Classic Mario Party with interesting twists and fun new modes. Jamboree TV on the Switch 2 brings even more entertaining new features, though the base game doesn't benefit from the higher resolution.

The Definitive Edition of Stronghold Crusader rounds out the game in many aspects. Only the outdated technology and the high difficulty level may put off newcomers. Overall, however, it's a good remaster of the classic.

With Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, the wheel hasn't exactly been reinvented, but it's certainly been well-oiled! It takes the popular Souls formula and adds some useful innovations that make the action a bit more action-packed and fast-paced. Souls fans shouldn't miss this game.

Let Them Trade blends the cozy charm of board games with city-building strategy in a relaxed, visually rich experience. Inspired by classics like Catan and Anno, players create cities, manage production chains, and guide trade across a handcrafted, hex-tile world. With a lighthearted campaign, peaceful pacing, and a satisfying resource economy, the game offers an ideal entry point for newcomers and a chill break for veteran strategy fans. Despite minor weaknesses—such as lackluster combat and no multiplayer—it excels as a compact, feel-good builder that values calm over complexity.

We highly recommend the lovingly crafted adventure of Hanna and her friends. The developers have impressively achieved what they set out to do with their debut work. Depending on how you play, the eight chapters of the game take around ten to twelve hours to complete. They are packed with an emotional narrative and exciting stealth puzzles.

Donkey Kong: Bananza surprises with creative ideas, a powerful destruction feature, and a sense of exploration that's strongly reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey—without simply copying it. Anyone who enjoys charming 3D platformers with a collecting focus, clever level design, and gameplay freedom will find a real treat here. While the adventure isn't entirely free of technical weaknesses and some boss battles are a bit too easy, the bottom line is that Donkey Kong: Bananza delivers exactly what it promises: a fun, unusually deep, and atmospherically strong adventure—not just for die-hard DK fans.

Anyone who enjoys arcade skateboarding in the style of the early 2000s will be delighted with the remake of parts three and four. The adaptation of the fourth part to the basic structure of the first three is a bit of a shame, but not dramatic. The adapted parks, as in parts 1 and 2, are very well done and have been wonderfully expanded by the community. Even newcomers will quickly shred their first combos and enjoy the game.

Broken Arrow is currently a diamond in the rough with plenty of gameplay charm, but it still needs a fair bit of fine-tuning to truly sparkle. However, the developer update from June 30, 2025, gives us confidence that the developers have recognized the challenges and will address them promptly.

Persona 5 does so much more than just look stylish. Aside from the gacha system, The Phantom X fails to capture the core of the series.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a successful return to the world of Random. As a rogue-lite title, the game is particularly beginner-friendly and never overwhelming, although this might quickly be a negative for experienced players.

Rematch is the perfect solution, especially this summer, for anyone who's long since grown tired of EA's football series and needs a breath of fresh air.

Like its predecessor, Death Stranding 2 impresses with incredible graphics and staging. The gameplay has been improved, and useful innovations have been added. Nevertheless, there are some features that disrupt the flow of the game over time. Fans of the first installment are treated to another masterpiece. However, Death Stranding 2 remains a very individual matter. Anyone who didn't like the first installment and hopes to finally immerse themselves in the dark sci-fi world with the sequel won't have much fun with the second installment either.

Still a pretty decent Warhammer massacre, but as a remaster it's simply not worth 40 euros.

Nintendo has done an excellent job of transporting the indestructible Mario Kart formula into the open world. However, there are still a few rough edges in a few places.

Quotation forthcoming.

The difference between Civ 7 on Switch and Civ 7 on Switch 2 is basically day and night. Loading Times are much shorter, visuals and performance way better now I can at least play bigger maps with more players on the go. I even prefer the experience on Switch 2 to Playstation and Xbox since touch controls in handheld mode and mouse controls in TV mode are so flexible. For me it’s a perfect way to keep playing Civ 7 when I’m away from the PC.

