Unfortunately Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 let us down in every aspect of its design, failing to continue what we got out of original XXL 2 and, most importantly, failing the legacy of the legendary comics it is based upon.

Darksiders Genesis is a well thought and executed isometric hack and slash game - with an original progression system - that excels in battle, exploration and co-op mode. A great addition to an already excellent franchise.

Contracts is another step forward for CI Games in its Ghost Warrior franchise. The maps have exactly the right size, providing breadth or routes, but it never becomes tiresome to traverse, and the sniper rifle is a joy to use, especially from long distances. It may not offer something we haven’t seen before in the genre, nevertheless, it is a quite entertaining, no-frills, stealth FPS.

Despite its shortcomings Simulacra delivers an interesting and fresh horror story with branching narratives that every fan of the horror genre should try out.

Unfortunately, Shenmue 3 is a disappointing new chapter even if we take into account the much lower budget in its development compared to its predecessors. It’s not a good sign that almost 20 years after Shenmue 2 the new entry is inferior in several of its aspects. The worst of all its flaws is the especially lacking development of Ryo’s saga, adding extremely scarce information to his revenge story.

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is exactly what you expected it to be regarding it’s name and legacy. The problem is that it doesn’t try to be anything more than just a family friendly game. And besides that, it lasts just for a few hours and costs a lot for what it provides.

Pokémon Sword & Shield brings the traditional Pokémon recipe from handhelds straight to our TVs. The new games offer plenty QoL improvements that shake up the experience and provide a fresh touch in experiencing Pokémon gameplay in the best region the series has offered so far. However, there are also lots of things The Pokémon Company needs to consider in order to improve the experience and keep offering quality titles in the future.

Pokémon Sword & Shield brings the traditional Pokémon recipe from handhelds straight to our TVs. The new games offer plenty QoL improvements that shake up the experience and provide a fresh touch in experiencing Pokémon gameplay in the best region the series has offered so far. However, there are also lots of things The Pokémon Company needs to consider in order to improve the experience and keep offering quality titles in the future.

Pokémon Sword & Shield brings the traditional Pokémon recipe from handhelds straight to our TVs. The new games offer plenty QoL improvements that shake up the experience and provide a fresh touch in experiencing Pokémon gameplay in the best region the series has offered so far. However, there are also lots of things The Pokémon Company needs to consider in order to improve the experience and keep offering quality titles in the future.

A rather bad experience with a total lack of any interest in both its gameplay and story, accompanied by aging graphics.

Poor loot and some technical issues aside, Respawn has managed the impossible. In an era full of divisiveness and frustration around the recent Star Wars movies and games, Fallen Order is hands-down the best Star Wars experience since Lucasfilm got sold to Disney and everything changed. It is a great start for what could become an amazing series and we sincerely hope we can see more of this in the future.

A nice idea for an adventure game, set in a very interesting world that is based on the great Spanish comic of the same name. Blacksad: Under the Skin has many good qualities, like its noir atmosphere and story, alongside some negatives like its pacing issues and a few technical problems.

Probably one of the worst movie tie-ins that has come out in recent years.

For the first time western gamers have the opportunity to play this great game, but you must be warned that Romancing SaGa 3 is implementing all the familiar features of the series, like the high challenge and the intense grinding. Inevitably, this means that this hardcore game is not suitable for everyone.

Some technical issues aside (like the rapid frame drops) Scrat's game is a decent platformer built specifically for young children. It may not be the best game ever or the best 3D platformer for that matter, but it can guarantee some 4 to 5 hours of fun for your kids.

By fusing the design and feel of Most Wanted and Underground, Ghost Games created a game that is by all means better than Payback, but is still struggling to find its place in the market. And with the competition now -in the form of Forza Horizon 4- galloping, Ghost Games must surely up their game with their new project.

An attempted effort to improve a game that does not meet the quality standards the first six games of the Layton series have set. While it tries to follow the footsteps of its predecessors, Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy fails in providing a compelling story, memorable characters and emotional peaks. The new adventure seems to be targeting a new audience, meaning that some of the old fans might opt out while they wait for Kat to really follow her father’s footsteps and find her proper place in the genre.

