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.

Roguebook is, as the name may have already told you, a rouge-like deckbuilding game situated in the World of Faeria. Despite treading old ground, Roguebook does a lot of things right and different. Sadly, there is just too little of it to entertain for more than a few hours. Some technical hiccups also downgrade the experience.

The writing is dreadful and much of the game feels like it could have been released 17 years ago. But if you look past some of its shortcomings, there is a decent action game hidden underneath. We just wished the game would have made a little more out of its premise (which is still pretty rad).

Great graphics, but the gameplay behind it still has room for improvement.

The marketing for Emio suggested a much darker game than it actually is. Nevertheless, in addition to the colorful scenery and the slow-moving plot, there are also a few wonderfully spooky moments. It owes this above all to its namesake.

Quotation forthcoming.

In the end, Disciples: Domination stands in its own way and gives the impression that, although it has taken a step forward in some areas, this is offset by setbacks in others. That doesn't make it a bad game, but it's not enough to make it stand out in any way. It can't compete with a genre giant like Heroes of Might and Magic, especially in terms of complexity. However, those who enjoyed playing its predecessor will get their money's worth here as well. The developers could have dared to take it a little further, though.

As a huge fan of the previous games, the tabletop and above all the books, I couldn't wait to finally get back into the virtual cockpit of a battle mech to scrap other combat robots. In many ways, the new Mechwarrior is a dream that has come true. After the first euphoria about the many 'Mechs, the cool missions and the nice look compared to the ancient predecessor has abated, it is noticeable that the MW5 gameplay has a few weak points that it is not easy to overlook.

As someone who wasn't too familiar with either the anime or the manga for Demon Slayer, I had a lot of fun with this game. I will probably even watch the anime now to see what happens next. One might think that the game had done its job. But does it offer enough to entice newbies who aren't playing it for a test to pay full price instead of just watching the anime? I do not think so. If you are a fan of Demon Slayer and fighting games, you will love this game. But if you are looking for an introduction to the world of Demon Slayer like me, you should at least wait for a discount.

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is a very good detective game. It gives us the illusion of being a true master detective. The game world is a great alternative to London. Sadly, there’s one serious flaw: Chapter One is too easy with barely any real puzzles around. However, it’s still a must-have for any fan of Sherlock Holmes, if only to see how the young Holmes became the Detective we all love.

By combining elements of puzzle-games with those of walking simulators, The Spectrum Retreat creates a coherent whole.

After starting the game, we soon felt disillusioned. The structure of the missions nevery changes and there isn‘t really a story to the campaign. The are Billions shines the most when playing outside the boundaries of the campaign, especially when playing on high difficulty.

A quirky little platformer that offers a few hours of metroidvania goodness, thanks to its satisfying grapple mechanics and a pleasant art style. However, with only a handful of weapons, a short supply of upgrades and not enough stuff to accomplish aside from the main story, Kunai leaves a lot to be desired.

Baby Steps knows what its fans value, but doesn't jump too high. It brings new ideas to the genre, but its mechanics fall short of other titles.

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.

A small step for the wrestling series: WWE 2K24 shines with tons of detail improvements and a lot of fan service. However, the series stalls when it comes to technology and game modes.

A good turn-based strategy game with interesting ideas that falls short of its potential. More polish and time would have helped. Still worth a look for Civ fans.

As a sequel and role-playing game, it's a disappointment, but if you ignore the big name, you get an exciting crime story with good characters and a lot of atmosphere - and that deserves respect.

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

Felix the Reaper is a short, entertaining puzzle game that offers a great atmosphere, charming characters and a rich world. Unfortunately, the sometimes frustrating level design keeps it from becoming a hit.

A short but charming adventure in which atmosphere and style are more important than clever puzzles and creative design decisions.

It looks and feels like the original game, which is not necessarily a good thing. If you haven't ever played a Serious Sam game before and are looking for some crackbrained and wicked coop-action, you may give it a chance. But if you are more interested in a good story, great level design, lots of variety or at least some gameplay improvements over the original Serious Sam, you should definitely look somewhere else.

The Signifier could have been some much more than it turned out to be. It does a lot of stuff right, though, especially regarding the design of the stages. It creates a believable, atmospheric world and the story, alltough not too creative, is intense. If it wasn’t for the ending and the boring gameplay, The Signifier could have been a classic.

Life is Strange 2 is good adventure, with a story about growing up, moral challenges and society issues. The roadtrip character of the narrative offers a great variety of sceneries but also comes with a lot of problems like lackluster side characters.

For me, the new gameplay approach was interesting because I am also a big Diablo fan and was curious how the developers implement this in the Darksiders universe. The answer is: not very thoughtful.

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.

Not necessarily a great strategy game on its own, but still a charming budget title that treats its license with respect and delivers some of the best Starship Troopers action we've seen in any video game so far.

