Likeable characters, a well-developed scenario and exciting mysteries - Dustborn is a very well-written and, above all, excellently voiced adventure game in which I wanted to know how the story would continue right up to the end credits. Unfortunately, the interspersed action scenes don't keep up this level.

World of Goo 2 is a lot of fun - precisely because it is "easy to learn and hard to master". With every puzzle solved and every stable construction, you learn something new - and gradually develop problem-solving skills that are extremely helpful as the game progresses. Of course, every now and then you come to a bottleneck where it seems you can't go any further, but here too, persistent trial and error helps. If you get really stuck, you can skip the level in question - only the final levels of each game section have to be solved in any case. Various liquids, new types of balls and multi-stage puzzles make World of Goo 2 a must-play for puzzle fans.

Dungeons of Hinterberg skilfully combines the social aspects of Persona with linear Zelda dungeons, leveraging the strengths of its cultural influences.

Capcom has succeeded in revitalising the tower defense genre in a surprising way thanks to the setting with Japanese mythology and lots of variety. Thanks to the many upgrades, different unit and monster types, a satisfying progression system and great boss battles, I spent many hours mesmerised by the extremely atmospheric campaign. The reward after battles is that I experience scenes of peace and harmony afterwards. In this way, the game even conveys something of the Japanese philosophy of life. And what tower defense game can you say that about?

The creative platformer Schim impresses using puzzles and jumping passages with innovative shadow mechanics and a surprisingly touching story. Even with many elements becoming repetitive at some point, it remains an unusual, fun experience.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree adds loads of cool new weapons, armors, spells and summons to the game. The new areas are breath-taking, the new bosses are presented in spectacular fashion. On the other hand, there is too many overused, recycled content, a difficulty level that's even tougher than the base game, outdated technology and an upgrade system for player characters, which makes thorough exploration of the open world absolutely mandatory.

Still Wakes the Deep is a very intensely orchestrated remote horror. However, its effect is heavily dependent on whether you find the setting of a remote oil rig terrifying or not. Are you afraid of underwater steel structures, metallic liminal spaces or the open sea? Then this game is your perfect nightmare, with grotesque monsters included! Otherwise, you may find the game's very linear gameplay and relatively reduced mechanics to be a negative.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin offers one of the best turn based combat systems and is only held back by its lackluster storytelling.

Monster Hunter Stories Remaster succeeds at bringing the 3DS original to new platforms. The combat system remains simple while offering deeper customization. Sadly, both the game's difficulty and story execution hold it back from achieving greatness.

Paper Trail is a clever puzzle adventure game that lets you change whole levels while using the art of origami folding to solve puzzles. This is exciting and fun at first, but wears a little thin over time, especially during long sessions.

Fabledom is a relaxed and pretty building experience that is perfect for beginners. However, the game also runs out of steam quite quickly.

Capes offers solid turn-based strategy with cool skill synergy and a nice hero design. However, Spitfire Interactive's debut suffers from clear weaknesses in terms of staging, overview and character depth.

Animal Well is an extraordinary Metroidvania with a dense atmosphere, as well as creative puzzles and platformer passages that often lure players out of their comfort zone.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II tells a story, which is spectacular in its presentation and comes with unbelievably life-like characters and facial animations. On top of that, you get breathtaking scenery and graphical effects. Senua's inner voices and the horrific tricks her mind plays on her, create a harrowing atmosphere and psychological horror. The story is emotional and gripping, and Senua's followers are a great new feature over its predecessor. However, this is not a game for fans of non-stop action. Hellblade II frequently turns into a walking simulator. Combat, while incredibly well-animated, is very shallow. The accessible part of the game world is often very limited, and puzzles are relatively easy. Like its predecessor, Hellblade II is a wonderful game, which was not made to appeal to a broad audience.

The cute retro look of Crow Country is deceptive: the atmosphere is dense, the plot gripping and the horror sometimes surprisingly cruel. A wolf in sheep's clothing that knows how to disturb at important moments. And how much fun this survival horror is! From now on, I will mention the game in the same breath as titles such as Tormented Souls, Alisa or Signalis, which also helped to revive a genre that was thought to be dead. Crow Country is not only a declaration of love to classic survival horror, but also a good object of study for balanced, well thought-out game design.

