If Inscryption can repel some with its pixelated graphics and its purely textual dialogues, it fully assumes its old school side. And it is right to do so since its artistic direction is clearly convincing. As for the gameplay, it is full of creativity and offers us an adventure where the rules are constantly reinvented to surprise us each time in a particularly efficient way. Another little indie gem.

Old and new players will enjoy this new Mario Party on Nintendo Switch. With its graphical improvements and its back to basics, this Superstars version finally offers a strong gameplay on the home console. The big positive point is of course the presence of online from the start of the adventure and for all game modes, but also the stickers allowing you to communicate with other players. More lively than ever, Mario Party Superstars may not be the best of the series, but allows you to forget the disappointment of 2018.

Project Zero 5 is not a bad game: with its Japanese horror movie atmosphere reminiscent of The Grudge or the mythical The Ring, Koei Tecmo's survival-horror succeeds in immersing the player in its scary universe full of macabre stories and tormented spirits. Also, Gamepad is for once very well exploited with a Camera Obscura to be controlled directly with the gyroscope (or the sticks if you wish). Unfortunately, the numerous back and forths to do during the game and the general stiffness of the gameplay make the pleasure of the game fall very quickly, leaving only a nice adventure, but far from being memorable.

Youtubers Life 2 could really have been a good little influencer life simulation game if its formula had been a little better thought out. The sometimes shaky features combined with the merciless passage of time are both stressful and frustrating, as it feels like you're missing out on what each day has to offer. Having to race against the clock and make painful choices is not very relaxing. If you are not too competitive in managing your YouTube channel as well as the layout of your home, and if you enjoy the social interactions with the strange inhabitants of New Tube City, you can have a pretty good time.

More than a mainstream game for fans, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a real hit that wasn't expected. Of course, being a fan of Star Lord and Rocket's humour will help you enjoy the game, but the single-player adventure offered by Eidos Montreal can suit anyone who likes the genre. A successful art direction, a pleasing energy, omnipresent dialogues and music plus dynamic fights make this new title an explosive condensation of good things succeeding in making us forget the few negative points such as a certain slowness in some chapters and the impossibility to embody the other guardians.

Age of Empires 4 is a real-time strategy game of a scale we haven't seen in years. While it doesn't revolutionize the genre or the license, it does give them an excellent modern representative. The execution is almost flawless, the content is satisfying, the handling is fast, and the gameplay is satisfying. Novices and veterans alike should find something to enjoy, whether playing single or multiplayer. There is even an educational aspect, which helps to renew the interest and the look of battles and wars that we have already followed, or even fought in other games. Apart from a few minor flaws, as is often the case with very good games, we would simply have liked to have more.

With House of Ashes, Supermassive Games takes a more action oriented that some may regret. It is also less horrific, but still relies on effective dilemmas to guide its story. As for the graphics, they can be beautiful as well as a bit overdone and suffer from a sometimes strange facial animation. And although it still needs to be improved, we welcome the switch to free camera, as well as the 3 difficulty levels proposed for the QTEs. Still as cinematic as ever, the title offers us an adventure around a Sumerian legend with an undeniable replayability and which is perfectly suited to multiplayer games with friends.

Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles is a fan service game, and it doesn't hide it. If you are a fan of the first hour then you will have no problem to dive into this adventure which mixes combat and narrative phases, all in the enchanting universe of the anime. For the others, the experience will lose a lot of flavor. The story mode is not always well-paced and the Versus mode is clearly not enough on its own. In the end, the game is mainly for fans of Koyoharu Gotōge's work.

In the end, Back 4 Blood is indeed Left 4 Dead 3 under a different name, trying to recover the magic recipe that made the success of the two previous installments, without ever managing to surpass them. Indeed, the absence of a real versus mode on the campaign coupled with the fact that its scenario is less engaging make it a good game, but not a very good one. We won't neglect its hyper fun and bloody side which will delight a good number of players who will play it in co-op and especially with friends. As for the players who want to try it alone, we advise them to pass their way because of the lack of fun linked to the catastrophic AI of the bots.

