The waiting-mechanic restricts players and is frustrating at times, but simply changing the time of the system is an easy workaround, allowing for Cozy Grove to unfold its pleasant atmosphere and relaxing gameplay. The charming art style combined with dynamic surroundings make this game a laid-back life sim.

With the usual Dragon Quest charm, Treasures convinces with its main elements: Exploration and collecting know how to entertain despite the simple story and optics. Treasures is a fun and engaging gameplay loop.

Although The Surge has many similarities with its spiritual predecessor Lords of the Fallen, I strongly prefer this Sci-Fi-Horror-Trip. This is not only due to the strong combat system and its bloody finishers, but also due to the crafting, which is smartly interlocked with the fighting and the simplistic character development.

The motivating RPG part, the good graphics and the family revenge story make Grand Ages: Rome a real competitor to "Caesar 4."

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.

After a less than awe-inspiring beginning Serious Sam 3 slowly gathers speed and delivers in its second half the fast-paced fun of shooting things the predecessors introduced. But even in its best moments the game never brings anything new to the table and the few innovations there are like the melee combat are poorly implemented. Furthermore Serious Sam 3 lacks the frivolity of the former games, often taking itself, ironically, too serious.

It’s truly the most beautiful Anno experience in the strategy series. It comes along with some major changes, concerning mostly the economic systems in the game. Many things are easier to handle. Still the game offers enough potential to optimize your cities. But it feels different, comparing it to the classic Anno games, it is now more like a Sim-Citybuilder, which isn’t bad overall. Unfortunately there’s no multiplayer, no editor, no campaign, no challenging scenarios – it has become a multi-session gameplay, combining all these gameplay modes in a persistent game world.

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.

Lousy graphics and bad accessibility hinder Mount & Blade’s way to a better grade. Yet, this game will make enthusiasts happy.

It is a really bumpy start for a new era in the Mass Effect series. Almost as if the developers wanted to create something reminiscent of the tough challenges the milky way species face in their new home. But in the end there is just the perception, that bigger is not always better.

Just Dance 2024 is a lot of fun as a party game. Unfortunately, the online compulsion and the pressure to take out a subscription for the full range of games hinder the enjoyment of the game. Because a subscription is almost mandatory when selecting the music for the new part.

The Invincible is a walking simulator that refuses to be seen as one. While it does show some potential in its narrative, the game simply doesn't follow through on all its foreshadowing. Factor in the seemingly pointless and boring gameplay and you're left with a rather disappointing experience.

Only a few hours into Ubisofts Winter Wonderland and I had already made up my mind: Steep is the Surprise-Hit of the year. But in the hours to follow, my evaluation changed a little bit. Steep is still a really good game, but I wouldn’t want to call it a hit anymore. The concept of the online-mode doesn’t work as intended by the developers and after about 15 hours or so, any real challenge, thus any kind of motivation, vanishes all together from the game. The game’s world is just far too huge for harboring only that little amount of content. A fact that is indeed very unfortunate, because up to a certain point, I was immensely entertained by Steep. I definitely long for a sequel though. This time maybe something summer-themed like skateboarding, BMX and wing suits.

I am glad to finally see an adventure game that uses its narrative potential to address some important ecological themes and ideas. Even though the conclusion of the sci-fi story seems a little unrewarding, I always had a good time playing the game. Puzzles are generally solid, the hand painted graphics are beautiful and most of the (German) voice acting is well done. A New Beginning may not be perfect, but it's mature, surprising and quite simply fun to play.

Lego Jurassic World is one of the best Lego games of the last few years. The humor is charming as usual and the presentation is more cinematic than in recent games of the series. The original score and the beautifully designed levels recreate the atmosphere of the movies perfectly. Unfortunately many gameplay elements repeat way too often, the controls of the dinosaurs are a little imprecise and there are a few annoying bugs. Despite those deficits Lego Jurassic World is a really good game which may entertain Jurassic Park fans more than the new movie.

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.

