed the deal sooner by finding a consistent theme to the season and making the narrative less incidental.

Taken as a toy, Trap Team overshadows everything I had as a kid.

In spite of all the youtube-nonsense and the useless frame of a story, Grid feels like a game from another time. It just didn't really evolve all that much from its predecessor, which fit its era much better. The generation was still young back then, but today, Grid 2 has to ask itself, where its place should be, between Shift 2, Forza, Most Wanted, Hot Pursuit, Gran Turismo, iRacing and all the other ones. This field of gaming has great titles for every type of player and the high quality that's on display all throughout Grid 2 has become sort of the bottom line expectation.

Honor of Kings can be a good choice for getting into the genre on a smartphone. After all, the game is simple, offers a stripped-down MOBA experience and helps you to understand the basics in and out of matches. However, the game doesn't really stand out with much.

Some of the action is spectacular and great to play, but in the long run Rogue Flight is quite monotonous.

Nothing on offer here is bad per se. It is very competent in all of the disciplines you'd expect a title with this pedigree to be competent in. But somewhere along the fast track into store shelves Mario's magic got lost. Coming out shortly after the much fresher and more inventive 3D Land didn't do it any favors. And as a successor, six years after the first NSMB, these little updates don't do enough to justify the '2' in the title. This might just be the first Mario game that has you playing it mostly because of twenty year old automatisms.

Brilliant idea, solid framework—and yet an adventure that falls short of its potential: much of the detective work in Hell is Us is more tiresome than engaging.

It's almost tragic, really. Because, awful loading times and some smaller technical quibbles aside, on the field, this PES looks and feels just plain excellent.

Even though this sticks close to Dead Space's horror roots in structure and pacing, the last two games were much more threatening, horrifying and memorable. That being said, Visceral hasn't really done anything wrong, except trying to blow up their game to bigger proportions than its initial idea was ever meant to. Consequently, Dead Space 3 can't help but feel stretched. By now, you know the tricks too well, as to be blown away by one or two sound upgrades. (…) Still, this is a competent and at times outright glorious game.

The platformer offers varied levels with funny ideas, an ingenious mechanic for locomotion that lets you explore the genre with a fresh pinch of cleverness and a really pretty pixel art design that convinces even pixel-skeptical folks like me.

The difficult decisions vividly reflect the struggle for survival. However, the weak, unfaithful soundtrack and the tedious tactical maneuvering in the real-time battles are disappointing.

I really loved the character design and the make-up of the interactive stages. Plus, it's without a doubt the most interesting story mode I ever had the fortune playing in a beat 'em up, and I would have loved have gotten a few more hours out of it. Even if the rest of the package can be a bit workmanlike, everything works splendidly.

Purely in terms of quality and the amount of licenses, however, EA Sports FC 24 once again offers a very well-functioning, comprehensive package. Definitely not a bad game, just one that might feel a tad too familiar if you've been playing FIFA 23 for very long.

It's not the sort of horror that'll stay with you long beyond the credits, not a quiet and subtle creep fest, but a blunt force shocker. And as such it's effective because it's just so damn drastic.

So I'm disappointed - but I still love roaming the streets with Kazuma again. No other game offers this kind of escapism; the opportunity to get to know a city in such a way that you are familiar with every corner instead of just speeding past it in a car. As much as I would like to see new impulses in the mini-games, as well as the outdated presentation, locations and game mechanics, I'm still not fed up Sega's rehashing of the formula year after year.

The simulation might not be as deep as others, but working the heavy machinery is quite entertaining most of the time.

In terms of gameplay, Pokémon Legends: Z-A has some good points, such as real-time catching and battles, while the city seems limiting. Technically, it's still lagging behind, but at least it runs reasonably well on the Switch 2.

The physics and presentation are so well done that you can have a pleasant game. In terms of gameplay and audiovisuals, however, Zen's tables are still no match for the classics.

While adding little to existing career and other modes Milestone has taken huge strides with its largely improved physics model. Virtual bikes never felt as real as these do.

Vultures: Scavengers of Death is a fascinating genre experiment with a strong tactical core and wonderfully rough-edged retro survival-horror flair, but unfortunately also a few flaws that are hard to overlook.

It´s a nice little time sink for a single player and a real blast in a group of friends or family. All of these games cater far more to the needs of the classic gamer than Wii Sports ever did and at the same time they manage to show of the capabilities of the new gamepad pretty well. It's not the revelation the Wii once was, on those first evenings after you brought it home. But its an endearingly crafted piece of quality software.

