With 8 interesting destinies to follow, an HD-2D aesthetic more charming than ever and a divine OST, Octopath Traveler 2 has absolutely everything it needs in its bag to make old school Japanese RPG lovers have a good time. Beware, however, of this particular structure, character chapter by character chapter, which can still put you off, despite the developers' efforts to make the whole thing much more pleasant to play.

Wild Hearts doesn't just copy Monster Hunter, it also has plenty of good ideas, such as the changing environment and map installations. But the overall lack of polish and questionable balancing nevertheless proves to be unfortunate, and it still never manages to be as satisfying as its model. Whether it's the combat, the graphics, or the different systems of the game, the basics are there, but it's not quite accomplished enough to fully indulge in the pleasure of hunting big monsters.

If it doesn't revolutionize the VR experiences mixing exploration, combat and narration, Horizon Call of the Mountain offers one of the most beautiful executions of all the best VR games have brought in recent years. From its movements to its action phases, Firesprite's title knows how to make itself interesting: the fights are precise and demanding, the climbing phases are well done and the graphic quality is crazy for an experience on this support: what more could you ask for?

Hogwarts Legacy is so extensive and ambitious that sacrifices have been made. It's not perfect in its finishing touches, but that's not a penalty: it's indeed the game that all potterheads dreamed of, but it's also a too classic RPG for those who are not familiar with the Harry Potter universe. If the gameplay is not always interesting, the scenario hides some remarkable surprises and the work done on the conception of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade is quite impressive. Visiting these two emblematic places of the saga will amaze you and will take you a long time, to add to an already colossal life span.

It's been a long time since a game has conquered us like Hi-Fi Rush did. From the very beginning, Tango Gameworks' title grabbed us by the collar and never let us go until the end credits, and we're asking for more. From its original concept executed with a cheeky mastery to its setting filled with a fine and universal humor, this is a project of enthusiasts for enthusiasts, you can feel it and it obviously warms your heart. You were looking for the first essential of 2023? Well, here it is!

Forspoken barely avoids disaster thanks to its gameplay and its two main characters, two aspects that are not without their faults either. Its few good ideas simply don't manage to make up for its huge shortcomings: Luminous' title quickly gets bogged down in a rousing structure, which will take you through areas that are certainly huge, but empty of interest. The activities all look the same, the level design is very poor, as is the bestiary... In short, it is impossible for us to recommend it at full price.

Even if we are still a bit hungry and we were hoping for more novelties to stretch the story or simply more content and side missions, too few and quickly solved, Dead Space Remake remains a success overall. The total immersion provided from the beginning to the end thanks to the suppression of pauses and loadings, as well as the captivating atmosphere of the different areas of the Ishimura. We are in turn amazed, then terrified, but never bored, all the while crushing necromorphs in spades. A 2023 version of a respected and greatly improved classic, which will please those who played the original and surely even more the neophytes, who will discover this classic in this spectacular form, making it one of the best survival-horror of this generation.

Fire Emblem Engage is a very unbalanced title, on the one hand, it is very affordable for all players, and we loved the challenges it offers at high difficulty levels. But on the other hand, its story and characters made us roll our eyes all the time. Fortunately, the quality realization, at least for the Switch, makes up for it. Also, real efforts have been made to improve the gameplay, and the interface is well thought out. It's a real pleasure to play and watch the fights, which are always accompanied by good animations and music. This can be a great game, if you can ignore the bad parts of it, and focus on the tactical battles.

After a very nice first chapter, One Piece Odyssey gets bogged down in a tiring structure that multiplies the back and forth to excess, with numerous narrative cuts that chop up the rhythm of the adventure. The completely out-of-touch combat balancing finished convincing us that Bandai Namco's JRPG didn't have much interesting to offer, except for a few convincingly staged cutscenes. Nevertheless, it is a game that is just neat and addictive enough for hardcore fans of the cult manga to enjoy.

