The secret of Astro Bot lies in its aesthetic and mechanical variety, and the reason why we can easily lose hours with its animated charm.

Star Wars Outlaws will continue to occupy my time over the next days, fortunately with the advantage of becoming an experience shared with many other people. Personally, it's one of the good surprises of the year, it takes different styles of gameplay and stitches them together into a very well-tuned amalgam, without exaggeration and with protagonists that it's impossible not to like. All this, in the Star Wars universe, is an excellent example of how Lucasfilm's world has much more to offer than lightsabers and Jedi.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is above all a nostalgic journey through the challenges of the 8-bit era, offering players the chance to put their speedrunning skills, acquired through a lot of trial and error, to the test online or locally. For the more casual players, or even new players, although it's a way of getting to know 13 NES classics, it could be short-lived given the limited and repetitive range of challenges on offer. Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition seems to me to be an excellent idea that will quickly become a title only appreciated by the niche of speedrunners and more competitive party gamers.

Exophobia is a short but focused and conscious experience. Complexity gives way to simple, intense action, where exploration is the main course, with plenty of secrets to discover, without neglecting the shooting moments. All this is accompanied by a phenomenal soundtrack, which takes Exophobia far beyond the precepts of a typical Boomer shooter.

Shadow of the Erdtree is an expansion that offers more for those who weren't satisfied with Elden Ring. More than a complement to the base game, it's an extension of what the base game offers, a kind of new endgame, built in a compact world, absurdly dense and unbelievably, better than the original. Robust and incredibly solid, it's an essential expansion for anyone who wanders the Lands Between in search of a new challenge.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, recognized as one of the great GameCube classics, is back, this time on the Nintendo Switch. The improvements are clear to see in a remake that highlights the original's greatest qualities, without ever losing the charm of the GameCube's unique atmosphere. The sublime art direction and delightful soundtrack are still present and make this the best way to experience what will go down as the biggest and best Super Mario epic to date.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is yet another masterful testament to the talent and ingenuity of Ninja Theory, which has once again created a frighteningly tangible world with some of the best sound design I've ever experienced. Even though the studio closely follows the formula of the first game, Hellblade 2 is an experience you absolutely cannot miss.

Although it has some flaws, Stellar Blade is nonetheless a remarkable effort by Shift Up, which has had its biggest challenge to date here. Fundamentally, Stellar Blade is well realised in its core elements, with the only flaw being its inconsistent execution, which translates into boring open-world areas and an uninteresting story. The studio promises that Eve's story won't end here and I personally look forward to seeing what she can achieve in the future.

Princess Peach Showtime isn't Peach's solo debut, nor will it be the game she'll be remembered for in the future, but it feels like the ultimate start to a new and promising career for this cherished character from the Super Mario universe. For older players who have grown up with Nintendo and Super Mario, the novelty of Princess Peach Showtime wears off quickly, feeling repetitive and lacking in challenge. All in all, it's still not Yoshi's Crafted World or Luigi's Mansion, but judging by this release, the character and this new world have the potential for more and better.

The fact that Unicorn Overlord is both accessible to new players of the tactical genre while still managing to please the most experienced and demanding fans of the genre through its complex and extensive customisation of strategies and units is an achievement. With five regions to explore, more than 60 characters to unlock and 7 or 8 dozen hours of gameplay, the it's only real problem is the emptiness it leaves behind once you've finished it.

In an attempt to expand its player base, Team Ninja ends up diluting the formula it spent so many years refining. Rise of The Ronin stands out for its incredible and precise combat experience, combined with an enticing level design that stands out in an open world stuck in an overly familiar and beaten structure, without any major surprises in store. The story has its ups and downs, caused above all by an inconsistent pace, with characters constantly entering and exiting the stage. The game's performance also leaves something to be desired, especially considering that it's a PlayStation 5 exclusive released in 2024.

Last Epoch is a fantastic ARPG that cleverly introduces interesting new features to a genre that tends to get stuck in its roots. Deep and at the same time accessible to less experienced players, it has a surprising diversity of gameplay, anchored in ingenious gameplay loops that will keep you hooked for days.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has been both a respite and a surprise, and this for someone who didn't play the Remake but finished the original several times. It's much more than a remake, even though it shares the same themes and motifs, centered on Sephiroth's manipulation and uncertainty regarding Cloud's memories. It's a gigantic title, with a remarkable visual scale and a fantasy world where we would be able to live in and therefore want to get lost in. It's also one of the best games of early 2024, packed with content that's bound to keep you engaged for many hours.

With Pacific Drive, Ironwood Studios has achieved a game with an intoxicating and mysterious atmosphere, which introduces something new to a rather saturated genre through a fresh approach, anchored in systems that complement each other in an extremely intelligent way. Apart from one frustration or another, Pacific Drive is a highly recommended experience for all Survival fans.

Helldivers 2 is a brilliant, merciless and precise co-operative shooter. Freedom isn't just a battle cry, it's an authentic motto that guides every moment of its gameplay. The result is a fiendishly addictive mix, capable of keeping anyone hooked on the screen for hours and hours.