TOHU shines bright through its unique and charming visual design. The puzzles are creative and overall well implemented, but somewhat easy at times. Unfortunately, the story does not hold up to the games presentation and fails to evoke interest or real emotion.

Turning an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game into a dating simulation is unique, but it is what the community wished for. Sadly the unusual dating simulation has not a lot of gameplay to offer. But the game scores with special humor and a design based on other genre representative.

Quotation forthcoming.

Nintendo Switch Sports has a few flaws, but overall it’s just as fun as the version we probably all played when we were younger. Especially soccer was a nice addition while badminton is rather disappointing.

I liked Mafia 2 back then and I also like the Definitive Edition ten years later. The flaws of the game are of course even more noticeable today than in 2010. The game world is pretty, but unfortunately also completely irrelevant. Everything only serves as a backdrop. As a result, the sometimes long journeys to mission goals are boring. But those who stick out here will still be rewarded with a great, atmospheric gangster story that shines with interesting characters throughout.

Pandora looks inviting but turns out to be nothing but nice décor with which we can barely interact in meaningful ways. The gameplay on the other hand primarily consists of missions and mechanics that do not respect the audience’s time and simply aren’t fun.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing manages the balancing act between homage and new ideas almost perfect: regarding the combat, companions and inventory- as well as leveling-system, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing “borrows” a lot of ideas from Torchlight 2 and consorts. With this time-proven foundation, the game also adds some own features into the mix: the rage-system, a rather unconventional scenario and very amusing banter between Van Helsing and his partner Katarina. The effrontery of having a coop-mode, which – in its current state – is nigh unplayable, drag down the overall impression of the game quite a lot. On top of that, battles become very repetitive and the specialization of my character lacks variety.

The Single-player part is inferior to the big combatants in the genre in almost every aspect. Though the pacing is right, the sounds are superb and Medal of Honor presents a solid shooter-core, the missions are repetitive, the AI is non-existent and the scripting is extremely bad. Finally: And if anyone can clarify what the incoherent story is all about, I will award him with a prize. The multiplayer-part is a whole different issue that we will deal with as soon as the servers for the retail-version go up.

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.

Badass fights, a great score and some tough as nails bossfights make Strangers of Paradise a worthy Final Fantasy spin-off. If you’re in for a great story, look elsewhere.

Only six missions and no gameplay changes whatsoever? Some people will be disappointed by Soviet Assault. But the add-on delivers just what WiC-players need: The new missions fit exactly into the main story and are far more diversified than those of the main game. Whoever liked World in Conflict will absolutely love this “directors cut”-version.

Devil May Cry 4 has not aged that well. Too much backtracking, boring riddles and the dull levels affect the fun overall. The gameplay instead still feels fresh and the action is really cool in 60fps. The new characters in the Special Edition are also really good, but when you play the story with them, they do not appear in the cut-scenes which looks weird. Overall Devil May Cry 4 is still a good game, but if you have played it before, you definitely do not have to buy the Special Edition. The new elements do not affect the game that much.

The game does not shine with its idea or the technical implementation, but creates an atmosphere that lets us forget everyday life for a few hours.

A couple of annoying bugs and a lot of unrealized potential turn The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo into an ambivalent experience, despite its carefully crafted presentation.

A stylish, very short retro shooter game that perfectly captures the spirit of the film.

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.

The Dungeons of Naheulbeuk is, before all else, just a lot of fun, both regarding the gameplay and its humour. It is made for people who love pen & paper, and it does this job quite well. There are some hiccups, however, especially concerning the controls. But this doesn’t keep the game from being a success.

Tormentum is downright depressing. In a good way.

Fun tactical role-playing expansion with challenging battles, hardened heroes and an extensive upgrade system. Points are deducted for the moderate variety of opponents, weaknesses in the voice output and the rather manageable gameplay innovations.