Indika is first and foremost an arthouse project and a political statement, rather than a classic game that is purely for entertainment. In terms of visual design, it is often related to Eastern European film classics, such as those by Andrey Tarkovsky or Béla Tarr. Personally, this is worth a lot to me and I look forward to analysing, discussing and interpreting aspects of the game with other players. This makes it easier for me to forgive the stumbling blocks in the gameplay. They make the experience of this remarkable game unnecessarily bumpy. Indika is a diamond in the rough that will sparkle all the brighter if you have a knack for Eastern European art. Everyone else may be left irritated or even bored.)

Sand Land is a visually stunning adaptation of Akira Toriyama's cult hit manga. Though it showcases some interesting gameplay concepts, the game ultimately suffers from repetitive mission structures as well as bloated crafting systems.

The mixture of philosophical science fiction, horror creatures and angelic heroine hits my nerve exactly - and also that of a very specific target group. They will be able to ignore a few criticisms of the pacing and the somewhat restrained storytelling. Furthermore, Eve not only divides monsters, but also the community with her erotic outfits. For me personally, however, the game is still one of the action RPG highlights of the year, and I found myself humming the wonderful soundtrack long after the credits had rolled.

Phantom Fury refers to itself as a road movie and claims to be inspired by games like Half-Life. You should ignore these flowery descriptions, if you are hoping to get any fun out of this retro shooter. This game offers an interactive world with plenty of shootouts and a bunch of puzzles. However, technical issues, weak sound design and weaker weapon impacts, as well as uninteresting storytelling get in the way of enjoying this title. Its 12 to 15 hours of play time make this game feel too long. Elements such as pass codes hidden in terminals or blocked passages, which you need to clear up with a swivelling crane, repeat and lose their novelty, as does the small selection of enemies. It’s still entertaining in short sessions, but it doesn’t offer enough variety for anything more than that.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU offers a fresh scenario with the African realm of the dead, which the action platformer combines with an emotional story, dynamic battles and challenging jumping passages. However, Tales of Kenzera occasionally stumbles when it comes to the learning curve and controls, and the story could use a little more subtlety sometimes.

Harold Halibut is a work of art in many ways: it has a quirky sense of humour, lots of personality and a scurrilous charm that doesn't care whether it appeals to a wide audience or not. If you appreciate that and the analogue stop-motion style, you won't be able to get enough of the game. But if you expect more than an interactive film, you might not be satisfied.

Bears in Space and its colourful visuals, weird gags and minigames, as well as its retro sci-fi setting, goes in a direction similar to High on Life. However, the jokes are a little more on the family friendly side. There's no blood, you only spill the oil of hordes of robots. The game options allow you to tweak everything from incoming and outgoing damage to aim assist settings to the amount of challenge you want to put up with in platforming sections. This makes the game more accessible to younger and less experienced space adventurers. With a good 15 hours of play time, Bears in Space can feel almost a little too long.

Here comes a heavyweight of a 4X game, but at the moment it can't hold a candle to the primus Civilization 6. Compared to the last challenger Humankind, Millennia is already ahead of the game: more new ideas, more well thought-out strategies, more possibilities. Even if the balancing is still in its infancy.

Bulwark is an aesthetic and very impressive one-man project full of simple, elegant game systems. It's easy to lose yourself in the moment and simply watch the attractive settlement grow and flourish. However, there is a lack of challenge and variety for real long-term gameplay motivation.

First and foremost, Dragon's Dogma 2 is for players, who simply want more Dragon's Dogma. There is a new playable race, some playable vocations have changed, and a new biome has been added. Apart from that, it plays pretty much exactly like its predecessor. The story is nothing to write home about, side missions are very generic, the pawns have zero personality and can get annoying with their endless, repetitive chatter. On the plus side, the combat is more over the top than ever and motivates players to try out all vocations, skills and spells. The endless amounts of battles and low enemy variety, however, will feel stale after some time.

Even if this reinterpretation of Alone in the Dark occasionally stumbles a little in technical terms, you can feel the love for the original and the horror genre in every fibre of the game. It's a great conundrum of mysterious characters, supernatural forces and classic gothic horror.

Outcast: A New Beginning offers an alien open world full of small, interesting stories. Too Little innovation and a humor that takes some getting used to, are contrasted by surprisingly fun and dynamic battles, entertaining missions and a pleasant flow when it comes to exploring the captivating alien world.

Contra: Operation Galuga tries above all to impress with nostalgia, but this cannot conceal the sterile graphics and the sometimes irritating collision detection. Indie homages have now overtaken the arcade forefather, even if it can be a lot of fun in 4-player co-op.