With Metroid Dread, Mercury Steam brings a satisfying conclusion to 35 years of history. It's a particularly solid metroidvania, which will make you thrill at every revelation and sweat at every boss fight, while distilling a level-design mastered like never before. However, its main and only innovation, embodied by the E.M.M.I., prevents the title from reaching the pantheon of the genre, which is already full of quality titles: more frustrating than stressful, the mechanics and areas related to the robots of the galactic federation are far from convincing us.

Far Cry 6 is not a bad game, far from it. We have to admit that the scenery of the island of Yara is exotic and the story around Antón Castillo is rather interesting. However, the recipe is starting to run out of steam. The few new features are not enough to make up for a huge but cruelly empty map. As for the scenario, it quickly becomes a bit stale, with quests following one another without really managing to keep us in suspense. Nevertheless, if you want to dive into the heart of the guerrilla war with a friend, and not Chorizo, note that the game becomes much more fun with two players.

Rogue Lords will not suit everyone, that's for sure. Very (too?) difficult at times and what you will get during each of your runs, this game will at least have the merit of making you feel a strong sense of accomplishment at each boss you defeat. On our side, as rogue-lite fans, we were clearly won over. The art direction is a bit of a head-turner, like Darkest Dungeon for example, and should appeal to the same type of players.

TOEM is an exquisite expedition into a minimalist black and white world without being simplistic. With a ton of objects to collect and puzzles to solve with your camera, the small independent game offers a variety of charming activities, all in a relaxing atmosphere. Far too short, we would have liked to spend more time on it.

Ni No Kuni 2 offers a nice addictive adventure with varied and original features. However, its simplicity and its little scenario make it a nice title without being a monumental slap in the genre. Without a doubt, the porting to the Switch is successful and offers a portable version that is pleasant to take everywhere.

Two years later, the same assessment can be made for Phoenix Point, even if it is an interesting tactical game with potential, it is still not finished. Some of the bugs have been fixed, and the content has been greatly enriched by the DLC included in this edition, but shortcuts have been taken, which spoiled their potential, and no effort has been made to really integrate them into the whole. Balancing is still an issue, and progression can become frustrating if you increase the difficulty. As for the console port, it's satisfactory in terms of controller controls, but you'll need to have a lot of patience to tolerate the excessively long load times.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a good game on which you can have fun and spend good moments. Whether you are a new player or an old player of the license, you will find what you need. However, you will have to be patient to get through some stages. With this opus, Sega invites players to rediscover their first love of the series by offering levels from the first Super Monkey Ball. As a bonus, the addition of mini-games is a plus to have fun with your friends during parties even if some mini-games are not necessarily the most exciting. As for the small drawbacks, we regret the fact that you can't play all the characters in all the modes or the difficulty which is not always progressive.

It is obvious that players will ask for small adjustments and additions to be made on New World, but let's not forget that the game is making its premiere and that it is already very satisfactory for its debut. It has mechanics that will appeal to players who are tired of classic MMOs and they will find a variety of elements that are very relevant. Crafting is no longer useless: it is now necessary to have professions to have a viable game experience in late and end game. The world of Aeternum will be able to take players on a journey in a new MMO that should continue to grow in beauty over time.

With Hot Wheels Unleashed, the Mattel brand succeeds in its return to video games with a dynamic title, easy to handle, fluid and really fun. Everything breathes the Hot Wheels spirit and that's good. Despite a feeling of repetitiveness linked to the use of only 5 environments, it contains a lot of good ideas and often gives you a good feeling, especially during the boss races. We would have liked a less redundant soundtrack and a more advanced story mode, but it still manages to do well. As for the collectors, they will be delighted to chase the rare pearl, even if the surprise box option and its random dimension are highly debatable.

With a charming and nice adventure, Kena Bridge of Spirits invites us in a cute and dark world. The gameplay is rather simple but offers interesting mechanics that allow you to have a good time no matter what happens. With tons of resources to collect and an original scenario, Kena is clearly the kind of independent title that you want to finish. And this is perhaps its biggest strength: a relaxing game, with a challenge, that you want to finish at 100%. In the end, Kena doesn't invent much but offers a beautiful and memorable journey.