Need for Speed Unbound surprises with its graphic style inspired by street art. But the characters look really cheap. The cops are a bit too sticky, so the title offers an appreciable challenge with an efficient risk-reward concept, and a great soundtrack. We would have appreciated less limited winnings on the races to quickly buy real cars, as well as being able to play with a cockpit view, but that didn't stop us from enjoying driving, with the desire to go back each time.

The release of Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion is excellent news for all the fans of what has become a full-fledged franchise, thanks to the phenomenal success of FFVII. But be careful, you have to know what you're getting into: if the remaster allows you to enjoy this prequel with a new visual comfort, the few adjustments made by the developers are not enough to hide the great age of a formula. For the endearing piece of history it offers, fans should be able to get past it, but it might be much more complicated for everyone else.

The Callisto Protocol is a title that will not disorient the connoisseurs of the genre with many features undeniably coming from Dead Space. Nevertheless, it remains in its own right with many innovative features. One thinks in particular of the infiltration phases that are reminiscent of The Last of Us and the combat system that is much more nervous than usual. Striking Distance Studios' latest game has a breathtaking technique that will be remembered, but suffers from a certain lack of creativity for its bestiary and the depth of the characters. Hopefully, the DLC will be able to improve the game's shortcomings. To let off steam and live a somewhat horrific experience, The Callisto Protocol remains a good survival.

Marvel's Midnight Suns offers gameplay that should not be underestimated, it is rich, fun and satisfying. Fans of TCGs and tactical puzzles should also appreciate its high replayability. The social RPG aspect of the abbey also proved to be much more interesting than expected, but the poor graphics seriously hinder the immersion. On the other hand, the exploration of the territories around the abbey turns out to be heavy and uninteresting. The result is a very contrasted game, which will not please everyone, but which clearly deserves to be played.

While waiting to see what season 2 of The Dark Pictures Anthology has in store for us, The Devil in Me closes the first one by bringing a few novelties and an interesting character. This episode is a little bit better, but it has a hard time renewing the series and, despite some improvements, it still suffers from the shortcomings of its predecessors, especially on a technical level. It is still attractive, with ordinary characters and a plot that is not very well written, but a serial killer and a Murder Hotel that have an effect, with, moreover, delicate decisions to be taken and jump scares that can make you jump.

Football Manager 2023 is a step in the right direction. It adds eye-catching new features such as UEFA licenses, as well as gameplay and match engine tweaks. You can still ask for a little more to a game that is already excellent, such as improvements to press conferences, or even women's football, but it is undoubtedly worth playing if you are a fan of the saga.

If Pokémon Scarlet and Violet offer us an invigorating adventure in the colors of the Iberian Peninsula, we can feel that some sacrifices had to be made, on the graphics and technique in particular, in order to let players explore the immense region of Paldea. Breathless, it's not on Nintendo Switch that the pocket monsters will shine, but this 9th generation will at least have the merit of offering us something new in the license. The open world gameplay is what many fans have been waiting for for ages and Game Freak succeeds in offering interesting scenarios and a worthy end-game with mechanics borrowed from Arceus' success.

If Pokémon Scarlet and Violet offer us an invigorating adventure in the colors of the Iberian Peninsula, we can feel that some sacrifices had to be made, on the graphics and technique in particular, in order to let players explore the immense region of Paldea. Breathless, it's not on Nintendo Switch that the pocket monsters will shine, but this 9th generation will at least have the merit of offering us something new in the license. The open world gameplay is what many fans have been waiting for for ages and Game Freak succeeds in offering interesting scenarios and a worthy end-game with mechanics borrowed from Arceus' success.

Even if it remains rather childish and won't blow your mind as much as the other Playstation adaptations, Sackboy also takes advantage of all the potential of these machines in terms of graphics. The challenge is not very high, but the gameplay is fascinating, and the levels are efficiently designed. The fact that you can use DualSense for even more immersion, and the charm of the game's artistic direction and its enchanting soundtrack, makes it a must-have platformer for fans of the genre.

