The scariest part of Cronos: The New Dawn is probably the frustrating combat, and while it boasts a selection of surprisingly cool puzzles, they're not enough to save the experience.

One good idea--the racer's scoring system--spoiled by a thuddingly dull cop campaign and dumb design decisions. [March 2014, p.68]

Still as atmospheric and impressively grim as it was last year, but inessential if you have the original.

Satisfying, suspenseful multiplayer is more than the sum of its parts, but marred by bugs for now. Ignore the single-player. [Holiday 2011, p.64]

The disappointing second half lets it down, but even at best, Broken Age is far from the genre’s greats.

Offers a lot of game time for your money, but not much stimulation. [Jan 2001, p.142]

As it stands right now, this game is a mess. [Jan 2002, p.77]

A gripping experience, despite an ending that kicks itself up the arse.

En Garde! flares brightly with its slick, slapstick combat, for a while at least.

It's not a big or clever game, but there's value in the small and stupid too, and there's something truly wonderful about it being Steam Greenlight's first release. [Jan 2013, p.69]

It could have been great, but this gruesome and ridiculous power fantasy is spoilt by a disgracefully shabby port to PC.

Eventually it feels repetitive, but the quantity of character and dungeon permutations is sufficient to engage even jaded genre veterans for weeks. [July 2010, p.79]

The constant threat of chaos adds tension and fun to an otherwise basic management sim.

Atomic Heart aims high and, even if it doesn't quite pull it off, is a decent shooter in an exceptionally realised setting.

A good shooter that’s buried under a baffling UI, confusing rulesets, and a movement scheme that’s needlessly complex.

Payday is the most exciting parts of your favorite movies cobbled together, swapping the brains for extra bullets. [Jan 2012, p.67]

A stylish mix of bullet hell and deft swordplay, Furi is only held back by rare bugs and poorly designed difficulty spikes.

A puzzle-platformer that's elevated by its winsome anime aesthetic.

A leisurely stroll through a beautiful apocalypse. Rapture is stirring and heartfelt, but may be too slow and hands-off for some.

Funny, fresh, and full of surprises, Typhoon’s debut blends genres expertly. Co-op doesn’t add much, though.

Building the best decks will cost you, but Artifact is an intricate and rewarding card game.

PES finally finds the balance between stout sim and accessible arcade, but a poor port cast shadow on an otherwise great game.

Enough new features to keep Sims 2 fans sated 'till the next expansion. [Dec 2005, p.84]

The mid-game settings--a warehouse and a cloning plant--are dull to explore, the script contains few memorable gags and the puzzles don't impress. [Nov 2010, p.79]

A genuinely thrilling, occasionally heartbreaking tale that shines a new light on well-known Greek gods. The musical aspect makes it one of the most unique visual novels you'll play, but its inconsistency in quality lets it down.

A great start, but American Truck Simulator will really begin to take shape when more states and trucks are added.

A tense, sweaty-palmed experience that will appeal to your inner sniper. [Feb 2006, p.39]

The best-yet marriage of third-person gunning and MOBA spellcasting.

A weird, beautiful, melancholy martial arts adventure. Flawed, but an unforgettable, singular experience.

A Wonderful Life is the first that's properly forced me to settle down and I've found its focus on slowly and carefully tending my farm isn't defunct; it's a different strain of sim that deserves to bloom again after being left fallow for so many seasons.

A few too many minor annoyances gang up to keep Paradox's most polished release from reaching greatness. [Nov 2010, p.76]

A trip through a brilliantly conceived landscape that rewards attentive engagement with a moving story.

A heart-pumping genre superlative that should not be missed despite some technical issues to sort out.

It's a solid few hours worth a look. [Apr 2013, p.111]

A brilliant early game and bold experiments almost make up for the AI niggles and the boring march to the final battle.

A well-executed but thoroughly unambitious extension of Borderlands 2. Low-grav jumping adds a new dimension to combat.

Mooncrash feels like it was never intended for everyone to enjoy—instead it reaches out to a certain type of Prey player that will appreciate its systems in a purer form. For me, the slow progression holds it back a bit, but this is an innovative expansion that still captures much of what I enjoyed about the base game.

An empty galaxy and endless grinding mar clever writing and engaging combat.

Stealth and pursuit haven’t changed much in Outlast 2, but it excels as a beautiful, brutal journey through extreme spiritual anxieties.

A fun, refreshingly light-hearted, and deviously challenging sim with genuine charachter-driven comedy. [Jan 2004, p.108]

The pirate decor is barely a skin-deep covering on a sim that could just as easily have been made about the ACME Widget Factory. [July 2003, p.68]

Veterans of previous Patrician games will no doubt feel at home, but new players may be scratching their heads at the vague objectives. [Jan 2004, p.88]

It's at its best when it simply flows, painting items into existence or hurling fireflies into the darkness. [Jan 2011, p.77]

Renegade's strongest asset...is the way it conveys the feeling of being at ground central in a huge, raging war. [Apr 2002, p.64]

Can occasionally drag, but is a mostly funny and intelligent puzzler that may improve your lexicon to boot.

A great PC port and lovely open world don’t give depth to Watch Dogs 2’s shallow combat and stealth design.

Work through the presentational ugliness and technical awkwardness, and you’ll find an experience of frightening depth.

Repetitive but fun, a hellish challenge or a relaxing, spectacular gore bath depending on how you approach it.

EoW fans should pick up this expansion for its space battles and new multiplayer units, but the campaign is forgettable. [Jan. 2007, p.83]

But the world simulation isn't particularly deep either, and juggling resources makes you feel more like a manager than a god. [Oct 2013, p.65]

A better game than XIII but with an intolerably bad story, this is a still-flawed sequel that clearly isn’t at its best on PC.

