This game could have been a LOT better. The great graphics and easy controls are no excuse for the poor voice acting and the mediocre plot. The puzzles are fair, but too much on the easy side.

Interesting decisions and clever dialogue make up for the short length and sometimes tedious exploration. As long as they don't expect traditional puzzles from Oxenfree, fans of adventure games will find an intriguing new take on the genre.

It’s a solid traditional point&click adventure game with a convincing presentation especially in terms of the time period of the golden twenties and historical correctness. Some of the puzzles are very creative but mostly way to easy. A Golden Wake is fun to play, but can not really compete with other titles from Wadjet Eye Games like Resonance or Gemini Rue.

Order of War is a mere copycat game. It feels, looks and plays like World in Conflict – only with dulled out WW2 missions and a lack of strategic depth. Not a bad RTS, but a popcorn RTS.

The patches are having an impact: Spellforce 3 is fun - finally.

Ghost of a Tale is an ambitious and charming indie adventure which does not reach its full potential. The main character Tilo is one of the cutest animated video game characters we have seen in a long time and the fantasy setting looks absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, the game can make you feel pretty helpless at times, since hints are rare and finding your way through castle Dieruin takes a lot of patience.

In its best moments, Impact Winter delivers an existentialist experience that is pushing the stress level to the max, demands moral decisions and meets other genre representatives like Don’t Starve or This War of Mine at eye level. […] On the other side, there are many things to complain about.

Based on the successful fantasy-bestseller, written by author Markus Heitz, the homonymous videogame takes place in an action-rpg, focused on massive battles with orcs. The story is well told, but shortened in comparison to the book. The battles are fun to play for a while, but they’re lacking on AI- and pathfinding-issues. Moving the camera can be tricky too. The rpg-elements are minimalistic, there are no collectible weapons or gear and characters can be equipped with only five skills max. Your main character, the young dwarven-smith Tungdil will be accompanied with up to 14 companions, most of them well transformed from the book into the game. You’ll spend a lot of time in listening to many dialogues and to a well performing narrator, so in the end The Dwarves feels more like an interactive audio-book than an rpg.

Due to its easier mechanics and forgiving gameplay, Guardians of Middle-earth is a decent MOBA for beginners with a lot of Tolkien-atmosphere and nice graphics. If you’ve played Dota 2 or LoL before, you will miss their depth and fair business model though.

While the AI could be smarter and the game in general more complex, Ino-Co Plus has done a good job of adding clever features to the established formula. Researchable spells, multiplayer and a mighty editor add a lot to the game’s replay value, while the new city limit keeps long matches from getting overly stressful. Whoever liked the first Warlock will probably love Warlock 2.

Everyone who mourns for the recently terminated new Silent Hill game will find consolation in the Layers of Fear. Both games use similar tools in order to give you goosebumps: sudden noises, objects moving under mysterious circumstances, paranormal apparitions and an ever-changing level-structure. Personally, I’m not much of a jump scare fan but – if you choose to ignore the minimalist gameplay – Layers of Fear is almost a perfect example for a horror game. The story is thrilling and graphics as well as sound are of very high quality. My biggest issue with the game is its short playtime, which clocks in at around 3-5 hours.

A solid, satisfying metroidvania with charming retro aesthetics that is hampered by its unappealing game world, uneven balancing and overall lack of ideas. The whole concept of randomized levels seems unnecessary for a game like this, and one has to wonder how Chasm would have turned out if only it used a fixed level design instead.

Accessible action, a hint of strategy and a fair amount of content make for some hours of enjoyable castle crashing. It’s no classic, but a fun experience for sure.

This game may tell a pretty banal story, it may tackle you with some moronic puzzles and the decepticon bots may sound as evil as Winnie The Pooh on amphetamines, but the bombastic, continuous action of this third person shooter lets you beg for a break.

Tindalos Interactive did a good job of injecting atmosphere and setting from the fine tabletop-game into a great visual and entertaining RTS on PC. There are tons of options to develop your Battlefleet in the Warhammer 40k-Gothic-Universe. The campaign’s plot is a nice adaption of the 12th Black Crusade and the battles are based on tactical decisions. Unfortunately there is lack of mission-variety and often the time-limits during the missions can be frustrating. Units/Factions are not well balanced so far, so you often have no idea, why you win or lose a battle. Skirmish and Multiplayer is quite entertaining for a while, but it offers not that many options and only the same scenarios as in the campaign mode.

