The combat is pleasantly versatile, while you have to deal with strong enemies that face you in interesting configurations. The further you progress and the better you understand the world and its connections, the more motivating it is to tackle them - Lords of the Fallen gets this familiar rhythm just right. So if you're still in the mood for Soulslike, then go for it! In cooperation with Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen ensures that From Software can take its time with its next title.

There's a lot to like about Unicorn Overlord: Beautiful aesthetic in sound and art and an open strategy world with an addictive gameplay loop are this game's strengths.

Shovel Knight is all that we once held dear at the tail-end of the eighties, distilled into one beautiful new game.

Mortal Kombat 1 is perhaps not the most tactically demanding game of its kind, but it's presented in a superb way and you'll find yourself sinking countless hours into it.

On the whole, Feral Interactive has done an excellent job porting Company of Heroes to the Nintendo Switch. The game runs smoothly, has good controls and comes with a whole lot of content. For real-time strategy fans on the Switch, it is therefore an absolute must. No matter if you've never played it or want to relive this classic on the Switch.

The shortcomings of the career are the main reason why my enthusiasm is a little bit dampened, but the rest of the game was improved in all its aspects. The new moves, attacks and the inclusion of the PRIDE-Modes make it a must-buy for fans. Even newcomers and people who so far just liked the UFC-Videos don´t need to be afraid of the steep learning curve they found in the earlier games.

Brings to mind the great football managing sims of old, but doesn't rely only on that nostalgia. It plays well and is beautifully approachable.

A well-crafted tribute to Capcom's Monster Hunter series that adds a few new tricks to go beyond what the original has to offer. Omega Force delivers a strong debut that isn't without its weaknesses in terms of the weapon system and story, but overall a fun and entertaining hunting experience.

Forbidden Solitaire turns a simple game of patience into a surprisingly clever horror card adventure with dungeon-crawler DNA. Not every battle hits hard, but its musty ’90s CD-ROM charm works brilliantly.

Overall, though, some of its fights dragged on a bit and I found the plot stronger in the first two-thirds than towards the end. But all in all, Insomniac continues its run of immensely entertaining and impressively robust games in formidable fashion with Spider-Man 2. Few Studios mix cinematic spectacle and systemically satisfying freedom so deftly.

Even if Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational doesn't necessarily feel completely new – this is a big fistful of uncomplicated yet highly engrossing golfing fun that is hard not to recommend. It's not as much of a showcase title as other games in the Vita's Launch-Line-Up but that is due to the fact that it focuses on long found strengths rather than trying desperately trying to come up with new ones for this particular new piece of hardware.

While neither its story nor simplistic real-time combat are stuff to write home about, the depth and accessibility when building beautiful cities up from the granular structure of every quarter will keep you highly engaged.

Assassin's Creed can be so much more and this DLC just shows that it has in fact bigger aspirations. Even though 'The Tyranny' is just a careful step and its first chapter, 'The Infamy', not much more than the lifting of a foot: It still is a step in the right direction. Let's hope the developers have the courage to go all the way.

Great performance, but visually and stylistically a bit lacklustre. In terms of gameplay, however, The Lost Crown is beyond reproach: Precise, challenging platforming, cool puzzles and multi-faceted combat make this new Prince of Persia a treat for Metroidvania fans.

Moving Out might lack Overcooked's distinct charm and character. But fulfilling the various challenges and time goals is definitely incentive enough to plunge into the levels several times. If you feel like new co-op adventures or are looking for the next party fun, Moving Out 2 is definitely a suitable candidate for that.

The developers still have to work to turn this diamond in the rough into a brilliant cut. But even so, Carte managed to make me feel like a true geek. Maybe I will even get myself some real cards next time.

Crysis 3 is a big, fun summer blockbuster of a game. Sometimes that's all you need and if it's done as well as in this case, all the better. Get in, enjoy the ride, but don't expect to think about it next year. From time to time you have enjoy the now and not think about what could have been. You might miss all the fun that's undoubtedly to be found here.

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.

Very entertaining action adventure with extremely likeable characters. However, its launch on the PC is not flawless.

Outdated visuals meet a demanding old-school edge: Code Vein 2 is far more engaging than many of its slick, overpolished contemporaries. Those willing to look past the layer of visual dust will discover a Soulslike action RPG with surprising 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.

For less than 10 bucks, you can't go wrong with this DLC. Anyone who loves Remnant 2 will enjoy this massively.

