After an absolutely splendid first half, Hack 'n' Slash suddenly starts to get pretty much impenetrable by Act 4, if you don't know your way around the logic of an algorithm. Right there, in the middle, the game just skips a few steps of badly needed explaining and – at times – just drains all the fun from the proceedings. It's a fascinating peek behind the workings of a game, for sure. It has heart, wits and a good sense of humor, but it will still lose a good amount of its players long before it's over.

As soon as you're on the ice, this is an entertaining enough Hockey game. But if you're looking for anything in the way of variety in terms of game modes, this is a difficult game to recommend. It plays well, but in this form it doesn't do enough to justify full-price.

Even today, NiGHTS into Dreams is one of the most interesting titles you can download onto your console. But in light of some of the fundamentally flawed design decisions the game has retained from it's 32-Bit days, 'interesting' alone just doesn't cut it anymore.

War of the Roses still has the potential to become a real jewel of a game. Coming patches and updates will determine if it'll go under in the storming sea of middling arena action titles – or if it will become an exotic insiders' tip that'll win a devoted following apart from renaissance fair enthusiasts.

Windforge is one of those games you want to love, but it doesn't quite let you.

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.

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.

It's still a solid Nowitzki's wingspan away from being anything as good as 2K's series, but NBA Live 15 might actually be the most a sports game has ever improved from one year to the next.

This new edition is largely based on the original, in both positive and negative respects. Aspyr has also added some new content and technical optimizations, but again leaves a lot of potential untapped. This makes it more of a nostalgia-soaked experience or a history lesson in Star Wars video games for all those who played it back then or for those who didn't.

Somewhere in between there's a really good game hidden away. It's just a shame that it only showed itself ever so often, only to vanish again for hours.

A small but charming pixel adventure built around an entertaining fishing minigame - a bit short on the parody that made Epic NPC Man yet full of charming characters from the series.

As soon as this gets a map editor, I'll happily bump up the score [twenty] whole points. Until then, this extremely authentic and well done representation of the beloved board game is frankly just missing one of its most important features.

It's got heart and charme. But strange narrative pacing, patchy writing and weak presentation slow down this original and pretty RPG considerably. Fans of historical fantasy are treated to a pleasantly sinister Warsaw excursion with a clever combat system.

A well-playing strategy game with an all too varying difficulty level, weak story, technical imperfections and annoying always-online.

Payday 3 expands on the familiar concept, but doesn't go far enough to completely inspire. There's equal parts light and shadow here.

All in all Stray Blade is a passable game that plays well. Unfortunately, it doesn't make it easy for you to master its battle system, asi t never quite strikes a perfect balance. Furthermore, more variance wouldn't have hurt the fights, the story is okay at best and the fact that I can only create new equipment myself isn't really satisfying either.

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.

Techland’s latest dive into zombie parkour chaos is at times pure gold and at others wearying routine, a tightrope walk between adrenaline rush and monotony.

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.

It might not be the same rush as the original, but it's solid enough to be a welcome stopgap until the next Trials rides along.

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.

Koei should have kept the story more compact and focused more on the mysterious protagonist instead of a quarreling China. My recommendation: If you love the Warriors series, get the game - there's a lot to like. But if you don't have a clue about Chinese history, don't play it. There are games in the Warriors series that are much easier to get into.

Even though there is some competence to be found on a basic level, it will scare away western gamers with its frugal looks, some almost incomprehensible cultural references to the more obscure side of Japanese gaming and its obsession with the shameless presentation of anime-women, who seem to be just a bit too young. Neptunia wants to polarize and you can love it for this or hate it. This game doesn´t care one bit.

Especially when playing with mouse and keyboard, Toxic Commando is a fine shooter for up to four players - even if lacking variety in the long run.

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

Hobby detectives with a focus on the narrative should feel right at home with Emio, while investigators who prefer to think and investigate for themselves might be a little disappointed by the gameplay.