As a survival game, The Alters poses surprisingly hart questions. It forces players to make difficult decisions that test their morals and ethics. With its deep story and the far-reaching consequences, it could be the most innovative game of the year.

Affordable doesn't have to mean cheap: A rock-solid anti-gravity racer that's simply fun without reinventing the wheel. And the price is a real treat.

A lovingly presented, content-rich mix of role-playing and life simulation, held together by an entertaining, if not particularly twist-filled, story and 14 diverse professions. However, Level-5 wastes a lot of potential with its unfortunately half-baked multiplayer mode.

Codemasters delivers with F1 25 a good racing game for fans and beginners. With Braking Point 3, the revised MyTeam mode and a lot more, there is plenty of content for multiple hours of fun.

A game for F1 fans and beginners: With a good handling model and a lot of content, Codemasters brings the success back to the Formula 1 franchise.

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.

A satisfyingly good action-adventure with a fun combat system, sleek graphics, and enticing world design. The atmosphere is right, but the narrative struggles to get going.

Deliver at all Costs is a fun little game that is quite respectable, considering that it started out as a school project by a group of students. The wild and chaotic crashing through the destructible game world is simply a lot of fun. Unfortunately, some of the features have not been thought through to the end and do not fulfill their potential. What I enjoyed most while playing was the positive surprise regarding the story. I wasn't expecting a plot with mystery and supernatural elements in this game.

Roadcraft is a good mix of SnowRunner and Expeditions: A MudRunner Game. The new building mechanics adds variety and new challenges. A smart evolution for fans and newbies.

A good, challenging real-time tactical game with a high puzzle factor and the typical Commandos charm. Unfortunately, it's less sophisticated than the competition.

The Precinct reminds of old GTA games but on the other side of the law. The story is interesting and the destruction physics in the open world sandbox are fun to watch. Unfortunately driving vehicles feels very clunky and the boring main protagonist is wasted potential. But overall, The Precinct is at the moment the best police simulation out there.

From the very beginning, The Midnight Walk takes players on an emotional journey through a dark world. Equally dark and heartbreaking, the game tells serious stories with a lot of depth.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a flawlessly playable shooter that impresses with its blend of old-school gunplay and mechanical depth. Lame story and vehicle sections aside, you probably won't find more intense shooting anywhere else this year.

The cult role-playing game returns with sleek graphics and meaningful improvements – a treat for fans! The technology could be better, though.

A successful remaster that brings Days Gone to modern hardware with a higher resolution and better performance, but without making any particular graphical leaps. The gripping story remains a great experience anyway.

It's so annoying that the AI's mistakes are once again getting in the way of a higher score. But MotoGP 25 is still a lot of fun.

Ambitious and motivating, but still capable of improvement in some areas: The quasi-one-man project Pax Augusta has as much charm as it does potential, but still suffers from handling and comfort weaknesses.

An audiovisual delight and a surprisingly deep role-playing game: With its story, style, and excellent combat system, Clair Obscur breathes a breath of fresh, croissant-scented air into the JRPG genre.

A rock-solid real-time strategy game bringing tons of old-school fun to a new generation. It is heavily inspired by C&C, for sure, but since that franchise has been dormant for ages, Tempest Rising is pretty successful in filling the gap.

The coming-of-age adventure in the style of Life is Strange, with great characters, dialog and a mystical storyline, lets up a little at the end, but offers a great experience overall. I had a lot of fun with Swan, Nora, Kat and Autumn. I also enjoyed taking a nostalgia trip back to the 90s through the girls and reminiscing about my own youth.

The game also utilizes the features of the DualSense controller. When Indy punches Nazis, you can feel the haptic feedback, and thanks to the adaptive triggers, you can feel the pressure points when firing firearms.

The First Berserker: Khazan is a fantastic game for all Soulslike fans who appreciate challenging boss battles. Sekiro fans, in particular, should definitely check it out.