Sonic is the hero of my childhood! I grew up with the 2D platformers and my Mega Drive with games is now well protected in a glass cabinet in the living room. Accordingly, I approached Sonic Origins with hope. Sega would have had the chance to interest younger players and offer old fans a little added value. But they missed it cleanly. For new players, 40 euros for four old games will be too much. At the same time, the collection offers almost nothing new for fans. Sure, the scans of the old manuals and developer sketches are nice, but they are nothing more than some fluff on top. The versions of the games still play fantastically, but they are only warmed up and nothing here is original from the Mega Drive. They normally work good on PC, but there are player reports on steam of a few technical issues. This is simply unworthy of these classics of gaming history.

Don't get us wrong, Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a very decent game. With a massive island to explore, beautiful cars and scenery that can take your breath away, it's an absolute eye candy. Still, almost every aspect of the game can use some polish. [Mar 2011, p.99]

The Ascension edition of Space Hulk is better than its predecessor in every regard. The tactical gameplay opens up a lot of opportunities and the Warhammer-atmosphere is well-made. Its presentation is still a bit barren though and we miss the hot-seat-multiplayer of the first Space Hulk.

One of the better rhythm games, which also offers good long-term motivation. And that for little money.

Endzone is solid all round, it looks good, plays well and the setting is a smart choice for a Banished-style city builder. Some issues with balancing (damn those storms!) and some underdeveloped features - like science, combat or decrees - prevent it from reaching its full potential. The foundation, however, is pretty great and I am looking forward to the upcoming add-on which should arrive later this year.

The collection has no real innovations and some parts like 1602 are aged very badly. Apart from that the nostalgia is very strong and brings back the addiction factor immediately. Fans of the series want to have the whole collection while most people should prefer the newer parts.

Call of Duty: Vanguard brings the franchise back to the roots. Not only because of the world war 2 setting, also because of the slower gameplay in comparison with a lot of other games of the franchise. The short, action-packed campaign is fun to play and the story of the historic inspired main characters is captivating. The multiplayer has a good balance, a neat pacing and offers with sixteen 6vs6 maps a good change. The Zombies mode is unfortunately the big weakness of Vanguard. It’s fun to play, but still missing a lot of content like the story and the popular Easter eggs.

Larian Studios have managed to create good quests that make fun because of all the odd characters and the great self-depreciating humor. But at the same time the game lacks comfort, so that the player has to have a lot of patience in order to see the end.

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.

The newest Ubisoft open world title surprisingly enough sets innovation as its priority; and succeeds. A feature that lets you play any character is impressive and works quite well in the world of a dystopian London. The only real issues are a lack of challenge and rewards combined with a mixed enemy AI.

With its stylish Anime-inspired presentation, accessible combat and intriguing plot, Soulstice makes a strong first impression. Over the course of the game’s 15 to 20 hour runtime, however, the shallow, often chaotic combat, mindnumbing level design and uninteresting progression system drag it down quite a lot. If you desperately crave a new, somewhat big budget hack & slay, the game might be worth a look, but don’t expect it to reach the heights of any Devil May Cry or Bayonetta.

In the run-up to the test I actually had some concerns about the quality of Need for Speed: Heat. Its direct predecessors from Ghost Games didn't really convince me and also the game play event about a month ago left me with mixed feelings. But the finished game has become surprisingly entertaining. Sure, once again the story is not worth mentioning, the controls reminds of old arcade games and in terms of driving physics and damage model the makers didn't take realism quite so seriously. But if you don't mind that, or if you are looking for exactly that, you'll really enjoy Heat. Otherwise, the title offers everything a car's heart desires: extensive tuning options, action-packed chases and thrilling races - and all this in top graphics.

Leisure Suit Larry is back and that’s a good thing. The game keeps the charm and humor of the first games and puts it right into the 21st century.

Anyone who can overlook the difficulties will still have fun with the new generation. After all, the core remains collecting medals and completing the Pokédex, which is also entertaining in the new editions, coupled with the open structure. Maybe the Pokémon Company will be able to fix the current construction sites for the tenth generation in a few years.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion delivers exactly what its name promises, and it also brings with it a charming story and some nice Zelda-esque dungeons. Despite the game being very short, it is recommendable because of its beautiful art style and amazing soundtrack.