Between accessible button-mashing and tactical depth, Invincible VS strikes an intriguing balance. However, it does not hit the mark in every area.

By no means is Murdered: Souls Suspect one of the best titles of the year, but it's one of the most likeable ones.

If you were to ask me if you should play Skulls of the Shogun, I'd first go ahead and give you a list of better titles in a similar vein. If you're already past the Advance Wars', Fire Emblems and Valkyria Chronicles', this is well worth a look. It's just not all that memorable.

I can recommend Evotinction especially to players for whom stealth action is not just this one level in Call of Duty, and who are willing to trade high-class production values for an experimental flair.

If you can muster the will and the motivation, Fitness Boxing 3 can help you burn calories (...) It's definitely fun.

Agreed, in many ways, Solar Crown doesn't come close to Forza Horizon 5 or The Crew Motorfest, both of which simply do many things better. However, there are years of experience behind those series, while this is KT Racing's first Test Drive. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with Solar Crown where it mattered - namely the races.

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.

It's doubtful that SOL: Exodus will be a deciding factor in reviving the space-opera-genre, but it is still good to see that there are people out there who also love to dust off their joysticks and head out for a space fight.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central is a flashy, entertaining game. The different modes are fun, and the Joy-Con work well as pretend-maracas. Alas, the mediocre music selection keeps my enthusiasm at bay.

99 Levels to Hell gratuitously borrows elements from a lot of other games. It might not succeed in making them something genuinely new, but it still evokes a feeling of its own.

Quotation forthcomning.

A new protagonist, punchy third-person combat, and more agile Na’vi enemies give the DLC more bite than you’d expect. Not essential, but an easy recommendation for fans of the base game.

In terms of playability, then, The Puppeteer is a disappointment, too much in love with its own design. Had it not strangled the experience with an unbearably high number of cut-scenes, Sony might have actually had the chance to develop the core gameplay in a way to make this adventure worthwhile. It's a game with skewed priorities. It looks great, has loads of personality, but this close to Rayman Legends, which married its elements so perfectly, I cannot recommend Kutaro's tale wholeheartedly.

It´s good to see that there is more potential left for a good Spider-Man game than the last downers let you to believe. The Amazing Spider-Man is a package of an open world to frolic around in and linear missions to keep it together. It is a decent game that makes it painful to think about what it could have been if the developer would have had more time to polish it. There are a lot of hints to the possibilities, but the movie is out now. One wonders, if its producer also had just three-quarters of a year to work with.

Nocturnal has got its problems. Locking you out of areas you feel you haven't completely cleared yet, being the main one. I still did enjoy myself playing this, however. To me, it was the right game at the right time, managing to simultaneously be a taster and a alternative draft for Ubisoft's upcoming Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. So, if you have 5 hours to kill, you'll find a (mostly refreshingly) bare-bones, tight and mostly well-made indie title that loves the old 2D Prince of Persias as much as you do. Worth a look.

Now you can relive the Lego Harry Potter Collection on the latest consoles, even though, in terms of technology, nothing much seems to have changed about these two cute Lego Games.

It's a good looking and quite sturdily built gift horse, for sure. But like so many AC iterations and DLCs before it, it's first and foremost interested in propagating its own kind, not evolving it.

EA Sports UFC is more talent than real contender. 2012's Undisputed 3 still looks great, gives the new kid a bloody nose in the octagon and is only a fraction of the newer games' price. Posthumously the THQ game still lives up to its name.

Maybe the poison is in the dosage. This slightly frustrating and quite hard stealth game for patient players seems like it's more suited for a quick go in between something else than for extended sessions.

Some of the events simply are too basic, others seem tacked on and gimmicky. But even with its unexpected simplifications compared to the Wii edition, the 3DS-olympics can be fun, when played with some friends.

Secret Files 3 is a classic point´n´click adventure that will satisfy most of its audience. It stands on its own, walks a good pace and shows a lot of routine. But I seriously doubt that I will remember much if anything about it in six months.

