In short, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is practically everything I could have asked for in a new game in the series: an experience familiar enough with the past to connect with my fondest childhood memories of keyboard and mouse, whilst adding new features such as factions and game subsystems to make me think and immerse myself fully in its universe and gameplay. It's a new era for strategy, and I'm delighted to be back on this path.

When it stumbles, it falls flat on its face, but when Masters of Albion succeeds, it reminds you why Molyneux is still in the business after all this time. It has a quality to it that lets you overlook a lot of its most glaring flaws, a sense of humour that reminds you of your first time playing Fable, and a unique, ambitious approach to a genre we don't see enough of these days (aside from the other recently released god game Sintopia). Masters of Albion is not a triumph. It won't knock Fable down to become Molyneux's new legacy-defining game, but it certainly leaves its impression. [Early Access Score = 60

There is a saying that "it's the journey and not the destination that counts," and those are words I have always lived by. But what do you do when the journey is sadly boring and all you want is to reach the destination? I'm not really sure which target audience will appreciate this game. It's for ages three and up, and maybe a very small child would enjoy flying a parrot on an uneventful adventure with no point whatsoever, but what do I know? But I need something more and, above all, something meaningful.

Earnest Evans Collection is not the throwback to the great games of yesteryear that I had hoped for. Rather, it is a reminder that for every old retro game we love and look back on with nostalgic glasses, there were also lots of half-baked wannabes.

Taxi Chaos 2 lacks (apart from the obvious lack of speed and a fun open city to hang out in) charm and attitude. Everything feels flat on all levels, and the mere fact that there isn't a killer soundtrack is one of many ingredients that reveal a lot about how limited the production probably was.

I find it difficult to recommend anyone to get the Switch 2 Edition unless they know they play New Horizon a lot and just want the same thing, but a little bit better. And the free content from Version 3.0 is, as I said, free, but it really feels like Nintendo has just tried to create content with a lot of grind to make it take time rather than be entertaining, and the Quality of Life stuff really should have been included from the start.

Drywall Eating Simulator is a game that talks about the present without understanding it. It's not subversive, not provocative and definitely not funny - just tiresome. So by all means, stay as far away as you can from Drywall Eating Simulator, don't even get it for free. Spend what little time you have on this earth on something more sensible.

It wasn't enough that mechanically Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition is an over-the-top yawner, but when gameplay and narrative-wise the game doesn't really have any logic, let alone much sense, I don't know what the creators were thinking.

There was a nerve to explore, but instead we get slapdash jump scares that fool no one. It's a shame, because the game is really nice at times, but never quite becomes anything more at any point. Therefore, I cannot in good conscience recommend Bad Cheese to anyone, except perhaps for a quick look at the aesthetics.

Super Robot Wars Y has an acceptable foundation to stand on as already mentioned, but no effort has been put into making a good final product. Everything feels cheap and substandard, and what could be an entertaining title is reduced to an underwhelming adventure that isn't worth your time or money.

If you are keen and interested in an action role-playing game about Greek gods and heroes, this is worth keeping an eye on. If you don't mind limited content at first, this is worth a try. However, if you want the full experience, you're better off playing something else while waiting for 1.0. [Early Access Score = 70]

Grounded 2 strikes me as a very traditional survival game in practice, even if the intuitive design and the enjoyable and memorable world stand out as highlights. This is a game that you will love for a few hours and then steadily lose interest in, unless you're a die-hard survival fan that lives and breathes this genre. [Early Access Score = 70]

Cyanide has a decision to make. Either they can deliver a fun and relaxing arcade game or they can give us a console version of Pro Cycling Manager. Because this game is more like a rider who has single-handedly tried to catch a breakaway by running away from the peloton and is now caught in the middle - tongue out of cheek and legs cramping.

If you are looking for something simple and cute, this might appeal to you and with a low price tag, some may still find it worth it. But since there are so many better alternatives, it was not for me.

Tamagotchi Plaza is definitely not worth your time, and even those who really love Tamagotchis won't find anything to enjoy here... unfortunately.

My patience has been tested more than in any game in a very long time, and my simple advice is to avoid this game as much as possible. If you want a post-apocalyptic isometric perspective and world to explore, I would rather recommend Interplay's Fallout games, which did this much better back in the 90s.

All the technical mishaps have affected the rating significantly in themselves, but if there had been a more exciting game design alongside them, I would probably have been able to overlook much of it. Unfortunately, a promising premise falls short on several other points, which is a great shame, and the whole thing ends up being a real disappointment.