While a bit safe in design, The Outer World offers a well imagined new world with great writing, crazy characters & politics, 30 well-packed hours with tons of replayability and a sublime background texture of Easter eggs, tributes and well crafted jokes.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a game for people who really love the Olympic Games and want to buy memorabilia of the event as someone would buy a pin of the town the Games are taking place in or a t-shirt with the mascot. But as video game, it really looks like the typical, almost bland, product coming out of a production line every four years.

Death Stranding is one of those epic games where you reach the ending after many, many hours and you have the sense that you played something unique, fresh and a game that could be a comparative point for other games to come. Kojima reaffirms our acknowledgment for his talent of creating engrossing worlds, both in terms of lore and visuals, with well-designed gameplay. What drags it down from a higher grade is its overreliance in, basically, one quest type and the utterly derivative action sequences (thankfully not many of them).

Server issues aside and even though is does not expand on the gameplay we saw in the Garden Warfare series, Battle for Neighborville is a pleasant surprise, a nicely crafted and humorous shooter that is ideal for co-op and multiplayer sessions with your friends.

This year we got a Call of Duty with an impressive single player campaign - that offers tight and immense fights for about 6 hours - along with a wealth of multiplayer modes for literally every taste. Too bad, though, that Infinity Ward tried to keep everyone satisfied thus changing the DNA of the multiplayer mode with mixed to negative results.

Everything is there; a big hotel, threatening forces from the great beyond and tons of humor. The overall improved gameplay, the graphics and animations, the flow of the game, the dedicated multiplayer modes and the new ghosts are among the elements of Luigi's Mansion 3 that guarantee a good amount of fun --despite the series getting a turn towards multiplayer that we don’t fully enjoy.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ comes with great visuals, some new features and last, but not least, it offers all of the extra content we saw in the portable version of the game, thus making it a great value for fans of the tactical-JRPG genre.

An interesting and inspiring convergence of a 2D side-scrolling platform game with a role-playing, turn-based combat system, all wrapped with a beautiful visual shell. It has a few minor faults here and there, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

Warsaw is a compelling turn-based RPG offering a deep and well thought battle gameplay, while severely lacking in terms of storytelling and lore. A newcomer may face difficulties due to the punishing nature of this roguelite game, but we never felt it was cheap or overwhelming. The similarities with Darkest Dungeon are obvious, yet it still manages to deliver something fresh and distinctive.

It is the MediEvil you remember (and probably love) from 1998, albeit with updated visuals and sound, a new camera system and a superb art direction. Some problems from the past -like the sometimes awkward camera- have somehow managed to find their way into this release as well, but the same can be said for the charming and unique gameplay and aesthetic that oozes from this game.

It’s evolution through devolution for Playtonic, going back to 2D platforming from the 3D design of the first Yooka-Laylee, a change that is definitely for the benefit of the franchise. The Impossible Lair is much more competent, offering a fulfilling experience through its breadth of levels, and a cleverly designed overworld map which is a game within a game. Nevertheless, we hope that in their next endeavor the British developers will create something with its own personality and avoid being so overtly “clingy” in the Donkey Kongs or Banjo-Kazooies of the past.

There is no need to talk extensively about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt since it has already been more than 4 years since the day of its release. This time, a game that is among the crowing jewels of the RPG genre is gracing Switch with its presence, bringing the full Witcher 3 experience on a handheld device. While the shortcomings stemming from the mediocre visuals are many, the players who are ready to accept them can proudly walk along with the White Wolf on the Portable Path.

The latest entry in the Trails Series offers an excellent continuation of the saga, which presents a great escalation of the story, accompanied by new and old well-developed characters from the series.

The gameplay in John Wick Hex definitely captures the essence of the impressive choreography seen in the movies, albeit with some caveats. Namely the animation variety is very restricted and, in some cases, seems a bit incomplete. Moreover, the abilities of John Wick are a bit limited and remain as such throughout the game. Nevertheless, it still remains a clever twist in the turn-based genre, by letting the action unfold simultaneously for both our character and the enemies, creating some quite challenging combat scenarios with unexpected depth to them.