Gotham City Imposters is by no means a bad game. The few maps it offers are expertly balanced for its type of play. But after a short while, there is just not enough to keep you coming back and in everything it does, it gets outclassed by the likes of Team Fortress 2.

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.

It's charming enough, but that's about it. Somewhere inside Unknown 9, there is a really good game that would like to be released, but I'm not sure we'll see that moment.

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.

Creative project with both playful and narratively imaginative ideas, which, however, remains too superficial and is over all too quickly.

Its core mechanics are solid and there's undoubtedly great moments, but these are watered down time and again by repetitive run-of-the-mill missions and tasks. Suicide Squad often simply becomes too mechanical due to its nature, instead of giving players some breathing room.

Entertaining sneaking with an inventive mechanic whose true potential is never fully explored.

If you get into it, you can spend a few entertaining hours with Master Detective Pikachu Returns, even as an adult. Think of it as a kind of meditative experience that is more about entertainment and less about cracking difficult cases. These are set up very simply, and will only have children do a bit of mulling. On the whole, it's not a very long game, but it shows that the Pokémon world has more to offer than just the same pattern as in the main games.

All in all, it's just the shadow of a bigger, more ambitious game and proof that it's not always sensible to listen to that angry mob on the internet. Sometimes you just have to stay the course, weather the storm and trust that your vision was right all along. Otherwise you end with something that – solid as it may be – is missing consistency, direction and identity. It's just a shame that it had to happen to this one.

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.

The sailing and explosive battles are as enjoyable as this game's attractive backdrop. A shame that most of it is driven by dry resource collection to upgrade your ship.

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.

The breezy combat with lots of spells and the beautiful acrobatics are fun — it’s just a shame the same can‘t be said of the story or setting … Still, I find myself wishing that Luminous get the opportunity to build upon what they have, working towards a more modern, lively adventure.

Enormously varied and wonderfully lively mixture of rhythm and party game for up to four friends. Unfortunately annoying technical weaknesses hold it back.

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 new fighting game in the universe created by Masashi Kishimoto offers the biggest fan package to date with a decent amount of content and some new approaches. However, if you take a closer look, you quickly realise that Connections focuses on quantity rather than quality.

A solid real-time strategy entry to the Terminator universe, then, with engaging gameplay and tense missions, but the story leaves a lot to be desired ... There's definitely a lot of micromanagement here, but if you get used to it, you'll be able to keep everything under control and shouldn't face insurmountable problems. Terminator Dark Fate: Defiance does a lot right and is definitely worth a look if you like real-time strategy and the Terminator franchise.

In the end Warp is still a nice game, which does not realize its own possibilities and completely stagnates in the second half.

Technically, Peach's Performance leaves a lot to be desired, then. Nevertheless, the lovingly designed levels in small fun-sized bites are a lot of fun. The staging of the plays, the many small design options for Stella and Peach's costumes make this one a charmer.

Ar Nosurge seems like a game that somebody had a lot of ideas for, but failed to find a frame to give it the right form.

It's an attractive game, then, and easy to pick up, but also a tad too static and shallow in its tactics. You're not making the biggest mistake of your life if you give this a chance. But at the same time, you could just as well finally try and finish XCOM in 'Ironman' mode.

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.

A nostalgic time capsule with a minor flaw: hardcore fans may sorely miss the original soundtrack. Nevertheless, Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition offers a fascinating look at a milestone of the platforming genre.

A good bullet hell never really gets old...It's not an essential even if you are a fan of the genre. But still, for an almost ten year old action title, this one has remained surprisingly young at heart.

I’m glad to have finally played Mask of the Lunar Eclipse as it’s a fine sample of classic survival horror following the style and motifs made popular by the Ring movies. Game mechanics are clearly outdated though, both regarding exploration as well as combat, and fighting the apparitions is more of a matter of landing satisfying combo hits than it has to do with overcoming spine-chilling terror.

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

Unfortunately, the game itself is too simplistic and hardly challenging, but the concept is incredibly fascinating from start to finish.