South of Midnight tells a interesting, dark story and scores with a unique stop motion style. The soundtrack matches the fun gameplay in some pretty magic worlds as well. Only a few technical issues tarnish the positive picture a little.

The developers of Nixxes and Iron Galaxy seem to have learned from the mistakes of the predecessor. This time, the PC port is in a much better technical state. Thanks to a very effective optimization, even players without the latest high-end graphics card can enjoy the game. Regardless of whether you are starting the second part for the first time or are a seasoned veteran: The Last of Us Part 2 is also a masterpiece on PC.

Karma is a story about philosophy, religion, and culture, about the essence of humanity. Finally, I'd like to leave you with something unrelated to the game itself, but something you should return to after experiencing it for yourself. There's a lot to be said for the name of the studio behind Karma, Pollard Studios. Pollarding means cutting down or pruning trees so they grow back better, stronger, and denser. Perhaps things must first be destroyed before they can heal.

Atomfall is a thoroughly solid survival shooter that shines brightest between the lines. It has tons of mysteries to unravel thanks to its non-linear, hands-off mission structure and makes you feel clever when you’ve explored enough to piece it all together. The secrets at the heart of it all are far from new if you’ve played Stalker or Fallout before and the easily exploited enemy AI makes combat largely uninteresting, but this is still an entertaining and very British nuclear romp that’s well worth a playthrough or two.

Assassin's Creed Shadows takes you to a Japan with an atmospheric game world, well-made gameplay and great attention to details, but also reveals significant weaknesses in the narrative and quest design.

The bottom line is that Assassin's Creed Shadows is not a bad game, but unfortunately it is not really outstanding either. I had more fun with Naoe and Yaskue in feudal Japan than I had with Eivor in England back then. But it doesn't come close to Kassandra's adventure in Greece, for example. The design weaknesses mentioned are too obvious for that. Here, the game unfortunately wastes a lot of potential. And yet I will keep my adventure in Shadows in good memory.

HD remakes of two of the best role-playing games of the PlayStation era, created with great care, passion and respect. Clearly the best way to catch up on the memorable originals and get back at Luca Blight. It's just a shame that you have to buy the two games as a package and can't buy them individually digitally.

Hazelight has done it again! Split Fiction is an absolute masterclass and a big contender for Game of the Year. The gameplay variety in the coop adventure tops even the amazing It Takes Two and the story delivers as well. Graphics, audio and gameplay fit together perfectly, and it will be hard to push Split Fiction from the throne.

Split Fiction is a declaration of love to the world of video games and I am happy to play it together with my friends. It will be a big contender for Game of the Year.

Two Point Studios once again manages to strike a balance between fun, sophistication and accessibility: Two Point Museum is a time-consuming build and boasts humor, handling and versatility.

Great battles against creative monsters that help you overcome small weaknesses. Monster Hunter lives from the hunts and they are more than successful.

A great pirate adventure that - despite some weaknesses - shows the competition how to do it right.

Accessible action RPG with lots of exploration, charming characters and stylish levels. However, it's not good enough for the upper class - and they seem to be fine with it.

Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered is a game for those who are nostalgic and who are not put off by the peculiarities of these old games. It is unlikely to win over any new fans with it’s clunky controls and outdated game design. The problem this time around is that the originals, at least 5 and 6, weren't great games to begin with. The flaws that caused the mixed to poor ratings at the time are, of course, still present in these remastered versions.

A simulation about paramedics is a great idea. The job is exciting and important. Unfortunately, Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator has a lot of bugs, graphic issues and since the Day 1 Patch also in terms of content some problems. The gameplay isn’t that bad, but overall a lot of potential gets wasted.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tweaks all the right rough edges of its predecessor without losing any of its character. The result is a fantastic role-playing game in which you can lose yourself for hours.

