Planet Zoo will first make you remember Zoo Tycoon and then happily forget it when you realize you’ve got yourself a new game, as good as its ancient predecessor.

A playful driving model, plentiful tuning options, a career without microtransactions and an open city changing its whole identity with each dawn and each sunset. The sins of the past are gone, but the game is still way too similar to what you already know.

An amazing story, great fighting sequences, clever puzzles and a brilliant Star Wars atmosphere. You just have to suffer through some technical problems and a surprisingly boring opening.

Football Manager’s new content deals with the future, which is great - but it should also focus on the present which, through its mistakes, dangerously resembles the past.

An unfinished game pitifully trying to conceal this fact by engaging in a time loop. There’s not a single element in this game than can be praised - your main motivation to finish Rune II will be the freedom to try another, better game.

A beautiful, colourful game for children which will teach you so much about bees, wasps and other creatures and is cute and fun to boot. You can almost feel the excitement with which this game was made - as evident as the plainly unfulfilled potential.

Superliminal freshens up the whole puzzle game genre through its unique brain twisters based on weird shenanigans with perspective. You will be fascinated by this game long after you’ve finished its lamentably short story.

A very stylish RPG from the masters at Obsidian is certainly not a disappointment, even though we’ve seen better from this very studio. The story is a weaker point, as are the dull fights, but I love the environment of the terraformed planets. This is a game to be savoured several times over.

Codemasters managed to create the perfect racing atmosphere, utilizing a top-notch driving model and excellent AI, but then they kind of forgot about everything else: the car pool is tiny, the Career Mode is non-existent, the team management is lacklustre.

A refreshingly original, visually striking adventure with a wonderful world full of detail. Beware, however, the extreme amount of written dialogue, reading of which will be your full-time occupation.

Yooka-Laylee is back, waxing nostalgic again. This spin-off celebrates 2D platformers of a bygone age and brings tasteful fun, even though it’s not very original at all.

There is a certain magic in a venerable series like Close Combat becoming wholly 3D, but the AI is as weak as it’s ever been. Well, at least it’s still intense, strategic fun.

A fun, playful adventure full of incredible, delightful little details. The relatively long campaign mode, combined with an extremely robust local and online multiplayer, will keep you occupied for dozens of hours.

This strange exploration of human psyche fails, and it fails completely. The basic game mechanics are wrong, therefore the interesting concept and all the artistic merit become wholly irrelevant.

A rapid action game in heavy metal rhythm which will make you remember all those legendary platformers from the 90s. It’s frantic, easy to understand - but its difficulty can be, at times, terrifying.

An honourable attempt to try something new in the genre of mobile strategies, a solid game in every way which guarantees a few hours of fun. But please, no more giant heads next time.

It might be a reboot, but Modern Warfare’s observations about, well, modern warfare are entirely its own. Neither the campaign nor the multiplayer are in any way weaker than in the original Call of Duty 4 - and that is quite the praise indeed.

A brilliant, almost revolutionary idea that got lost amidst Vietnamese rice fields. The roleplay is excellent and you will feel like a real general… But the strategic simulation is bland and, frankly, quite boring.

Crossroads Inn is like a giant onion. After peeling away many delicious, unique layers, you won’t escape tears and almost certainly will find a bug or two. Nonetheless, there are dozens of hours of creative fun inside.

What separates Death Stranding from full marks? Only its inaccessibility, but the reward for getting through its many layers is sweet beyond imagining - a brilliant story, incredibly varied gameplay and revolutionary asynchronous multiplayer. Keep pressing on. It’s well worth the trouble.

So far the best soulslike from Deck13. Miyazaki’s admirers won’t be enraptured, but not put off either by this game full of contrasts, bloody fun and several original ideas.

A bland, boring experience that’s trying to lure fans of this famous series into its trap of below-averageness. Stay away and pretend this game never saw the light of day. That’s the best vaccine against such a war disease.

Career Mode full of bugs, bland Volta instead of the much better Journey and worse gameplay than last year to boot. Ultimate Team is, on the other hand, even more fun, but is also one of the worst examples of loot box economy. This year’s FIFA belongs among the vanquished.

Inexperienced developers tried their hand on a Diablo-like RPG but they failed to understand what makes the genre so popular. Pagan Online is full of restrictions, locked content, reused maps and terrible loot.