Sniper Elite III: Ultimate Edition is a mostly worthwhile game with strong moments of action, the iconic use of the X-Ray Killcam and sniping gameplay spread across 8 main levels and the extra DLC missions. It can be a fun addition for those who have not experienced the original version, but it also comes with some shortcomings that might discourage avid fans of the genre.

Breakpoint mixes different mechanics and concepts, but never manages to implement them in a meaningful way. The main story is better than Wildlands' and John Bernthal gives an excellent performance as the main villain. Unfortunately, the over the top micro-transactions and the never-ending list of bugs overshadows the fact that it can be a fun co-op game despite its shortcomings.

Even though it is mostly a "best-of" compilation of GRID, GRID 2 and GRID Autosport with updated visuals, the new GRID has that unique Codemasters DNA that guarantees great racing gameplay. And when you add this to the immense wealth of cars and tracks, what you get is a solid racer that is suitable for the masses.

A somewhat simple story and action gameplay are wrapped around an incredibly beautiful wrapper and are brought to life through an inspiringly gorgeous painting game, where your art literally becomes alive and brings light and color to the in-game world.

Deck13 took all the lessons learned from the first Surge, harnessed all the experience gained from its development and delivered a sequel that is improved in every aspect. Fans of soulsborne games should not miss on one of the best level-designs we have seen in the genre and the always satisfying and unique dismemberment function.

The new Volta mode is surely a welcomed addition that we expect it to grow in the following years, but besides that and the always superb presentation and overall rich content, FIFA 20 seems stale and not able to take some bold steps forward. Combine this with the aggressive monetization that comes with the Ultimate Team mode and what you get is probably the worst FIFA game in recent years.

This is by far the most complete and compact Dragon Quest experience we have ever experienced, and a testament to the series’ bright future. A must-have for all Switch owners, players who haven’t experienced the game in its original form and owners of the previous game that would like to experience all the things that were sadly missing in the original release for the PS4 and PC.

Carly and the Reaperman is a great VR couch co-op experience that is based on communication and co-operation, which means that it’s a game that you will have a lot of fun if you play it with a friend. With its low price point and many hours of content we can safely recommend it for PSVR owners who enjoy puzzle platforming games.

Code Vein tried to differentiate itself with its anime aesthetic, and at least it partially succeeded in its world building and characters. On the other hand one can’t help but notice that the level design is quite repetitive and disorienting, and the combat system, although with great variety, stumbles in some unfair fights and most importantly in the utter lack of enemy variation.

An excellent expansion that offers a new area with high difficulty and a huge amount of content that will last for hundreds of hours.

An NBA 2K game is once again being plagued by microtransactions that enrage gamers. But on the other hand, the production values, the gameplay and the overall presentation of NBA 2K20 are over the roof, having no match in sports games. At the end of the day, you must be the one to judge if this high quality balances out the cons of the "loot boxes blight".

Greedfall is a huge step forward for Spiders, offering improvements on all levels when compared to their past games. It does fall victim of overreaching with a small budget, having an annoying amount of backtracking and of reused enemies and assets, but it is still an entertaining WRPG in a very interesting setting, full of intrigue and suspense.

Devil's Hunt tries to be a decent game but it fails in almost every aspect. The pacing and the writing is poor, the combat is bland and the graphics look dated. Even as an homage to Devil May Cry the result is, to say the least, disheartening.

Borderlands 3 follows the same tried-and-true formula as it's predecessors, but with refinements. With new Vault Hunters, more planets to explore, new and old character appearances, high replay value and improved gameplay and gunplay Borderlands 3 is highly recommended for FPS fans despite some technical issues.

A game that feels like its 20-year old predecessor, but with improvements and additions that truly make a difference. Despite a constant sense of déjà vu, the shortcomings of the game’s newest playable mode and the framerate issues, Link’s Awakening is a game coming straight from our dreams.

Even though it lacks the technology and the graphics that other modern racing games have, WRC 8 makes it up with a deep and engaging career mode along with superb driving mechanics that really shine when playing with a racing wheel.

Coalition comes back to reverse the reception of the rather unremarkable Gears of War 4. Saying that Gears 5 is an improvement is an understatement, offering possibly the largest campaign of the franchise, filled with diverse and beautiful environments, mature writing and the familiar cover-based gameplay that remains one of the best in the industry.

