Mario Strikers: Battle League Football is a wonderfully chaotic and entertaining football game where violent kicks and punches are as important as good passes. Unfortunately, the lack of content dampens the fun for solo-players, so football-hungry friends or the ability to forgive the limited online mode is a must.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is an odd but thrilling adventure that mixes action, horror and Japanese traditions. Exploring a demon-filled Tokyo is decently frightening, while the battles are both intense and somewhat original. Some repetitive moments and an uneven story lower the experience a few notches, but in the end, the positive parts outweigh the bad ones.

The refreshing gameplay of Pokémon Legends: Arceus reinvigorates a series that's become somewhat stale. Therefore it's a shame that the story, graphics and environments don't meet the same standard.

The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf is a surprisingly enjoyable platforming game. The relatively low development budget is noticeable in some ways, but the foundation is solid enough to make it easy to ignore some lack of polish. With charming graphics and a gameplay loop that is as entertaining as challenging, it is a colorful adventure that is perfect for the whole family.

Big Brain Academy: Brain vs Brain is a puzzle game that is easy to learn but difficult to master. Lone players will unfortunately get tired relatively quickly due to the meager content. As a family-friendly party game, it fits much better, as long as everyone knows the English language fairly well.

Battlefield 2042 is huge. In its best moments enormously fun, but just as often enormously frustrating, stressful and difficult to understand. All levers are at max in this game, which is a clear change from the previous games in the series. Whether you will like it or not is impossible to answer.

House of Ashes is limited, but oh so entertaining. It's a bit sad that the focus on action overtakes some of the horror elements, but at the same time we appreciate that the story and the environments differ a lot from the anthology's previous titles.

Call of Duty: Vanguard reminds us of the Call of Duty titles from over 15 years ago. And there is nothing wrong with a somewhat stripped-down reboot, but in this case, it feels like a lack of development time is the main reason for the cutbacks. The single player campaign looks terrific and plays great but has very few memorable moments. The zombie mode on the other hand lacks a lot of content at launch. Luckily, the main online mode offers plenty of content and the gameplay is as addicting as ever – even though everything feels very familiar.

Age of Empires 4 is a safe new entry in the classic series. It is both nicer and bigger than before, but at the same time characterized by an extremely familiar feeling. The various playable civilizations are the triumph of the game, but the inherited problems from the rts genre as a whole do create some irritation.

With NHL 22, EA's classic hockey game finally gets a new game engine, which gives us better physics, graphics, and animations. As usual, we also get a ton of different games modes that will make most hockey fans happy. What we do not get, however, is enough notable gameplay improvements. Even though the improved physics helps a fair amount, plenty of old shortcomings remains. That said, NHL 22 is a great hockey game, but there is still room for plenty of improvements.

It's been more than a decade since Left 4 Dead 2 and Turtle Rock is now back to reclaim the throne. Back 4 Blood is not a revolution, though. Instead, it's an evolution of the developer's already excellent gameplay from before. Although we would have liked less of the small flaws we find, it does not stop the game from being a really entertaining and addictive shooter. With human teammates, that is.

Far Cry 6 starts off strong with a haunting and pretty realistic sequence. During the adventure, we get plenty of similar scenes, but also the exact opposite - and everything in between. It creates an incredibly disjointed experience, but it's actually not as bad as it sounds since the actual gameplay is varied and enjoyable. Instead, it is the high number of bugs and, to say the least, strange behavior from some of the computer controlled characters that lowers the enjoyment a notch.

Despite being over 20 years old, Diablo II is a true classic and offers gameplay that holds up very well even today. However, the graphics do not, which makes it fitting that this remaster lovingly repaints the exterior but leaves most of the interior intact. Some parts would have benefited from some modernization however, and the unstable yet more or less mandatory online service can lead to great frustration and in some cases even loss of progress. An unnecessary fault in an otherwise superb remaster.

16 years after the first Psychonauts, the long-awaited sequel is here. A sequel that feels familiar, yet time improved in every way. Just like its predecessor, we get clever platforming, imaginative worlds, and wonderful characters. Unfortunately, we also get substandard battles, uneven level design and a somewhat unpolished package. It is quite noticeable that Psychonauts 2 is a grassroots-funded indie game at its core, but in the end its not all that hard to forgive the faults.

Mario Golf: Super Rush is a well-made and entertaining sports game that shows that Nintendo and Camelot learned their lesson after the content-poor Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. We especially appreciate the new "Speed golf" mode, which gives the sport a dynamic touch that is otherwise difficult to find. However, we do miss some elements from previous games, such as minigolf and gameplay changing items to use during the rounds.