A great adaptation of one of the best card games of all time. It’s fast, it’s accessible, it isn’t any less complex than the original. Are you bored of Hearthstone? Try Arena.

Undoubtedly one of the prettiest remakes of all time. The original game, rather surprisingly, works great even today (with a few welcome upgrades, of course). The only thing bugging me is the weirdly inconsistent performance.

A very pleasant turn-based strategy set in a strange world, full of tactical possibilities beyond the traditional “rock, paper, scissors” model. What’s more, there are even RPG elements and dialogue choices!

Neo Cab is a relaxing ride, ideal for the moments before you go to sleep so that you can spend the whole night awake, pondering your choices. Hail this cab. You won’t regret it.

An adrenaline trip full of emotion, broken hearts and beautiful visual effects. This crazy mix of ideas coalesces into one of the best music games in living memory.

Pilgrims are a most pleasant hike through a world full of Czech fairy-tales and humor that you’d struggle to find anywhere else. They’re very short, but you’re going to have fun the whole way. And you’ll leave your computer smiling.

A stylish anime soulslike with a pretty enjoyable fighting system and many different ways to play. The enemy design, however, is extremely unimaginative which applies to the level design and the story as well.

Deliver Us the Moon will captivate you by its fantastic atmosphere originating from ever- changing environments, brilliant audio and heavy questions concering us all. It’s just a shame that many potentially awesome systems were left stuck halfway there on the road to completion.

This game is the definitive proof that you won’t get a tasty meal just by mixing random ingredients that you like. The immersion sometimes feels nice (when you turn off the HUD), but there are performance problems galore and a very weak AI ready to ruin your day.

Trine is back, basking in the sunlight where it belongs. It’s beautifully stylized and the gameplay is great fun - and not too difficult, apart from some well-placed puzzles. Consider this a thorough recommendation.

This is a good basis for a game, but not a full game by itself. There are too many design errors and too little content - and the characters whose destinies you should be invested in are instead bland and uninteresting.

We Were Here Together is, by far, the best installment of the whole series. It’s finally long enough to last you several evenings, it’s much prettier, better to listen to, and its puzzles - finely tailored for two-player cooperation - will torture your mind. It’s just a shame that the story is so weak it’s barely even there.

Fresh ideas, beautiful visuals, but shallow gameplay that fizzles out uncomfortably soon. Concrete Genie is fun for a while and it is capable of gripping you, so it might serve as a tool to overcome foul mood. But this should have been a much better game.

Astral Chain’s brilliant combat system is married with calm investigative activities, interesting platforming and clever puzzles. The world is fascinating, the soundtrack is amazing, the story is captivating. This is one of the very best games by PlatinumGames - and of the year.

This is a licensed game done right. It doesn’t rely on cheap jumpscares and instead takes you on a journey inside the soul of a very broken detective.

This is a modern-looking homage to Chris Roberts’ space classics, especially Privateer and Freelancer, and one of the best space games you can get right now.

The campaign is certainly better than in Gears 4 and the core gameplay is fun, but Gears 5 is way behind the original trilogy in almost all other aspects - especially due to the incessant, and boring, lulls in the action.

There’s no fun to be had in Devil’s Hunt’s version of Hell. The fighting is broken, the level design is amateurish and the story is weak.

Dr. Mario World is Nintendo at its weakest. It’s solid, it’s colorful, but also greedy, unoriginal and… well, somehow redundant.

Amazing football freshened by realistic mistakes from players. PES is back in form, even though its old issues are back, especially bland game modes. At least the career mode got significantly better.

In spite of its technical problems, Borderlands 3 is still a very solid looter shooter, generous with both shooting and loot. The magic of the second installment - and its excellent writing - is, however, gone.

A beautiful, nicely crafted puzzle game draped in a dream-like atmosphere and filled with appropriately difficult mysteries. It’s a shame that it will probably annoy you by its failed attempts to tell a deep story and wax philosophical.

Notwithstanding little issues here and there, this is an RPG sure to be loved by every fan of HP Lovecraft. For everyone else, it’s a serious challenge comparable to reading the master’s work for the first time.

You will hate this game and you will love it. It won’t stop torturing you and fraying your nerves, but at the same time, it’s glorious fun.