To a T can probably be classed as a cosy little game with a nice story, but there's nothing new here. Katamari Damacy offers so much more fun, and the only thing that To a T has that makes it even slightly unique is the premise that orients around the T-pose.

If there was one thing I never thought I'd write about Leslie Benzie's first self-directed game, it was that it would be perceived as unimaginative and generic. At least I thought that originality and attitude would be present here, even if it looked unfinished beforehand. That didn't happen, and it's easy to see that MindsEye was not only released about six months too early, but that it also resembles a ten-year-old GTA copy with most of its elements being undercooked.

Unidentifiable and boring, that's Football Heroes League in a nutshell and I hope Run Games can stir the pot and fix the game before it's released, but to be honest I don't think it's possible without throwing everything in the bin and starting from scratch. [Early Access Review Score = 20]

As much as I like Metro 2033 and as much as I wanted La Quimera to be a "new Crysis" or a "new Killzone", there's no getting away from the fact that in my world this is more like an asset dump in the Unreal engine, crammed with poor design choices, useless enemies, generic gameplay and a lousy story.

If the ambition is to create a new game for the Neo Geo format and for it to feel like a flirtation with the past, well then at least that bit is done with gusto.

Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is a fantastic foundation for PikPok to build on, and while the current loop became monotonous for me, especially without a narrative framework to refer to other than the stories I created myself, I respect it immensely. [Early Access Score = 70]

It's a very original concept with a lovely visual style, so it doesn't feel like a complete waste of time. But in the end, unfortunately for me, there's a predominant feeling of boredom rather than quality entertainment.

Neon Blood's short running time is an advantage because there is not enough content and ideas to fill more hours of entertainment. However, I wish Chaotic Brain had chosen to give the story more weight and a darker tone. They never managed to engage me and it feels like they themselves were lost and didn't really know in which direction they wanted to take the adventure.

After seven hours and a laugh-inducingly goofy ending, the cosmically mysterious horror remains mostly a jumble of mazes and unfinished game design. The horror-adventure genre is too crowded to make room for Pneumata, and I think we'll forget about this game and wish Deadbolt Interactive better luck next time.

For a short while I have fun, when for once things go well for me. If it had continued like that without me being brutally punished time and time again, I'm sure there would have been a nice and addictive little game in there somewhere.

With more time in the oven and especially co-op, this could have climbed several ratings, but at the moment it's hard to recommend this to anything but die hard fans of Funko Pop. But even for them, the question is whether it is not better to spend the money on some more plastic figures for the collection instead.

Ultimately, both the concept and the execution are something I neither want to return to nor could ever imagine recommending.

The car physics are clearly impressive and I absolutely believe that iRacing will be able to make really impressive things out of this system in the future, especially with how realistically the chassis moves. However, as it stands, Exocross is not a very fun game.

It's almost hard to do Selaco justice with words, and even at this early stage the game is packed with content, which certainly makes you dream of what's to come when they finally leave Early Access sometime next year. [Early Access Score = 90]

No Rest for the Wicked is a diamond in the rough that just needs to have a few unsharp facets polished so that it can shine as it deserves. [Early Access Score = 80]

I can't recommend TMNT Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants to anyone, not even the most dedicated fans. Sure, it can be played through without any pesky bugs, but with a price tag of $30 for a mere hour of so-called "entertainment", it doesn't feel acceptable anywhere.

Manor Lords is a fantastically assembled city builder for those of you with some patience and an interest in history. It's more reminiscent of The Settlers and Banished than something like SimCity, yet at the same time, it has battles in certain situations that bring to mind Total War, all while still being something all on its own. [Early Access Score = 80]

Sure, if you like visual novels where sensual topics are dealt with quickly and soullessly, there might be some joy to be found here, but there are certainly (not that I know anything about it...) better and cheaper solutions if you're willing to do a little research and aren't afraid of a potentially embarrassing web history.

Ario is not in a state where it is ready to be put up for sale and therefore cannot be recommended in any way.

With creators Matt and Trey taking the reins on projects such as Stick of Truth and The Fractured but Whole, it seemed that the dark age of South Park games was behind us, but unfortunately, Snow Day marks a significant step back for the series.

We have a hard time recommending Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator as it stands. There is potential here, but the developers need to get a handle on the AI, because as it is right now, it ruins a big part of the experience of the game.