If you never got the chance to play this game in its initial release this is the best way to experience it. With improved frame rate and visuals, this wonderful fairy tale by Studio Ghibli and Level-5 is one of the most beautiful JRPG experiences you'll find in the modern era of gaming.

The beautiful depiction of the grotesque and nightmarish religious world of Cvstodia is a good enough reason to visit it. If only its simplistic gameplay and almost non-existent progression of the character could match the high quality of its detailed pixel art, then we could be talking about a truly original masterpiece of the genre.

A passion project for its developers, this game has been originally dismissed by the players, but has managed to revive from its ashes due to constructive feedback from the community. Despite its drawbacks, regarding technical restrictions and the underperforming A.I, Daemon X Machina is a game suited to genre lovers and those who enjoy co-op action, and has all the requirements to develop even more.

Children of Morta might be quite predictable and even a bit uninspired when it comes to battling the hordes of enemies, but it nevertheless succeeds in providing a fresh experience for the genre of roguelites. How it succeeds in that? By investing in developing its characters and creating actual bonding with the members of the Bergson’s family, not a mean feat for the genre.

Be aware. MXGP is a well crafted Motocross game, but its difficulty curve and -sometimes extreme- realism are not meant for the inexperienced player.

This came as quite a surprise. Movie tie-ins nowadays are mostly cheap cash-ins, but Under Pressure VR takes the Overcooked formula, gives it a VR spin and, finally, delivers a fun experience that is at its best when playing with your friends.

By reminding us the glory days of the Destruction Derby franchise combined with the great gameplay of their own FlatOut series, Bugbear gave us a sorely missed and absolutely fun arcade racing experience.

Remedy delivered a solid action game accompanied by Sam Lake's signature "weird" writing and some great gameplay mechanics. Add to this the superb atmosphere we get from the Oldest House and some amazing graphics -as well as physics- and what we get is a strong contender for Game of the Year.

Even though not much have changed since last year's edition, PES 2020 retains all the superb gameplay mechanics and unique sense of football the franchise is known and celebrated for since the mid 90s.

Oninaki presents an interesting story with a dark and difficult subject. However, it fails to deliver the basic aspects of a modern action-JRPG.

Α gorgeous looking game full of humor and overflowing with the love and effort from its creators. Its directing and narrative though get quite middling and with its open ending, it feels more like a collection of mini episodes for "Part 1" of a story rather than a complete package.

Even though the formula is similar to the one used in the beloved Until Dawn, Man of Medan suffers from a poor story combined with equally poorly written dialogue. The multiplayer modes are the highlight here, though, so if you plan on visiting the "Ghost Ship" you should call your friends.

Apsulov is a by-the-numbers walking simulator with pretty, mildly interactive environments, the annoyance of stealth sections and a 4-5 hours story. Be that as it may, we can’t deny that we've had a pleasant visit in the amalgamation of sci-fi laboratories with artifacts and environments inspired by Norse mythology.

It’s a game that provides a traditional PlatinumGames experience with immersive, fast-paced and breath-taking battles and a system of exploration that spans the various levels the game’s world can offer. Despite a few shortcomings, Astral Chain is a game that can keep players busy while waiting for the big, upcoming entries for the Switch.

It may have a bit of a derivative level design and non-existent quest system, as well as a questionable randomness mechanic, but it nevertheless manages to excel at the feeling of the weapons and the satisfying impact of their bullets. It’s not a small feat especially considering the welcome variety of normal enemies in addition to the well-designed and more than satisfying selection of bosses. Be advised though to approach it having in mind that is designed, first and foremost, as a co-op experience.

With great technology behind the transitions from the "main movie" to the moments when the viewer must become a player-director and some great performances from the cast, Erica is a true next step to the interactive storytelling of videogames.

Considering that Darq is the work of –mainly- one person without prior knowledge in game development, it is nothing less than a highly commendable achievement. The dreamy aesthetic with the black and white filter is quite eye-catching and the perspective manipulation never stops to be enjoyable. If only it was just a little bit longer…

Bitlogic has its good moments like turning the lack of jumping into an advantage for the gameplay, but overall it is a game with few thing to offer and fewer to justify its existence today, except the nostalgia. But how can you feel nostalgic with something you never played when you were young?