A survival with a fascinating setting and fresh ideas that is horribly let down by its endless repetition.

A ghost ship, an unpredictable script and non-linear gameplay. This interactive horror will show you that fear can be an art.

A feast for your eyes and ears that will satisfy you with fun physics and a touch of the supernatural. The story could be a bit better, the metroidvania features are surplus to requirements and some side missions are a drag, but the atmosphere is top notch - and the gameplay doesn’t lag far behind.

You will hardly find a more elaborate sci-fi 4X turn-based strategy. Functional diplomacy, solid AI and brilliant battles are further supported by a highly modular approach to hero and unit customization.

Although there are many different mutations on offer in RAD, their gameplay impact is often similar. Roguelike veterans will find nothing new here - but it just might be the perfect starting point for genre newbies.

Forged of Blood isn’t a bad first game for the developer, Critical Forge, and it will surely find an audience, even though its graphics are atrocious. This turn-based strategy is very good gameplay-wise - but also way too verbose and overly complex.

Fun singleplayer or cooperative card game with the topic and illustrations bound to please every Tolkien fan. However, it’s worse than its board game counterpart and hampered by an amateurish interface and a weak AI.

The WRC series is getting better step by tiny step. Career mode, dynamic weather and a good overall feeling behind the wheel will make every racer happy - but next time, we expect more content and better polish.

A game typical of its developer, Spiders. Huge ambitions, attractive environments, lots of great ideas… but it’s all put together in exactly the wrong way. Give GreedFall a chance only if you’re willing to put up with an average game.

WARNING: If you try this game, you will never stop.

This is a deeply average stealth game, its saving graces being only the very unconventional topic, open narrative structure and competent acting.

Another excellent addition to Arma 3, following in the footsteps of Laws of War. Don’t worry about the topic of aliens on Earth - the atmosphere is actually tense and full of great moments.

The successor to beloved Journey is larger and more courageous. Sky is innovative, magical, boasting a unique multiplayer system straining to make us courteous and… good. It is simply incomparable to any other mobile game.

These truck races don’t know whether they’re an arcade game or a simulation, but one thing is certain: While the singleplayer career is good, the multiplayer component is a total mess.

Blazing Chrome is a great platformer - but a very difficult one. It’s a delight for all fans of Contra or Metal Slug or, more generally, for anyone looking for a wonderfully punishing time.

A fantastic experience that will take over your life for hours on end. Tactical battles and micromanagement of your units join forces with complex relationships and a good story.

Good job! Fun came roaring back to Wolfenstein, surprisingly through cooperative multiplayer, sandbox and RPG elements. All those new ideas don’t work perfectly, but they do enough for you to like them - especially in the company of a friend.

A finely crafted physics puzzle game. Its original concept could perhaps be milked a little bit more thoroughly, but it’s still well worth a playthrough - even more so if you’ve got a multiplayer partner.

Etherborn is a dreamy trip of a body in search of its voice across beautifully crafted levels, supported by a soundtrack that is simply flawless. Plus you must solve some puzzles that toy with gravity. And that’s it - but honestly, this game doesn’t need anything else.

Sea of Solitude plays with your emotions. It’s not a brilliant game, but that’s not really the point. This is all about the story, all about the introspection. And those work perfectly.

It looks and sounds amazing, the driving is wonderful, but there are so many things still missing - namely enough content, playable multiplayer and technical polish.

A very complex, but also quite accessible turn-based strategy from AGEod Studios that aims to simulate all the complexities of ancient civilizations. Yes, there are minor pratfalls and lapses, but a patient general will succumb to its charms all the same.

A great successor to a great game that pulls off everything its predecessor did, and something more besides. But there are also the same mistakes and some brand new ones.

Another masterpiece by Nintendo. Super Mario Maker 2 is a delight for every creative soul out there - and yet also cares about players with no interest in designing their own levels. There are dozens of hours of pure fun for both of those groups.

A refreshing trip to the beginnings of modern Japan in a company of furious, heavily armed samurai. The tactics are everything and the best offense is a solid defense. Not every retro is cool, but this comeback is absolutely worth the price.

This Slavic strategy is a very distinguished successor to the first installment. It’s undoubtedly a difficult game, but you will yearn for “one more turn”.

