Life is Strange: Reunion is fanfiction for the army of franchise fans who dreamed of Max and Chloe reuniting. The result is a sweet story with contrived events.

Bus Bound gets the job done, though the gameplay still lacks depth and refinement.

Rather than a spectacular journey across a ruined America, Replaced delivers an incredibly beautiful yet overly stretched story saddled with several poorly implemented gameplay mechanics.

Aphelion appears to have fallen victim to the financial difficulties DON'T NOD faced. Despite a solid foundation, the developers failed to polish either the story or the gameplay. What we've got is a run-of-the-mill adventure that pales in comparison to Banishers and Jusant, the primary sources for its ideas.

Kiln is a concept of a decent game that was, for some reason, released in a raw state, sent to its certain death. Despite its interesting aesthetics, the gameplay core needs extensive polishing, but Double Fine simply doesn't have the time for that.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is not the most successful experiment. The reimagining of the walking simulator's core principles did not go as planned.

Towerborne became a clear example of the fact that maintaining a live-service game after its support has been discontinued does more harm than good.

The Occultist is a rich adventure with a mystical story that has its own unique identity.

Screamer is an arcade racer with questionable handling and absurd difficulty spikes, while the AI uses some fairly unfair tricks. Still, the game turned out to be interesting thanks to its complex boost system, which turns monotonous races into a tactical battle of wits.

Heart of the Forest is an evening’s worth of cinema with the illusion of choice, where the ending is determined just a few minutes before the credits roll.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is a stripped-down, artificially stretched product that serves as an example of how even a universally acclaimed classic can be ruined.

GreedFall: The Dying World is yet another budget RPG from Spiders, whose developers continue to struggle with self-improvement. Once again, interesting ideas are not fully realized, and the overall experience is marred by clunky gameplay and inconsistent visuals.

Neon Inferno looks absolutely gorgeous, and it’s definitely not something you should skip. It also scores extra points for its solid soundtrack — the music really sets the right tone. Another nice touch is the non-linear structure, with branching paths through level selection. Even though the game doesn’t bring anything fundamentally new to the somewhat stagnant genre, Zenovia Interactive has delivered a tightly packed dose of fun that fans of this style will really appreciate.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando feels like the ultimate fantasy for Black Ops fans who dream of Treyarch releasing the Zombies mode as a standalone game. However, Saber Interactive takes it a step further by offering vehicles with advanced physics.

1348: Ex Voto is a rough-around-the-edges project that still manages to be engaging. With a bigger budget and proper polish, it could have stood alongside Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice or A Plague Tale: Innocence, but that didn't happen.

Crisol: Theater of Idols has a number of shortcomings, I don't feel like criticizing it. It's clear that an inexperienced team was behind the project — one that did a great job with the story and atmosphere but failed at creating a horror game.

I’m not trying to judge an old game by modern standards, but it’s still worth remembering that the original is 22 years old, and it probably would’ve benefited more from a full remake than a remaster. So before jumping into a classic like this, it’s important to keep its age and quirks in mind. That said, on a purely personal level, I still enjoy the gameplay of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver much more than what Legacy of Kain: Defiance offers.

Styx: Blades of Greed is yet another budget title from the French developers at Cyanide Studio. Their games traditionally suffer from rough gameplay polish, a bunch of bugs, awkward animations, and odd design choices — yet they still carry a certain charm and that so‑called "soul".

Sleep Awake is more of a collection of music videos with beautiful visuals and pleasant sound, presented as a pretentious walking simulator about a dying world. The developers would have been better off stopping there.

If anything else, Romeo is a Dead Man is incredibly sincere, which definitely amounts to something and lets you sidestep some of the more meddling parts of the whole experience. Plus it's really hard to refuse the offer to kill the past once again.

Everything good in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is inherited from its illustrious predecessors, while everything bad stems from futile attempts to tamper with the familiar gameplay formula in pursuit of vague, ill-defined trends. Thanks to its finely tuned optimization, the fourth entry may appeal to a less demanding audience, but the obvious lack of fresh ideas and the absence of a clear creative vision lead to a sobering conclusion: the greatness of Metroid Prime seems to have been left far behind in the past.

I Hate This Place would have been perceived much more favorably if the developers had abandoned the survival elements and instead focused on exploring its deep lore and dynamic world.

Microids managed to update the cult classic quest in terms of visuals, but the developers of Syberia – Remastered treated the other elements carelessly, also simplifying the puzzles, which are one of the game's key components.