Is it all a bit pointless? Perhaps, that would certainly be a potential criticism of the game at the time of writing, and given that there are no survival mechanics whatsoever (you don't need food or water yourself), experiencing this alien world with friends might help to give the game a bit of a spark. However, you could also turn it around and say that Lightyear Frontier is truly one of the most relaxing games I've played in years. Does the fact that there's nothing to push you beyond just getting your hands on enough resources to craft the next thing you need affect your motivation? Maybe, but for now, this is both beautiful to look at, enjoyable to listen to and really well put together [Early Access Score = 80]

It is a shame that Ubisoft has chosen to use the surely costly Invincible licence in this way. The setup doesn't fit Invincible and its characters, the game mechanics are so automated that it never even feels like I'm participating as a player and the story is ridiculously thin and uninteresting.

I don't think Skull and Bones is as rotten as some of the other live service games we've seen in the past. Assuming it survives a few years, the addition of a variety of new content can work in favour of this game, filling out its world and making the experience less dreary and repetitive. There are core elements that work and show lots of potential, but right now Ubisoft hasn't given them much of a leg to stand on as everything around them is poor and not befitting the standard of what you'd expect from a AAA production.

Silent Hill: The Short Message falls flat in so many areas. It's not the least bit creepy, it tells its story and treats the subject in an ambiguous way, it doesn't really feel like a game in the series and then there's that damn mobile phone that presents more problems than solutions.

Peak of Combat should really have been named "Peak of Greed" because it is without a doubt one of the most disgusting games in terms of pay-to-play I've come across in the last 10 years.

This was not a game in the first place. It was a scam, and the fact that Fntastic announced they were shutting down their operations just four days after the launch says it all. [Early Access Score = 20]

I can imagine that this is a good gateway to puzzle gaming for younger folk. For me personally, this feels far too easy and this could have done with a few more difficult puzzles.

It definitely needed a little more time in the oven because we are really talking about half baked here.

Parts of Flashback 2 seem to be copied directly from Shadow Complex from 2009 while other parts are reminiscent of everything else that has been done in this genre in the last ten years.

The important thing for me is to warn you properly so that you don't end up paying for this horrible rubbish. Because this is, along with Skull Island: Rise of Kong and Lord of the Rings: Gollum, the worst game of the year.

Forza Customs is not something you should spend time on. I like puzzle games and I like tuning and styling cars in various racing games, but this was just thrown together to make a lot of money from forced microtransactions and has nothing to do with Forza.

The last few days I've spent with Just Dance 2024 are enough to realise that it's not a game for me. Not because I dislike dancing, but simply because of the way Ubisoft has set up the game.

With stiff competition from The Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Skull island: The Rise of Kong, this qualifies for the worst game of 2023 category.

It's simply impossible to find a single part of Skull Island: Rise of Kong that doesn't border on record-breaking, which is why I'm forced to hand out our very lowest rating. This is by far the worst game of the year, without any doubt whatsoever.

EA has seemingly spent more resources on marketing the new name than improving the formula, and it's therefore very hard to recommend EA Sports FC 24 to all but the most dedicated fans.

Enchanted Portals has some superficial features that make you raise your eyebrows but what really counts; what's there under the surface, it doesn't measure up at all.

As with Evil Dead: The Game, this feels, to me, like wasted potential and an iconic film licence used in the wrong way, for the wrong kind of game.

After just three or four sessions with Everybody 1-2 Switch, I'd seen it all and didn't want to go back. I don't know how this happened, but I do know that there are far, far better ways to entertain friends and family on Switch than this.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is shocking at times. The gameplay is flat and repetitive, the stealth poorly implemented, the narrative dull, the progression nonexistent, the character models ugly, the bugs plentiful, the list goes on. This is a game that feels like it belongs in the 2000s with how its super linear design and limited gameplay mechanics work in practice.

Redfall is a humongous disappointment, as there are parts of this game that still feature semblances of that Arkane brilliance. The map has potential, there's just nothing to do in it, and the story delivers intrigue at times and shows that the small town America-meets-vampire concept is still very much alive and well. But, this game is an unmitigated disaster at times. It does very little to make you want to keep playing, and even if you do find something to enjoy, the horrible and outright disgraceful performance does everything it can to kill that passion in you.

This is soulless, unimaginative and stupid in its design and just a way for Gameloft and Disney to try to make a quick buck on an ever-growing sub-genre.

I feel well equipped to state that Mighty Doom is a stain on the series' reputation. Not only that, it reminds us that the mobile market remains a toxic swamp filled with ghosts pretending to be something completely different than they really are.