Despite the many bugs, we enjoyed our hours in 'the zone'. The beautiful landscapes, the constant threat, the balancing of factions and the challenging battles make Heart of Chornobyl one of the better shooters of 2024. Unfortunately, you have to take the bugs with it - unless you have the patience to delay your purchase for a few updates, but then you have a stronger character than we do.

The world's first trombone game is a viral hit, and rightfully so. Trombone Champ is maddening, maddening and maddening fun. The worse you play, the more fun the game becomes. Clearly this humdinger simulator doesn't take itself or the instrument too seriously, but beyond all that hilarity, lurks a very solid and challenging music game.

The game looks like crap, is absurd at times and essentially shitty. And yet, we had a great time with indie game Betrayal at Club Low. Don't expect flashy action, but pointed dialogue and a whole lot of absurdity. Or how about characters who rise to the sky like a rocket with both middle fingers in the air when you've convinced them to give up their seats? After about two hours of this nonsense, you reach the end, but there are multiple possible outcomes that invite you to play again and again. With the funky beats of the soundtrack, this is by no means a punishment.

The game’s style is somewhat reminiscent of Cuphead, but without the high difficulty level. The gameplay is simple, the soundtrack is atmospheric and jazzy, and it’s chock-full of puns and nods to old cartoons. The many secrets to discover by exploring every nook and cranny are reminiscent of classic video games, but fortunately, this entertaining indie game is above all its own unique and stylish, hand-drawn self.

Eighteen (!) years after its predecessor, Metroid Prime 3, and a console generation later, we can finally play Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. This game is once again brimming with the sci-fi, spooky, space shooter action that gave this iconic series its status, but where the developers try to innovate, they fall short.

The action is not the only point in which Death Stranding 2 surpasses its predecessor. For one, the story is a lot easier to follow (thanks to the new Corpus feature where you can easily catch up on reading), and the world looks much more diverse. Last time you wandered for hours through a barren moonscape, but now you encounter forests, snowy mountain peaks, beaches and other environments. Originality and good stories seem quietly in danger of extinction in the gaming world, which seems to be more and more about profits and shareholders. But as long as the occasional game like Death Stranding 2 passes, stubbornly doing its own thing, there is hope.

Flashy graphics, familiar characters and innovative gameplay are great assets, but not always necessary to make a game a winner. As dusk falls proves that you can also score with just a great story.

Agent 47 adds some more amazing hits in this fantastic ending of an incredible trilogy. Although there’s not much new mechanically in Hitman 3, you’ll come across some great new experiences along your travels from Dubai through the Carpathian mountains, that may rival the ones in Hitman 2016’s Sapienza.

Not too difficult, not too long, not too expensive. With ‘Trifox’, Belgian studio Glowfish Interactive has developed a first game that is very accessible – and fun - on several levels.

Nightreign uses the same stone-good foundation, plays smoothly and puts its own twist on the modern classic. And yet it lacks a touch of the magic that makes Elden ring Elden ring. An overarching storyline is completely absent, the fantastically designed environments full of lighting and gold details have been replaced with murky fantasy environments of thirteen-in-a-dozen variety, and the sense of being able to explore at your own pace is completely gone due to the ever-shrinking game world. Beforehand, however, we never thought we would keep returning to Nightreign. Despite its many misgivings, the cyclical structure and fast-paced attempts to make your character stronger is still intriguing enough to make us want to start it over and over again. After Elden ring, expansion Shadow of the erdtree and now Nightreign, the conclusion is: more Elden ring is always good.

Destiny of the Railforged adds a new playable faction to Monster Train 2, along with a new game mode that further extends the game’s lifespan: Monster Train 2 has always been about making your units stronger, and now you can take that to absurd extremes. All in all, we’ve easily spent over a hundred hours exploring new combinations between the factions and the cards. For ten euros—for the expansion; the base game costs around 25 euros—that’s a very nice return on investment.

Admittedly, we were rather skeptical when we started playing the game. We associated publisher Nacon with annual sports games (Tour de France, Pro Cycling Manager, WRC) or gaming-related peripherals, and developer Rogue Factor had only two smaller Warhammer games in its portfolio until now. But with the intriguing ‘Hell is Us’, they have together released one of the most surprising games of the year.

nd yet we were not blown away (pun not intended) while playing Halo Infinite. Everything feels very natural and familiar, but almost seems interchangeable with previous games. The lack of innovation is something that plagues many first person shooters of this generation, yet Halo Infinite is a more than solid game that is worth your precious time and attention.