One can only wonder just what GSC Gameworld was thinking: Clear Sky brings nothing revolutionarily new to the original play, but adds a fair portion of game disrupting bugs and lifts the difficulty to a new level of hardness, brutally so. To sum it all up, the developers maim the few novel features with dubious design decisions, such as the annoying search for artefacts.

The newest DLC for Saints Row 4 is also the most disappointing one. The setting is really cool, but it seems like the developers did not know how to use it for their typical Saints humor. There are fewer gags than in the previous DLCs and they are not as good. Only in a few moments does Gat out of Hell get funny. The design of the missions is also pretty lame. Even main missions are nothing but side-quests which are already known from its predecessors. Fans of the Saints will have some fun, but overall the game is too expensive for its content.

Dominic’s criminal activities remind me of GTA. The first one in 3D to be exact – the one released for PC seven years ago. But despite its prehistoric visuals I like it in some kind of way. The don mode adds some strategic challenge to the quite simple (and in a couple of missions even quite boring) gameplay. Not a perfect mafia game, but if you have never played GTA4 before, you’ll be well-entertained.

Act 2 may be longer and a little more tricky, but it is composed of mostly recycled areas and familiar characters, which is a bit of a letdown. In the end, the whole package may not be the new classic we were hoping for, but it is still a charming and highly original adventure game that is easy to recommend.

The development team did a good job in transferring the typical Homeworld-feeling and gameplay from Space onto a planet’s surface. The campaign is designed pretty well and is entertaining, combined with a fantastic soundtrack and nice effects. Unfortunately the AI isn’t acting as clever as it should be. Skirmish and multiplayer, though disappointing, offer little content and are just poorly designed.

Entertaining and varied, but the gameplay is only mediocre and full of minor flaws.

The massive living environment is a great thing, but inaccurate arcade gameplay and poor balanced missions pushes The Crew into the world of average driving games.

The basics work great: Dying Light offers fluid movement with lots of parkour elements and a great upgrade mechanic. There’s also a lot to do on its sprawling open-world city map. Unfortunately, most of it you will do over and over again, starting with bashing zombie heads in time and time again. Anyone who can stomach the repetitiveness and manage not to cringe at the dialogue is set to have a great time in Harran.

More fine-tuning would have led to a higher score and a little less frustrating moments wouldn’t have been bad either, but after all the game makes a positive impression.

PC players only get a gutted version of Revelations 2. The missing co-op mode is inexcusable, though solo players won’t miss it and will instead enjoy the variety of the game’s four playable characters as well as the excellent raid mode.

Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper is a good adventure with a motivating story, exciting investigations, mostly decent voice action and an atmospheric world. The game suffers from it's wooden animations, its linearity, poor 3D controls and some really annoying minigames and puzzles though.

For quite some time now, I keep asking myself why almost no game includes some “extra material” so to speak. Except for Valiant Hearts, I can’t really think of any other game that goes the extra mile to establish connections to recent events and not only is enjoyable to play but conveys knowledge at the same time. Never Alone thoroughly succeeds at this task: the atmospheric setting, the loveable heroes and a slew of documentary-videos, that give insight into the lively culture, not only entertain but teach you a lot of interesting things. I would really like to get more games like this.

Assassin’s Creed: Liberation is a nice game with good graphics, but doesn’t have the great overall-quality and the high production value of the other Assassin’s Creed-titles. It lacks in terms of story and new gameplay-elements. If you are a fan of the series because of its gameplay and haven’t played Liberation on PS Vita, you should consider to buy the game.

The game features good writing, interesting characters and a charming retro style. It's fine for a couple of hours, but don't expect a lot of depth or variety: For a roleplaying game, Shadowrun Returns is exceptionally linear. Most levels consist of confined rooms or streets with no exploration elements to speak of. Character interaction is limited and most quests don't offer any freedom of choice. We have high hopes for the future though: The game ships with a powerful editor and the passionate community is already at work.