The bold new direction has paid off and Civ 7 brings a lot of dynamic and flexibility to the tried and tested game concept. However, traditionalists may be put off. Civ 7 also lacks the final touches for release.

Oh, Sniper Elite, what are you doing to me? I would love to like you a lot more, but so much more is possible!

Technically and graphically, the PC version even goes one step further than the original. New features such as support for up to 120 FPS, customized lighting and improved light rendering make Rebirth shine even more beautifully than before. Provided you have a powerful PC with an even stronger graphics card that can withstand the demands. In our test with an AMD Ryzen 9 processor with 32 GB RAM and a GeForce RTX 3090, we had a few small stutters with the "Medium" graphics preset at a resolution of 1080p, especially in the video sequences, even though both the CPU and GPU were above the data recommended by Square Enix.

The best version of Donkey Kong Country Returns: An indestructibly good 2D platformer, but still with a high potential for frustration. Graphically, not much has changed, and the price seems too high.

Marvel Rivals is a successful free-to-play action game that gets the most out of the strong license. If the live service is right, it could become a new force in the hero shooter genre alongside Overwatch and others.

Machine Games treats the iconic character with love and care, making it by far the best Indiana Jones game since Fate of Atlantis.

The Great Circle is not your average action-adventure game, but a true Indy experience through and through. It does have its shortcomings and the story sometimes goes a little off the rails, but none of that should stop true fans of enjoying the hell out ouf it.

Accessible real-time strategy with stunning graphics and wasted potential. There was more potential!

Agatha Christie would be proud: Loco Motive marries the old-school whodunnit-mystery with point-and-click-adventures of the 90’s. Its cartoony artstyle and whacky comedy blend together into a cozy detective-game to whisk us away into the glam of the roaring 20’s.

With an impeccable atmosphere and thrilling gameplay, Stalker 2 has what it takes to be an incredible, immersive experience. One day and many, many patches later, I’m convinced the developers will have hammered it into shape, but the game that I played over the last 40 hours felt rushed and unfinished.

If you prefer to travel solo and enjoy an immersive world, you'll have a lot of fun here.

With this remake, Square Enix breathes new life into the beginning of the Erdrick-Trilogy. Where our imagination had to do its part in the original, now the games breathtaking visuals leave us stunned. Whether you are a complete Dragon Quest newbie or an accomplished hero of past adventures, we can wholeheartedly recommend the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake to any fan of an amazing JRPG experience.

LEGO Horizon Adventures is a fun experience with a feel-good atmosphere for young and old - even together thanks to the co-op mode! I played the game first and foremost as a Horizon fan who was never averse to LEGO humor. In this respect, I was not disappointed. It just could have been a bit longer, because 70 euros for a 10-hour game is pretty steep.

The LWS 25 does a lot right and expands a proven game concept with useful innovations. Fans get their money's worth.

Planet Coaster 2 could be a first-class theme park simulator, but it still needs some fine-tuning. Menu navigation and handling contrast with the fun park building, the great creative options and the pretty presentation.

The multiplayer has the potential to be one of the best in a long time. However, some weaknesses massively ruin the gaming experience.

It's a decent sequel for everyone who enjoys the unique quirks of Mario & Luigi.

Starship Troopers: Extermination has (inadvertently?) translated the anti-belligerent ideas of the film into a game so well that it makes us want peace, if only because we don't want to keep doing the same thing. The film argues that war is not fun. And the game isn't fun either.

Apart from a few technical inconsistencies, puzzles that are a bit too simple and a fairly compact game world, Life is Strange: Double Exposure is a successful sequel with a twist-filled plot, interesting characters, fantastic music and a terrific German dubbing.

With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I basically got exactly what I had hoped for from a sequel to Inquisition. An epic story about elven gods, the end of the world and the previously little-explored nations in the north of Thedas. Plus a wonderful cast of companions who all grew on me in their own way. All of this, embedded in the same attention to detail that made Inquisition one of my favorite games. Rounded off with very satisfying gameplay that works wonderfully in its mechanics. I simply had a fantastic time with Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a fantastic role-playing game with action-packed battles, lots of exploration potential, great characters, an incredible amount of lore and epic stories.