The Last Case of John Morley is a very short, but interesting noir detective story with outdated visuals and technical aspects. However, the developers chose not to create a hollow pretense of philosophical drama or a profound statement. What awaits you is a convoluted yet fairly simple detective story with a realistic ending.

Terminator 2D: No Fate doesn't offer any groundbreaking solutions, but it is a very well-crafted adaptation of the film. However, you can complete the entire game in just... 38 minutes.

Routine seems stuck in the past, and the long-awaited project has once again failed to meet expectations. The work of Lunar Software rather resembles a bizarre sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park: Trespasser, where the heroine would practically dislocate her arms trying to pick up a rock or a pistol.

Bye Sweet Carole is a game with frankly mediocre gameplay and a weak story. However, it is partially redeemed by its excellent visual style, which is reminiscent of a Disney cartoon.

It’s somewhat disappointing that the game occasionally loses momentum due to pacing issues, the lack of full voice acting, and very basic visual presentation. That said, if you push through the drawn-out introduction, you’ll find a genuinely engaging tactical role-playing game.

Looking at Battlefield REDSEC, it becomes clear that EA still hasn't fully thought through its post-launch support concept. In pursuit of content, the company released an outright raw battle royale that has proven to be hardly needed by anyone, judging by the Steam online statistics. And only the Gauntlet mode justifies the existence of this free-to-play offshoot.

Double Dragon Revive is a lazy sequel. Although the developers tried to adhere to the spirit of the original, they failed in the task of updating the gameplay to modern standards, drowning in goofy mechanics, unoriginality, and boredom.

Ninja Gaiden 4 cannot be called a return to the roots of Tomonobu Itagaki. However, PlatinumGames has created a bloody slasher with complex and interesting bosses in memorable settings.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is a charming yet rushed game built on the foundation of a now‑defunct gacha title. Nevertheless, it attempts to win back fans who were dissatisfied with the radical changes introduced in Atelier Yumia.

Hotel Barcelona doesn’t motivate players to endure or dig through this pile of «brilliant ideas» from Suda 51 and SWERY.

Despite its dynamic gameplay, Painkiller stumbles in every other aspect. The game will certainly disappoint series veterans and solo players, and even co‑op enthusiasts would find it hard to recommend at such a high price point.

However, the strengths of Silly Polly Beast outweigh its flaws. The atmosphere of a Russian provincial town, combined with stunning visuals and an engaging storyline, does its job—immersing the player in a mysterious world shrouded in demonic fog.

Battlefield 6 has proven to be a successful return to form for the series after a string of disastrous failures. While it's clear that not everything went according to plan for EA, Zampella and Co. managed to lay a solid foundation for future development.

The depth of customization — from controls and game tempo to tactical nuances and role assignments on the field — is genuinely impressive and engaging. The positional setups and other elements of football strategy have strong potential, but that potential simply isn’t realized. Of course, some players might enjoy this kind of “football-flavored” experience, but it’s definitely not what I — or many fans of the world’s most popular sport — are looking for. If you plan to play only against AI opponents, or if the issues mentioned above don’t bother you, feel free to add one or two points to the final score.

Tormented Souls 2 is a worthy successor to the original game, offering an improved experience for players. The sequel has significantly enhanced user-friendliness with its well-designed puzzles and intuitive hints. While the combat system and balance mechanics still present some challenges, players have the option to adjust the difficulty settings or wait for upcoming patches.

The initial concept of Dead Reset envisioned a choice system with far-reaching and partially irreversible consequences, even after «resetting». In practice, the game turns out to be an overly linear FMV adventure, the outcome of which feels predetermined.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is a good example of the gap between ambition and execution. Despite an intriguing premise and well-developed main characters, the game ultimately feels too linear and repetitive, with limited player choice and shallow world interaction. Many of the lengthy dialogues have little to no impact on the story, side quests are dull and formulaic, and the world itself feels empty and lifeless. In the end, Bloodlines 2 comes across more as a walking simulator with light RPG elements than a worthy successor to the cult classic.

Despite Supermassive Games’ efforts, Little Nightmares III turned out to be a corporate business product, devoid of the very features that made the series beloved by millions of players around the world.

Metal Eden presents itself as a visually striking yet brief action experience, boasting innovative gameplay mechanics. However, the game falls short in terms of boss encounters and narrative.

Just like its main protagonist, Cronos: The New Dawn is so obsessed with capturing and replicating the past, that it's kinda forgets to do something more important - to have a soul of its own.