What may look like an ordinary Japanese action game soon turns out to be so much more. In addition to battles that are as good-looking as they are tactical, we also get charismatic characters, a captivating story, and a well-developed universe. Unfortunately, both the story and the battles stumble upon themselves at times - and the environments often leave a lot to be desired. But despite the shortcomings, Scarlet Nexus is a surprisingly successful mix of action and JRPG – and a must have for anyone who wants an action game with a focus on story and depth.

DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power is a bit of a mixed experience. The first impression is really good with nice graphics and fun battles, but the more we play the more cracks we see in the facade. The game does not nail the humor of the TV series, the battles are often overly messy, and some technical problems hampers experience. But despite all of the problems, we still have fun when we make our way around around Metropolis - even if the experience is more reminiscent of a licensed kid’s game than the giants of the genre.

Biomutant is an odd and brave addition to the action role-playing game genre, but is plagued by substandard storytelling and repetitive elements. The smart system for weapons and the equipment construction are the games salvation. As a whole though, the game does not live up to the hype.

After 22 years, we finally get a sequel to the Nintendo 64 classic Pokémon Snap. Even though a lot of time has passed, much of the gameplay is intact. You follow a fixed road forward and your mission is to photograph as many Pokémons as possible before the route reaches its end. It may not sound all that fun, but it really is. For a while anyway. Although the adventure is more than twice as long as the original and the gameplay has evolved in a few important areas, it is a bit too limited to please others than those who already love the series.

Off the track, the MotoGP 21 builds upon what its predecessor did well. On the track, however, we get improved and more realistic gameplay. At first it feels like a change for the worse, but the more we play, the more we like it. We do wish MotoGP 21 had more noticeable improvements on the new generation of consoles, although significantly shorter loading times and a superb use of the Dualsense’s features does make the game more enjoyable.

Although the game system is well done and the environments are beautiful, the rest is still bland and unimaginative. However, the battles are a strong bright spot - and if you like Japanese role-playing games in the old style, there is a lot to like here. Do not expect any groundbreaking new features or an outstanding story though.

MXGP 2020 is a motocross game that on the surface looks like its rather mediocre predecessors, but with higher resolution and better framerate. After a lap on the track, however, it becomes obvious that the control and physics have been greatly improved. In a year or two, we may be laughing at MXGP 2020 due to the fairly simple graphics and lack of content, but here and now it is actually the best interpretation of the sport so far.

When Observer was originally released three years ago, it was mostly met with praise, even though the console version left a lot to be desired. But with the power of Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X, this psychological horror crime adventure corrects many of the errors from the first version – and adds greatly improved graphics and some new content. The gameplay is still limited, and the bugs are unfortunately a bit too frequent, but the world and story keeps us hooked to the end.

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a good attempt to revive the toys to life genre. The AR functions are really impressive, with varied environments such as snow landscapes and lava worlds that give your living room a completely new look. Unfortunately the basic game itself is somewhat limited in terms of characters and unlockables. In addition, the 200cc mode is the only one that corresponds to the fast-paced feel from the original. And the total prize will definitely discourage a lot of curious players.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure switches the creative mode from the main series to a more direct platform game. Some courses such as the rhythm-based ones are brilliant, but despite the improved control compared to Little Big Planet, most of them are too easy and slow for the experienced player. And apart from the Dual Sense features, there are no real "next gen" details that stand out.

With an entertaining campaign, great online opportunities and panic-stricken zombie slaughter, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is an impressive package. Still, we can not help but feel disappointed. The best parts of the campaign could have been developed much more and the online modes feel well stripped down. Cold War still impresses, but with more development time, it could have been so much more than "this year's Call of Duty game".

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a fresh update of Sega's crazy gangster simulator. The new combat system is varied and really entertaining. The balance between the seriousness of the story and the humorous elements is excellent, and the new protagonist Ichiban is convincing. But unfortunately, the real "next-gen" elements are absent. Static environments and non-animated mouths should not occur at all in the year 2020.

Little Hope, the second part of the horror series Dark Pictures, is a more refined and scarier experience than its predecessor. Walking around the misty town reminds us of Silent Hill, even though the game soon takes a more familiar horror route. The journey could be better in a lot of ways, but just like horror movies, some weird acting and other oddities are a part of the package. Little Hope is far from perfect, but it is still a fun little horror gem that will entertain horror fans.