If Total War wants to be able to compete again, it needs to not only take inspiration from its greatest competitors, but seriously needs to look back to its own glory days: Rome and Medieval II.

It's a solid football game, but all the microtransactions leave a sour taste. However, if you just want to play digital football, there's probably no better place to do it right now than in EA Sports FC 24.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a good game, but doesn't change or add anything new and significant to the series. Fans of the series will enjoy more of the same, but of you didn't like Bordelands before, then Pre-Sequel won't change your mind.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider lacks the feeling of innovation and change its predecessors brought with them. Lara is still an agile and powerful character, but the world and mechanics feel aged, giving us little more than more of the same.

While fans of the series may miss Max and Chloe at first, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit sets a bar for Life is Strange season 2 that’s just as high as 2015’s time travelling adventure. Chris is a charming, observant little kid, and his alter ego Captain Spirit provides a gripping side adventure in this two-hour long prologue. Dontnod, I am ready – give me season 2.

MultiVersus' current cast of characters is something truly special, and it's impossible to not be excited for what comes next. The fighting is less immediately appealing — though there is quite a lot of fun to be had here, the game simply doesn't come close to the explosive pace and superb feel of its main competitor.

Mario Tennis Aces has more in common with Street Fighter than Mario Kart. And that's a good thing.

Dragon's Dogma is a marvelous game that fills you with the joy of exploring and unknown world filled with danger and adventure. It pulls you in and forces you to stay.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star's pop-up book, papercraft visuals retain the series' classic charm and allows the developers to play around with the construction and development of their game world. While using stickers in combat and puzzle solving is a neat idea, players will usually end up hoarding their stickers for fear of needing them later on. This makes overall gameplay feel a bit slow and uninspired, but Sticker Star is a fun game to play regardless.

If you've already played Saints Row IV, then Re-elected probably isn't for you, but this graphically updated version is still as fun and crazy as the original 2013 game was. The difficulty gets a hairline fracture thanks to some of the DLC powers included in the game, but as an overall package this is still a fantastic game.

With it's seventh main game, the Kingdom Hearts-franchise switches things up quite a bit, making room for some exciting new elements, like the flow motion and the including of characters from The World Ends With You. At the same time it manages to keep things like they have been for the past six games, with plenty of beautiful Disney-worlds, great characters and a good mix of action and roleplaying.

With an emphasis on stealth and manouevering, Satellite Reign is a thrilling real-time strategy game set in a gorgeous cyberpunk city. While the game's firefights leave a lot to be desired, the stealth mechanics remain varied and exciting throughout the experience.

All in all, this is a wonderful little game, and everyone who likes strategy and tactics should give it a try.

While the game's audiovisual presentation is not to be missed, Hohokum as a game experience leaves something to be desired. The lack of a purposeful goal is both relaxing and frustrating, as it's difficult to discern any true meaning other than simply existing and floating around. This isn't so much a game as it is interactive art.

Visions of Mana is not only a great experience and a wonderful game, it is quite possibly the best game in the Mana series.

As an HD edition of a 3DS game, Revelations is the best Resident Evil game since Resident Evil 4. But clumsy controls, bad voice overs, a brain dead plot and some technical flaws still proves Capcom has a way to go bringing the franchise back to its former glory. Being a hybrid between a horror game and an action game, it’s hard to see what the developers wanted to achieve. But even with all this, it’s still better than Resident Evil 6.

Seasons After Fall is a great platformer. By focusing on story and movement instead of violence, it creates a universe where you never think of how to beat the next enemy, but rather what it all actually means. Set to a great soundtrack and driven by charming voice acting, it is a game that makes you want to go forward - even when you have to revisit places you've been to oh so many times before.

Do you want to ru(i)n an island? As supreme ruler on Tropico you can suppress your population, or see your country prosper. Every inhabitant is doing a job, thus it is far more practical if they work for you rather than against you. This small micro perspective combined with the macro management of foreign powers makes Tropico unique. Annoying features of past games in the series are gone. This should be a great game for old as well as new aspiring dictators.

This is the best Mario Kart experience one can get without owning a Wii, with party graphics and clever courses. Entertaining for console gamers of all ages.

A fun romp through space and various science-fiction cliches. There is also plenty of customization and stats for number-crunching RPG fans. Some archaic design decisions may test your patience though.

Medal of Honor represents a decent comeback for the series, with the somewhat special backdrop of an ongoing conflict. The story is thin and we've seen most of the gameplay in similar titles before. In other words, nothing new or groungbreaking from EA Games.

