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.

If you really liked the main game, this is well worth a look. Just don't expect the story to do anything interesting with the characters.

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.

The combat can never play out its strengths due to the botched balancing. The same goes for the otherwise solid mechanics behind abilities and crafting. The gameworld is one of the weakest in JRPGs in years, the design was made with child-compatible cosplay in mind and the rest moves through the unhealthy middleground of a genre that still tries to find a way to the future and nowadays celebrates its greatest successes with 2D-touch-titles. Solid maybe. Hardly world-shattering.

High Moon Studios achieved for Transformers what Rocksteady managed to do for Batman. This is the way licensed-games are done right.

A well-balanced game that has far more to offer than the first hour with it might let you on to.

Screamer tries to do a lot and packs in tons of content, but unfortunately, it drops the ball when it comes to the basics of the genre. No matter what else an arcade racer does, if the controls and the driving itself aren't spot on, the battle is mostly already lost.

It's the small insanities that elevate D4 to something truly special.

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.

Charmingly unique, and extremely stylish, Demonschool is a game of several interesting ideas. Unfortunately, despite its deep combat system, as a whole, the game fails to stay consistently engaging.

Entertaining tennis action with exciting Fever special attacks. Strong in multiplayer, weak in solo mode.

So yes, ultimately you're left with a game that, despite all the considerable possibilities of the likeable main character, overall plays out the same way too often. However, that doesn't mean I didn't have fun with this. The scenario is fresh and the breadth of Tchia's abilities interesting enough to get you far enough in that'll want to see it through to the end.

Serious issues notwithstanding, I have to say that Teyon captures the original amazingly well in terms of style and, in many respects, content. The developers don't just take RoboCop seriously as a cool action toy, but also as Alex Murphy and even tell a story that could easily have been told in the cinema at the time... In this respect, Rogue City works surprisingly well. Just be aware of what the game really has to offer.

EA Sports WRC presents itself as a challenging but rarely frustrating racing game. Codemasters strikes the perfect balance and makes driving fun for beginners and pros alike.

A thoroughly successful remaster of the classic shooter, which has never been more beautiful than it is today. Plays perfectly on PC and console.

This remake is a wonderful example of how such classics can be brought into the modern age without losing their charm and appeal. I would also like to see this done for other classics of the genre.

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.

Even though Rome 2 really put my PC to the test, the newest Total War game managed to convince me thoroughly. Its battlefields are as tactically deep as they are going to get, prettier than I would have dared to dream about and the new tactical options by land and sea are a welcome twist to this superb and quite welcoming strategy title.

The Atelier Marie remake is the surprisingly strong return of a game that could have too easily been lost among the 24 other instalments. This might be one of the coziest 'cozy games' in years. It's nice to see especially the origin of the Atelier series stand out in such a positive way, and with an excellent revamp on the Switch that the West is thankfully no longer deprived of.

It might lack in inspiration, but makes up for it with its great pace and the hero's joyfully acrobatic movement and controls.

This is no revolution for the series, in whatever direction. And with me that's alright, this time at least - and mostly because I largely ignored part 4. It does signify the current struggle of the genre, though. All is well and good, but also a bit boring. Still, I did have quite a bit of fun with DOA 5, especially offline.

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.

It offers scant few new ideas, but it's a great balance of fighting and puzzling and its humorous story still offers a really breezy diversion for as long as it lasts.

Basically, a lot of it feels like a game from 10 years ago, when all of the many, many other games in the genre didn't yet exist in their modern form (...) Dead Island 2 exists, it looks nice and the zombies pop in a satisfying way. Maybe that's all the boxes this game ever needed to tick.

In spite of all the criticism, Legacy of Romulus is a step in the right direction for Star Trek Online. It's just a very short one.

A clever, engaging mix of roguelite and tower defense with an antique flair and a high 'schadenfreude' factor - despite minor UI clunkiness and slightly too punishing progression loss upon game over.

What Twisted Metal needed was more development-time. More ways to interact with what the maps have to offer, better net code and more intuitive controls could have put this in a very different light.