Diablo 2 Resurrected has a stunning graphical overhaul as well as satisfactory controller support, but it's really not a remaster for the masses: it's primarily aimed at fans of the original title. Nostalgia won't necessarily be enough to make you forget the lack of modernization of many interface or gameplay elements. So it struggles to compete with the many newer games in the same genre on many levels. Let's hope for more changes in the future. Even if it doesn't impose itself as a modern title, we still recommend it to players looking to discover this great classic in good conditions, knowing that it offers an almost unlimited life span to those who are hooked on its old formula.

Two years later, Death Stranding is still an atypical and compelling adventure that managed to transport us for more than fifty hours. No matter how much we might grumble about the weaknesses of its creator's writing, the fact remains that its unique concept still holds up well, while its panoramas are sublimated by the PS5's optimizations. So the verdict is pretty much the same as for other editions of this kind on Sony's machine: if you've never played the original game, go for it, but if you've already played it, the new content doesn't necessarily justify paying for it again.

With Eastward, Pixpil succeeds in extracting the essence of the Mother games and transposing it into a Zelda-like game that highlights the complementarity between Sam and John, a particularly endearing duo. A real success, absolutely beautiful and endowed with a unique, bewitching and carefully written universe, that we recommend you to explore urgently.

With this second episode, the Judgment series proves that it can perfectly complement the main Yakuza series, which has been turn-based since its seventh episode. Yagami's investigation in Seiryo High School is exciting and much better paced than the first episode, while the gameplay has been enriched enough to push us to comb all of Yokohama once again. However, street fights are still slow to start and some investigation sequences break the rhythm of the game on some occasions. However, if you want a dose of good humor with a dark and well-written detective story, you can go eyes closed.

NBA 2K22 remains a very good basketball game but it rely too much on its assets and doesn't evolve anymore. It's difficult to see the differences between the 2021 and 2022 versions in terms of technology, graphics and content available to players. However, we notice the efforts made on the gameplay, which is much closer to the reality of the courts and less frustrating, as well as the care given to the My NBA mode. As far as the career mode is concerned, we're clearly left wanting more, it's just a lot of filler, to the detriment of the narrative quality of the career. To conclude, NBA 2K22 remains solid on its feet, still offering the best for a fan of the orange ball, but it's cruelly lacking in creativity and struggling to renew itself.

Deathloop is a good experience that mixes genres and inspirations against the backdrop of an assassination-based time puzzle. The island and the characters are full of personality, which makes the exploration and discovery of secrets satisfying at first. But you quickly realize that the title doesn't have the means of its ambitions, it's not a very good FPS, nor a good puzzle game, and it doesn't reach the level of Hitman on infiltration and creativity of assassinations. Despite its limitations, you still have a good time on Blackreef Island, and it's fun to progress from loop to loop, getting faster and faster while killing your targets at lightning speed. The multiplayer invasions also add the edge of difficulty and challenge that the rest of the game struggles to offer.

Lost in Random is without any doubt the independent nugget of this end of the year. The creativity is at its peak and everything makes it a title not to be missed. Tim Burton-like art direction, an engaging story and above all an original and very addictive gameplay. Card game, chess game, board game, dice game... One could think that all this mix is a bit messy but everything is, on the contrary, well measured.

With its rich emotional proposal, Life is Strange: True Colors managed to arouse our empathy on many occasions. Even if it is not free of flaws (repetitions, invisible walls, long loading times...), it knows how to create the right atmosphere by relying on melancholic music and good acting. Its concept of auras works perfectly and allows for some very nice sequences. With its neat graphics, its excellent voice acting and its endearing characters, it is a great Life is Strange.

Dice Legacy has some very good ideas, as well as an innovative gameplay based on dices, without knocking you out with questions of probability and risk calculation. But without being too complex, this game turns out to be very demanding, and it will even challenge city builder regulars, since it requires to manage many tasks and problems in real time, leaving little room for error. Finally, the fact that its lifespan is based only on more difficult variants of the same story may quickly tire players, since it does not offer other maps, nor varied scenarios, nor easy access to the dices from previous games.