Shadow's section shows that the Sonic Team has learned over the years how to better transfer the blue hedgehog's speed orgies into the third dimension.

It's exactly what we wanted and expected from a new title in the series: a classic Mario Party with some new and interesting mechanics.

Drova delivers a 40-hour adventure with tons of secrets to uncover, monsters to fight and places to explore. It's another indie triumph and worth every cent of its low asking price.

You enjoy slower RPGs like the Gothic series, love exploration and have a taste for gorgeous pixel art? Boy, are you in for a treat.

Nikoderiko: The Magical World offers an excellent Jump&Run experience. You can clearly see the influences of other platforming legends, but the game manages to offer enough personality to become a strong platformer in its own right. We can recommend it to anyone who craves a fun and lighthearted gaming adventure.

Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO! continues exactly what Budokai Tenkaichi 3 established back then and has become a real highlight.

More Starfield is a good thing. But Shattered Space doesn't do enough to justify the long wait.

The masterpiece is back. A great story and dense atmosphere meet modern graphics. The remake of Silent Hill 2 is the best horror game of the year so far and can compete with the remake of Resident Evil 4 and Alan Wake 2. Great times for fans of horror.

The LEGO Harry Potter Collection offers a nice graphical touch up to the well-beloved Lego classics. Although the changes aren’t substantial enough to warrant a different rating, the games themselves remain classics for good reason.

It's essentially a Persona game set in a fantasy universe and one of the best games this year has to offer.

Good new content and a solid continuation of the story: Vessel of Hatred is not spectacular, but it is successful. Thanks to patch 2.0, the game continues to develop in a meaningful way.

A feast for horror fans. After Alan Wake 2 and the Resi 4 remake, Silent Hill 2 now delivers. The dark season can come.

Designing your own little world in Tiny Glade is a delight. Although the tools may seem rather limited at first, you’ll quickly come to realize that the only thing limiting you is in fact your creativity. We can recommend Tiny Glade to anyone who wants to let their imagination run wild.

Echoes of Wisdom introduces refreshing ideas but it can't keep up the initial excitement.

Interesting mix of 4X strategy and construction game, which just manages to get an 80 rating with fresh ideas and depth.

While the story and graphics were convincing, the gameplay, boss design and enemy variety were not. Enotria isn't really bad, but it's not really good either, and is therefore somewhere in the middle of the crowded Souls genre.

A good game will always be a good game and even better with a huge graphic update. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – Reforged is a great remake. Only the revised audio sounds a bit tinny and some content from the Director’s Cut is missing.

Frostpunk 2 is not just an ordinary sequel. It is a strategy game with fresh ideas, sophisticated mechanics and a gorgeous look that give the Frostland a whole new facet.

The Plucky Squire is a short but charming Zelda-like filled to the brim with ideas and creative twists. Had we not gotten stuck on multiple occasions due to bugs, with the final time costing us our playthrough, we'd recommend it wholeheartedly.

Star Trucker is niche, but really good: the longer you spend on the leisurely flight through space and the better you get at managing the energy cells, the more you enjoy the varied systems, the harmonious country music and the chilled gameplay.

Mimimi Games might be gone, but their legacy lives on: Sumerian Six is a finely crafted stealth tactics game that every fan of Commandos or Shadow Tactics will enjoy.

The Crime Scene Cleaner captivated me immediately. I like the mix of humor and seriousness and would like to play more games like this every now and then.

Astro Bot has accessible gameplay, superb Dualsense implementation, rock-solid tech and so much charm that you can’t help but smile along. It doesn’t want to revolutionize the platformer genre, it just wants you to be happy. And that is a mission it succeeds at with flying colors.