The balance, in particular, isn’t quite right yet. We certainly applaud the fact that the game doesn’t hold your hand, but the contrast is quite stark. In some missions, everything is so broken down and spoon-fed to you that the game guides you through every step like a toddler. And at other times, you have absolutely no idea—and absolutely no explanation—of what you’re supposed to do. The lack of narrative and coherence is clearly a shortcoming. Despite all its flaws, there’s definitely the potential for a fantastic game here. It never becomes as emotionally compelling as Arthur Morgan’s story in Red Dead Redemption 2, and it lacks that childlike wonder of Breath of the Wild, but it all looks great and the massive amount of content makes up for a lot. Crimson Desert is a rough diamond that still needs a good polish. In its current form, it’s an okay game with obvious limitations. With enough post-launch support, it might still achieve what it sets out to do: become one of the better games of the year.

What initially appear to be subtle nods to previous games quickly descend into unnecessary fan service. It doesn't help that every trick in the book is pulled out, and you can often see the jump scares coming a mile away. The game rarely surprises, except in its shift from camp to deadly seriousness. Resident Evil Requiem is a commendable game, but not as memorable as some other installments in the series. The ambitious game was supposed to be the culmination of thirty years of Resident Evil. But it plays it too safe and, unfortunately, rarely manages to truly surprise.

There is much to appreciate about Sons of Sparta. Given that it now takes six years or more to make a big game like God of War, this interlude is very welcome. What's more, Sony Santa Monica isn't taking the easy route by sending Kratos on an adventure in a genre that's new to him. Kudos for that! But within that genre, our favorite demigod suddenly finds himself in crowded company. The “Metroidvania” genre has been enjoying a revival in recent years thanks to Hollow Knight, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Prince of Persia. To compete with them, you have to come up with something special. Sons of Sparta is commendable and certainly has an edge for God of War fans, but it lacks that touch of magic to make it indispensable.

The developers postponed the game's release by a month at the last minute, and we can't help feeling that the game would have benefited from a little more delay. Unbeatable is unpolished and unfinished. It's rebellious and punk, sure, but at times it's also frustrating. With the addition of story mode and the integration of numerous mini-games, Unbeatable tries to be too many things at once, and as a result, the game doesn't always hit the right note. But for the modest price of 28 euros, you can't possibly feel cheated.

Kirby Air Riders is an anomaly. It looks like a racing game, but has the rhythm and elements of a fighting game: its own genre. It is simple, complex, and (too) chaotic at the same time. In terms of visuals and performance, this is one of the most colorful and flashy games the Switch 2 has to offer to date. Highly recommended for those who are tired of Mario Kart.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is an excellent spinoff and action game. In its niche — that of the musou-games — it's even among the best of all time. But what a total letdown of a story. Seriously, how did they manage to drop the ball on plot and world building?

The missions offer plenty of variety and are nail-biting at times. You can play them alone, but just about everything makes you feel that this is not the intention: Black Ops 7 is clearly designed to be played with multiple players. The campaign also works much better when you try to achieve your goal with others. We already knew that Call of Duty is primarily a multiplayer extravaganza. Still, we expected a little more here.

The first The Outer Worlds left us with mixed feelings a few years ago: it had an interesting premise and fun combat, but all in all, it didn't lead to a very memorable experience. The Outer Worlds 2 is clearly a step forward: the combat has been greatly improved and there is more to experience. So what do you get up to? Well, you create a character and walk around with them on different planets. You solve one problem after another by talking and/or shooting. That doesn't sound very original, and it isn't. All in all, we find The Outer Worlds 2 an improvement on its predecessor and, at times, an enjoyable game, but it's certainly not a must-have.

The new 3D matches are indeed better than before, but we still wouldn't call them beautiful. We do think they are better integrated into the whole, and let's be honest: anyone who plays this game isn't looking for pretty graphics. Then there's the new interface. According to the creators, the old one was a mess. We always found our way around it quickly, whereas this time important information is a few clicks too far away. Annoying, but above all: incomprehensible after a year's delay. We also encountered more bugs than we would have liked. What saves the game are the matches: the tactical interface is great and makes matches a joy.

Cronos: The New Dawn gets off to a slow start, with ammunition that is (too) scarce and melee attacks that are clunky and difficult to aim. After a few upgrades, you suddenly go from being a weakling to an elite soldier, after which there is little challenge left. Too difficult at the beginning, too easy after playing for a while. The balance is clearly off, and there are no options to adjust the difficulty level. And once you start noticing that they really do pull out all the tricks of the horror genre—a shadow flashing in the corner of your eye, a flashlight that suddenly starts to falter when things get exciting, an enemy that appears out of nowhere after you pick up an object—the fun quickly wears off. Unfortunately, the intriguing premise and atmospheric setting don't make up for these frustrating moments.

Some minigames are better than others, and if we're being really strict: quite a few are recycled from previous Like a Dragon games. But there are so many of them, and they are so varied, that Pirate Yakuza never has a chance to get boring. With one major exception: the part at sea also belongs in the category of minigames, except that you spend quite a large part of your playing time with it. But those who buy Pirate Yakuza primarily to unleash the Jack Sparrow in themselves will be disappointed. After all, the ship battles are disappointingly simple, and the promised sea would be more like a collection of lakes. Throughout the time we spent with Goro Majima, we laughed hard far more often than we sighed deeply. So we gladly turn a blind eye. Where is our eye patch again?