While it lacks a gripping story and more tactical depth, Hard West's mix of XCOM-style missions, light RPG elements and Wild West mystery still comes as a pleasant surprise.

Nice open world approach for fans. Aged graphics, ugly cutscenes and an unprecise handling however make it hard to appreciate the good sound and music and the nice atmosphere.

A fantastic concept that is hindered by unbalanced randomization and monotonous combat.

Comprehensive sports game that lets you experience the Olympic Summer Games, but gets boring to soon.

Although enjoyable and graphically superb, Cities XL is a derivative, bug-flawed, expensive construction site of a game.

This clever finger exercise in storytelling satisfies our joy of searching through the lives of others. But its narrative is not strong enough to let us overlook the simple graphics or limited depth of gameplay. But it is an enjoyable experience – especially for gaming-crowd over 30.

Developed by a small indie-studio, Pandora: First Contact lives the spirit of classic 4x-games, namely Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. The gameplay is fluid, the mechanics well done. Though it’s not that epic and complex like Civilization, it’s fun to play. Overall it’s solid, but not a real long-time-challenging game, because there is a lack of variety concerning the six factions and the small tactical possibilities during the battles.

The new Holmes adventure looks better than ever and plays well, too. However, while the six self-contained stories are smartly written, they also lack suspense, drama and an overall feeling of progression. The modest difficulty is making it easy for newcomers to settle in - which is fine, as long as you are not expecting a deep detective experience.

While certainly lacking variety and neat ideas to compete with the likes of Rayman and Mario, Sega's new character Tembo more than holds its own.

Spore’s creatures look terrific and the editor is one of the finest tool in gaming history. But Maxis forgot to build a game around it: The mixture of simulation and strategy just isn’t deep enough to attract more than a few hours attention. Instead of experiencing enthralling missions or a more intimate relation to your creature, you get shooed through five draggy phases of evolution.

At first I liked Smoke and Sacrifice very much. […] But the more I played the more I recognized that I'm doing only one thing: farming.

A lighthearted and colorful strategy game that is determined to replicate the formula of Dungeon Keeper while adding some fresh ideas of its own. However, this led to some awkward design decisions, uneven pacing and an unreliable interface. Alas, it is not as good as it could have been - but at least it's a much better game than the first Dungeons released in 2011.

Once a mod now a game on its own, Killing Floor confronts the player with hordes of undead minions threatening his character’s life. While being independent enough of zombie-shooter-king Left 4 Dead with features like sealing doors, character perks and weapon stores, the game itself offers little variety and a flawed AI.

Short and sweet with precise controls and imaginative landscapes, Glare is a charming little indie platformer well worth its low asking price.

Superior graphics power as well great performance and customizing options elevate the PC version over its console brethren. Yet Mad Max still suffers severely from a lack of variety. It sports a giant, atmospheric world – but doesn’t give players enough meaningful tasks to complete in it.

While WRC definitely lacks the glamourous presentation and technical splendour of its main rival Dirt 2, it has something else to offer: Real rally gameplay. The classic rally-contests where you are racing alone on an empty route, just against the clock, are something that Dirt 2 cold-shouldered and WRC now picked up. And it even does a pretty good job there. We criticize the lack of variety (there is no rally-cross mode for example) and the antiquated engine, but traditional rally-fans won't find a more convincing simulation of their favourite sport at the moment.

Too bad for the German market that biathlon is not in the game, but in exchange you relive exciting disciplines like ski jumping or skeleton. Paired with good graphics and a nice rock music soundtrack you get one of the better Olympics-games of the past years. The downsides: a cheating AI and annoying, repetitive disciplines like ice skating.

Sniper Elite 3 provides good tactical gameplay with an open level design. It may not be the best game around, but still a vast improvement over its predecessor.

A decent game with an original premise, good graphics, varied missions and solid multiplayer - it's a complete package for a low price, despite its strategic limitations. The shallow story and poor voice acting really hurt the experience, though.

Deadlight makes good use of its premise, even though the whole zombie apocalypse thing has been done one too many times. And it's nice to see a game that bears resemblance to classics like Flashback or Another world. Sadly, the good atmosphere and beautiful visuals cannot fully compensate for some frustrating level design, short length and the occasional control issues.