Playing as a scoundrel equipped only with cleverness and a laser gun is fun, and opens up a more charming role gallery than what we often encounter among the slightly more pompous Jedi Knights. However, this is not a game that reinvents the wheel. It builds on many familiar formulas, and seems to take a lot of inspiration from the Uncharted games in the way it plays.

Gran Turismo Sport offers a great driving experience, but its severe lack of content makes it seem more like a Prologue-title than a fully-fledged GT game.

While the concept behind Bugsnax is fun and whimsical, the game comes up short in its execution. Hunting for the many different types of walking food begins as a charming exercise, but quickly devolves into a slow grind as you work to find out which of the game's many tools will solve the next tedious puzzle.

This highly polished new version of Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers, is a treat to play. It does not offer great depth or much freedom, but gives you a good and balanced taste of what a great game Magic can truly be.

Star Wars Battlefront is a really great multiplayer shooter, with clean gameplay, a good mix of first and third person, as well as a lot of cool ideas. However, it's the Star Wars part of things that truly makes the game shine, and you probably won't see George Lucas' movies represented quite like this anywhere else for a long time. There could, however, be even more to do here, and the co-op mode is a bit too basic for our taste.

Unlike a lot of other Ubisoft games Grow Home never overwhelms you with needless side-quests that go nowhere or watered down game mechanics. It's just you, a giant beanstalk, some floating islands and a little robot that can scamper up basically anything. It's a simple and fun little experience that definitely deserves to be played.

Evil Genius 2 is absolutely... genius. It offers loads of super villain charm in a seamless, rewarding package.

Quotation forthcoming.

Ridge Racer 3D does not bring anything new to the genre, except 3D. It does, however, follow a well-tested recipe; and it succeeds in doing so. All in all, this is a good racing game, and the added three-dimensional effect literally brings a new dimension to handheld racing.

Explosive combat, fun activities and a beautifully realised city makes GhostWire: Tokyo stand out as a truly unique experience.

The Room works just as well in VR as outside, with the same somber mood, cleverly detailed environments and expertly crafted puzzles. It does however lose some of its flair by being too safe, having a handful of obnoxious puzzles and generally being way too lacking in content

Rome Remastered is the perfect way to experience Total War's antiquity offering in 2021 short of a third Rome title.

Sniper Elite: Resistance might be worth a look if you love the series and want more of the same. Unfortunately that's all you get, and the formula has grown rather stale.

Concrete Genie is simple, but deeply engaging once you get into it. The game has a lot going for it, including a good look, superb music and mechanics that are fun to use, but there's a few snags here and there – in particular the very flimsy motion controls and lackluster AI – which keep it from true greatness.

Ghost of a Tale is a charming and often funny experience surrounding an adorable mouse and scary rats, but the simplistic stealth mechanics are not enough to keep the initial surge of excitement going for more than a few hours.

The great presentation and music is what really makes the game shine, but the card battles could have done with some more thought.

With a renewed focus on high speed racing and crazy car destruction, DiRT: Showdown is a fun and exciting new direction for the DiRT series. With less emphasis on realism, the game comes with a lowered level of entry allowing new players in, but also welcomes more experienced players with some decent challenges on the higher difficulties. Cumbersome menus and a lack of variety does hamper the experience somewhat.

The Precinct is a fun police simulator with solid gameplay, but it lacks an engaging story to keep you going.

Both long-time fans and new Sly Cooper players are probably going to like this game. It seems like Sanzaru Games didn’t dare to make too significant of differences from the earlier games. Some of the mini games get repetitive and annoying after a while, but if you just work your way through them you’ll enjoy this game.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron could have been a well executed mix of action and platforming, with a unique and artistic look. The combat system is interesting at first, but turns out to be too monotone and simple. With better combat mechanics and a more interesting story, it would have more to offer than simply good looks.

Highly enjoyable episode. It starts off with a great film noir-style sequence, and delivers plenty of varied situations and great laughs. The Freelance Police are in top form.

Cheap production values and somewhat odd controls aside, this is one of the better Telltale releases of recent times. Loads of funny jokes and enjoyable puzzles, and there's quite a lot of content for an episodic release as well.

An action-packed love letter to the old west, and with its engaging combat, charming sense of style and overall craziness you really can’t say no to the entertainment of this shooting gallery.

escapeVektor is one of those fun little games that most people will overlook. It's a fast-paced puzzle game with loads of challenging action and quick thinking, clever level design and good atmosphere. It's a must for those who need something small on their portable gaming device.