The Vita desperately needs good new games such as Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken. It's not a system seller, but this is solid and stylish side-scrolling action for hardcore players and beginners alike.

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.

We are deep in fan-service-territory with this one. (…) Y´s Origin is a small nerdy pleasure for everyone who misses the 16-/32-bit era, but does not want to resort to going completely retro.

Some rallies can become a bit sluggish, but all in all, Top Spin 2K25 is a versatile and accessible simulation with a successful career for solo players and numerous opportunities to play online and offline.

Some of the short stories are nice to listen to and the driving itself feels good - but that's about it. The decisions made have no consequences worth mentioning, neither on a large nor small scale, the many repetitive races against depressingly lame opponents are potently sleep-inducing and even the protagonist's story is frighteningly irrelevant. Neither the damn good soundtrack nor the strong presentation can really do anything about this.

The focused narrative and fighting mechanics work hand in hand to make for a real alternative to more expensive (and expansive) monster-rpgs, without being any less deep or engrossing for it.

As a follow-up, Alan Wakes´s American Nightmare surprises with a new, fresh feeling of horror in unfamiliar surroundings and with an idea for its storytelling that in the end barely graces the main tale, but still takes a lot of cues from it and even manages to give something back. So if you want to know what the hell is going on in Alan Wake, this is a new and very entertaining puzzle piece to a much larger and still quite hazy picture.

The compact world invites you to explore without it feeling like endless work. The complex story branches and the variety of missions between stealth and attack invite you to experiment. Rise of the Ronin might be technically outdated, but it's very entertaining in terms of gameplay.

Sure, more game modes would have been nice, but this is still an entertaining, funny and likably stylized multiplayer romp for a rather inexpensive price.

Cronos: The New Dawn hurls you into a shattered sci-fi wasteland where ammo is scarce and monsters are plenty. The pacing may sag in places, but its relentless challenge and gripping atmosphere keep the tension razor-sharp.

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

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.

Even though it never gives you an adequate feeling of when and from where you are taking damage, you'll end up playing this over and over again. It's a refreshingly undiluted experience.

In principle, the Switch 2 upgrade has a lot to offer, but little of it leaves a lasting impression. It feels more like a technology showcase than a focus on new content that fans really want.

With its fresh setting Zerzura offers exactly the kind of more serious point & click adventure I´d like to see more often. An inspired, well crafted expedition into the underrepresented realm of the historically inspired adventures.

A Bioshock-clone with a confusing, often unsatisfying story and many elements that seem unfinished. Beautiful visuals and good combat are captivating enough for one playthrough, though.

Design-wise and in terms of using the Zelda license, Omega Force deserves a pat on the back. It's their best game to date.

This is what ShootMania is about: consistent minimalism, first-rate e-sports suitability and loads of creative potential. Still, sometimes you might hunger for something more that a bare bones match with three different guns, after all, games like Quake and Unreal Tournament didn't become classics in spite of, but because of their ludicrous arsenals. If you can live without the graphical opulence of the other offerings and are dead-set on pure playability, you won't regret getting this.

If you've got the time for it, this is a cute and engaging crafting-rpg.

Sad Cat Studios’ debut is an atmospherically powerful tour de force that only occasionally runs out of steam.

I really hope Immortals of Aveum doesn't get ground down between Diablo, Baldur's Gate, Starfield and all the big games of the year yet to come, but finds its fans. It has at least one, and I'm sure there are more people out there who have a heart for a slightly out of time, quirky shooter with a lot of action-adventure charm.

Even with the updates and upgrades, Kingdom Come: Deliverance Remaster nowadays feels even older than 2018 and the still-present bugs and glitches do not help. Warhorse can take solace in the fact that it's at least their own sequel that shows so impressively how it is done right.

As a sandbox full of enormous building blocks, that you can cut and position at your own liking, Tiiny & Big leaves a very well-rounded impression.

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.

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.

Dragon's Dogma then, a game that only slowly opens up to its guest, and one that certainly hasn't gotten all of the usual RPG-homework right. But if you are persistent and stay curious it will reward you with the most delightful cases of megalomania and delusions of grandeur in a long while.