Action, tower defense, tactics, rogue-lite and co-op in one package: Endless Dungeon is a stylish successor, but in the long run it lacks surprises and variety. Content updates could have a big impact here.

King’s Bounty 2 is an interesting and tactical challenging RPG for everyone who doesn’t need pristine visuals and who can overlook the flaws in game design and balancing.

Dedicated remaster with successful new modes, races and detail improvements. Technically and in terms of AI behavior, however, the game is unfortunately not yet running as smoothly as it should.

As Far As The Eye doesn’t only look nice, it also plays quite well. And it is hard! It demands a lot from the player und to get better, on really has to learn the ins and outs of the game. Too often, however, success comes down to luck, whch is a shame and makes some moments frustrating.

Road 96’s story is very interactive and all of our choices have consequences that can be very small or completely change what’s going to happen. Because of that, the replayability is immense. However, the texture quality is bad and gameplay-wise, Road 96 is nothing more than a walking simulator. So you better be in for the story!

Surreal, grotesque and hauntingly beautiful. Scorn does not offer much in terms of story or depth, but the atmosphere and art direction are off the charts. It's a short, sometimes confusing experience and if you are looking for a shooter, by all means, look somewhere else. But if you keep your expectations in check (and have a taste for some seriously twisted stuff), you are in for a ride that will stay with you long after the credits rolled.

New gameplay mechanics, better - but not stunning - graphics, a good balance between the game elements, a quite exciting 2.0 story and less demanding challenges. All in all: a solid story adventure from the Pokémon universe.

Spongebob Squarepants Rehydrated is a rock-solid 3D platformer for fans of the popular TV series, who will love to explore Bikini Bottom by themselves. If you do not like the source material and prefer your Jump'n'Runs to be a bit more challenging, you are better off passing on this one.

Life is Strange: True Colors is the newest addition to the Life is Strange universe. This time, the special power of main character Alex is her talent to sense the emotions of others. The presentation is quite charming, the characters are well-written and the story is exciting, if not predictable. Unfortunately, the gameplay is quite boring and we encountered some technical problems.

KeyWe delivers great couch-coop fun with friends. Sadly, the game isn’t really worth playing for an extended period of time. Also, the fun decreases over time, because the puzzles repeat itself. And if you decide to play alone, be prepared to be bored rather quickly.

Even though it lacks fresh ideas, Spellforce: Conquest of Eo offers hours of fun with its rock-solid gameplay loop. The turn-based combat is accessible and fast, there are plenty of spells to research and things to do in every round. Just don't expect a game that you will keep revisiting for a very long time.

It‘s repetitive, the bosses are bland and that there isn’t an option to play online with friends is a missed opportunity. Overall, though, the charming atmosphere which captures the essence of Asterix & Obelix quite well compensates for are lot of these annoyances. Also, it’s just a lot of fun to beat up Romans.

The gameplay in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU does at solid job at keeping up with other platformers. The unique abilities which are each provided a nice background story benefit the worldbuilding in a way that other Metroidvanias are more than welcome to adapt. However, the story and dialogue want to be deeper than they ultimately succeed at being. The low enemy variety and their constant recycling is really annoying.

The atmosphere and presentation shine, but the gameplay in Below is at times frustratingly repetitive.

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.

If you like killing enemies with a katana like Kill Bill, this indie-action-platformer could be your game. The design is quite near to the also platform-title Gunpoint and it combines it with stealth- and assassination-elements like in Mark of the Ninja. The combat is quite difficult, sometimes frustrating, especially because of its try-and-error passages, that can freak you out. The Soundtrack is great and the cartoon-graphics-style fits well to the setting. UI is simple to learn and timing your actions is the key for success in the game.

Once you've gotten into it, a surprising depth of play reveals itself.

After the last representative of multiplayer shooting in the Aliens franchise seemed more like a cheap shooting gallery attraction, Aliens: Fireteam Elite gives hope for a fun sci-fi shooter with your friends against hordes of slimy aliens. The sound effects are authentic - especially the recognizable weapons. It offers non-stop action and plenty of material to improve and find. Nevertheless an aha experience sets in for me at some point. I had a lot of fun while testing, but like sexual intercourse, it is unfortunately mostly boring if you do it with yourself. And because I have to play the same missions over and over again, i got bored soon. Nevertheless 40 bucks are still an acceptable price for a few hours of co-op fun in the Aliens universe.

An avant-gardist skateboarding simulator that keenly lacks some ingenuity. [Feb 2011, p.114]

Tactical combat, RPG-gameplay and a huge universe to explore are key elements of LGMs space-game. Graphics, music and sound effects are good, but the voice-acting is awful. Side-missions are repetitive and the campaign is suffering on a weak story. Bugs and balancing-problems still have to be patched. The Freeroam mode is the best part of the game and the mod-community offers nice content.