If Sonic Frontiers offers a rather simplistic open world in its conception, it is nevertheless a condensed action, fluidity and dynamism. It's a real pleasure to explore the different islands while sprinting or using the springs and other springboards to go higher and higher. Despite a somewhat redundant scenario and some ergonomic issues, this new title from SEGA is perfect to try 100% without ever getting bored thanks to the fights offering various patterns and mini-games allowing to unlock the zones. In short, an ideal adventure and platform game for the end of the year whether you are a fan of the blue hedgehog or not.

The surprise effect of the new formula is gone, but its power remains. The first game was already pushing the limits of what we could expect from a blockbuster on consoles, this sequel only widens the gap. More than the colossal work of Santa Monica, it's also the result of a vision of action-adventure with a high narrative content explored for a few years now by Sony PlayStation and its first party studios. A total success on which we can find very few things to say: God of War Ragnarök is definitely a title that commands respect.

Mount & Blade II Bannerlord is a perfected version of a medieval sandbox game concept where you alternate between territory conquest, large-scale battles and the progression of your character and your kingdom. The few AI wanderings and the repetitiveness of the quests and dialogues do not detract from this exhilarating sandbox where your story is written as you make decisions and take actions.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 offers a very nice campaign that will reconcile players who were unfortunately disappointed by Call of Duty: Vanguard. On the program, a lot of action, endearing characters, and of course a bit of betrayal in all this. If some may find that its lifespan is not long enough, it must be admitted that in this case, it is nevertheless sufficient. And as we have said, the end of the campaign announces something crazy for those who would not have enough yet! Besides, there is something for everyone: from hardcore missions to those that require more discretion, you will be served no matter what your taste is. This opus marks more than ever the return of Call of Duty. [Campaign Score = 85]

With this third episode, Bayonetta asserts its domination over the 3D beat them up with new daring and destabilizing mechanics, but which lead to even more enjoyable and powerful combinations than before. An excellent core game marred by a flawed technique that causes problems of precision and readability of the action, which is particularly problematic for a game of this type. No need to sulk in your pleasure though, the witch has once again managed to bewitch us during the fifteen hours that this new journey lasts.

The new Tales from the Borderlands, but keeps the Telltale spirit and dives into the crazy world of Borderlands with an effective, permanent, offbeat and enjoyable humor. We will certainly criticize the game's perfectible technique as well as its lack of real player involvement and challenge, but that's nothing compared to the moments of anthology it offers us. The characters not only have depth, but they are also beautifully interpreted. The game is full of funny situations, and many of its lines could become mythical. It is a real success in its genre.

Gotham Knights is a game that offers what you would expect from it, especially in terms of atmosphere, but it is still a bit light in terms of content. Fortunately, the combat system is solid, and the open world offers an alternative to a recipe we've been fed for a long time. Riding through the streets on a motorcycle or in the air before beating up criminals with class has its charm, and you almost never get bored. It's very beautiful, if not fluid on consoles, and there's a healthy dose of variety in the activities and characters. So you have a good time with this Batman without Batman game, especially in co-op.

The Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection port on PC meets almost all our expectations. The graphics and comfort options are rich, and it's perfectly playable with keyboard and mouse, on different types of screens. The remaster of Uncharted 4 was already an excellent game thanks to its high level of realization, its solid gameplay and its mastered narration, with characters as credible as they are engaging. This new version allows you to experience all of that officially, and in a modernized form, somewhere other than a Sony console for the first time.

The developers seem to have learned from the small mistakes of their first opus, especially on the gameplay. While the first title was considered too directional, this one is much less so, offering a much more aggressive approach. As for the scenario, it's a faultless one, the story faithfully follows the past events and transports the player as well in the terrible adventure of Hugo and Amicia. Still in France, the scenery will delight the friends of the little detail and will be able to be transported in the beauty offered by the south of our country. Will Amicia and Hugo finally find the peace they have been looking for? We strongly advise you to play the game to find the answer.

While not revolutionary, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is a good sequel that refines its recipe on many levels. It's beautiful, well-designed, friendly and accessible, making it a good entry point into the tactical genre for kids and adults alike. But those who don't like the simple humor of the Rabbids, and players looking for a real challenge and replayability might get bored quickly.