Rise of the Rōnin is a great action RPG with an intense combat mechanic, a strong and captivating story line and a huge and diverse open world. The weak spot is the balancing. Because despite there being three difficulty levels, some missions and especially some boss fights are too hard, even on the mid and the lowest difficulty setting.

Like the first game, Figment 2: Creed Valley packs serious topics into a cute look with decent riddle- and adventure gameplay. The boss fights in particular are a real highlight and help to overlook small technical glitches and the like.

Wario Ware: Get it together delivers a nice bunch of characters within fast paced and creative mini games and challenges. But especially for solo players the game will run out of air in just a few hours. Even with co-op and competitive modes included, the game does not offer long term fun like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or funracer king Mario Kart 8 do.

A wonderful and colorful blend of everything strategy games have to offer. While neither the 4X gameplay nor the tactical combat reaches the heights and depth of its competitors, the unique blend of familiar elements mixed with emergent story telling makes this a safe bet for any fan of strategy games.

This is certainly not a game for fans of realistic racing action, but if you are up for over the top craziness and quick challenges, What the Car? is a game Apple Arcade users absolutely should not miss.

Wild Hearts does not revolutionize the hunting game genre, but with as few competitors, that is hardly necessary. The building system both in and outside of combat adds enough variety and depth that the simpler weapons and streamlined crafting are welcome. Sadly, technical flaws, such as blurry visuals and horrendous pop-in keep this otherwise great game from making a play on Capcom's throne. It is a title, however that we're eager to see expanded upon and further developed in the already planned title updates and hopefully eventually in a sequel. As it stands, it's a fun alternative to Monster Hunter, but cannot live up to those games' polish and sheer endless depth of content.

Super Mario Party Jamboree is still one of the best Party-Games on Switch and retains this status on Switch 2, because anything that makes the game great is included. The new mode Jamboree TV delivers new things, especially some fresh and exclusive mini games with mouse control or mic support. But that's more like a bonus for fans and nothing that makes the great Jamboree a better game.

While lacking in presentation and depth in ist career-mode, PGA Tour 2K23 is a compelling golf-simulation. The gameplay turns out to be both challenging yet satisfying and keeps players motivated for a lot of hours.

Metacritic: The Crew Motorsport is fast, feels good and delivers a various bunch of playlists in a beautiful open world. It still features some of the mechanics that made the series special, but gets much closer to the Forza Horizon formula without overall reaching Microsoft's open world racer.

If you like the current and famous guard of voice actors then Dead Take is basically a must. Both Newbon and Starr are stellar. None of the other actors have to hide behind those two though and it is a joy to see people like Jane Perry, CDawg or Alanah Pearce bringing full performances to the screen. The puzzles in the game are logical and fit well with the whole theme of the game but aren’t outstanding or new in any shape. The game is very linear and the mechanic of splicing two unrelated videos together is conceptually cool but rather boring to actually do.

Are you ready for a séance? The "Paranormale Phänomene" accessories pack offers all The Sims 4 players the opportunity to connect with the deceased. In addition to necromancy, you can even take a new job (paranormal developer) and hunt ghosts professionally.

After The Fall is definitely a very entertaining VR game: with cracking action, great co-op and a terrific technical implementation. Whether it can motivate in the long term will depend on whether future updates can provide enough variety.

Combining the three best games in its series, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania offers great value for very little. While the game certainly primarily seeks the attention of a younger audience, core gamers might also enjoy it due to precise controls and a neat challenge mode.

It wasn’t easy following the extraordinarily ambitious The Sinking City, yet Sherlock Holmes Chapter One takes some of the best ideas of its predecessor and builds on them, combining it with Frogware’s experience with the Sherlock Holmes universe. The result is a game that can feel very rigid and linear at times but excels in the deep and emotional exploration of Sherlock Holmes as a character. The game is full of interesting and memorable cases, even if player decisions and agency barely matter. This game lives in the legacy of old adventure games like the Broken Sword series and if understood as such, this is a wonderful modern adventure game.

Fae Farm is a typically complex farming game that casts a spell over you with a (too small) touch of magic and enchanting creatures. You'll be chronically broke, tired and drained, but pretty happy.

It's no longer FIFA, it's EA Sports FC 24 – but EA Sports new football-game barely feels like a fresh start for the series. While it provide proper additions like the Hypermotion V animations and their effects on the match-flow, career modes lack change and Ultimate Team is more pay-to-win than ever before.

