Kvark is an old-school shooter that pays homage to Half-Life, but doesn't bring anything new to the genre. While it successfully captures the aesthetics and design quirks of turn-of-millennium games, its low-resolution textures, clunky enemy models, and frustrating gameplay mechanics make it feel outdated rather than nostalgic. The story unfolds through diary entries, posters and videos with a touch of Slavic sarcasm, but ultimately, the repetitive action and rigid save system remind players why modern shooters have evolved past these limitations.

The Horror at Highrook is a great pastime for fans of Lovecraft's stories and card & board games. The simple and fairly consistent gameplay loop from start to finish may not be the ultimate challenge for players who crave it. However, if you're looking for a relaxing card game in a horror-themed setting, The Horror at Highrook is a great choice for those sleepless summer nights.

Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall is a strong sequel to the original indie hit, blending narrative adventure with light resource management. Continuing directly from the first game, players once again balance the demands of ruling a medieval kingdom – making decisions for subjects, managing limited supplies, and navigating a branching story influenced by past choices. New mechanics, like prestige conversion and kingdom upgrades, deepen the strategy without overwhelming player. The structure remains approachable, with clear guidance and manageable consequences. While not radically innovative, Snowfall offers more of what made the original so beloved – engaging storytelling paired with meaningful, strategic decision-making.

Out of Sight is a fairly traditional horror adventure, for better or worse. It's not terribly scary, and the puzzles are relatively straightforward, but it's still a fun game to play. The innovative camera angles add just enough novelty to the genre that you'll enjoy the short single-player story.

There's always room for a small indie platformers. Finnish Mureena Games and Psychoflow Studio have created a collaboration, which borrows a lot from titles like INSIDE and Limbo, but doesn't quite get there in the end.

Without a Dawn feels down-to-earth, even small-scale compared to Makkonen's previous games, but at the same time it's a truly heavy experience. The visual novel takes you straight into darkness, both literally and figuratively.

The Roottrees are Dead focuses on solving the family tree of the rich Roottree family in an interesting and addictive way. The detective-like concept challenges in many ways and rewards attentiveness, quick wits and good reasoning skills.

I have some mixed feelings, but as a video game, Spider-Man 2 works really well. Hopefully Nixxes can fix the random crash issues. I'd still say that the first part worked better for me.

I thought for a long time on how to rate this release. From a preservation perspective, Glover is an interesting case indeed, but as a remaster, it barely deserves two stars. However: when the game works and the level design shines (rarely), it does have some fun moments and quirky ideas. The music is also quite catchy in many places, so it's not a completely hopeless case. Nevertheless, Glover would've needed a lot more work to make it more appealing and relevant for younger generations.

X-Out: Resurfaced comes close to hitting the mark but doesn't quite make it. It stays true to its era and is overall a solid shooter, offering a refreshing experience that stands out both in gameplay and audiovisual presentation. However, its punishing difficulty level inevitably pushes less experienced players away, making it hard to recommend without reservations — except to fans of the original game and the most dedicated bullet-dodgers. That said, if you're feeling lucky and looking for new challenges in the realm of 2D shooters, feel free to add an extra star to the score. Once you master X-Out’s intricacies, it rewards you handsomely. Now, we can only hope that its sequel also makes its way to modern platforms for everyone to experience.

If you’re not yet tired of Japan filled with samurais, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is highly recommended and a triumphant return to more open-worldy formula. Scratching the surface reveals an experience that feels very familiar and safe in many ways. However, that’s not a negative thing. Sometimes it’s simply really enjoyable to return to familiar video game series that you can almost guarantee it works well. With AC Shadows, it is also noticeable that every aspect in the game has improved since Valhalla.

Civilization VII feels like an Early Access title with a premium price tag. Its foundations are solid as ever, and it's still fun to play. But there are fewer reasons than before to jump ship into the latest chapter of the illustrious series, especially as Civ VI is around. Give it a year, and we'll talk again.

Joyful co-op adventure Split Fiction has some minor faults, but in the end it is filled with so many unforgettable "whoa!" moments, it would feel wrong to give this anything else than full five stars.