With SSX snowboarding returns with style. No strange gimmicks, a few new and good ideas and above all perfect, extreme boarding action. It´s a perfect finish for the winter season.

A very successful conclusion to the story of Max and Chloe with familiar gameplay and a few technical quirks.

It was about high time that FIFA Street found back to more realism, complexity and, in the end, long-term playability.

It´s Limbo on Prozac. More colors and much more happiness.

Even though Dyad doesn't quite teleport you into the epic worlds of a certain man by the name of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, it doesn't lag behind much either. It even manages to evoke a new type of game experience, which high-score enthusiasts will gladly - and fully - embrace.

Finding your way into the game is harder than it should be. But once you're in, this is one of the best download titles on the 3DS.

Ultros demands a lot from you. If you engage with it, you may not get the best Metroidvania of recent years, but you will certainly get one of the most memorable.

While it does get a tad monotonous and predictable by the end, this remains an atmospherically dense survival adventure in an extremely vivid world. Its controls and variety of options deserve a prize.

There is a lot of good to be found in Alien Isolation. In the end, this one is just one good writer and five levels less away from being a true classic.

It´s a fun little miniature-golf-game, perfect to kill some time. It does nothing new, but that doesn´t mean it fails to entertain.

In single player the game suffers from a huge lack of varied content and could do with a more flexible fighting-system. It's understandable perhaps that the developers didn't want to burden their central multiplayer mode with the complex combos of something like Bayonetta, for example. But in doing so, Anarchy's single- and multiplayer modes keep on holding each other back. Still, regardless of its problems, matches regularly end up being a ton of fun.

Pharaoh: A New Era is not the perfect remake it probably wanted to be. There are several smaller issues that should have been addressed before release, things that remind you of the era the game originally released in. It's still a fun way of revisiting this particular game, and I had a good time. But I'd love for the developers to keep at it and optimize this remake. Pharaoh certainly deserves it.

This could have been so much more than a Contra with a rewind feature, but Super Time Force doesn't always manage to fulfill its potential.

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.

It's missing some depth, for sure. But the potent editor and regular new playable content and worlds ensure that children especially will always have a lot to play and tinker with.

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

More of the same. Hardly a bad thing bad in this particular case.

Granted, in terms of gameplay there's still really not too much here and I don't think Telltale is about to change that. But if you can live with that, the story will continue to suck you in like little else.

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

Nano Assault Neo is worth the asking price, so long as you don't have any other of the HD-consoles. Its twin-stick brethren on other platforms are just a tiny bit better. This kind of game needs to be immaculately balanced, precise to a fault and it needs to challenge you over and over again. Nano Assault seems to know its trade, but its not quite where the other big names of this genre are.

Non-stop brawling, neon lights and bouncer-marsupials.

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.

A celebration of the franchise, One Piece Odyssey is a well-made JRPG with an interesting cast and pretty and colorful worlds, ripe for cozy exploration.

A nicely dressed game with a fun combat system, which also lets its Asian grinder-roots shine through. Especially during the quests they should have mustered more courage to try something new. There is fun to be had here, but you have to know, what you get yourself into.

It's hardly really all that "new" and we've seen way better conversions of a compelling concept to the PS Vita. But nevertheless, this cross between Pikmin and world-building strategy is a good fit for the system. Not because of its scale, the game easily fills many enjoyable evening sessions, but just because its such a pleasant companion.

This simulation gets many things very right, from the convincing physics and helping mechanisms where you need them, to the believable depiction of these massive machines and a lot of their direct environment.

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.

For some this will definitely not be enough. RE 6 is an uneven game that plays some dirty tricks on you, holds some of its more debatable design-choices in the highest regard and is way too hell-bent on blowing up each of its separate campaigns to full game length. Funnily enough in the end it's the secret Ada Wong campaign that just barely manages to hold everything together.

If you ate up titles like Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance or Devil May Cry because of their fighting systems, Korra is your game. It's just a shame that the narrative is so far removed from the quality we have come to expect from the series.

Blacklight: Retribution is a good, but hardly great multiplayer-shooter. It´s solid entertainment for a while, but does not nothing new, that will knock you of your boots.

Just ignore the uninspired, meaningless and simply unnecessary main character and you´ll find a cute and entertaining puzzle-game, in which it is still up to Rovio and the community to discover the full potential.