Small problems notwithstanding, Paper Mario: Sticker Star is easy to recommend to any 3DS-User. Just crank up the excellently utilized and in no way distracting 3D and don't expect the role-playing experience earlier games in the series offered and you get a refreshing take on the familiar formula.

It's a great package that doesn't push technical boundaries. It held up good enough, though, to still be a more than worthwhile buy if you have not experienced I yet. But it's not one of those remasters you want to play again because you "never experienced it like this".

Hohokum is not a game to show this medium a new direction. Instead it points to where gaming came from, promoting a delightfully childish sense of play.

Visions of Mana is not a perfect role-playing game, especially if you expect a deep story and complex combat system. However, the JRPG shows its charm with a lot of heart and a unique fairytale world that you won't want to leave.

Relic did everything right back then and after many, many years Blackbird Interactive has managed to build on this in a worthy way. In terms of gameplay and feel, Homeworld 3 is very close to the originals and I would definitely say that all fans will have fun with it. The war games mode isn't necessarily for me, but I'm sure it will be a worthwhile challenge for some. All in all, I'm happy with this game and glad that it exists.

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.

The fact that you can't skip a single cutscene and that some save points are far apart are also relics of previous Telltale adventures that I'm not particularly stoked about. You could therefore say that the new old studio is still very much the old one, despite the closure, takeover and new start. Which also means, maybe most importantly, that it captures the essence of the source material very skillfully, which is why I can recommend The Expanse: A Telltale Series to fans of the series despite the criticisms.

When the moment comes and you find the solution to a problem that's been bugging you all these hours, you can get awfully narcissistic and self congratulatory. You know, just like any old island dictator probably would.

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.

An entertaining, humorous and demanding first person shooter. Fashion Police Squad captures the classic Doom style shooting quite well and adds a good dose of colorful madness on top of it.

Not only is Jazzpunk in and of itself a clever and positively insane experience, it is one of the funniest games of all time.

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.

A thriller that is somewhat limited in terms of gameplay and a tad overloaded when it comes to the narrative, but stylistically creates a fascinating world with impressive backdrops.

A lot of bullet-hell fans have declared Akai Katana the best there is when it comes to the gameplay mechanics and especially love the slash-mode. I think I understand them, even though I'm not so sure I understand everything that's going on in this game. In slash, Akai may well be the most complex Shoot 'em Up there is.

Actually, it's a damn good jump & run that awakens nostalgic feelings in a successful way. Unfortunately, the structure of many levels is frustrating for several reasons.

The undercooked strategy layer notwithstanding, nothing quite compares the Aliens: Dark Descent. With its open, persistent maps and tactics that oscillate nicely between quietly menacing exploration and gun-blazing battles, this one has a pull of its own that's hard to resist. It lacks polish, no question, but this game has heart, brains, and a takes great delight in making your heart go faster. An imperfect favorite of mine this year, and at just 40 bucks, fans of the series are going to have a blast with this one.

A good port of the classics to modern systems, with a decent visual overall and more modern controls - but also outdated mechanics which make these a bit tough to enjoy.

Entertaining arcade racer about past Formula 1 decades with exciting races, even though some content and gameplay issues irritate.

Withering Rooms is a horror adventure that is as atmospheric as it is playfully motivating. The ever-changing estate is morbidly fascinating and the constant progression encourages you to search it carefully. Even the story is interesting, even if it is only told via written text. Only the numerous battles are not one of its strengths, nor is the repetitive running through many same-y rooms.

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.

A short, cosy adventure in the icy Freljord that touched me with its enchanting story. Technically not flawless, but atmospherically a great cosy game.

For me, The Crew Motorfest is clearly the best part of the series so far. This is not only due to the beautiful setting, but also the much improved handling of the cars, which keeps me much more glued to the screen than the two predecessors. It's not quite perfected yet, but with the more manageable setting this time around, the improved handling as well of the abundance of variety, Ubisoft Ivory Tower is on a very good path.

