The game entices you with its beauty before hooking you with its effects and finally landing you with its enormous gameplay depth. [Sept 2008, p.66]

An all-time great deckbuilder gets a sequel worth risking God’s wrath for.

A beautifully designed, tough, and cheerful roguelike that rewards perseverance with a singular feeling of finesse.

Tactical Breach Wizards review: Excellent turn-based tactical combat wrapped up in a joyful, tightly-written story.

Clever innovations and a generous economy make Legends of Runeterra easy to love. [Open Beta review score = 85]

Sins of a Solar Empire bucks the current RTS trends of break-neck speed and small-scale battles, and allows strategy gamers to think big and control an entire war in real time. [Apr 2008, p.58]

Hand-down the best of the MechWarrior series. [Feb 2001, p.52]

More focused and polished than the original, it's a game to get for any fan of the FPS genre looking for something a bit different.

Still, while this inaugural episode may not be the essential FPS that "Half-Life 2" is, I can't imagine any shooter fan who'd want to miss it. [Aug 2006, p.34]

Low-key, effective storytelling and a hyperfocus on puzzles. The Swapper exemplifies the adage that less is more.

Baba is You manages to take the familiar idea of nudging blocks and solving puzzles in a fresh direction. Brilliant.

Like if an immersive sim got caught in a teleporter accident with Uncharted. Some aspects of The Great Circle are weaker than others, but it joins Batman Arkham and Goldeneye in the god tier of licensed games.

The most impressive aspect of the game is the engine itself. [Holiday 2002, p.86]

Stylish, succinct and spiritual, Year Walk coins its own genre: the fright of passage.

Immortality is Sam Barlow’s best, most thought-provoking game yet, and a barnstorming debut for Half Mermaid.

You'll watch as much as you play, but Max's story of non-redemption is as fun as his theatrical slow motion headshots. [Sept 2012, p.62]

A single-screen platform brawler that’s about as good as the genre has ever been—in versus or wave-survival mode.

Hollow Knight is a new classic, with a dense and detailed world full of secrets to discover.

Undoubtedly an excellent game, with its strengths far outweighing its weaknesses. My central frustration, though, is that it doesn’t allow you to play a deliberate, defense-oriented, puck-control style of NHL hockey.

A great game for those who loved the hack-and-slash parts of "Baldur's Gate." [Oct 2000, p.110]

After some missteps, it's Battlefield back to focusing on what it does best. [Holiday 2012, p.73]

A fresh new style and smoothed out lines make OlliOlli World an unmissable skate 'em up.

A thoughtful response to Dishonored that makes for an entertaining stealth shooter in its own right, but it's the multiplayer invasions that make Deathloop sing.

Blow does it again. Exquisitely layered puzzles populate a world that will keep you guessing.

First-time game developer TimeGate Studios has a winner on its hands. [June 2001, p.82]

It temporarily wrests the verisimilitude crown away from "Call of Duty" and - amazingly - revives Normandy's "dead horse." [May 2005, p.56]

The story is lacking, but great environments, a new class, and more freedom—partially from the free patch—make for a better Diablo III.

Not the most advanced F1 sim on the market, but it's the most immersive and enjoyable. [Nov 2000, p.143]

A decent interactive shooting gallery at a bargain price. [June 2001, p.56]

United offensive really sines during the Russian campaign...And then there's the harrowing house-to-house clearing in Kharkov. [Dec 2004, p.80]

A little obtuse in places, but otherwise this is the best new RPG in years. Demands your time and your brain, but it's worth it.

An atmospheric, well-designed adventure elevated by borrowing elements from role-playing games.

I cannot recommend the Company of Heroes series enough, and if you haven't tried it yet, Opposing Fronts is a perfect opportunity to join up for a tour. [Holiday 2007, p.86]

The Dead Space remake sets a new standard for the future of the survival horror series⁠, even if it isn't the sequel I've been pining for.

It's so goofilfy hilarious, you may just find yourself a wisecrack away from peeing in your Jockeys. [June 2005, p.76]

Still, Gears of War is a fantastic action game worthy of your time if you've never played the Xbox 360 version. [Jan 2008, p.72]

A brilliant return to the series at its best that modernises the point-and-click form.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 delivers deep build crafting and battle systems, but they're wasted on a war story that's barely there.

Silent Hill 2's remake is a fun but flawed take on a flawless gem.

Allow yourself to get pulled into the show, and it’s hard to see where real life finishes and NBA 2K starts. It's the best sports series on earth. By a distance.

F1 2019 retains immaculate handling and visuals while adding cinematic spectacle and junior series racing.

Fails to explore its themes but still delivers the series' most potent monster hunting yet.

It looks incredible and controls beautifully, but Inside’s best ideas are spread too thin.

A textured and engrossing simulation that conquers the common ground between your average Civilization V player and the long-time devotees of grand strategy. Never before have I felt that “World at your fingertips” feeling as strongly, and you owe it to your sense of discovery to give EU IV an hour of your life or two (hundred).

A bare-bones refit, but this remains a captivating JRPG, marrying slice-of-life drama with stylish demon battling.

Dispatch is full of heart and jokes, and it's one of the best superhero TV shows around.

The sharpest writing around, wrapped inside a surprising adventure that’s tough but rarely unfair. Failbetter’s finest hour.

A maximalist sequel that improves on almost every aspect of the first game.

More ambitious than its predecessors, but ultimately less balanced. [Jan 2001, p.148]

All of the money management amounts to nothing, because the ongoing saga of a single-player dynansty is built on a foundation of unrealistic and unsatisfying gameplay. [Holiday 2003, p.97a]

This charming sequel doesn't need flashy new innovations to craft an engrossing adventure.