Lost Soul Aside leaves a mixed impression. The game offers truly spectacular battles with unique bosses that provide fresh experiences, and the environment is designed in a memorable art style with high-level detail. However, players must endure lengthy levels, a mediocre plot, and subpar voice acting.

The Rogue Prince of Persia turned out to be a rather mediocre roguelike game, which falls short of both Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Dead Cells.

Mafia: The Old Country isn’t just another game about the mafia—it’s a full-fledged journey into a cultural layer of history and cinema, filled with references to The Godfather and similar classics that seamlessly blend into the story and atmosphere. The game isn’t perfect, but it’s stylish, focused, and cinematic. If you’ve been missing that very kind of 12–14 hour “film-like” experience, enjoy such narratives, and don’t mind a few technical rough edges, this one is worth picking up—titles like this are a rarity nowadays.

In an era dominated by generic online shooters, you start craving something fresh and original — like Killing Floor 2 was back in the day. Where’s the joy and fun of mowing down hordes? Where are the endless healing syringes and ammo boxes that helped you survive? They're gone in the third game — now you're on your own, forced to grit your teeth and make do.

Monument Valley 3 continues to deliver the classic zen-like gameplay experience characterized by its striking visuals and captivating puzzles, albeit hampered by a limited amount of content and less-than-intuitive control mechanics.

In every other respect, Luto appears and feels like just another game among the multitude of indie horror titles, albeit with aspirations of aesthetic depth.

It is unlikely that One-Eyed Likho will come as a revelation to anyone. Nevertheless, this is an extremely enjoyable and visually unique adventure with an atmosphere of a nightmarish fairy tale.

Shadow Labyrinth is a mid-tier metroidvania featuring a few interesting concepts, but it quickly fades from memory after completion.

Provided you have a couple of friends to play with, Nightreign can easily become the perfect trap — a fun gauntlet of trials where you endlessly chase that ideal winning run right before going to bed. And then you do it again. And again. And again. But if you lack the necessary company, perhaps there are better ways to spend your time — maybe even with the original Elden Ring. After all, that game had plenty of great boss battles too.

You can talk about numerous problems and mistakes in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Although the original game has passed the test of time, its re-release epitomizes everything I hate about modern games from Bethesda Game Studios.

Blades of Fire turned out to be an emotional swing, which is why the joyful moment is followed by complete disappointment. We have received a masterpiece that is not understood by the world.

Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is a fairly standard and simple roguelike game with nice graphics and a combat system that can be frustrating with its linearity and lack of variability.

The Midnight Walk is an ambitious adventure with a crazy design of everything, which is maximized by VR headsets. However, the usual option for simple monitors turns the game into a pumpkin

Deliver At All Costs is an unassuming and fun game for a couple of evenings with absurd missions and specific humor.

After several years of stagnation, the Tour de France 2025 looks like an attempt to take some kind of step forward, given the niche nature of the series. However, the ultra-budget pipeline has not gone away.

Starting out as a fun-filled entertainment experience, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy quickly degrades into a torment that lasts for literally hundreds of hours.

Post Trauma is a failed attempt to imitate Silent Hill, which is spoiled by a weak story, poor gameplay and a heavy legacy of horror classics.

DOOM: The Dark Ages wasn't what many fans expected. This is a step away from being a bit specific, but very powerful, offering a hurricane of meaty gameplay with an emphasis on spectacular melee combat.

There are no interesting events in The Precinct. Just endless patrols in muddy courtyards.

For reasons unknown to us, Commandos: Origins turned out to be a very archaic game that feels drawn out, terribly linear and incredibly tedious. Don't forget about a bunch of bugs.

The sins of Chains of Freedom are on a completely different plane: its ending is not a reward, but a long-awaited release from the monotony of life. And the further you progress, the more tedious and lengthy the endless battles become.

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree turned out to be an ambitious attempt to create a grandiose game. But everything is spoiled by repetitive bosses and dull gameplay.

Despite Steel Seed being steeped in familiar tropes and clichés, the developers paid close attention to the visuals and crafted gameplay that strikes a solid balance between stealth action and hack-and-slash mechanics.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is another experiment by Ubisoft Quebec. In some aspects, it was a success, but sometimes strange decisions by the developers spoil the experience, and the plot ends right at the most exciting moment.

Blue Prince is quite an interesting game that brings innovations to a stagnant genre, but at the same time suffers from a whole set of shortcomings.