WWE 2K22 is a lot of fun because the gameplay is faster, better and more fluent than in its predecessors. On the other hand it still has some technical flaws and some of the game modes – especially the extremely boring MyRise story mode – are rather disappointing.

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.

This last episode is the finale of the trilogy and completes the story of the three main characters. Although there is still not much gameplay, the story is beautifully written. Although the ending is pretty sudden, the game comes to a satisfying conclusion.

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

After the very good, but unfortunately bugged FM 11, the developers are showing a little more courage to take risks again with the 12th edition. Last year’s version was limited to detail changes, while this year brings in a lot of new features. And this works out.

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.

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.

Somerville shows a ton of promise in its dramatic opening sequence, but sadly becomes a bit of a slog after a while. The game definitely has its moments, like some beautiful vistas, neat puzzles and a few pulse-pounding chaces, but the uneven pacing, wonky controls and unsatisfying conclusion make it really hard to enjoy sometimes.

If you put stealth elements from the thief-, splinter cell- and MGS-series together, and mix them up with a classic fantasy setting, you’ll get an idea, of what it feels like playing the green-skinned goblin-master-thief Styx. While the plot focusing on the amber-drug, cloning, lost memories and the war between Elves and Humans is getting more and more weird through the game, you’ll get a nice stealth-experience with cool game-mechanics, mixed with some rpg-elements. Though the game is fun overall, the AI behaves insufficiently and the jump-and-climb-issue based on the imprecise controls can drive you nuts.

Quotation forthcoming.

Powerslave Exhumed is a remarkable remaster that successfully combines both the original Saturn and Playstation versions. It's dated, of course, but still surprisingly fun. If you enjoy classic FPS games in the vein of Doom, you're in for a treat.

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.

While both combat and puzzles in Bard's Tale 4 offer quite a bit of fun, it's hard to overlook the stale story, lifeless levels or technical shortcomings. The inventory and save system feel like they came straight out of an alpha version.

While not as punchy as Doom Eternal, the energetic, over-the-top combat is fluid, satisfying and by far the best aspect of Shadow Warrior 3. Everything else, however, seems like a big step back from its predecessor: Repetitive parkour segments, terrible writing, bland level design and a limited supply of weapons are not quite enough to carry the game through its playtime, which clocks around six hours or so. With no coop and very little reason to give it another go, the asking price seems a bit steep as well.

Anyone who can overlook the difficulties will still have fun with the new generation. After all, the core remains collecting medals and completing the Pokédex, which is also entertaining in the new editions, coupled with the open structure. Maybe the Pokémon Company will be able to fix the current construction sites for the tenth generation in a few years.

In the port for Nintendo Switch, Gothic 2 shows its best side and offers one of the best opportunities to catch up on the role-playing classic.

Sand Land is a nice anime adaptation and an action JRPG for those who have difficulty with the genre or want to get started. Each character we meet has their own story to explore, and there's always something to do thanks to numerous side quests. At the same time, the tasks are not very demanding and the stories are quite flat. Stress only occurs in the boss fights.

A generic turn-bases fantasy strategy game that is far too difficult for beginners. That begin said, experts and players with a taste for anti-heroes will find a pretty streamlined experience in a not-so-politically-correct world.

The Lost Crown – A Ghosthunting Adventure is an adventure game the opinions of which will differ. Spooky Atmosphere is great due to the sound design and the thrilling story. But given the stale technology with really poor character animations and the idiosyncratic look, players of graphic delights such as The Book of Unwritten Tales will be difficult to convince to this independent adventure.

Legacy is the "return of the old-school rpg”. The turn based combat is well done, but not perfectly balanced. The development of the four hero-characters, chosen from 12 playable classes, is motivating, because there is much room to specialize them. The story is classic fantasy stuff, mostly told within text windows. Some technical issues like the bad performance in the open-world areas can be frustrating sometimes. But in the end, Legacy offers much old fashioned and charming rpg content from good old M&M-days.