If you are new to the series you should think hard, if you really need the whole package. Even though I'd recommend the first Kingdom Hearts to anyone, this particular edition is one for the fans, really.

I was really looking forward to this more compact experience in Mirage and was not disappointed. Of course, there are still collectibles here and there, but again it feels more like a fun pastime than a life's work. That's one important point. The other is that Mirage simply feels good to play, at least where it matters.

Crimes and Punishment is not the sort of adventure where you jam-pack your inventory with random items and boredly click away window after window of borderline meaningless dialog. It's a real detective game – the video game equivalent of a crime novel, suspenseful, but ultimately undemanding.

An exciting horror-game with strong borrowings from Alien: Isolation, where you explore a convincing setting in a physically believable way.

A little too conservative and talkative here and there, but a thoroughly fun comeback with smartly amended combat mechanics and a backpack full of nonsense.

It's a game you can sink your teeth into and master. Even today, it's still a wonderful platformer that I can recommend to anyone who has missed out on it before. However, you should think carefully about whether you are prepared to pay the price if you already own the original.

So again, there's a solid engine at work under the hood of this one, but it still gives you lots of opportunity to get really angry at it at the same time.

In the here and now,Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is not only the best-looking platformer, gameplay-wise it's also one of the best of its kind. It's a modern game in the best of senses, and it's cheap, coming at a price tag that is hugely allowance-compatible. Fans of platforming: If you don't buy this, what the hell do you want?

With the HD version, the former 3DS title has been given a new edition that really does it justice. If you haven't played Luigi's Mansion 2 yet, but have perhaps already played the third part, this is a clear recommendation. Just as much if you have not yet had any contact with the series.

Our enthusiasm is only held back by the dozy and overpowered RAAM, who has nothing to add to the formula, but instead strips away most of what is good about Gears. But not to worry, his part is over quickly and then it´s back to the familiar role in some fresh surroundings.

Etrian Odyssey will forever have a special place in my heart, and I'm happy with how the HD remaster for the Nintendo Switch turned out. Still, despite the thoroughly successful visual, technical and auditory performance, Etrian Odyssey doesn't play quite as smoothly as it does on the DS, though.

This 15-minute daily sitcom is wonderfully charming and often makes you laugh. But like a swing that you have to occasionally push, it’s only fun as long as you’re willing to put something into it. Occasional repetition and Nintendo’s sharing restrictions are annoying.

A great power fantasy that invites the creation of strong cinematic moments, but is also never quite pushed to its limits in terms of content and playfulness.

Anomaly 2 is a fresh coat of paint on the tower defense genre without being all too new or disruptive at the same time. It's a well done and refined version of what came before, adding a multiplayer mode. If part one was to your liking, you're not doing anything wrong with this.

A lovingly drawn platformer that is not as lively in terms of gameplay as its visuals might suggest.

It's a valiant little game, then. One you won't begrudge for its final monologue about honor, homeland, and freedom -- words that usually have my eyes rolling whenever lesser games dare to utter them.

The Posthumous Investigation is an adventure game that feels like a visual detective novel that's stylistically poignant yet shallow in terms of actual detective work.

The rally aspect suffers from the openness of the tracks, the game world is not very exciting, but it includes a lot of new content and comes with the usual good gameplay.

Van Helsing 2 is a charming and solid piece of hack and slash, spiced with interesting gimmicks and a good dose of humor.

Until Kid Icarus Uprising is released, checking out this remake on the 3DS is well worth your time.

I definitely want to know what happens next and what consequences my actions will have. And if that's your assessment of a season opener, the developers must have done something quite right.

The Knife of Dunwall is a good, solid DLC, that strives to give you more of what made the main game something special. This only serves to show that Arkane can trust in the base mechanics they thought up for Dishonored. It's just a shame it only really gets going soon before the credits roll, so make sure you're prepared to pay up for a follow up to this.

Like its predecessors, Expeditions strikes a brain-bendingly perfect balance between relaxation and tension.

This is a solid version that's well worth the download for Xbox live gold members. Compared to the PC game it lacks too many features, though, and technologically it is far behind as well.

The meager eight stages are fun, but leave you very abruptly stranded at the end-credits and wishing for more areas, Bossfights and especially many more weapons.