Can I recommend Asura´s Wrath? Sure! If you are looking for the wildest, most enjoyable, pseudo-Buddhist super-anime, want to fight a good number of cool boss-battles and be entertained, than this is fantastic. But if you´re looking for an "actual" game, think that cut-scenes are the worst possible way to tell a story and demand complex mechanics and combos, you should look elsewhere. It´s all nice enough, slightly above the average, but cannot keep up for a second with what makes Asura´s Wrath so unique and awesome.

This nice trip down memory lane to the golden days of Yu-Gi-Oh! includes 16 games ranging from Game Boy to GBA. They are a fun companion to kill time, also the new collection provides some nice extra options but won't ignite the same type pf hype that was surrounding Yu-Gi-Oh! back in the days.

Thrasher lacks the precision of a truly great arcade challenge, but in short bursts it is still an amazing audiovisual experience.

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.

Once again, a port from Aspyr that I'm ambivalent about. On the one hand, I'm delighted to be able to play Star Wars: Bounty Hunter on my Xbox Series. But on the other hand, I'm always thinking about what could have been, I see the potential for even more improvements around every corner.

The most beautiful version of Dragon Quest 3 to date knows exactly how to make a visual impression. However, the teeth of time have been gnawing mercilessly at the plot and gameplay.

In the end, Kinect Star Wars wants to be a lot of things, but doesn´t achieve really much of anything.

If you get along with the trial and error concept, you may get some enjoyment out of The Splatters.

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake from Square Enix goes right back to the beginning of the JRPG genre. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the trek there is worth taking. Well, at least the two role-playing games now look fantastic.

Come to terms with the fact that iRacing Arcade feels like a top-down racer mimicking a regular one and you just might enjoy rubbing doors with an overly aggressive, sometimes unfair AI competition.

Fans can truly enjoy Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, but the game is not easy and the gameplay could be more varied.

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.

Atomfall combines English provincial idyll and open gameplay with a solid, if not necessarily exciting, first-person action RPG. However, the combat, stealth and progression are not incredibly elegant and there's issues with player guidance that should be worked on urgently.

Little Nightmares 3 remains an audiovisually impressive dark fairy tale — rich in atmosphere but lacking in innovation. The co-op mode adds real value, yet it can’t disguise that the series is treading water in terms of gameplay.

In the end, Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends would be a decent merchandise to get at the check-out of the Ferrari World. After all, enthusiasts can appreciate it for the wide variety of the famed manufacturers' cars. But if you're looking for a good simulation or arcade game respectively – this doesn't quite manage to be either; or a well done blend of both, for that matter.

Suspenseful mystery thriller that's a bit too straightforward and doesn't quite live up to its narrative potential. However, it convinces with its lively dialogue.

If you've loved these titles back in the day, this collection might be right for you. There's a lot here to get nostalgic about. Everyone else will just find most of these too frustrating.

It‘s a solid expansion pack that somehow got inflated to full-game dimensions. Resistance is anything but essential, and it brings the series‘ qualities and (age-related) faults into sharp focus.

Entertaining, but not quite perfect: Gangs of Sherwood has interesting heroes, but bland opposition dulls their potential.

In the end, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader delivers exactly what fans want from it. Owlcat Games has succeeded in creating a very good, albeit text-heavy CRPG conversion, which is only held back by the remaining technical shortcomings.

Little Goody Two Shoes offers a nice short horror adventure with neat puzzles and a great sense of style. Unfortunately, the game becomes very unbalanced and monotonous towards the end.

Immersive gameplay, but only few interaction options. Winter Warrior delivers more of the same, but in a good way. If you don't set your expectations too high, you'll be well entertained for the 15 bucks.

I do agree that the biggest horror is the one you cannot see. But that's not the same as making essential puzzle pieces hardly distinguishable.

That's Xillia 2's biggest problem: It's run time is bloated and the decisions the game presents you with are just illusions.