The familiar mix of puzzles, jumping, fighting and co-op hasn't lost any of its appeal in part five. Trine 5 has a decent playtime, as well, isn't too expensive and treats your eyes and ears to an atmospheric audiovisual presentation. Real fun, both alone and in co-op.

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.

The new fractions and maps play well and distinguish themselves from the pack, while complementing quite well what's already there.

Gods & Kings does not make Civilization V a new game, but a better one. You can´t ask more out of an add-on.

For players who really got into Three House's story part, Engage will be met with some measure of disappointment. Its streamlined plot and structure are more accessible, but less intricate, and it doesn't help that the storyline never even threatens to leave well-trodden fantasy grounds. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but it does feel like a step back. As soon as the battles start, though, everything is forgotten and forgiven ... Here's where Intelligent System's decades of experience are showing.

Never once does Watch Dogs raise a finger to show the rest of the world which way to take the genre. Instead, it is somewhat of a Best-of across a multitude of thematically and systemically similar games. A highly polished, and entertaining, cross-section through all things 'open world'. I'd lie if I said I hadn't gotten a few really satisfied sighs out of it. But sometimes that's just not enough.

Structurally and narratively I wish the developers had had shown more courage. But this kind of thing can happen, I guess, if you concentrate on getting your core mechanics spot on as much as United Front did. More of a rigidly controlled experience than a real sandbox, you can't help but notice that this type of game is not what it once was: Once open-world games were the fresh-faced poster boys of interactivity and do-as-you-please attitude. Now they're becoming more and more stale and antiseptic environments. It's not Sleeping Dogs' fault alone, and the game does impress at least mechanically most of the time, but it never manages to surprise.

A rather classical JRPG with an outstanding character, lots of lovingly designed details, modernizations in the right places and a special pinch of magic.

A thought-provoking game that makes you think about Estelle's world, but also about our own, a meditation about what's important to us and worth saving. You'll learn a lot - about Estelle, but also about yourself and the decisions you make in the time that you have left.

This truly is the new Command & Conquer that Electronic Arts doesn't want to give us. One could accuse the game of being a bit too inspired by the original. But if you look past that, you get a really well-made real-time strategy game. While Tempest Rising doesn't rely solely on its nostalgia and fan appeal, it's also an excellently executed real-time strategy game in its own right. For just €40, you can't go wrong with it. Unless you value a lot of multiplayer options, because Tempest Rising is rather sparse in that regard.

Its tactics and strategy layers might not be the deepest in the genre. But The Banner Saga is still the sort of adventure that has seasoned warriors burst into sombre campfire song. Sing along, if you dare!

A harrowing but profound experience: Reanimal is a brief yet haunting journey to the breaking point of the human spirit.

Trying to get the maximum out of the new hardware, Bend Studios has tampered with things that didn't need fixing and thusly don't do anything for the game. In fact, the opposite is the case. (...) The experience alone, having this astonishly good-looking and perfectly well playing Uncharted game on a handheld would have been enough to justify the Vita's 250 dollar price tag. Because as soon as you learn to disregard the bad touchscreen bits you immerse yourself in this adventure and forget that you're "only" playing a handheld game.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is far more than just a remaster with bonus levels. Shadow is very convincing in his part of this excellent double pack, while Sonic Generations has held up far better than I would have thought.

This one's a real highlight: Demeo is the VR version of a fictional and extremely stylish board game ... The nice thing is that you view the action like a gaming table from above, but you can rotate the view at any time, "lean" centrally over the playing field - and zoom so far into the action that you feel like you're in a classic computer role-playing game. This transition from being far away to almost being in the middle of it all is amazingly cool.

TT Games' most recent brick-adventure once again shines with its loving sense for details and its admiration for the source material. This one is easy to recommend to young and old alike because of its typical brand of LEGO humor and the tried and tested playability.

Even with these upgrades, in 2012 the series' looks are not as cutting edge anymore as they were four or five years ago. Apart from the jump in resolution and performance you'd expect from a title geared towards gaming PCs, there's not much eye candy that would elevate this experience on the same level as other current PC titles. It still does look good, though, especially if the clouds open up and the sun bathes the detailed landscapes in warm light and stark shadows. And you should never underestimate how a game like this profits from the boost in pixel density and temporal resolution. It's still, in short, the best version of this game – if you're willing to hook up a gamepad to your machine.

Some troubles aside, in the here and now, I'll leave this one with the most glowing of compliments. Outlast's not particularly original, but its extremely effective brand of horror makes for a haunted mansion experience that's all too easy to recommend. It's almost as if this one was shoving the finger into all of the horror has-beens' faces: "Look, if you dare, what only ten people can do!" I for one can't imagine they'd like what they'd see.

If you liked Dishonored, but always thought it could have done with a more interesting protagonist and a dash more mystery, you're not only right, but also in luck: The Brigmore Witches delivers just that!

Eight months after release, Injustice is an accessible but mature fighting game with oodles of content and lots of character.

Stronghold has its very own charm. Things have been improved, supplemented and even though not everything may be perfect, for just 15 bucks you get a lot of content, a game that still works well today and you can see for yourself what the Stronghold series is all about.

The Darkness 2 then – a game that definitely doesn't get everything spot on or even tread new ground. But it shows that even the most linear of shooters hell bent on delivering maximum entertainment don't always have to go in only one direction. Under all this blood and gore there's loads of character driven interludes that show the developers' understanding of how to dress up a game as a well-paced experience.

Elite: Dangerous is not yet where it wants to be. But it knows the way and is going there with pace. For now, I couldn't think of a better place to be than its passenger seat.

Emotionally strong story told through a shallow game neglecting its own puzzle and world-building logic twice too often.

Wo Long is a good start into soulslikes. The first boss may seem too difficult at first, but will turn out to be a great teacher. Wo Long has lots of well balanced action and has an interesting tempo. The new moral system offers a clear structure that helps beginners get into the genre.

Even if the puzzles are a bit uneven in their quality, it is still one of the best hack and slash games around. In the past this series managed to elevate itself from other solidly entertaining games of that ilk a bit better, with all the glorious set-pieces and awe-inspiring moments. These are harder to find in Ascension, though. But what did you expect, when the gods themselves have already been felled? Still, this was a lot of fun, but the next God of War better have some really interesting ideas, if it wants us to really marvel at it again.

A true remake bringing back the tense atmosphere and thrilling fights using the Camera Obscura. The new Fatal Frame 2 is one of the scariest games you'll get to play these days.

Resurrection is great and just one of the many little treasures buried deep in Capcom's lair of gaming classics.