An engaging and surprisingly dark fairy-tale, combined with logical and enjoyable puzzles as well as lovely 2D-graphics. This game is a must for adventurers, and Daedalic's best product so far.

A Total War Saga: Troy is an exciting and interesting addition in a series that has been running for 20 years now. Fun mechanics that make every faction unique makes for campaigns that we seldom see in other Total War-games, and the stunning visual style makes the game a joy to play.

Waves crashing and dinosaurs jumping out of the water are just two of the many things this water racers has going for it. The controls are brilliant, and the only thing keeping it back is a lack in variation.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is a necessary step forward for the Resident Evil franchise, with more action-oriented gameplay and a story that works well on its own. Raid mode is amazing, although the lack of online at launch is disappointing.

The Gardens Between is a lovely puzzle game that’s hard to put down until you’ve completed the experience.

Evoland 2 does everything better, with clever jokes, a host of great references and (surprisingly) a great story to go along with it. Surely, there's some lame ideas along the way, but overall this is a history lesson you don't want to miss.

This years edition of PCM contains the bare minimum of innovation. Still entertaining for fans of the series, but hardly enough improvements to warrant a warm reccomendation.

Although the detailed management of endgame item production can be a little time-consuming for my taste, the performance could be better, and diplomacy could well be implemented in a more elegant way, the game offers complex systems that are rewarding to get into. I hope that we continue to see innovations in this niche from the developers behind Ara: History Untold.

Batman: Arkham VR is a short and sweet VR experience, with great sense of scale, atmosphere and story telling. Being able to meet and interact with characters from the Batman universe is great fun, and thanks to a plethera of riddles and secrets to find there's also a great reason to go back for more.

Get Tannen is a fairly enjoyable experience thanks to lots of funny situations and humor and some pretty good acting, but doesn't offer much as an actual game. The puzzles are too simple to be satisfying, and the episode feels a bit too short as well.

Another decent expansion, but it could have been much better. It turns out that virtual celebrities are much less interesting than their real world counterparts. Fortunately the pack contains a lot of extra content as well.

Ambitions delivers plenty of content and new features to The Sims 3, and is well worth a look despite some boring and repetitive new tasks.

Medal of Honor represents a decent comeback for the series, with the somewhat special backdrop of an ongoing conflict. The story is thin and we've seen most of the gameplay in similar titles before. In other words, nothing new or groungbreaking from EA Games.

Nuka-World doesn't have much depth or intrigue to its story, but the world is varied and exceptionally fun to explore. There is enough content here to satisfy anyone who wishes to just walk around and get to know the park, especially if you're eager to expand your arsenal and Nuka Cola collection.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is a fun game all the way, through awesome acrobatics and fantastic boss fights. It's a shame the rest of the game is so focused on endlessly fighting the same enemies over and over again.

Even though some of the new game modes don't bring anything new into the game, Tetris has me hooked, like it had years ago. The core modes are as addicting and challenging as they always were, as is the multiplayer mode. I would gladly increase the score if some of the less appealing modes were improved or dropped from the game.

Just Cause 3 is a chaotic, over the top action game where a simple grenade could level an entire military base from the domino effect alone. It is a beautiful action movie in video game form, with a cool protagonist and an incredible attention to detail.

Kingdom might not look like much at first, but through great ambition, it manages to be more than your average tower defense experience. The exploration and its beautifully pixelated art style create a sense of mystery and wonder, and had it not been as repetitive, demanding that you play in more or less one single way to succeed, it could have been something much greater.

This role-playing game is unlike any other. The combat system is one of the best made in our collective history. And you will use it often in this charismatic world, as you take weird assignments from even stranger principals.

I am Setsuna is a charming and fun adventure that brings you back to the good old days of the JRPG.

Quotation forthcoming.

Hotline Miami 2 is a crazy, blood pounding, neon infused experience that tries to both celebrate and condemn the ultraviolence on screen. It's a high that leaves you both euphoric and nauseous at the same time, as you struggle against the unbalanced design and frustrating difficulty.

The brutal and fast paced action you get from Warhammer 40, 000: Space Marine truly does its venerable game universe justice. The fun combat, spectacular environment and good multiplayer makes the game thoroughly enjoyable.

Binary Domain has a respectable mechanical foundation and a feel that allows it to mingle with the mammoths of third-person shooting. However, it does not manage to surpass any of them. The campaign offers a engaging ride through Neo-Tokyo, but the multiplayer is so uninteresting that the product as a whole would not suffer if it was removed.