Still you'd have to be pretty cold at heart to not give this charismatic funny vocabulary driven insanity at least a chance. Sure, most of what it does is only funny the first and maybe the second time around. And it is also true that many of the smaller challenges it pits against you aren't interesting (or challenging) at all. But there's also recurring moments of pure comedy gold, when your words prompt characters to do hilarious five-second skits or random items send the scene into a cartoonishly homicidal chain reaction.

Where Fallblox was a step forward, Pullblox World takes one to the side, once again tipping its hat to a simple but entertaining core mechanic.

You are not Columbo with muscles nor are you Sherlock in a pelt. You're a charismatic version of Chazz Palminteri dropping the coffee mug at the end of The Usual Suspects.

Technically, the remaster shows its age. In terms of content, it is a successful spin-off with a cool battle system and motivating mini-games.

Destiny is a worthwhile distraction, a visually classy playground that regularly manages to entertain for a few hours. But a true calling, it is not.

The zombie-invasion is by no means a cheap bridge to motivate some western gamers to cross over to the eastern side, but the means to add some variety to SEGAs gangster-soap and at the same time provide a little bit of insight in some of the less common aspects of the Japanese Yakuza.

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.

It is a well done, if familiar game. In all its homogeneity with respect to its predecessors, though, Arkham Origins lacks surprise and spark. You'll constantly feel one step ahead of the game.

It's a short and very solid piece of jump and run entertainment, combining a pretty homage to the genre and its own forebear with loving nods to later games in platform history.

Tokyo Jungle is a game of many small errors, PS2-level graphics and a fighting system that lacks depth come to mind most prominently. Still, I wouldn't want to miss the experience. Where else can you sent a group of cats with pink beanie hats to fight a towering elephant?

Almost everything Unity does better than its predecessors comes with a caveat we wouldn't have to talk about today if Ubisoft had shown more will to renovate the basics. Still, you get what it says on the box, thanks to a solid multiplayer even a bit more. This year, that's good enough for me. But I'd be lying if I said I was still excited about what this new generation holds for Assassin's Creed.

It's a shame then, that the beginning section gets way too tedious after the first few tries and the fights are a bit bothersome. Also, the story mode needs to be implemented better, so that you don't have to literally search for it for hours on end. There's really only two ways your first contact with Don't Starve will turn out: Either you really enjoy it for a bit, just to drop it like a hot potato pretty suddenly – or you totally get absorbed in this for quite some time, looking under each and every stone, reading up on the mysteries and workings on forums and so on. As it stands, I see the majority of players in the first camp.

Tales from the Galaxy's Edge is staged so lively and gets many of its interactions just right ... The actual battles are repetitive shootouts in very straightforward arenas, where rarely anything else happens. You do meet familiar characters in entertaining sequences, but all in all the shooting action is a bit thin and uniform in the long run.

It's basically WarioWare in VR, and it's definitely a lot of fun, especially since you can have a blast goofing around away from the actual games. And an important note: The program will only start if you have set up a playable area of at least two by two meters.

It's easy to pick up and play, the cash shop is non-intrusive and the combat is quite dynamic. It's a solid piece of MMO, easily warranting that client download, maybe you even try out your dungeon master chops in the foundry editor?

Styx: Master of Shadows may not be as pretty as the last Thief, but as a stealth game it comes in ahead of the former master. Bigger levels, more options to traverse them, more powerful tools to use and Styx himself is just a better character. Too bad that jumping often results in trial and error due to some flawed mechanics.

If drivers and tracks of 2014 matter to you, you can go for it. Otherwise just wait until next year, especially on the consoles.

Port Royale 3 feels bound by the traditions of this time-proven series and gets all the basics right. However, it never really strays from the path you had imagined it would take, even before you ever played the game.

Planes for tanks, not much else has changed. Enjoy hundreds of lovingly recreated planes, just don't expect a simulation or the plethora of features of its time-tested precursor and you'll find this to be a worthwhile package with a fair business model.

If you're looking for a good game for young and old alike, this will keep you entertained for quite a while.

Its fresh looks and swashbuckling attitude ultimately don't change the fact that this is a game better enjoyed in small dosages. I love endless combo series as much as the next guy, but Foul Play's fighting engine and general run of play are a tad bit too simple to merit longer sessions. That said, this is one hell of a likeable game, if this sort of brawler floats your boat.