Neon Abyss has a great artstyle, the soundtrack rocks and there’s a lot of variety regarding the bosses, weapons and the different skills you can unlock. The procedurally generated levels, however, leave a lot to be desired.

Ragebound's main appeal lies in its interesting and challenging boss battles. Beyond that, however, the game makes little effort to offer us anything new.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a good role-playing game that perhaps searches for its style a little more than it has already found it. Anyone who has the necessary patience and can powergame in third instead of sixth gear will spend many happy hours here.

Disney Illusion Island looks great, feels great and is full of heart. It is, however, held back by being way too easy for experienced gamers and devoid of any new ideas.

The Complex isn’t as much much a game as it is a movie with some interactive elements. As such, it is well-told and delivers some thrills. However, the decisions one makes don’t have a lot of impact on the overall story. Because of that, repeated playing (or viewing) becomes boring really soon.

Cooking Simulator is fun, despite its tedious career mode. There’s a lot of detail tot he different recipes and it takes a lot of focus to be successful. This is partly so because of the controls which aren’t always too responsive and some technical hiccups. Cooking Simulator isn’t a full meal, but a great snack.

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

The American football simulation still has technical problems - some old ones that have been known for years (e.g. broken PS5 trophies), but some completely new ones. That's a terrible shame, because otherwise the makers have actually taken a step forward. Franchise mode has finally gotten some love. The gameplay didn't start a revolution, but the skill-based passes introduced an interesting innovation on the offensive. In terms of gameplay, Madden NFL 23 is arguably the best in a long time. However, the many bugs stand in the way of a higher rating.

Only for story fans: The dark role-playing game scores with its strong setting and a decent plot. However, exploration and combat wear out quickly, and a lot of potential is wasted in detective work.

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

Wolcen stands firmly on the shoulders of Diablo 3 and does a surprisingly good job of replicating its formula. Forceful combat, interesting ways to develop a character and fancy graphics come together in a decent campaign, even though it feels overly familiar and even a bit unfinished at times: The end game needs more content and variety, the balancing seems a little off and there is a good amount of bugs left in the game. While Path of Exile or Grim Dawn clearly remain the better options right now, there might still be a bright future for Wolcen - if the devs keep on patching things up and adding new content.

Truberbrook entices the player with its beautiful art style, an interesting story and a plethora of oddball characters, which are brilliantly voiced by the German voice actors. Sadly, Truberbrook falls short on the meat of every point-and-click-adventure – the puzzles. Most inexperienced players will get stuck on many puzzle-sections, whilst seasoned adventure-players will breeze through them. There also is a lot of wasted potential in regards to the overall plot and the characters. A little bit more complexity and more thorough characterization would’ve elevated the gaming-experience quite a lot.

Even though the setting and many gameplay elements in Thymesia aren’t new for Soulslike-enthusiasts, the game’s enjoyable combat and progression show that the developers understand the genre. The versatile plague weapons are fun to collect and use, while the compact skill system allows for useful fine-tuning when bosses get difficult. And while they rarely do that, most of them offer unique and varied encounters. But the particularly hard bosses do exhibit some of the game’s wonky difficulty balancing and sometimes imprecise gameplay mechanics. Also, Thymesia isn’t a very big or replayable game, though the fair asking price somewhat alleviates that.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has so much potential: A very varied and exciting campaign, great gunplay and overall with story, multiplayer and soon Warzone 2.0 so much to offer. But unfortunately the multiplayer, the main part of the shooter, has a lot of bugs, technical issues and missing content. It’s still fun to play, but the release of the game came some weeks too early.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons has everything a great adventure game needs: a good story, great characters, no repetitive puzzles and an innovative game idea ... BUT it has to struggle with an unbelievable number of bugs.

2D retro games by small indie studios are a dime a dozen nowadays and compared to others, Olija looks pretty outdated. However, its focus on fluid action, combat and atmosphere are redeeming qualities that give the game a straightforward direction that many modern games are missing.

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage is a decent reflection on the essentials, but is often too timid and unimaginative.

Dawn of Man is a rather simplistic take on the city builder formula and does not offer as much content as you might expect from the genre. But for a few days I really enjoyed watching my little settlement grow, thanks to its unique setting and accessible mechanics. If you keep your expectations in check, there is a good chance you will enjoy playing Dawn of Man.

The game's lacking the heart and soul of the other titles set in the universe of Persona 5. Fans of the series can still enjoy it because of the beloved characters and the entertaining combat system.

The interesting story and some clever ideas make Deliver Us The Moon quite recommendable, even when the gameplay falls flat most of the time.

Borrowing from the famous Bomberman games, Ponpu delivers the core experience with a unique art style. Its biggest strength are the multiplayer and boss fights. The single player story mode, however, is rather bland and has no exploration nor any goodies to unlock and thus, becomes rather repetitive.