Blizzard's team has done about everything right with Hearthstone. They took tried and tested pieces from other card games, found clever mechanisms to take away their weak spots and other frustrations and offer a strong and addictive free-to-play experience.

Maybe I already told you too much about The Stanley Parable, maybe I should just tell you that you absolutely have to play this curious little gem of a game. Even though it really is playing you and not the other way around.

Guacamelee does a brilliant job in blending the highlights of the genre's corner stone titles such as Metroid and Castlevania, while still retaining it's own brand of charm.

The last Paper Mario with an RPG twist, charmingly reworked and brought into shape for a new generation, unfortunately only marginally streamlined.

It may not be the action-rpg-messiah that some may have expected, but it easily matches its predecessors... Blizzard's new creation defends the throne with a mix of proven gameplay and tons of features.

Sackboy still doesn't do his actual running and jumping in the same league as Mario or Rayman, then. But at the same time this is by far the best toolbox for gaming creativity this brand ever spawned. How much you will appreciate this package almost entirely depends on how much time you are planning to spend building, constructing and mucking about with this aspect of the game.

Even after a year Joe Danger is still well worth your time. (...) Hello Games gave an excellent debut that doesn't have to dread comparisons to the style, look and feel of classic Nintendo titles.

In this new iteration, Animal Crossing: New Leaf still may not be the most complex sim there is. But it has a special brand of charm that transforms even the most basic of activities, like sitting on a virtual bench, into a wonderfully soothing experience. This is why I love it.

A slow and difficult start, but well worth the effort: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 delivers a grand medieval world and fills it with many quests, exciting NPCs and, above all, endless role-playing systems that are very reminiscent of this genre's long forgotten ambitions.

So yeah, short speech, long test, Street Fighter IV 3D be damned, and the same conclusion as 18 months ago: Street Fighter 6 is a great brawler that beginners can tackle without getting too frustrated and pros will find enough depth to really get into it.

Capcom’s new franchise impresses with engaging mechanics, tightly designed environments and dynamic combat. Only the characters and storyline fall short in what might be the start to a great new franchise

Halo 4 is something really special. Not only is it a first-rate exclusive for the good old 360, it's also a shining example of the kind of technical excellence that's still possible on the elderly hardware. It's one of these games that justify the decision to buy this console. 343 Industries has gone ahead and obliterated my qualms about the brand's change to another developer than Bungie. Now there's only one thing I want: More.

Even though Pokemon X is undoubtedly the strongest entry in the series yet, after 14 years of playing with a basically unchanged formula, I kind of expected something more.

It's neither as groundbreaking as the first one nor a compelling a narrative as the Max Payne 2 (…) but it's still the kind of 'Welcome Back'-Party you wouldn't want to miss.

Three years after its initial release, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance remains the perfect JRPG, which shines in the new edition with better performance and an expanded story. Sensible additions to the game elements also make it easier to get started without scaring off hardcore fans, for whom new conveniences remain optional. A clear recommendation for anyone who has always wanted to get into the franchise or is simply in the mood for one of the best modern JRPGs.

Saros might not be perfect, with the storytelling in particular showing some rough edges. It takes a while getting up to speed but when all systems are in place, it's an exceptional arcade shooter and an extraordinary spectacle.

Cute, charming, flexible: Pikmin 4 skillfully combines the qualities of its predecessors into a varied, elegant package, and I'm quite taken with Ochin. It's a bit of a pity that it doesn't reveal its best tricks a tad earlier.

Final Fantasy has a habit of reinventing itself. That's why the series, with all its ups and its few downs, has remained relevant to this day. Final Fantasy 16 is no exception. Who knows how long the series will remain this straightforward a story and action-experience. For now and for this game, anyway, it works wonderfully. And not because its combat is particularly outstanding or the story changes the way we'll look at fantasy in the future, but because Final Fantasy has always been more than the sum of its parts. That has rarely been more true than for Part 16.

It shines in each and every discipline, only taking the very occasional and tiny misstep, you'll be hard pressed to notice or get in arms about. It's one of these games that gets you thinking long after you finished it, which makes me want to recommend it even more.

What else can you say about these two games? For me, they were and remain the crowning glory of Mario creation, masterpieces of level design, and a bottomless treasure trove of interesting ideas to toy and tinker with.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is so close to the original that it almost feels like a precious relic in its own right: a long-lost type of adventure that even the recent movies have been unable to unearth, no matter how hard they dug. It is playful, cheeky and blessed with an enviable innocence that you would not have expected from such a large, lavish mainstream product from one of the biggest publishers in the world. It belongs in a museum.

It is a symbiosis of elements from the old titles and a lot of Uncharted. As such, free-form exploration, puzzles and tombs to raid meet big-screen action and frenzied shootouts. It could be a great way into the future for Lara, one you couldn't really picture before. For now, this really works.

Sure, Tearaway's depth is more an emotional one than of gameplay. But you only need to take one look at that permanently grinning face in the sun to know: In the end, that's what it's all about.

It‘s a fan-feast for the ears, then, with a good sense of rhythm and lots of tracks. It‘s just a shame that its looks are somewhat disappointing and that it‘s comparably stingy in terms of extras commemorating the series‘ 35th anniversary.

Resident Evil 7 on Switch 2 is a technically polished piece of series history and, above all, a very well-rounded package for Nintendo fans who don’t own another console.

The fresh new skills are great, as is the loot. Adventure mode's just heavenly, and the new classes have exceeded my expectations. As soon as Blizzard integrates a ladder and gets the PVP straightened out, the competition will be done for years to come.

The cool thing about the PlayStation VR2 implementation is that you can aim not only with the analog stick, but also with the Sense controllers themselves, as well as by turning your head and just looking at it with your eyes ... If you glide around in the vicinity of several enemies, the surround sound in particular comes into its own. Just be aware here that your head and stomach have to tolerate turns in all directions, which is not everyone's cup of tea in VR.

Divinity: Original Sin is not necessarily better than the classic RPGs it's bowing its head to. It's not even on eye level with some of them. But it's coming at the right time, knowing exactly where it came from and where it wants to go.