After a long voyage on a rough sea, Skull and Bones has reached a safe harbour. It's not the disaster many were expecting, but it doesn't offer an outstanding experience either. There are positive and genuinely enjoyable aspects, such as the combat or the artistic direction, but these are swallowed up by the swamp of live-service elements and the time it demands from players.

Simple, fun and recommended above all for younger players or those with little contact with the Super Mario franchise. Unfortunately, some of its most notable flaws are still present, such as unchallenging levels, again running the risk of putting off the more experienced players. To compensate, and perhaps unintentionally, the remake has a lure for these players: the addition of a robust co-operative mode that makes Mario vs. Donkey Kong more fun and even challenging when played with a friend, making us forget about its imperfections.

Persona 3 Reload is a worthy and fabulous remake, packed with numerous improvements that turn the original into an even more appetising RPG. Although it has some dated aspects, Reload exudes style, thanks to its revitalised visuals, a well-paced turn-based combat system, an infectious soundtrack and a cast of actors who bring unforgettable characters to life. It's just a shame that the FES and Portable content isn't included.

All in all, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown proves that less is more, and although the story is a bit convoluted, not granting much room for the characters that fill it, everything else is excellent. The combat is exciting, precise and challenging, while maintaining a surprising simplicity, without ever being unfair. On the same level is the level design, which oozes style and offers dozens of puzzles to solve with a handful of acrobatics, thanks to a fluid and very well executed movement system.

Ubisoft delivered what it promised. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is another beautiful canonical piece for the stunning Avatar universe. With a new storyline and characters on a yet unseen continent, the open world game offers a unique experience in terms of exploration and combat, giving the player the exciting experience of becoming a true Na'vi.

WarioWare: Move It! has a vast and diverse range of mini-games to be enjoyed solo, with friends or family, ensuring many hours of chaotic fun. Although there are more than two hundred games and a humorous narrative to support them, the very short duration of 3 seconds per mini-game wears you down quickly, leaving you feeling like you're spending more time waiting for the mini-game than actually playing. The mini-games are easy to master, significantly reducing the challenge and replayability. Despite its poor longevity, WarioWare: Move It! oozes creativity, shining in the competitive modes, but above all in the cooperative ones, proving to be a fun team party game.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare III is the ultimate proof that the franchise's annual release schedule is breaking down. The campaign feels uninteresting and rushed, the multiplayer mode appeals to the nostalgia of the community and isn't fundamentally different from its predecessor, while the zombies mode comes across as a PvE version of DMZ, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. All in all, Modern Warfare III struggles to justify its price and each of these elements would have benefited from a modular release rather than the hastily put together package we have on our hands.

Being a fan of RPGs is not a prerequisite for enjoying a well-done remake of an unlikely cult classic. Super Mario RPG might not have the deep narrative or challenging combat that the genre is known for, but it does offer a very entertaining, epic and timeless journey of good versus evil, starring Mario and and his friends, which will delight any fan of the franchise.

Football Manager 2024 doesn't revolutionise the franchise, at a time when Sports Interactive is probably thinking more about the next iteration, which will introduce women's football. Even so, the improvement to the game engine is the most significant in the last three years, the new negotiation system makes squad management more attractive and the creation of dead-ball tactics has never been so intuitive. FM 24 has a 1-0 lead, but is already thinking ahead to the big clash in the next fixture.

EA SPORTS WRC is a notable improvement in the saga of World Rally Championship games. The introduction of the builder mode, along with a well-structured career mode, makes the single-player experience fun, motivating and immersive. The driving system caters for all types of players, from those who play with controllers and in a more casual way to those who prefer a simulation environment. Codemasters presents a robust game, with a few rough edges but a truly fun driving experience. Now it's time to get behind the wheel and tear up the gravel.

Lord of The Rings: Return to Moria doesn't mess with the formula we already know from survival games. The focus on Tolkien's narrative offers good moments, but still leads to a relatively linear progression, lightly sprinkled with references to the journey of the Fellowship of the Ring. The bugs and the overly basic combat bury too much of the fun that the game can offer, yet fans of the genre and The Lord of the Rings willing to sift through these problems may find some golden nuggets.

With Devolver Digital's seal of quality, Wizard With a Gun cleverly combines the gunplay of Twin-Stick Shooters with the mechanics of survival games. The result is a fun isometric adventure with a double-edged sword in its simplicity - although addictive, it ends up being too easy, which shortens its duration and limits the challenge. Even so, it has enough creative possibilities for a few brave forays to save the world, five minutes at a time.

After 13 years of waiting, Alan Wake II is everything fans could ask for, and more. Despite some bugs and performance errors, Remedy delivers a memorable experience, full of moments of terror, action and, above all, mystery. The cast is charismatic, the environment fascinating, and the combat fun. Not only is it the best technical production from the producer, it is also an example of how a game should be presented in 2023.