Transference has an interesting approach to fill the gap between movie and game. Sadly, the content got lost in the process, even if the story about the Hayes family sounds quite catching. Especially the atmosphere and music make Transference a cool game, though the VR does not work very well on the PC.

The new engine and the new foresting gameplay elements fit well into the classic farming setting of the series. The farming features are tweaked a little, but overall it feels just the same like in Farming Simulator 13, but technically enhanced. The Day-One Patch fixed some bugs, but still existing physical-problems and gameplay issues in version 1.1, especially in multiplayer mode, have to be handled with forthcoming patches.

An ambitious debut title with lots of style and some promising, fancy ideas. The gameplay however falls short in too many ways: a shallow combat system, undemanding climbing sections and extremely linear level design hurt the experience quite a bit.

Slaps and Beans is not a perfect game. But that's no problem, the indie game doesn't have these kind of aspiration. Instead it's about reviving the slapstick brawling orgies of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill once again und paying tribute to these old heroes.

All of Kona’s survival-mechanics are implemented well enough, and the atmosphere of the game draws the player into its world. Sadly though, the most motivating factor in Kona – the story - falls apart towards the end of the game. Nearly any route you imagine the plot to go will be more thrilling and satisfying than the actual reveal. This is very unfortunate, because the story is the driving force for even continuing the game.

Within the first few hours of the game I was pretty sold on this more classical attempt on a stealth-game with a good jolt of dark humor. But after a while you start to realize that most of the stealth-mechanics aren’t even needed. The enemy AI is far too stupid to ever really force you into playing smartly and with a certain tactic in mind. Nor will you ever make much use of the crafting-system. On top of that, the dialogue often feels forcefully edgy and references pop-culture just for the sake of it. All whilst the overarching plot – if you can even call it that – remains plain and uninteresting. That being said, you definitely can have fun with Styx: Shards of Darkness. But given the fact, the developers had a chance to improve on their predecessor and didn’t utilize it, the mistakes of this game become hard to forgive.

A lot has changed since Blackguards, much of it for the better. It’s the things that stayed the same that keep this tough as nails tactical RPG from achieving greatness.

The frustration level rises more and more over the course of the game, but: If Seven ironed out some mistakes, the game would definitely have a certain appeal and a lot to discover.

A solid designed strategy-RPG-mixture in an unused historical setting. You’ll leading a spanish expedition on an Caribbean island. The gameplay is turn-based and reminds to Heroes of Might & Magic. Same for the combat-system. But it’s not that much complex and the technical presentation of the game is just average quality.

Revelations hits a lot of right chords with long-time Resident Evil fans who pine for a return to the good old survival horror days of the franchise. But technical flaws, clumsy controls and too much action in the second half of its campaign ultimately prevent it being an excellent horror game, instead rendering it simply a fun ride with lots of minor issues.

To developers all around the globe: This is how NOT to make innovations. From the role playing aspects to the online-only player profile – the feature list of Tiberian Twilight screams “We wanted to make it cool, but we failed!”. Though the multiplayer part delivers some fast and fun battles, Tiberian Twilight is overall a very sad ending for a once beloved RTS series.

Nice gangster-setting and easy to learn gameplay-mechanics. The game mixes tactical combat like in Jagged Alliance with a strategical management of your gangster-business. Unfortunately the gameplay itself isn’t that challenging or going in depth as it could be.

Strike Suit Zero is far too concentrated on bringing back the old feeling of 90s space sims to try anything fundamentally new. While still being a enjoyable trip down memory lane for any fan of those excellent games of old, it fails to trump its progenitors in almost every regard.

Wasteland 2 invokes the spirit of its predecessor as well as the old Fallout games, yet it probably won’t have the same impact. Poor AI, bugs and annoying waiting times while using skills require a lot of patience from players. Still, there are many wondrous sights to see and interesting people to meet. In terms of atmosphere, dialogue and quest design, Wasteland 2 truly shines. Too bad there is so much grime to wipe away first.

It's already a decent game, but compared with its inspiration Left 4 Dead it leaves a lot to be desired.

A solid, yet forgettable fantasy strategy game with some interesting ideas, but a weak campaign and way too much repetition.