Wolfenstein Youngblood experiments with new ideas adding RPG, shooter-looter and open-world mechanics to a well-established formula, but ends up being a mixed bag. The gunplay, the graphics and the action are top-notch. On the other hand, the storytelling, the mission structure, its characters and the unpolished co-op gameplay fall short.

More of "tech demo" than a valid release, Cyberpilot had all the potential to be a great VR addition to the franchise but fails miserably due to its ultra short duration.

With only some new armor and weapons to acquire and a truly boring content overall, Keepers of the Void is probably a waste of time and surely not on-par with the main game.

By staying true to the gameplay mechanics implemented in the past by Raven and Vicarious Visions in X-Men Legends and the first two Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, Team Ninja offered a game packed with content, a superb roster of super-heroes, a great fighting system and a well written story. Lots of performance issues keep Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 from achieving greatness, but it is an enjoyable game nonetheless.

Blazing Chrome could be simply be described as a spiritual sequel to Contra III and Contra: Hard Corps, using those games as a strict template for its weapons, difficulty, stage and enemies design as well as total length. Although we are more than happy with most of these similarities with those games, we would definitely prefer to differentiate itself from them at least in the total number of levels. As it is it’s highly enjoyable albeit quite a bit on the short side.

With a cast of memorable characters, a compelling and intriguing story, so many gameplay choices and a world that is rich with lore and history, but still manages to be a perfect entry for new and experienced players alike, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a must-have title on the Switch that also raises the bar and our expectations for future strategy/ RPGs.

With improvements on the crafting and material accessing mechanisms, with new items and recipes, new ways to explore and with interesting characters to interact, Dragon Quest Builders 2 improves itself compared to the first game of the series and combines a compelling storyline and the crafting mechanisms in a way that even the pioneers of the genre have not done so far. Minor issues might take points from our building experience, but Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a crafting adventure not to be missed.

By staying true to its legacy and at the same time by implementing new trends, like the ever learning A.I. of the Dojo mode, Samurai Shodown proves there's plenty of room in this day and age for 2D fighting games. More so if these games are as finely crafted as the new Samurai Shodown.

The rising success of Minecraft has, without a shred of a doubt, paved the way for the world-building genre, with Super Mario Maker 2 being a star example of this. With more building options compared to the previous edition, a new Story Mode and a vast access to an ever-changing availability of courses in Course World, Super Mario Maker 2 is here to steal away lots of our free time.

Devil May Cry is an eighteen-year old classic -with all its mechanisms intact- that tries to allure a new audience; one that is for playing on the go. It does its best to come up to modern times, but ultimately fails to provide a solid reason for a purchase. The lack of any elements that could have improved or expanded the original version, plus the lack of the other two games that come together as an HD collection in other platforms can only make us skeptical regarding its existence.

All games have disadvantages, even the greatest ones, and Warlocks 2 isn’t an exception. The actual problem here though, is that even the good aspects of the game never move far for being mediocre. And that is the general picture of the game. Never doing anything more than the basics.

My Friend Pedro is ultimately a very fun, single-minded action game that can truly give the sense that we take part in some over-the-top action movie scenes. We could do without the overuse of the platform sequences towards the end, which reduce the frenetic gunfight rhythm a bit, but nevertheless it’s an especially entertaining rollercoaster of gunfight, arcade spectacle.

An interesting addition to the world of Yakuza games, Judgement offers an entertaining adventure with an intriguing (albeit slow to start) story and exceptionally written characters, this time from the side of the law rather than that of the criminals. If only we could seriously remake all those pesky tailing and investigating ultra simple mechanisms and bring back the voice acting for the side stories.

F1 2019 is the culmination of everything Codemasters has learned about this franchise in the previous years. And the result is a superb racing game that is probably the best F1 experience to date.

It’s more than obvious that Bloodstained could be very well named “Castlevania” and nobody would mistake it as a true sequel to Symphony of the Night. Igarashi managed to completely capture and expand one of the more influential metroidvania titles no matter if sometimes it may look a tad familiar.