An uncomfortable blend of vulnerability and brand consumption.

Successfully mixes numerous gameplay styles in one compelling package. [May 2001, p.84]

Today, Scott Pilgrim vs The World feels somewhat let down by its insistence on grinding, even if teamwork lightens the load, and the action is never too deep. Still, just like Scott himself, the game makes up for this with whimsical creativity, offbeat humour, and absurd storytelling.

Only big "PR" fans should bother; everyone else, wait for the new "Pirates!" [Jan 2005, p.82]

Rebel Galaxy’s combat can be a lot of fun, but there's little depth and a lot of repetition.

A touch too much repetition doesn't spoil this ambitious and elegant combo of run 'n' gun, tower defence, and roguelike.

The game stability improvements and faction system certainly make this a technological step up from the original, but they don't add up to a compelling reason to replay the same game. [Dec 2008, p.62]

Man of Medan tells a familiar story in a fascinating way, and even moreso with a partner.

Satisfyingly freeform missions and rich systems to play with, set in one of the prettiest cyberpunk cities on PC.

The nemesis system shines in this unwieldy, bloated, and occasionally magnificent fantasy epic.

A joy to view but sometimes a chore to play, Last Day of June delivers a touching story that’s worth finishing.

OUTATIME corrects many of the past four episodes' weaknesses with plentiful locations, a strong script, and a fulfilling conclusion to what has been an upsettingly lackluster series. [Oct 2011, p.77]

It's great to have Max Caulfield back, but I'm not sure she ever needed to be in the first place. A somewhat unnecessary-feeling sequel that still manages to tell a compelling story, if not a little messy and underbaked.

Homeworld 3 takes some big swings, but while it's a very good RTS, it never quite comes together in the same way as its predecessors.

A great customizable fighting system and a cooperative spirit fill the empty spaces in a bleak open world.

<i>Dreamfall</i> is worth the effort but could've done without the fighting; those scenes aren't essential to the plot, add nothing to the gameplay, and will only turn off die-hard fans of <i>The Longest Journey</i>. [July 2006, p.98]

Nine years in the making, Cyanide has expanded Styx's scope in all the right ways without sacrificing its steadfast focus on stealth.

Battle of Britain II's enhanced stability and updated graphics are compelling enough on their own, but when you toss in a 140-page printed manual and a bonus 52-minute "Battle of Britain" DVD, that $50 game box starts to look even better. [Oct 2005, p.66]

A pretty good RTS that knows its limitations and succeeds within them. [Holiday 2005, p.79]

Not a dramatic reinvention, but still an enjoyable game of construction, economics and election fraud.

The shooting is precise, but the overwrought customization system sacrifices depth for brute-force completely. [Aug 2012, p.62]

Gives PC bike-racing fans a welcome and all-too-rare outlet for some mindless two-wheeled hijinks. [Feb 2005, p.74]

Available online for 10 dollars, Armored Fury is yet another recommended addition to BF2. [Sep 2006, p.44]

A lightweight distraction, but adding a competitive ladder or some more singleplayer content would've been welcome.

Another dose of F.E.A.R. is always welcome, but this story goes nowhere. [Holiday 2006, p.56]

Its excellent production values and clever design make for a very satisfying package. [Dec 2004, p.104]

For $5, you could do worse than this brief-but-bewitching platformer. [Nov 2011, p.79]

An imaginative, atmospheric setting with great art and quality voice acting, but Shardlight is by no means a great adventure game.

An enchanting adventure that boasts some magical hand-drawn animation, but will inevitably leave some players perplexed.

Stylish, inventive and easily one of the funniest games in years. Jazzpunk just wants to make you laugh. Don't worry, it will.

Field of Glory 2: Medieval is the closest to a tabletop miniatures experience you'll get on PC.

A suspenseful yet forgiving turn-based tactics game that lets you play a part in shaping history.

Still, successfully saving all survivors from a zone and turning the tide in the war against the great zombie menace is rewarding enough to keep m,e playing. [Jun 2011, p.74]

A fun Smash Bros. on PC that needs a little more fine-tuning to reach its full potential.

Introduces so many cool new weapons - like the blistering flamethrower, an incendiary alt-fire on the shotgun, and seeker orbs - that you feel cheated not getting to play with them against others online. [Apr 2003, p.112]

Phallic imagery and sore wrists don’t stop this from being uniquely charming. Definitely worth a few quid and a few hours of your time.

LEGO: Bricktales manages to be fun despite some structural shakiness.

Sublime combat can only do so much to carry a flawed building system, too few monsters and terrible performance.

Obsessed with teaching a lesson in morality, Fable III loses focus on its charm, and is far less interesting for it. [Aug 2011, p.64]

The game's RTS and FPS elements aren't anything exciting on their own, but the combined whole makes Savage a fun, fresh game that will likely get better over time as its technical kinks are worked out, better maps are created, and organized clans begin to pop up. [Dec 2003, p.97]

For Sims owners, Vacation is one of the better add-ons (along with "Hot Date"). [June 2002, p.76]

An enjoyable interstellar romp, wrapping rich resource management and hypersonic combat around a gourmet 3D engine. [Mar 2003, p.93]

Despite variable success with the choice element, this is a kingdom you’ll want to save.

A superbly stylish and surprisingly challenging management game, Evil Genius 2 is let down only by its tendency to bloviate.

With its well executed timeloop concept, Lemnis Gate could be the sleeper shooter of 2021.

A powerful generator of gnawing tension and tough tactical decisions, Aliens: Dark Descent is a script pass away from being an all-timer.

More a novelty than your next roguelike obsession, but it has enough creativity and left-field ideas to be well worth experiencing—especially if you're still pining for the lost potential of Spore.