Inkle studio should be praised for the whole concept. The characters are written really well, and each acquaintance has their own personality and way of speaking. That said, Expelled! is a neat experience, but something about the plot still didn't work for me even though I loved their Overboard! murder mystery.

A high concept surreal experience drawing inspiration from the works of David Lynch, Terry Gilliam and George Orwell, Karma: The Dark World is a passable debut work of Shanghai based Pollard Studio. Technically the presentation is solid, but story is all over the place and writing borderline cringe.

I enjoyed every second of playing Wanderstop. The music is charming and the tea making process – and the various steps involved – are all incredibly cleverly constructed.

Patrones & Escondites' Your House stumbles in the most important thing, the puzzles. You are too often left feeling frustrated when you spend too much time on a particular puzzle. However, as a concept, it is interesting and in some ways also unique, which is supported by the clever audiovisual design.

Koira, published by Don't Nod, is a minimalist and atmospheric adventure game that follows a girl who befriends an injured dog in a snowy forest while evading relentless hunters. With no dialogue, the storytelling relies on player interpretation and a strong audiovisual presentation, featuring hand-painted grayscale landscapes and a musical puzzle system. The gameplay is simple, with intuitive puzzles and basic controls, making it more of a walking simulator than a traditional narrative-driven experience. While Koira delivers an emotionally resonant and visually striking journey, its short length and straightforward mechanics keep it as a pleasant artistic interlude rather than a groundbreaking title.

Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator is pretty mediocre title. There are some realistic puzzles which keep you occupied for a while. However, don't expect to be driving around with an excessive sense of speed, where you're rushing through the city and saving the patient's life with heroic actions, defying dangers. It's not that.

South of Midnight is a melancholic action-adventure set in the American South, where Hazel embarks on a journey through a sorrowful magical world filled with monsters and dark family secrets. The game blends platforming and combat, but both feel unrefined—movement is stiff, fights are repetitive, and level design lacks depth. While the narrative and Southern folklore elements are compelling, the gameplay struggles to keep up, making it a title best experienced through Game Pass rather than a full-price purchase.

Investigating old stories and cases is fascinating. The cases are complex tangles, where the crime is clear, but finding the right culprit requires precision and reasoning. Unfortunately, the trials sometimes require too much understanding of the game developers' logic than the events of the crime itself, which is frustrating. Nevertheless The Darkest Files offers a fascinating peek into humanity's darkest moments and the aftermath - in the form of a puzzle game.

Atomfall leans really heavily on Britishness. The atmosphere, the turns of phrase, and there are nods to several British media products, such as Doctor Who. If this is not your cup of tea, it will certainly affect your enthusiasm for the game. The title just failed to hook me. Atomfall is not a bad game, but it doesn't really resonate in any way. I was never really immersed in the world, but I constantly felt like I was playing a game, a kind of broader escape room experience.

The remake of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is a lovingly crafted example of how decades-old titles should be brought into the modern era. It effectively smooths out the rough edges of the original game and offers a fun and faithful experience, complete with a substantial amount of bonus material for those interested in its development history.

Don't Nod's new release holds up almost as well as Life is Strange.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a masterpiece that clearly draws inspiration from other RPG's, but does so with such elegance and skill that it stands firmly on its own in an overcrowded genre – thanks in part, of course, to its own unique tricks. In an age of cynicism and uncertainty, it's wonderful to get our hands on something this magical.

Promise Mascot Agency blends gracefully many different genres and charms with its originality, but the title, which relies heavily on visual novel-style storytelling, can be very boring at times.

Lushfoil Photography Sim is, as its name suggests, a simulator that requires dedication and enjoyment of a peaceful rhythm. With small updates, the title can be improved even more, but even now it offers an excellent basis for enjoying photography and visiting world-famous landscapes in search of peace. Of course, it is not a substitute for a proper photography course, but it may give an impetus to a new or forgotten hobby. The game is not for everyone, but for its target audience it is almost a perfect match.

Old Skies is a really solid game from Wadjet Eye Games. It's nothing earth-shattering, but for fans of the genre, this point-and-click adventure offers over ten hours of cleverly designed puzzles and an emotional story.