South of Midnight is ready to offer atmospheric and dark fairy tales of the South, enhancing the effect due to excellent visuals and excellent musical accompaniment. However, Compulsion Games once again failed to support their ideas with interesting gameplay.

Atomfall turned out to be a conservative attempt by Rebellion to release an unusual game for the studio. The result was very interesting, although the game is not without a number of serious drawbacks.

Karma: The Dark World is a compilation of popular movies and games, which in its desire to copy got too carried away, losing its own identity.

AI LIMIT is an unusual mashup of familiar solutions that is unlikely to be a big hit, but well worth a look.

An addendum to Infinite Wealth, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii feels like a vacation after a vacation, a small and silly adventure, a fun time with your crazy friends and not a care in the world. But only up until the ending, where Like a Dragon makes a sharp turn, and remind you of how much of a heart this franchise really has.

To sum up, it's worth noting that out of the entire collection, only Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation can truly be considered a great game. It's worth playing not only for nostalgic fans of the series, but also for genre enthusiasts who might have missed it for some reason. The other two games are more of a historical curiosity and will mostly appeal to those who have fond memories of them from their childhood or adolescence.

The release of Sid Meier's Civilization VII in its raw state has further tarnished Firaxis' reputation. And we recommend players to pick up the full edition of Civilization VI, which will give hundreds of hours of fun right now.

Despite expectations, Avowed is not able to compete with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Baldur's Gate 3. It is a very average work in terms of the quality of execution.

Blade Chimera is a very beautiful and colorful metroidvania with colorful bosses that suffers from serious control and balance issues.

Quotation forthcoming.

Atomic Heart: Enchantment Under the Sea It doesn't want to reinvent the bike or try to emulate Bioshock even more. Instead, Mundfish pushes its own line, offering exactly what the main game is loved for.

Eternal Strands is a pretty and yet a very shallow game, that is better be left ignored, unless you absolutely don't have anything else to play.

Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition includes all the previously available DLC content, so in essence it's the most complete and full version of the original game, and as that - it's the most obvious choice to pick up for a first run or a spontaneous replay.

What's most important here is that Nosgoth remains as interesting as ever, and this new collection is currently the best way to play both Soul Reaver games, be it for the first time and as a part of nostalgic comeback.

In ten years, someone somewhere will most likely refer to Slitterhead as a hidden gem and a misunderstood masterpiece. In that distant future, maybe you'll agree. Or perhaps you won't. But the thing is - you don't have to wait for another decade to make this decision, Slitterhead deserves your attention right now.

LEGO Horizon Adventures is a decent children's game that sags in the second half. However, it will still be enjoyable to play through in co-op on the couch.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a colorful but absolutely passable game that lacks any depth. It will not only disappoint the fans of the previous parts, but also will not give joy to the new ones.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown today looks not just like a greeting from the past, but inferior to its predecessors.

Unknown 9: Awakening is a game a couple decades too late.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Reckoning of New York turned out to be a passable and technically backward visual novel. It is ruined by boring characters and predictable story.

3 Minutes to Midnight - A Comedy Graphic Adventure is a colorful, non-linear adventure that can get very annoying in places due to the stretched dialogues.

Beyond Hanwell is a low-budget hodgepodge of every horror game you've ever played.

The updated Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a good game for a few evenings for fans. The recommendation could have sounded a lot more confident if Aspyr had completely dealt with the annoying bugs and old issues.

The Casting of Frank Stone is slightly better received than the disappointing final chapters of The Dark Pictures Anthology. But it's nowhere near as good as the well-crafted The Quarry or Until Dawn.

Starfield: Shattered Space is a boring and disappointing add-on that can be put on par with Operation: Anchorage for Fallout 3.

You just have to make peace with some of the game's quirks. And beyond that, Star Wars Outlaws is a good enough game in an established setting that will probably hold your attention up until the end credits.

Dustborn follows the Telltale Games studio's precepts: no-choice elections, minimal variation, and silly plot twists. The second part of the game looks like it was finished by another team of writers.

Concord will forever be remembered as one of the most notorious flops in the entire industry. And yet there is hope that at least some lessons can be learned from this whole ordeal.

The First Descendant is still not Destiny at its best or a new revelation in the genre, a very pretty time eater. The game is able to attract the audience with cute graphics and beautiful character models, but it doesn't offer anything radically new. In an era of high competition, this is clearly not enough.

Crown Wars: The Black Prince is a very tedious tactic that can only be recommended as an effective sleeping pill.