At first it seems like the game is just slow to pick up, after a while you realize that this is the game. Maybe that's not so bad if you were actually looking for a comic, but if you're gaming for the adrenaline you better look elsewhere. Not every game has to be Super Mario Bros, but when the story carries the full weight, it should feel a little less casual. After wandering around for quite a while and chatting endlessly about the same thing, it becomes clear that what you choose matters anyway. If you play the game all the way through several times, you'll get to a different ending each time. Fascinating, but it requires hours of patience.

Civilization VII is great. Exciting. Frustrating. It's like a Rorschach test: how you look at it depends from person to person and moment to moment. Besides the obvious improvements, many of the game's flaws were perfectly avoidable, which leads us to conclude that this game is not finished. And we take issue with being asked full price for a game that is not yet finished. Our advice: if you're not a huge fan of the series, wait another year. If you are, prepare for a rough ride.

How we like the latest Call of Duty? Well, pretty much like the previous one and all those before it: unpretentious entertainment that slips in as smoothly as a slice of pizza. Not that we mind, because we love pizza.

Visually, the series takes big leaps forward, and the winter setting makes this a perfect game for the end-of-year period. It feels like a warm, familiar blanket. But a beautiful setting is nothing without a good story. This time you and Max must solve a murder, and today she has a new superpower: a peek into a universe where that murder never happened. Not a bad find, but it's never deployed as creatively and cleverly as rewinding in the original game. The further you get, the more the plot also seems to lose its pedals. Bummer.

Those willing to spend two long and frustrating hours sculpting their muscle memory and honing their reflexes will experience a click. Suddenly, you “got" it. Like Neo in the Matrix against Agent Smith or Goku transforming into Super Saiyan for the first time. What follows is a tsunami of serotonin that makes my inner teenager foam at the mouth. In the skin of Goku catapulting vicious Frieza hundreds of feet away after a barrage of attacks. Then to treat him to a kamehameha on his icy face? I dreamed of it as a 14-year-old and this game is my dream in game form. A lot of love for Dragon ball has been put into it. Too bad the barrier to experience it is so high.

So why only three stars? Basically, this is a remake of a PlayStation 4 game from 2015, which you could have long bought for next to nothing. This new version looks even better and adds some bells and whistles, but too little to justify the $70 price tag. Many other games from that era were upgraded for the PlayStation 5, costing a dozen euros or often even free. To charge full price for this is money-grubbing.

It is a good game, but also a game that occasionally falters and makes it painfully clear that the Switch is now the gaming equivalent of an old-timer car. Nevertheless, the graphical style masterfully disguises the Switch's technical shortcomings. The music is also incredibly good. And this game is everything its predecessor was and better. With Echoes of Wisdom, you get to play a kick-ass sequel to the previous “classic” Zelda game: Link's awakening. But that's what it is: a sequel.

Is it due to the fact that the game is released on both the previous and current generation gaming consoles, which limited the developers? The game takes itself very seriously, and we can't imagine that they deliberately left one of the most annoying elements of the previous console generation - the many (hidden) loading screens - in the game unless there was a technical need for it. Add to that the wooden and terribly dated character and facial animations, and the result at least does not live up to what you should expect from a video game anno 2024.

So yes, FC 25 feels a touch different again, and the immensely popular Ultimate Team is also back, but whether that's worth the full price - target price 65 euros? We doubt it. We feel that EA is on the right track and knows where it wants to go, that's for sure, but FC 25 just doesn't feel "finished" after all these years: the focus is still too much on fast breakaways, defenders still look a bit clumsy and after a while you realize that tactics that work excellently in real life are useless in FC 25. For us, it could be a bit more.

Anyone who read the manga in the 2000s must acknowledge: what this game looks like is how the static manga images came to life in your head. It is of the last things Akira Toriyama did before his death: congratulate the developers for bringing his creation to life so beautifully. Rightfully so. So really one for the fans, because the gameplay is okay, but it doesn't break any pots: it's a typical action game in an open world.

The little brother from the same developer as the Tour de France 2024 game targets a very small niche: cycling fans who can't get enough of details and numbers. Like Football manager, PCM is a manager/simulation game. You don't take your place on the bike yourself, but you do determine every possible detail: you arrange sponsorship contracts, hire trainers and scouts, develop new equipment, determine training schedules, race selections and race strategy. The wet dream for cycling nerds like us, in other words.

The game occupies a rather strange place on the spectrum. On the one hand, it wants to be a racing game, where you control your own rider and determine how fast he drives, when he sits in time trial position and how he cuts corners. However, a cyclist is not a car, and the controls feel rather clumsy at first. It gets easier as you persevere, but we suspect many players will soon drop out.

An emotional but beautiful storyline. Beautiful graphics. 'Tales of Kenzera: ZAU' is a remarkable game for several reasons. Yet, as a player, you are left a little hungry.

A video game where it is more about the appearance of the female protagonist than about the game itself, and that even before its release. No, we are not talking about Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, but about Stellar Blade. And that's a shame, because under that thick layer of controversy lies a fine game.

'Garden life: a cozy simulator' is - as the name gives away - a cozy game for young and old. You get the freedom to do everything the way you want. You don't need a green thumb or gaming experience. Moreover, the game looks beautiful. The main drawback is that it can quickly feel monotonous.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the heartbreaking, immersive story. Except the creators have tried to push two games into one, and the action-RPG portion leaves much to be desired. With a little more focus, this game would not have ended up in the mid-range.

Agreed, 'Helldivers 2' is at times a highly entertaining game. But we did not dare to predict that the game would get off to such a strong start. For that it offers too little depth as far as we are concerned.