A few more months in development might have made a considerable difference. Still, this will probably make quite a splash when it arrives on consoles. On PC, though, TESO doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from the competition.

Until the next real FIFA, this is a well-playing stop-gap that will firmly hold your attention in the run-up to - and for the duration of - the World Cup.

It's not easy to score Kentucky Route Zero's first act. It's not an isolated product, as it sees itself as exposition to a much bigger narrative. Even though it succeeds marvelously in opening up the game, we don't know anything about where this "Lost Highway" will take us. Who didn't fall in love with this on first sight, should rather wait for the next few acts to come around before he decides if this is something for him. If you did though, get it. It may not have a lot of gameplay substance, but its atmosphere will suck you in quite like nothing else.

It's not an easy sell. In terms of gameplay it's two not all-too-long evenings of entertaining mission gameplay plus quite a few hours spent trying to leave a lasting impression on the numerous leaderboards. I don't regret one second I put into this, took it in with a lot of curiosity and wonder. Still, you can't shake the feeling that this would have been served better as part of The Phantom Pain. As a stand alone game, it's hardly essential.

LittleBigPlanet Karting is Sony's equivalent to Mario Kart's Wii-Version. Not bad by any means, but hamstrung by unbalanced extras and an all to conservative driving-model. With some friends, this is still a lot of fun, but special this one ain't.

In the end, for all its faults, this is still an easy to recommend package. 30 Euros for two very competent games that have aged well and without losing anything of their dashing, boosting and metal-disintegrating fascination.

It's a solid and pretty entertaining Smash Bros. clone with a Sony paintjob, which beyond the obvious similarities to the original even manages to bring some individuality of its own to the table.

Fans of Silent Hill will enjoy it more, because they'll find many allusions to the games of old that'll influence the experience in a positive way. Anyone new to the franchise, but interested in this brand of horror should, give it a look, too. (…) This game definitely restored my belief in the series, and that's perhaps the biggest compliment I can give this game.

This still is a seasoned and distinct piece of rpg. But between the slow start, the often slumberous and drawn out palaver and some redundant carrot-dangling in the main quest, this clearly is the weakest entry in the acclaimed series.

Even with a few minor glitches, in the end F1 2011 is a quite competent conversion of last year's title to the Vita. And anyway, it´s not like you´ve got a lot of choice, when it comes to F1-Games.

Ridge Racer Unbounded then, a game on the quest for itself. It takes elements from almost every arcade-racing game in recent years and tries to build something for itself, with some success. Online, with a little help from the powerful editor, the game shines the brightest. Ridge Racer fans of old might not agree with it as much. Nevertheless, I hope for more games from this new side of the franchise to come.

On the one hand, Tiger Woods 13 is a game almost too good for current control methods, on the other hand, a misguided experiment in online monetization. There seems to be a perfect game of golf sitting somewhere in the middle. We'll see if they can find it in 14.

The 10-Euro-asking-price is really not that much and even with its downsides, Jet Set Radio is still one of the most unique concepts.

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.

Portal's influence is on evidence at every turn, but Magrunner still retains quite a bit of individuality, enough at least, to not come off as another clone. Still, the certain something is missing from this, which I found mainly to be down to the game not playing the horror card more decisively.

Saucy dialogue with a dash of sarcasm – even 20 years on this mix manages to entertain to a degree you'll forgive the game's relatively short story and the pretty pedestrian puzzle design.

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.

Might & Magic X presents a chance to re-ignite the love of this kind of game as if they hadn't been gone for the last two decades.

The campaign has some weaknesses pertaining to the story and the maps, which are a bit too small for their own good. Also, I would have liked a few more clever kills and more options to follow through on my insidious plans. All in all, though, this is a typical Hitman game with quite some technical chops and solid gameplay.

It might sound a bit more harsh than the game deserves, but sometimes you have to call the developers out when a game suffers under ill-advised direction. Thanks to the beautiful and richly filled houses and some really great characters, Luigi's Mansion qualifies as a really good game. It's just not the fantastic one it could have been.

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.

ZombiU is hardly everything it could have been. But it has to be commended for not reducing its gameplay to a handful of technical gimmicks. Its ideas are brave and while they tend to alternately make you love and hate the game, in the end they still make ZombiU a tense and worthwhile affair.

I have to admit that my expectations were much lower, but it's fun to cower in the shadows and work out the perfect way to the target and then get the timing just right.

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.