This temporally unique game adds something new with your every death and moves the story forward beautifully. The environments are breathtaking, the music will soothe you. This is the perfect game for those of you who are, above all, curious.

Solid, but unbalanced mix of strategy genres. It suffers from several suspect design choices that all but destroy the tempo of the game, further exacerbated by a lacklustre story campaign.

A great remake of a very specific game for a very specific audience. Crash Team Racing is a solid alternative to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it’s not for everybody - and you should know beforehand what you’re getting into.

A brilliant arcade game about a bloodthirsty ballet dancer with a deadly aim - could there be anything more awesome? But beware - if you don’t like your stuff very much over the top in the vein of Japanese videogames, you might not be able to tolerate Pedro.

Creators of the Sherlock franchise have hurled themselves into a watery abyss full of monsters and completely drowned their own brilliant investigative formula. The world is open, but terribly empty, the fights are dull, and the RPG mechanisms are lacking. Only the investigation remains fun - and it is not enough.

A fine old-school platformer that works very well even today, but also a reminder that times change. What used to be cool might be cool no longer.

An awesome spiritual successor to old Castlevanias. The story is the weakest point, true, but everything else is splendid, especially the level design and the sheer amount of creative ideas. If you want a great action RPG platformer, you’ve got one right here.

It’s mysterious, it’s bizarre, it’s tense. Atmosphere and storytelling elevate this plague adventure far above its peers, but its survival aspect is barely bearable and the combat just plain old sucks. Still, this is a special, unique game, if you can tolerate its quirkiness.

This is not a Chinese Blade Runner. You might be forgiven for thinking so after the brilliant beginning, but it goes downhill rapidly, folding under the weight of boredom and frustration. Regardless, fans of cyberpunk and absurd humor might find something to like here.

Layers of Fear 2 is trying to spice up its walk of horror by action sequences, but this innovation doesn’t really work and the atmosphere, while truly scary, can’t carry the whole game on its back.

Team Sonic Racing is competent and fun, but also unimaginative and uninteresting. You’re not going to love it, you’re not going to hate it - you’re simply going to shrug.

This is a hard game, so don’t expect any quarter from it, but defending your castle from endless waves of bloodthirsty enemies is good fun, further served by the coop mode. If only it wasn’t so monotonous.

This Diablo clone has a solid core, but flays itself alive by extreme repetition, boring endgame and, most of all, criminal amount of critical mistakes. Diablo may rest easy, Chaosbane is not even a challenger.

You won’t find a better game about archaeology, and you’ll be hard-pressed to unearth two protagonists with more chemistry. The story is excellent, save maybe the very end. The rivers are waiting for you, as is the ancient language!

An expansion of two halves - one of them terrific, the second distinctly average. As a whole, it brings a solid amount of new content and finally honors promises made long ago. Kingdom Come finally reaches the height of its power.

This psychological “fjord-noir” adventure is well made, but let down by its overblown ambition, far too great for a short game of this nature.

This is the definition of unfulfilled potential. Vambrace: Cold Soul may look competent at first, it may even spark your interest, but underneath its nice visual overcoat hides a bad story and unappetizing gameplay.

Similar setting and mechanics, but this is no Yakuza. Judgment is a brilliant sequel to the Japanese mob epic and brings many cool new features. You shouldn’t miss this - if only because of the main storyline and charismatic hero Yagami.

This vastly ambitious tycoon aims to emulate its legendary predecessors, but right now, it’s not even halfway there. It doesn’t really feel like a full game.

Brilliant turn-based RPG, albeit with a pretty simple story. But the great combat system more than makes up for it, together with the myriad ways in which you can design your party.

There’s great potential in Imperator, but the game is hamstrung by a lack of content, historical inaccuracies and surprisingly tame peace mechanics.

SteamWorld Quest can’t quite reach the heights of the previous games in the series, but there’s a lot of fun to be had regardless thanks to simple, yet clever combat system, typical sense of humour and many possible styles of play.

There are some positives, such as brilliant atmosphere, cool environment and interesting setting. But the negatives far outweigh them. Design mistakes, poorly thought-out features and absolutely atrocious combat consistently ruin any potential for having fun.

The shooter core is as healthy as can be, but everything surrounding it is seriously lacking. The open world is empty, the artificial intelligence is stupid, the content tends to be reused. The only element that really works is the action.