At some points The Sinking City shows small signs of the Lovecraftian horror that engulfs the city of Oakmont. Huge edifices of long forgotten deities, gargantuan subsea species and the madness of some of the citizens comes to light in, unfortunately, a few memorable segments. For the vast majority of the game though we go from one dull fetch quest to another to reach a sudden and quite uneventful ending.

As it happened with the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy and Spyro Reignited Trilogy before it, CTR Nitro Fueled captures the complete essence that made the original Crash Team Racing by Naughty Dog such a great game and brings it in this era with complete success.

Total War: The Three Kingdoms reverts the franchise in a more down-to-earth fashion, focusing more on the historical characters and the impact they have on the unfolding of the story. Diplomacy is revamped and is more dynamic than ever, while the implications of the inter and outer relations are in another new level. On the other hand, the action on the battlefield, regarding the troops and the units, remains stale and unchanged.

If you are into "absolute realism" in racing videogames Assetto Corsa Competizione is the game for you. With laser scanned tracks and masterful driving simulation, it delivers what it promises. Be careful, though, because "absolute realism" means that this game is so difficult that is not suitable for the casual gamer.

Effie draws inspiration from action/platformers of the past, ands in that respect it is in a position to deliver some enjoyable afternoon sessions. But that's about it. The combat is rather boring, the story mediocre and it never tries to do something new.

For better or worse Layers of Fear 2 follows very closely the steps of its predecessor. Alas, compared with the first Layers of Fear, its story is less integral to the paranormal events that are happening in front of our eyes, leading to a sense of disconnect between our character and the events unfolding around us. Also, the environment of the cruise ship is not quite as atmospheric as the isolated mansion of a deranged painter.

Α gorgeous blast from the past, Irony Curtain is a tribute to all of the 90s comedy adventures, with an intriguing spin of adding a self deprecating humorous view behind the curtain of an unknown cold-war state.

With each iteration in the franchise Milestone goes a step further and even closer to perfection. Not that MotoGP 19 is perfect, far from that, due to the poor A.I. and some dated graphics, but it is indeed the best MotoGP game that we've seen from the Milanese developers to date.

Having the control of an A.I., inspired by HAL amongst others, is a novel idea, and completely in sync with the claustrophobic environment of the Observation. The mystery as well builds up quite well. Unfortunately, a less than satisfying ending, some quite disorienting free-moving sections and some vague objectives that will leave you scratching your head about what to do next diminish the experience.

While Draugen never reaches the promised story quality and world building we have come to expect from Ragnar Tornquist, there is still charm and beauty to be found is this secret Norwegian corner of the world.

Void Bastards draws easily the attention thanks to its charming comic aesthetic and to the cel shaded visuals. Moreover, its frenetic pace means that you could spend less than an hour at a time and yet feel like you have a fulfilling experience. Alas, the different enemy types and spaceship designs start to get repetitive a little too soon, changing the sense of excitement to tedium far before the rescue of our ragtag group.

With high production values and an explosive gameplay that reminded us the good old days of some great arcade, light-gun shooters, Blood & Truth delivers on its premise, with the most important downside being the obsolete technology of the Move Controllers that just can't keep up with the action.

A honest fan serving adventure game, with clear yet unlikely influences from King’s Quest, Lure of the Temptress, Mr. Bean, Black Adder and Monty Python.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is the living proof of how a port of an aged title can redefine itself and can further be improved for the sake of releasing it on a new platform. The Nintendo Switch version has it all; the same haunting and emotionally painful story, visuals and audio that keep the players investing more and more of themselves, plus a new mode that finally enables two players to sit back and enjoy the tale of these two brothers.

Druidstone plays it quite safe when it comes to the usual complexity of skills and battle tactics that we see in games of the genre. Nevertheless, this might as well be considered its strong point for those players that would like to approach turn-based fantasy games, but would like a more simplified entry point in terms of rules, status effects etc.

What it lacks in content Everybody's Golf VR almost makes up with its superb gameplay and wonderful implementation of VR mechanics. It's not the best game that has come out from Clap Hanz, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

With its third Sonic racing game Sumo Digital stayed true to the overall formula and quality of the franchise, by delivering a solid and fun experience. On the other hand the lack of various vehicles from the previous game feels like a step back.