The new Trackmania is a blast to play. It's beautiful and chaotic in a lot of the right ways, but it's also thoroughly surrounded by bad design choices and a general lack of guidance.

Driving in Cars 2 feels fantastic, and the somewhat original mechanics offer an experience you'll not find elsewhere. It's definitely more engaging in multiplayer however, and I'd recommend you play it with at least one other person.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is enjoyable enough, without ever reaching for the upper echelons of the RPG genre. I do wish the developers had given us a little bit more of a challenge in terms of gameplay and a storyline that's a little more grounded.

Expeditions: Viking is a great and engaging role-playing game with a stunning soundtrack and an exciting story. Sadly, its interesting combat is offset by some weird quirks, and too many crashes and bugs make for an experience which could have been so much better had the game been more polished at launch.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations is another great entry into the franchise based on the popular anime. With content from both previous installments and greatly improved flow of combat, thanks to some minor but incredibly welcome changes, it's better than ever. The outstanding audiovisual collaboration is as always the icing on the cake.

Steelrising's main attraction is its fascinating and gorgeous world. Paris is run down, broken and burning, and on this backdrop we get to play a a fun and violent dance with steampunk robots.

With an incredible amount of superb music to play and unlock, Melody of Memory serves as a fun, albeit not very integral, part of the ever-expanding Kingdom Hearts universe.

King's Bounty: Warriors of the North doesn't do anything new, but it's still a hugely enjoyable game that offers tons of content. I wish Katauri would make a full sequel, but until that happens, this will provide hours of addictive fun in classic King's Bounty-style.

Quotation forthcoming.

A charming retro styled point-and-click adventure set on a remote farm in the fjords of Norway. The beautiful environments and the nostalgic graphics outweigh the few cliches and strange puzzles. The simple one-button interface in «Milkmaid of the Milky Way» makes it accessible for a modern audience.

Quotation forthcoming.

Despite being only a small game, Europa has a whole lot on its mind. The developers expertly combine heavy themes of climate change and existential dread with an absolutely stunning world, and it's only a shame we don't get to freely explore it more.

Quotation forthcoming.

This physics based puzzle game is gorgeous to look at, with the Unreal Engine providing some spooky visuals that blur the line between the mechanical and organic matter. Unfortunately the experience is over too quickly for you to really enjoy the experience.

This game would have been a lot more exciting if it either way genuinely scary or embraces its action parts a lot more. Instead it's stuck in purgatory, as a generic shooter with superficial horror elements.

Mordheim: City of the Damned can be both punishing and rewarding, and it all depends on whether or not you are willing to accept a somewhat brutal challenge.

While not the underdog classic some gamers may have hoped for, Child of Light is an enjoyable platform adventure with a surprisingly complex turn-based battle system. It also doesn't hurt that the game is absolutely gorgeous to look at.

This remastered edition of 2010's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit shows how aged the game has become. The graphics are slightly better, but the driving and missions truly remain all those years back.

Even though the combat aspects could be improved, The Secret World is an exciting and wonderful game waiting to be discovered. The setting mixes myths, realism and pop culture into a delightful stew and is definitely worth exploring. It is a modern MMO brimming with potential.

Princess Peach truly shines in this imaginative and colorful foray into main character territory. The game is clearly aimed at a younger generation of gamers, but still manages to deliver clever and engaging fun for all ages.

This is without a doubt one of the best licensed games ever. It is impressively faithful to the show, and you'll be amazed by the beautiful graphics and the awesome battles.

Eagle Flight leaves me with mixed feelings. The first time you play it will knock your socks off, but you soon find a game with a lack of depth.

The Quarry is a fun romp that, thanks to great casting and an intriguing mystery, manages to stay mostly engaging for its 9 hour story. The plot doesn't quite stick the landing, and some real challenge in the gameplay sequences would be nice, but nonetheless this is one of the better games from Supermassive in a long time.

Quotation forthcoming.

Looking past the glorious environments and solid four play co-op, Syndicate is mostly a technically competent shooter lacking the edge to truly stand out in the homogenous climate of its genre.

Quotation forthcoming.

Tokyo Jungle initially comes across as an original, fast paced game with some fun ideas and a quirky environment. However, its freshness quickly wears off and reveals game play mechanics that feel simple, shallow and repetitive.

Quotation forthcoming.

Cities: Skylines 2 is not a huge revolution for the genre, but it represents a step forward that I think the vast majority of fans of both the original game and the genre in general will enjoy.