Doom: The Dark Ages is a great game, a fantastic demon slaughter festival, but not exactly the best Doom, excluding visual aspects - at least in my personal opinion. There's too much plot, dialogue, side characters, cut-scenes, too much trying to make this campaign feel like Halo and Call of Duty. On the other hand, such an approach may appeal more to people who are unfamiliar with the beginnings of the series, not emotionally attached to the franchise since the 90s. I would cut out the plot, flying on the dragon, make firearms more effective instead of using parrying, and boost the sound effects. The rest is a great mix of dark fantasy with science fiction and a piece of good, strictly single-player gameplay, just like in the good old days!

11 bit studios’ game should appeal not only to building and planning enthusiasts but also to people who appreciate a serious narrative and a more profound treatment of the factions and characters present in the game. If the campaign isn't enough for us, we have an extra game mode available with fewer restrictions and less hand-holding. Most people will probably find this sufficient for the premiere.

Death’s Door may be a game about death but it very much thrives thanks to its smart level design and rewarding combat system. You definitely feel accomplished after completing a dungeon or beating a boss – and that feeling follows you until the end. Sure to become one of your favorite games this year, Death’s Door is a spectacle to behold and a joy to play.

The Alters delivers a gripping, existential survival experience that explores identity, regret, and self-acceptance in a way few games attempt. It's a little longer than it needs to be, but its story, systems, and emotional weight make it hard to forget.

True to its roots, Forgotten Land is a very friendly, lighthearted, and immensely delightful experience filled with the brand of exploration and discovery the series is known for. A little more variety in the selection of abilities and boss battles would have taken it to the next level, but it still manages to offer fans fresh concepts that elevate it to a new level and scale the series has never seen before.

For Anno fans, it's a must-have. For new players, this is a great chance to dive into the series - the fascinating ancient Rome setting and the deep mechanics make it totally worth pushing through the initial learning curve. Anno 117: Pax Romana will be consuming my time for weeks, months, maybe even years to come.

There are a lot of great qualities of Shin Megami Tensei V that make it one of the best RPGs on the Switch by far. Its intricate battle system, fun demon fusion mechanics, and enhanced presentation will lure fans and newcomers alike but its pacing, difficulty, and lack of a gripping story may make you put down the game for a bit before picking it back up. It’s a game that needs to be savored slowly to fully taste its potential. Otherwise it may leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Sunderfolk is the debut game from Secret Door and Dreamhaven. It expertly facilitates a TTRPG experience for a group of four players, using phones as controllers. It perfectly balances accessibility and depth, making it easy for new players to jump in and tactical veterans to find a challenge. The few weeks I’ve had Sunderfolk for review have been some of the most fun multiplayer experiences I’ve had in years. I look forward to playing a lot more.

It may not shake things up too much, but the shining force behind Super Mario RPG is that it showcases all the great aspects of the original and now lets a whole new audience enjoy it for themselves.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is very exciting and addictive with its fast-paced action and challenging gameplay. I really missed a fun action game with a cool retro pixel-art style like this.

Splatoon 3’s quality-of-life touches improve the general flow of the game, and its plethora of modes will give everyone something to enjoy. While it doesn’t offer any revolutionary features or modes that will take it to the next level, its refinements and addicting multiplayer are good enough to make it the best game in the series so far.

Red Dead Redemption is an amazing experience and is one of those games that defined a generation of open-world titles where movie-level storytelling weaved into the action you got to control. The game is sure showing its age with each port that is released but it also gives players that may not have been around back then another chance to explore its world. If you’ve already played it, you won’t miss anything, but if you were looking for an excuse to see what the hype was all about, wait for a sale first.

Hogwarts Legacy has everything a Potter fan would want from a game in the series and still manages to feel inclusive, robust, and immersive due in part to its beautiful presentation. It may not be a groundbreaking take into the open-world genre and may feature a few questionable design choices, but it is sure to make anyone, fan or not, fall in love with the series all over again.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a stunning, faithful remake that beautifully preserves the 2004 classic, but its reluctance to add anything new makes it feel more like a remaster than a reimagining.