Rad is a competently made rougelike. However, compered to other games like it, the gameplay is quite monotone and there‘s too little variety regarding the characters. It’s also also quite easy, leaving veterans of the genre feeling bored.

Ubisoft deliveres a fairly competent shooter with more than decent content. Fans of the series might not like the more action-oriented, streamlined structure of the newest iteration. And the promising online-mode has yet to overcome some quirks!

Although the new setting in Battlefield: Hardline is nice thing, the game is in our opinion the worst in the series so far. Not being a real disaster, it doesn’t do a really great job in multiplayer and the single-player campaign has numerous flaws.

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 really nice, sweet, entertaining game that, however, cannot tie in with the point and click milestones to which it alludes over and over again.

After an eventful and enticing beginning, Mars Horizon falls of quickly and loses itself in its repetitive nature. Dedicated space cracks will find satisfying aspects in the realistic astronautics simulation.

Trek to Yomi is a missed opportunity. This game was made by real fans of Japanese cinema, who are very aware of the genre. The rudimentary gameplay however, thoroughly falls short.

A poorly aged adventure full of clichés that even modern graphics cannot revive.

Morbid nails its gloomy atmosphere and bleak setting, but poor balancing, one-dimensional level-design and no explanations lead to a hollow experience compared to the genre-shaping inspiration Dark Souls.

Destroy All Humans! can't deny its age. Some parts of the game really feel outdated, the gameplay is too shallow, the graphics are too rough for today's standards. But if you ever wanted to play an alien villain enslaving mankind, this one is definitely for you.

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.

This interesting strategy-mix combines elements from turnbased classics, like Might & Magic: Heroes, King's Bounty, Disciples and Expeditions: Conquistador. Though the overall game-experience can be quite satisfying, there are some issues, that lowers the fun.

As i was 15 years old, I had a lot of fun with the chaotic gameplay and the humour in Destroy all Humans! 2. Today, I dont laugh that much about the jokes, but the destruction is more fun than ever before! All in all its a very good remake, and even new players can burn the world down with a smile on their faces and a silent laughter in their heads.

Numerous glitches, crashes and bugs make Sacred 2: Fallen Angel an experience sometimes more painful than enjoyable. Yet, despite its technical flaws there is fun to be had with this game, as it easily improves the predecessors formula in lots of ways: Impressive visuals, a huge world to explore and some elaborate control mechanics make this a good game that is worth your attention, as soon as the developers have finished their job and released the necessary patches.

I haven't had this much fun in a co-op game since It Takes Two.

Battle Worlds: Kronos offers a strategically tough and challenging experience. The turn-based tactical battles are demanding but also motivate to test out new strategies. Although the user-interface could be a bit more polished and some battles can be quite frustrating if you realize that your strategy doesn't work out, next to no other game will offer such deep tactical possibilities.

With dark atmosphere, good puzzles and excellent mouse controls this adventure game easily exceeds its mediocre predecessor in every way.

Reasonable advancement compared to the predecessor. Ships and planes deliver more variety and opportunities. The campaign alone challenges the player for a lot of hours. It still has some flaws though, especially with the track building.

Atmospheric story expansion set in Rome, which only tells a short subplot and offers little new apart from a few puzzles.

Flintlock wants to pack a lot of good ideas into a fresh and exciting setting. Unfortunately, however, some of them backfire.

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.

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.

Flintlock wants to pack a lot of good ideas into a fresh and exciting setting. Unfortunately, for some of them, this plan backfires.

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.

At first, Dice Legacy was able to convince me with its look. Even if the first rounds went rather suboptimally and frustration quickly arose, I gave the game more time. Lo and behold, after a while you understand the individual mechanics and appreciate them. But the countless waves of opponents later in the game bothered me immensely. You always have to have a soldier's die ready to fend off them. It feels like the next wave comes after every defense. I would be happy about a patch that increases the time between waves.

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.

Parkasaurus is a nice little distraction for people who like park simulators, but way too easy and simple to entertain for more than a few hours. Also, there‘s a lot of technical hiccups and repetition which keep the game from being better than it is.

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.