Insomniac's Spider-Man is as loveable as ever, even if the surrounding game can't quite live up to him.

A powerful reminder of why nobody has ever truly taken Warcraft’s rusty crown.

Absolum is ultimately a beat 'em up with a bit more depth and progression than we've seen before in this style of game that has been so resistant to change since it was born in the arcades. Absolum lacks the extensive variance of a true roguelike, but delivers enough intricacy to push the genre into a more interesting space than it's ever occupied.

I would have zero reserverations recommending Dark Crusasde if it wasn't so unbalanced in favor of the Necrons. [Holiday 2006, p.76]

The turn-based combat isn't the best, but it's a delightfully written RPG absolutely packed with humor.

Slick platforming, well-designed puzzles, and a huge, connected world, with occasional moments of frustration.

Both blissful and demanding, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is one of the most beautiful skiing games on PC.

This is Armored Core. We are blessed to have it back.

Forza Horizon 3 is huge, varied and constantly entertaining. It treads a fine balance between simulation and arcade—bombastic and silly at times, but also an accomplished populist racing game. I don't like the script, the cast of irritants manning the radio stations, the way playing your own music in-game requires the use of Microsoft Groove, or the fact that one of the nicknames you can choose is ‘Bantersaurus Rex’. More seriously, I worry Microsoft will continue its habit of integrating DLC cars and expansions in overbearing ways (Forza Horizon 2 went as far as playing an in-game trailer for its Storm Island expansion.) But these are annoyances I'm prepared to forgive in a game as good as this.

Leans heavily on nostalgia and sentimentality, but Gone Home is an affecting game that challenges you like no other.

This is all-out war on a scale we've never seen before, and it is glorious. [Mar 2007, p.23]

The best combat helicopter sim on the market, bar none. [Oct 2000, p.128]

If you value character development, old-fashioned gameplay, and a good plot, this game delivers on all counts. [Feb 1999, p.178]

A glorious scramble for power elevated by some fantastic new units. Shame about those boring boat battles.

If you've never played an Oddworld, this is the best place to start. [Apr 2015, p.56]

A hugely enjoyable addition to the world of Eorzea with plenty of room to spread your wings and explore.

Some subtle tweaks make this the most polished, accessible entry in the Football Manager series in years.

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D is welcoming for newcomers, a fan's dream, and a truly timeless classic.

Flexible, fun, and ferocious too, this roguelike has more than enough dungeon diving for everyone.

If you're looking for a pure action game, I can recommend no better, at least not for single-player. If you're looking for the bleeding edge of digital storytelling, however, you'll find it at Valve and Monolith. [Holiday 2005, p.60]

Any problems are brushed aside by the bent-for-hell mayhem and thrill of combat. [Sept 2000, p.104]

A compelling story about rural America that is both surreal and thoughtful, if a little disorienting.

A little too streamlined in places, but Rise of the Tomb Raider does a lot to improve upon its predecessor.

Diablo 4 is packed with powerful class builds and exciting loot to find, but clouds its most creative aspects with an overly bleak world and restrictive endgame systems.

If you find real history a bit bland compared to glorious nonsense made up by strange British people then Warhammer is the Total War for you.

Smart without being overbearing, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games continues to set the bar for its genre.

Vampire Survivors has been an early access sensation, and its full release would be well-worth your time even if it wasn't the price of a large latte.

Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak is more of the same for Rise fans, which is great, but the lack of truly 'new' stuff is disappointing.

A wildly entertaining third-person shooter that fully realizes its potential on the PC with vastly superior graphics, better controls and an epic co-op experience. [Nov 2009, p.66]

It might not have the sheen of Grand Theft Auto, but Saints Row IV is both gloriously stupid and stupidly good.

Monster Hunter: Rise is arguably the greatest entry in Capcom's flagship series, and a game that simply never stops giving.

This is the best tank simulation you can buy, and maybe the best one ever. [Dec 2000, p.170]

A significant improvement in the genre, but it's not quite all it could have been. [Jan 1998, p.295]

A still excellent football game that has been overburdened by features and is hungry for some real innovation.

Basically, Beyond the Sword is more of a director's cut of the fantastic original game than the usual expansion grab bag of scenarios and units. [Oct 2007, p.68]

The best Sims game yet. It's still about playing with virtual dolls, but it's never been this big, beautiful and eager to please. [July 2009, p.69]

Ultimately, it's more of the same. Thankfully, the first game left us wanting more. [May 2005, p.64]

Slow, weird, and indulgent, but a true original, and a journey that will linger in your mind long after it's over.

There's still work to be done on the game at large, but The Witch Queen is a massive step in the right direction. The campaign alone is worth the price of admission.

Comfortably the best, funniest and most heartwarming game about a desperate battle over real estate, now available on PC as a good port at a generous price.

Gorgeous and endearing, Rift Apart is a supremely likable adventure and a solid port—but at this price, it's hard to recommend over more substantial experiences.

A brilliant resurrection of a classic. Speed and skill-driven mechanics separate Tribes from other modern shooters.

The most exciting multiplayer shooter in recent years, held back from greatness by its questionable staying power.

Shotgunning AI baddies in a predictable story doesn't do much for me these days, but the tension of roadie running through a smoke grenade and dropping two human opponents at perfect range is a Gears thrill that still holds up.

Vampire Survivors is no longer the king of the genre.

For better or worse, this is a classic hex wargame with updated graphics.

An atmospheric, captivating crime thriller with an interactive story that unravels differently for every player.