Poor in substance, soft in impact, slow in pacing, annoying in characters, lacking in gameplay / choices, The New Tales from the Borderlands is just a distant foggy echo of the first, vastly superior game.

Somerville is a quite troubled game. Its biggest flaw though is how often we spent more time trying to figure what the developer had in mind for the riddles, and less time with trying to solve the actual riddle.

The Chant is a survival horror that’s definitely worth checking from the aficionados of the genre. It may have its share of shortcomings, mainly a derivative albeit functional combat system, and a complete absence of environmental or other riddles that could spice up things. Nevertheless the demonic essence is there to built up tension and the monster design is surely memorable, something that’s certainly no small feat.

Ghost Song looks like the road that Samus Aran has not taken. This “2D Exploration Action Game” is the post-Metroid way that Metroid itself abandoned for the sake of being a modern Metroidvania. A curious yet fascinating case of a game.

In the seven years that KT Racing has been at the helm of development, we certainly haven't seen any radical changes or major improvements. Even so, in those years the series has had some of its most interesting moments, which are now offered all together in one package.

In an era that survival horror gaming seems to make a strong comeback in the AAA sphere, “Signalis” offers an unexpected, near perfectly crafted, old school experience that fans of the genre should not miss.

This year’s iteration of Call of Duty comes rich in content, with a variety of modes, well-made multiplayer, plenty of maps and solid gunplay. At the same time it delivers a bland and uninteresting story, with poor dialogue and shallow characters. A perfectly timed sniper shot from 300 yards where the bullet ricocheted just before hitting the center of the target. It achieved what was expected, but did not reach the full expectations.

The improved storytelling and the additions Royal has, compared to the original game, is a true gift to all owners of modern platforms. Possibly due to the Phantom Thieves stealing the hearts of Atlus executives, a big audience can now dive into one of the best JRPGs out there, with hours of an immersive story and a refined gameplay that has built onto its past foundations and brings with it the promise of an exciting future.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is such an excellent game, that makes its wonderful predecessor, Kingdom Battles, look plain and basic. And that is something that screams “great sequel”.

The overall quality of the main game, together with the interesting and entertaining new content, make the Gold Edition of Resident Evil Village a must play for anyone that had missed the game up until now.

God of War Ragnarok is a triumph in designing an epic adventure on an established mythology. Nothing less.

While it is kept back by plain side activities and poor grinding mechanisms, Gotham Knights does manage to win over the player through its well told main story, the interesting gameplay variation between the four characters and its highly entertaining co-op mode.

Dakar Desert Rally strives for something more but that is not enough. The lack of routes with interesting design and variety make it a boring racer, while this indecision about whether it wants to be serious or not, is an issue that in the future Saber Interactive should see through a different perspective.

After many years of cooking and boiling at Platinum’s cauldron, Bayonetta makes her return to Nintendo’s most recent console. And that’s probably not a great choice, as the visuals are struggling with Switch’s outdated hardware. Still, the magic and charm of the series are here, better than ever, while taking the players on a trip across time in the series’ multiverse and preparing them for an eventual end and a new future for Bayonetta…or not.

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars offers a lengthy adventure with a well-thought and diverse combat system that sits somewhere between the high challenge of soulsborne and the ease of a hack ‘n slash. It’s only marred down by some bad design decisions (like the absence of fast travel until halfway through), which could be avoided if -maybe- some more testing was done.

The Last Oricru, to its credit, doesn't want to sow discord in the gaming family. It stands under the acrobat's rope, confused, with a look full of wonder. Equally bewildered were we who watched its endeavor, hoping at the end that the farce taking place would one day end and the true character of the title would emerge, saving all as a true hero.

The main issue of A Plague Tale: Requiem is the absence of any real improvement to its already simplistic gameplay. Thankfully, its amazing set pieces, great visuals and -especially- its intense story of Amicia’s and Hugo’s survival make up for these gameplay shortcomings.

With a great story and an engaging cast of characters, it feels a bit frustrating that the game falls so short on so many other elements like its gameplay, animation, controls, voice acting, pacing etc.

Nathan, Sam, Chloe, Nadine and a wider cast of memorable characters are ready to show PC gamers why the Uncharted series on the PlayStation family of consoles is a benchmark on the genre, and the industry in general. Beautifully woven narratives merge together with action-packed moments, good level design and brilliant visuals that can keep PC players going, and wondering why a potential PC The Nathan Drake collection is still out of the picture.

An almost perfect port of an incredible game with impressive technical aspects.

The DioField Chronicle is a game that, despite its low budget, manages to deliver a good story with a great cast of main characters and a satisfying combat system. However, those looking for something more in terms of strategy, will not be satisfied.

FIFA 23 keeps the high standards of the series in content, modes and visual display, closing one chapter and opening another for EA. However, it does not reinvent the wheel, it does not pioneer, it does not take risks, it does not bring something new or fresh. FIFA 23 simply executes, and scores in a match that will probably be quickly forgotten.

So, the aftertaste of the dish that Reply Games serves us is somewhat bitter. It's based on a classic recipe, but falters and fails both in its execution and in its inspiration to add extra ingredients.

Brok the InvestiGator is a mosaic of many things that we never thought will fit into an adventure game. Although most of them remain at basic level, they still sum up for an enjoyable ensemble.

It might not be one of the best of the genre, but it's certainly worthy in all its aspects and something that's definitely worth playing today. And most of all, it goes to show that the Terrible Toybox team knows and understands the genre like few do today.

Jack Move is almost a curiosity. A JPRG that is barely reaching the 8-hour mark, but at the same time it’s built exactly for that short length. A pocket sized JRPG then for the fans of the genre which may want a short break from the 20, 30, 80 hours epic journeys.

If NBA 2K23 was a today's player, it would probably be Doncic - we can either focus on his magical stepback threepointers, or on him being a "black hole" on defense.

My friend Peppa Pig is an excellent chance for the very young kids to enjoy the world of their favorite show, but after the initial excitement, the troubled, lazy and absurd design leads to a repeatable and a little annoying game, even for that age.