Railgrade is a phenomenal little puzzle game all about connecting resources and industries on a far-out space colony with trains. While more limited in scope than similar games such as Factorio or Satisfactory, Railgrade nails an almost Zen-like gameplay loop with its short missions and simple controls. All of the solid gameplay is held up with a motivating progression in difficulty and a charming, diorama-like presentation.

During its strongest moments Darwin’s Paradox! is an absolute joy. No matter if you have to solve simple puzzles, escape from danger at high speed or just jump through complex platforming sections, Darwin feels great to control and offers fun and varied gameplay. On top of that he is a lovely and great looking protagonist and the design of other creatures and the world itself is topnotch. The game suffers from issues with the camera, dips in the framerate and some traps and dangers during the gameplay are just too well hidden to spot on a first playthrough. Ultimately these things don’t matter too much as “Darwin’s Paradox!” is just a blast to play.

Visions of Mana scores above all with its charming look and loveable characters. The new elemental powers are also quite impressive. Although various facets prevent the action RPG from unleashing its full potential, the return of the legendary game series is a success overall.

Innerspace VR proves once again how a game concept works in VR. It's fun to always find new larvae fragments, because of course you absolutely want to penetrate into large temples of majestic splendor. We give Maskmaker a clear must-play recommendation.

Star Wars Outlaws isn't a high-flyer both, as an open world action game and a Star Wars title. For that, the game is too usual in combat, stealth or world design. But Massive Entertainment still does a god job with a high variety in gameplay, an interesting, versatile story and with a friendly main hero and not at last one of the most loveable sidekicks in gaming history.

If you liked Dead Rising then you will love Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. It’s still just as much fun to take out hordes of zombies using a stack of CDs, a giant parasol or various gardening tools. Compared to the original “Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster” is a much smoother and painless experience. This might be a problem for the people who already adore that game. For everybody else it makes it simply much more enjoyable. While the auto-save can be largely ignored if you want, there is no way around having a much easier time while taking calls from Otis or using guns. Being able to save and skip time in the bonus mode on the other is probably something that everybody will be happy about.

With Asterigos: Curse of the Stars it can often feel like you’re doing one step forward and two steps back. The game has its moments of brilliance, both in gameplay and presentation, but often stumbles along the way. The combat feels satisfying, but the flexibility offered through the six different fighting styles is quickly limited through expensive upgrades and weapon-specific skill trees. Similarly while the game offers some cinematic and downright impressive views, especially during some of the bossfights, the vast majority of the Roman and Greek inspired city feels empty and repetitive, making exploration more of a chore than a highlight. Overall the lows and highs hold each other in balance, offering an enjoyable but mostly forgettable experience that, thanks to its solid combat, still counts among the better re-interpretations of the Dark Souls formula.

With Aliens: Dark Descent Tindalos Interactive merges one of the coolest sci-fi-horror licenses of the last decades with a cleverly designed realtime tactics foundation. Combined with permadeath mechanics, challenging enemies and a persistent world that allows you to retreat if things get too dangerous, players will experience high levels of tension. Despite a remaining technical problems, deficits in the number of alien types you encounter and a sometimes too predictable plot, Dark Descent still snatches our insider’s tipp award for June 2023.

Ride 5 makes another small step into the right direction. The overall atmospheric career is a solid foundation, but also lacks additional production-value in its presentation. Ride 5 however does deliver on the track with very playable racing-gameplay, that not only challenges experienced players but also gives newcomers a chance to succeed.

Patapon 1+2 Replay proves that ingenious game ideas never get old! Even though the music game may seem cute at first glance, it's packed with depth and complexity. The battles are tactically challenging, but also require maximum concentration. There's much more to Patapon than you might initially imagine, making the remake collection both worth playing and highly recommended. If you haven't tried Patapon yet, you should do so now.

MotoGP 26 delivers refined handling and a solid racing experience, but lacks meaningful innovation. A good entry for newcomers, yet only a modest upgrade for returning players. The core is strong, but progression and career depth still feel underdeveloped.

Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story may not be the biggest release of this winter, but it surely is one to keep an eye on. With its heartwarming story and characters "Song of Nunu" delivers solid platformer-gameplay along with interesting puzzles.