There are no heroes here and it´s not up to you to be one. This is as far away from the shiny-happy shooterindustry as you can get, as long as you still want to sell a few units. The 'fun'-part lies in the excessive shooter-sequences, that will spare The Line from the fate of being a highly praised but commercially unsuccessful case of auteur gaming.

With Stadium, TrackMania 2 still holds true to the core tenets of the series, catering first and foremost to those, who'd do everything to shave that elusive hundredth off their time to beat the competition.At only 10 Euros, it's also a great place to start, if this games sounds like your kind of deal and you haven't gotten around to trying the series out.

Moonrider is a solid remix of its masters, a decent game that never particularly shines. It offers up a good challenge and nice level design that often has you thinking, 'hey, I know recognize that!' — when you're actually thinking of a superior title that you should be playing instead.

Tactica is a solid turn-based tactics affair with a static meta game and long speech bubble conversations, which ultimately isn't as stylishly sure-footed as the main title in the series.

Charming adventure that's a little too similar to Journey and somewhat lacking in depth - but unique in how it has you herding fantastical beasts on a wordless trip into the mountains.

Gamepad controls and visual design are not great, but the ingenious concept is going to draw you in as it did almost 20 years ago.

If you think, that Street Fighter 4 is too polygon-ish, BlazBlue too wild and Marvel vs. Capcom too chaotic, then the new King of Fighters is perfect for you. (...) It lives up to the standards and merits of its early predecessors.

On the PC the shortcomings stay the same. The campaign and some missions can feel a bit padded and for the next entry in the series. I'd like Project Aces to return to the more fantastical scenario of old. The controversial "Dog Fight Mode" might not be the best means to remove the overly simple skeet shooting-like dogfight mechanics of older games, but its probably the prettiest one they could have thought up. It might have been better to make it optional, though, instead of mandatory. Still, it's a fast and in its best moments pretty exciting and spectacular ride. If more Ace Combat sounds like a good idea for you, you should give this one a chance, as the fair asking price even makes up for the only-competent port.

Even if the premise is not as self-contained as it should be and the basic design not as fascinating, as in the game that helped Swifts rise to fame: Friend of Portal-esque puzzles will find enough to do for two long afternoons - and at a reasonable price point, too.

Rocksmith's European version is an improvement over the original but the ingenious concept still leaves some things to be desired. The idea is there, the tech works. Now it's up to future versions to serve guitar prospects the freedoms to choose how they play the game and to ditch the automatically adjusting difficulty.

Connoisseurs of "fine humor" and fans of the Angry Nerd need not think twice about spending those 14 Euros. Go get it! It's a surprisingly solid, profanity-filled and feces-fixated chaos of a game. Hard, but fair, you'll find yourself flinging obscenities at the screen on a regular basis.

The gameplay really is to be commended, even though in aiming for the mass market, musically, Fantasia loses a bit of its soul.

Clash of Heroes' optics and audio are rather sobering, but its narrative and its extremely refined gameplay still make for a unique turn-based tactics game.

Redacted's comic-like action is good, but in the long run it is so uniform that the roguelike runs out of steam relatively quickly despite good character development.

A monumental masterpiece: Despite the bugs, clunky menus, and awkward controls, its magnetic pull is simply impossible to resist.

Although beautiful and rich with story, the Living Lands is not the most believable role-playing world – yet compelling to explore thanks to parkour-heavy movement and satisfyingly physical as well as tactical combat.

There are times when I felt I was putting more time into planning my endeavors than into the killing of monsters. And that's by no means a bad thing, quite the contrary. Dragon's Crown is bursting with means to tinker with and develop your characters and each of them is quite exciting and well executed.

Most of all, Virtua Tennis 4 impresses because of the quality of this port, which might well be the final word when it comes to handheld conversions of home console titles. You're almost puzzled that the game doesn't support cross-platform play, so close is this version to last year's counterpart ... The quick-fire arcade style of gameplay with its focus on minigames and short match-ups seems like a much better fit for a handheld than it did for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Once you understand how it works, Akka Arrh is a clever experience that rewards good timing with cool combos. Above all, it's a surprisingly relaxed affair that often lets you enjoy the sparkling polygon spectacle at your leisure while keeping it going with a few well-aimed shots.

The amazingly comprehensive retro flair, including a fantastic soundtrack, make this retro racing love letter something I like to let myself be carried away by. In terms of content and driving model, however, this runs out of gas somewhat quickly ... Parking Garage Rally Circuit is successful in what it does, but it's also a not much more than a short snack.