I like spaceships and if there is still strategy, I am on board. Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock delivers a decent package that can last for around fifteen to twenty hours - once you get used to the fiddly, less intuitive handling.

Atmospheric horror platformer with obvious gameplay flaws.

While Grey Goo is a solid and enjoyable RTS at its core, it simply lacks depth, fresh ideas and most importantly unit variety to have an impact on the genre.

This story-driven combo-slasher is with approximately 5 hours very short, including cut-scenes, which take up more than 2 hours and tend to interrupt gameplay constantly. Combo mechanics are satisfying, the story is not worth mentioning. Lots of senseless violence, the game takes itself way too serious. Merely a port from consoles, mouse controls are awful and the graphics do not meet modern standards.

The puzzles and the forward and rewinding function have been implemented too half-heartedly, for which the action ends too often in predictable and unconstrained paths.

Despite its complete lack of fresh ideas, Act of Aggression does a good job of replicating the C&C formula. The lackluster campaign and uninspired factions won't win the hearts of singleplayer fans. In multiplayer however, Act of Aggression shows tons of potential.

While I was playing Star Trek: Bridge Crew alone, I couldn’t stop cursing the mundane gameplay, the dull waiting time and the technical flaws. But together as a team, the cooperative idea worked immediately and I would have liked to never leave the USS Aegis or the Enterprise again.

Anna’s Quest does in no way stray away from the tried and true adventure formula and doesn’t add anything new to the genre. That’s not to say that it isn’t fun – the story, in its best moments, is quite thrilling and the characters are likeable –, but it isn’t a game that will be remembered for long.

The first hours playing Starships is great fun, because it’s easy to get into and not that hard to learn the basics. After a couple of matches, though, it becomes obvious that the game is lacking complexity and depth, where it would be really needed: in tactical combat diplomacy and planet management. But even if Starships lacks long-term motivation, it’s a game you’ll be coming back to over and over again.

Not a vast improvement over the Vita version, but it plays better on the PC and looks a little crisper too. Deluxe oder not, Blackgate is a fairly solid metroidvania experience that never reaches its full potential.

SEGA succeeds in reviving one of the great classic platformers: Castle of Illusion features smooth controls, affectionate graphics and intriguing boss designs. Mickey’s new adventures are way too short, though, and lack ambitious level composition. The original was a challenge and a hard nut to crack, the reworks is a mere casual game.

A solid and yet pointless action-rpg that is missing almost everything what made God of War a blast: spectacular bossfights, a thrilling plot, charismatic characters, impressive architecture and design, a fluid combat system and an epic orchestral soundtrack - you won't find any of that in Rise of the Argonauts.

Although far from perfect, this stand-alone add-on delivers at least a thoroughly playable The Guild 2-experience. It adds some new professions and maps to the game that fit perfectly into the system. But most of all, the young developers have managed to eradicate most of the bugs of the main game and the horrible expansion Venice. Plus, the network code now actually works! There are still typical errors like trade carts being stuck or graphical glitches. But the developers have succeeded in carving out the core game experience of The Guild 2 under all of the bugs and design flaws of recent years.

Even weaker than Autumn Moons A Vampyre Story, this game lacks all the polish, finesse and fun that you should expect from a modern adventure. Some visuals and characters are half-decent, though.

Good-looking action, tight controls and an abundance of upgrades make for a robust, enjoyable 2D roguelike experience. Sadly, due to its repetitive level segments, slow progression and lack of surprises the game does not reach its true potential.

As a big fan of cinema in general, I had a lot of fun playing The Deadly Tower of Monsters. The game takes you back to the good-old days of movies and has a lot of fun with its B-movie setting. Especially the comments of the “director” that are injected into the gameplay, prove to be a constant source of comedy. Besides that, shoddily improvised movie-sets and stop-motion-like enemies only further add to the game’s charm. But other than its unique tone, The Deadly Tower of Monsters has not that much else to offer. So even with it being only a run-of-the-mill action-game, I can recommend The Deadly Tower of Monsters to every Cinephile.

