While bugs and issues can stand in the way of your enjoyment, F1 23 has a lot of content, and its VR mode in particular is sensational. The story mode’s scenario also felt deeper when compared to previous entries.

Rampaging your way through Carrion as a tentacle monster makes playing this violent metroidvania feel unique, and the grotesque and harsh visuals greatly contribute to that feeling. But flaws like having no map and a lack of gameplay variety cannot be overlooked.

Jumping around as a ninja in a cyberpunk world makes for a great retro-style game. Whenever a new type of action or mechanic is introduced, Cyber Shadow feels genuinely fresh. While its progression might be overwhelming at times, it’s a satisfying package for sure.

Enjoy the Diner is a game that fascinatingly depicts a place on the border between life and death. It succeeds in utilizing the inorganic feel of a minimalist visual novel as an expression of the story it wants to depict.

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a unique combination of a Greek mythology murder mystery and a musical. With its sexy characters and variety of memorable songs the musical part is especially powerful, and enough to make this an unforgettable experience.

Aria Chronicle makes the typical dungeon RPG gameplay loop of grinding your characters to face stronger enemies more accessible for newcomers. While heavily influenced by Darkest Dungeon, a more user-friendly design makes this a recommendable game in its own right.

While Star Ocean: The Divine Force’s bold battle system is worth praising, the title shares many of the same issues as previous iterations in the series. That being said, its tale of adventure and well-portrayed party members make this a worthy new entry in the Star Ocean series.

As an action-adventure game, Giraffe and Annika may be rough around the edges, but its cute cat-eared protagonist and the visually stunning island feel so genuinely magical that you’ll be smiling throughout anyway. If you’re looking for good action and interesting puzzles, Giraffe and Annika won’t deliver, but if you’re the kind of gamer who treasures superb atmosphere and hand-crafted details above all else, you’re in for a real treat.

Easy Come Easy Golf comes with a wide range of brand new courses of stable quality. Its video tutorials make it an accessible game for newcomers to the genre as well. Easy Come Easy Golf could have the potential to create a new generation of golf game fans.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is the welcome return of a PS2 classic. With the addition of voiced dialogue, characters feel better portrayed than in the original. While the high encounter rate and few save points feel inconvenient in 2020, the highly strategic turn-based battles are still as tense as ever.

From graphics to game design, music and general playfeel, everything in NeverAwake is of surprisingly high quality. It reminded us of why we love shmups. Nearing the end of the game, the difficulty spikes and can feel a bit unfair, but that can also be seen as a part of the game’s identity as a shmup.

As a combination between the River City and Downtown areas, River City Girls’ town warmly welcomes all fans of the long-running River City Ransom series. For new players, the cute, poppy characters and the over-the-top battles should feel entertaining enough. However, the story is not tightly plotted, and generally not interesting enough for someone not familiar with the genre.

Bravely Default II is an RPG with an interesting battle system that allows you to stock multiple turns to use at once. With many main and sub jobs to choose from, the game also offers plenty of customization options. While the way the story progresses can get repetitive, the various lands you visit and their cultures and history feel grounded in reality.

While not bad, Resident Evil Village Gold Edition is an unremarkable version of a great game. The new content definitely plays it safe but delivers what the fans wanted.

Metal: Hellsinger is a heavy metal FPS that feels like a love child between Doom and a rhythm game. While the lack of variation in its maps and boss battles is a pity, killing hordes of demons while listening to one of 2022’s best soundtracks is an exhilarating experience for sure.

Signalis is a top-down action adventure game that was heavily inspired by classic survival horror titles. Although not for everyone, severe resource management makes every encounter with zombies frightening. Its science fiction and Lovecraft-inspired setting is well crafted, and the game’s puzzles fit in naturally. The story left me thinking, but for some players it might be frustrating that no real answers can be found in the game’s ending.

Goodbye World is a short yet emotional tale of two struggling indie game creators that never turns into the obvious success story you might expect it to become. Despite its characters feeling symbolic and one-sided, it manages to feel genuine throughout its two-hour journey.

The system of letters changing the outcome of the story is innovative and could have gone into video game history, if only the idea had been fleshed out a bit more.

While the combos and the Shinobi Execution special attack may not be particularly unique, Shinobi's battle system is well crafted and delivers a strong sense of exhilaration. The consistently challenging level design and boss fights expand the classical appeal of 2D action into a modern context, offering something fresh for players tired of Soulslikes and Metroidvanias. That said, the story and worldbuilding remain stuck in the kind of B-grade sensibility often found in retro games, leaving something to be desired by the standards of contemporary videogames.

Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon is not a bad game by any means, and those that skipped on Sun and Moon should definitely give it a try. However, it doesn’t have anything ultra surprising in store for its players.

Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon is not a bad game by any means, and those that skipped on Sun and Moon should definitely give it a try. However, it doesn’t have anything ultra surprising in store for its players.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom improves upon its predecessor in almost every regard, yet somehow its magic is lost along the way.

While Nioh 3 offers a much greater sense of challenge and depth, there are lingering concerns about hitting a ceiling in terms of mastery, as well as balance issues—particularly the Ninja playstyle which seems to be overly powerful. Although the benefits of the open-field approach are strongly felt on the first map thanks to the satisfying loop of combat, exploration, and progression, the experience loses its shine from the midpoint onward for a variety of reasons. Even so, as a loot-driven action game, Nioh 3 retains a uniquely compelling presence, and its ability to keep players coming back for more remains firmly intact.

Dorfromantik is a relaxing game that welcomes the player to a rural landscape. At the same time, it is an experience that allows the player to enjoy the fun and challenge of aiming for a high score as well. That means that the game can be enjoyed both as a relaxing break and as a serious undertaking, but never as something in between.

Redout 2 is a dream come true for fans of superfast racing games. The revolutionary AI assist and a boosting system allow anyone to race against gravity at the overwhelming speed of 2000 kph. That being said, the career mode fails to make the game interesting beyond the pure racing.

With a story set 100 years before Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is packed with cool surprises and emotional character moments that fans will adore. While the action feels great and exciting, the lack of strategic depth is noticeable. Still, the fact that this is no longer an all-stars spin-off game, but a title with a clear theme and story, shows new possibilities for the Warriors series and makes this a great title in itself.

Death Stranding 2 boasts stunning visuals and refined gameplay that builds upon the strengths of its predecessor. Additionally, the story, consistently developed around the central theme of connection, is truly impressive. On the other hand, the introduction of new gameplay elements is limited, resulting in a somewhat lacking sense of freshness. The storytelling also feels underwhelming for much of the game, with little development until the final stages. Overall, while the game achieves a high level of polish, it fails to deliver much in the way of further innovation.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ beautifully realized open world, engaging story and lively characters are some of its greatest strengths. On the other hand, its side activities are not of the scale we have come to expect from the series, while some of the game’s mechanics feel underdeveloped, making it a game with both strong and weak points.