Is ‘short but sweet’ a euphemism for ‘tastes like more’? In case of Olija, that is a heartfelt ‘yes’. This charming 2D platformer excels thanks to its pixel art, innovative controls, compelling story and fun puzzles.

The so-called fatalities, deadly attacks after you have knocked your opponent half unconscious, are of course also part of the game. Although, unlike before, you don't have to press a difficult and perfectly timed button combination to do so. A few keys can suffice, making it both more accessible, more grotesque and more gory. The threshold to death and destruction is now completely non-existent. The result is an intriguing and smooth-playing fighting game, but one that is definitely not suitable for children.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a textbook example of what a sequel should be. Bigger, better and flashier than its predecessor. The action will titillate any gaming Star Wars-fan and so will the excellent (Star Wars) story. Yet the enthralling Jedi fantasy this game offers is sometimes bogged down by lackluster performance.

It's remarkable how much a game series that largely revolves around creatures evolving has little concern for change. For 25 years, the concept of Pokémon games has been virtually unchanged. But then there's Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which breaks with tradition. Hopefully, in doing so, it lays the foundation for the next generation of Pokémon titles. Because after playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus, we don’t want to go back.

EA Sports FC 26 is a step up from FC 25: everything runs more smoothly, especially dribbling, tackling, and heading. Otherwise, little has changed: Ultimate Team still overwhelms you with challenges and rewards. Career Mode has received a little more attention and is once again worth investing time in. So if you ask us whether FC 26 is different enough from its older siblings to justify spending $70 on it, for the first time in years we say: yes, we think it is.

Don't expect profound dialogues or a layered story. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance relies on its challenging mix of fighting game and platformer. It is a successful homage to the series and to the 80s and 90s, when ninjas, just like today's superheroes, were omnipresent in popular culture.

After a good seven hours, you reach the end. Short for a game that will be on sale at full price, but long enough for an already exhausting VR adventure. At times, Horizon Call of the Mountain feels like a technical demo meant to show what the PS VR2 can do. But as a very first game, the result is promising, and does bode well for what the PS VR2 will bring in the coming months and years.

With Engage, another top title is added to the Fire Emblem series. Unfortunately, the characters are not as noteworthy as the heroes that the game's Emblem rings pull from under the dust. But what Three Houses did for the story, Engage does for the action: raise the bar.

Armored Core VI is a modern classic and quite literally: this is 'just' a rock-solid action game. No open world, no endless stream of side missions or other ballast, and that is very refreshing in 2023. Although there is a steep learning curve.

It looks like a game for kids, but make no mistake: the difficulty level is very tough. There were many moments when we almost threw our controller across the living room, moments when we had to take a break. Especially the levels in which you are in a mine cart are often impossible to complete on the first try, but this difficulty makes the euphoria all the greater when you finally succeed.

The first Powerwash Simulator was my guilty pleasure. I spent many hours playing it on the Nintendo Switch. I was so hooked that it almost convinced me that such a job would be something for me in real life. Until I borrowed my in-laws' pressure washer and realized that the simulation is more fun after all. Fortunately, the game now has a formidable successor. The fun of Powerwash Simulator 2 lies in the simplicity of the game. This game is surprisingly satisfying and, above all, a great way to relax. Unfortunately, the sequel is not available on “older consoles” such as the first Nintendo Switch. That's a shame.

Those who get their kicks not from the numbers and tables of a management game, but from phenomenal speeds on the track should choose ‘F1 22’. The annual release of this racing game consistently ranks among the top and has recently received an update that added even more content.

The world’s most famous Italian plumber has a problem. Ever since Super Mario Odyssey the bar has been raised to astronomic heights. Can a rerelease from 2013 tip that bar? Of course not. Can Bowser’s fury raise that bar even further? Not quite yet, but it’s close.

What sets Outriders apart from genre rivals like Borderlands and Destiny are the RPG elements that allow you - just like in a role-playing game - to shape and build your character so that he (or she) is completely customized to your individual play style. The result is an ambitious and highly enjoyable science fiction game that will keep you busy for several hours on your own, in pairs or in threes.

Shin Megami Tensei V is not for the lazy gamer. Although you are bombarded with information and grand ideas at the beginning, the story is slow to get going after that. The game is also extremely difficult. A person would give up for less. But those who persevere will be surprised by one of the most intense experiences the Switch has to offer.