It's one of those games with loads of untapped potential, which is how it ultimately traps itself in the shadow of its big role-model. It manages to create an atmosphere on a comparable level of quality, but lacks in finesse of design. You're only a third of you way through this adventure until you hunger for more skills and weapons, and long exhausting marches regularly get in the way of any real adventuring. Still, Anodyne manages to entertain and displays a level of talent which has you wonder what its creators will be up to next.

Fract OSC works just as well as a strict puzzle game than it does as an audiovisual experience. And if you're not interested in these aspects, you will appreciate the freedom and clever structure.

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.

I appreciated South of Midnight for its world, characters, and story. It's just a shame that its outdated and formulaic action-adventure ideas can't keep up with its powerful audiovisual and narrative imagination.

Even with all of the convoluted stuff surrounding them, there are at least a hundred good ideas in The Evil Within. Not two levels are alike, no bullet is wasted, not one minute is boring. When this enormous, visually stunning nightmare comes to an end, it leaves you deeply satisfied. That’s no small feat.

I can look at Syndicate from any angle I want: In the end it stays a mediocre, though not entirely charmless Shooter, whose only real redeeming factor is the coop-mode, which also comes off a little bit half-hearted.

On to a familiar set of rules, Techland crafted a dynamic sandbox that's stupid in all the right places. I don't know if I need another one of these, frankly. But for now this sits right next to last years' Shadow of Mordor, as a mechanically sound and motivating experience I hadn't expected at all.

If you liked LocoCycle's acting achievements and value plain silliness over gameplay then Roundabout might be worth a look. But even then you better hold out until the next sale.

A surprisingly atmospheric mystery novel about urban legends, with an engaging story, a unique pixel art style, and a wonderful soundtrack. Although the gameplay loop becomes repetitive towards the end, the plot and characters remain intriguing throughout.

I spent much more time with this remake than I would have thought beforehand! ... Like the original, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is a damn likeable declaration of love to the Disney universe centered around the famous mouse.

Showgunners is a fast-paced, often surprising mix of turn-based tactics and real-time exploration in a scenario reminiscent of The Running Man and other 90’s movies aesthetics. Smooth controls and well-crafted characters are cornerstones of the generally familiar XCOM-like.

The Dark Eye arrived safely in the point'n'clink-world on the first go. Daedalic didn't go for crazy experiments, but instead kept to the proven formulas of the genre and also to the adapted game-world. Everybody can be happy about that, adventure-fans as well as The Dark Eye Nerds.

Just like in the books and on TV, the story manages to dangle a carrot of hope in front of you, just out of arms' reach. In contrast to a world beyond repair – like in The Walking Dead, where every death is more of a salvation, really – Game of Thrones' rays of hope turn all its facets of demise into emotional shrapnel that hits you all the harder. It's going to be a cold, hard Winter.

Largely successful implementation on Xbox and PlayStation with only slight weak points that do not diminish the quality of an excellent game.

Competent and pretty-looking retro shooter with great splatter effects and decent length. Not all weapons are equally useful, though, and the pathing and encounter design is sometimes confusing. This is still an easy recommendation, though, if a 40K Boomer-Shooter sounds like something you would like.

Although Eiyuden Chronicle manages to capture a certain charm of the 90s, it is inconsistent in many areas. Above all, there is a lack of meaningful comfort functions. As a result, the game struggles to keep up with best of today's JRPGs despite a great deal of passion on display.

The constant connecting and disconnecting with strangers to my game and all the load times and reset boss fights that came with it, it made this the worst online experience I have ever had.

A good alternative to Civilization that could be even better with a little more optimization. Beautifully detailed world, interesting features and flexibility.

As a title that perfectly knows its talents and sets its priorities accordingly, Dead Nation is as good as it gets.

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.

Tiger Woods bids this generation of consoles its farewell as a well-rounded, expertly balanced and matured game. It's a worthy swan song for this era of the series.

Those big pixels back then may not be for everybody anymore, but despite their low count, they managed to give every screen its own appeal, style and distinctive character. As good as the story and some of the puzzles still are, this aspect didn’t carry over. The remake is visually completely forgettable.