Challenging and clever, Reus asks that you make the most of its rather small toolset. Gratuitous repetition and the absence of a fast forward button take some of the fun out of its demanding formula after a dozen hours or so. While there aren’t enough possibilities here to influence and care for the people of your planet as would befit a true god game, Reus certainly is an impressive effort and puts indie developer Abbey Games on the map.

The new adventure editor is smart and flexible. The space phase get's a little more interesting, thanks to some of the new mini missions. And the creature editor remains to be one outstanding piece of software. But the rest of the actual game? It's as boring and shallow as it ever was.

A good sequel with superior controls, some new features, a steady pace and a lot more action compared to the first game. With its short playing time of roughly five hours it fails to create as much atmosphere as The Force Unleashed 1 though and the PC-adaption suffers from a lot of technical issues, e.g. tearing, crashes, bugs and problems during setup. The gameplay itself will satisfy both Star Wars-Fans and those who enjoyed TFU1.

Surprisingly solid action roguelite with a lot of Turtles atmosphere and co-op mode. Because it lacks variety and scope, it loses its momentum after about 15 hours.

MotoGP 22 could be such a great game, if there wouldn’t be issues with the AI. The gameplay is great and a big step forward for the franchise. The extensive license package and the career mode makes the official game of the MotoGP championship long term satisfying. But the AI confouds the races most of the time with a bumper car event.

Are you looking for a party game for a Saturday night with friends? Then Party Animals is just the right choice! Provided there are not more than four people. For some casual fun, the party brawler is definitely worth the money. However, long-term motivation is not its strongest suit.

MotoGP 22 could be such a great game, if there wouldn’t be issues with the AI. The gameplay is great and a big step forward for the franchise. The extensive license package and the career mode makes the official game of the MotoGP championship long term satisfying. But the AI confouds the races most of the time with a bumper car event.

An unusual combat system with profound gameplay and RPG elements make for a solid basis. Exploration is encouraged due and decisions influence the story. Unfortunately, pale characters, an outdated look and a lack of variety in missions dull the overall picture.

Atlas Fallen has a lot going for it, open world exploration, fluid movement, interesting combat and even online co-op. But it is all hampered by bland storytelling, unrewarding loot and some odd design choices.

A little overpriced, but very nice new edition of a real shooter classic! Retro fans will get their money's worth, even if the limited storage system may deter some newcomers.

Thanks to some small improvements, the dungeon building part is the best in the series, but aside from that, its pretty much the same experience as in Dungeons 3. Which means the overworld with its RTS-styled combat still feels undercooked and is lacking some real improvements. It's fun (if you can stomach the horrible writing), but it plays more like a big expansion rather than a true sequel.

From Software's newest game is a surprisingly kick-ass experiment that suffers greatly from balancing issues. Nightreign delivers a brutally hard team-building exercise full of breakneck action that plays fabulously. Unfortunately, it fails to duly reward you for your efforts - be it with worthwhile permanent upgrades or final bosses where your hard-earned builds actually make a difference. It’s far from unfixable, but you should probably wait for a balancing patch or two.

Vane is a rather short and artistic indie game that is committed to give players as little guidance as necessary. That is true regarding the gameplay as well as the story. While the atmosphere and vast sceneries of Vane are intriguing, the game‘s reluctance to point the player in the right direction often works against itself and more often than not results in frustration.

An overall extremely well-made and enjoyable basketball game with a variety of modes and teams. That does not stop NBA 2K21 from sabotaging itself through a vast number of microtransactions that become necessary to progress in the My Team and My Career modes.

The seventh instalment of the Jackbox Party Pack series has, unlike its predecessors, not a single bad minigame. While a quiz minigame is missing, its focus on American pop culture can make the game inaccessible for players from other cultural backgrounds. Despite some technical hiccups, the Jackbox Party Pack 7 is a delightful and diverting party game and best enjoyed with good friends.

Stellar Blade loses comparisons to the masterpieces that make up its identity, but that doesn't make it a bad choice: action fans will enjoy a fun combat system, respectable scope and nice things to do.

Fuser gives its players dozens of opportunities to tamper with the beats. Rap and dance music work excellently when remixed, but a lot of genres and tracks outside of these two categories sound odd and won’t fit in well. Additionally, unlocking new songs takes way too long and requires unnecessary grinding.