The specific humor and signature atmosphere of the British studio's productions, eye-catching graphics – it's all here. Regardless of whether you want to focus primarily on individual students (it will become more and more challenging with time), or mainly on the development of infrastructure, the game will yield hours of quality fun, and you will not get bored for a long time.

At its core, Stray is a beautiful game of exploration that can be finished at your own pace. Its gameplay constitutes a calming experience that makes typically mundane activities such as jumping on ledges, walking around corners, and even just meowing, feel powerful. Ultimately, the emotional connections you build throughout your adventure are a testament that you should never underestimate an unassuming cat as it could very well be destined for greatness.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp may not win any awards for its story or online offerings, but at its core are two games that offer you a classic RTS experience that continues to hit hard 22 years later.

Pokemon Legends Arceus outshines the open-world concept of Sword and Shield and revisits the natural elements of the series and their environment first introduced in Pokemon Snap. Not everyone will appreciate the departure from the main series, however, and the lack of battles, missing multiplayer, and small number of Pokemon make for a very different experience that leaves you wanting more. The ideas and potential are definitely there, and if this is just a small sampling of what Game Freak can do with the series — we can’t wait for more.

As is, Chivalry 2 features an immersive Team Objective mode that highlights all the best parts of this online multiplayer. The other two modes are okay in moderation and require you to do more button mashing than the precise motions you thought the game wanted you to perform all along. If you can get past some of its blander parts and focus on the joys of mastering swordplay, Chivalry 2 can be a lot of fun despite its weak spots.

Jurassic World Evolution 3 is just a small evolution of ideas from the previous installment. It may not be much, but it still allows you to create the Jurassic Park of your dreams. It's a must-have for dinosaur fans, but not necessarily for fans of tycoons and complex economics.

While Pro Skater 4’s shift away from its open-world structure may disappoint fans of the original, and the soundtrack misses some iconic tracks, there’s no denying Iron Galaxy put in the work to make both games feel cohesive. In the end, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 offers two more chances for players to relive their skating heyday while offering a new generation a piece of history through a modern lens.

A Plague Tale deals with the subjects of lost people amid plague and war – subjects that have become part of our daily lives in recent years and months. It does this by placing the characters in a story told through the prism of fantasy, which allows it to avoid moralizing. Perhaps A Plague Tale is the most up-to-date and relevant critique on our reality in video games. And at the same time, the sequel – forgetting about the context – is just a great sequel and a really good game.

Offering a great balance of battling and managing, Cult of the Lamb offers you the best of both worlds and provides you with enough of each genre to make it an engaging experience. Its colony management elements may not be as intricate as you would hope, but it does offer a good amount of customization and freedom to shape your cult how you want.

Mario Party Jamboree is one of the strongest titles the series has seen in a long time simply because it brings back everything that has made its best-selling games successful and offers you enough new modes, features, and content to keep it feeling fresh and exciting.

Battlefield 6 may not be a perfect game, but it is definitely the best game in the series in a long time, and it's hard to describe just how good it feels to play Battlefield again.

Crossworlds has a really unique concept, combined with an arcade style, great dynamics, and solid gameplay, making it a strong competitor to Nintendo's Mario Kart.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows is a game full of contrasts. On one hand, it offers solid stealth mechanics and a great combat system, but on the other, it features a lackluster storyline and generic exploration. If you're a fan of the series, you'll likely find something to enjoy here, but if you weren't convinced from the start, the combat and stealth may not be enough to win you over.

Picking up this latest installment of GTA 5 can only mean you either haven’t played the game yet or want to start it over on a faster, more powerful console. Either choice is fine and means you will be in for a real treat as this is the definitive way to experience its 30-some hour story by far. GTA 5’s graphical improvements and even current gen features like haptic controls somewhat update the game to today’s standards, but it does show its age and makes the case that this should be the last time it gets released again.