Mafia 2 is a great, story-driven action game which offers great cut scenes and a believable game world. Its characters, graphics, music and sound are outstanding, but it lacks good AI and side missions at the same time. After ten to twelve hours of gameplay you finish the game with no possibility to deal with the game furthermore – compared to other open-world-titles like GTA IV. Anyhow, Mafia 2 is a great old-school-action game, with few faults.

My expectations have definitely been met as well, as the new part of the series has very different civilizations, a nice sci-fi look, a good soundtrack and a comprehensive bodybuilding strategy.

Darkest Dungeon is a nail-biter. The turn-based combat is so tense -- this is one of those games where you issue commands with extra-firm mouse clicks, hoping it leads to more damage. The fact that Darkest Dungeon's battles can turn any minute is what makes it so exciting. I don't mind the fact that the game lacks a strong narrative – the expeditions into the unknown are motivation enough for me. If you're looking for more however, you might lose interest quickly.

ARC Raiders achieves what many developers have failed to do: creating a mainstream extraction shooter that does justice to the quality you expect from a Triple-A-Shooter.

A big and challenging game that surpasses its predecessor in almost every way. While some of the most difficult puzzles could be better explained, Grimrock 2 more than makes up for that with tons of smartly designed brainteasers, diverse environments, plenty of loot and lots of secrets to discover.

Kirby AirRiders delivers vibrant, colorful racing action fun with plenty of charm. The controls take some getting used to, but the variety of modes and the presentation are impressive.

Octopath Traveler 0 is overall a captivating adventure that impresses with its lovingly crafted world and the story surrounding the events in Orsterra.

This new edition is a complete success and for every adventure fan, who has not played the classic, a must buy.

If you had a lot of fun with the fantastic F1 2016, you will love F1 2017. It is clearly more than just a simple update of its predecessor.

Quality has its price, so it’s no surprise that the developers had to run into debts to finish their project. The result is gorgeous and a unique experience full of creativity and charm.

Exactly the right game for anyone who likes Theme Hospital and for any newcomer who wants to try out the genre.

Even if not everything slots together perfectly, Starfield scores points with its dense atmosphere, plenty of action, and excellent design. Thanks to numerous updates, the PS5 version also holds up well.

A great indie adventure with a few minor flaws.

A satisfying conclusion to the Deponia trilogy.

Lara’s origin story is a terrific, action-packed experience with stunning visuals that sadly has not much to do with her previous adventures. Yet the puzzle physics are cool, the exploration of the island is rewarding and the much-improved combat is easily one of the biggest steps forward for the series – too bad there is sometimes too much of it.

The sequel of Edna and Harvey: The Breakout again is a cool mix out of crazy puzzles and dialogues, black humor and a pretty good sense of humor and sarcasm. Harvey's New Eyes is even a bit better than the good Edna-adventure before. With Harvey's New Eyes Daedalic proves that they can increase the quality of their even very good games before due to the funny conversations, the bizarre characters and even their deaths.

Charming, innovative, complex, and finished with a high-gloss polish: Pragmata proves that Japanese action game design is in a class of its own.

F.E.A.R. 2 is almost exactly as we wanted it to be: scary and entertaining. Thank you Monolith for sticking close to the prequel and not trying to freshen up the series with fancy new ideas!

A king-size sequel brimming with fun dialogue, charming characters and beautiful visuals. If it weren’t for some pacing issues and the occasional quirky puzzle it would even surpass its predecessor.

Beautiful hand-drawn visuals, two adorable main characters and a fabulous story that manages to find the right balance between melancholy and humor make for one of the best traditional adventure games in years.

Dispatch marks a triumphant return for episodic adventure games, with tons of charme, wits and style. While we would have hoped for more impactful decisions and a bit more depth in the strategic layer, the amazing cast and likeable characters easily make up for this. Can't wait for Season 2!

Impresses with an emotionally staged story, strong atmosphere and varied combos, but suffers from recurring mission objectives and minor design flaws.

If you liked playing games from Platinum Games, which are now also found on the PC, Okami HD is also essential in your game library.

The game is not perfect in any way, but it still manages to deliver its premise successfully with great design and fluid combat. RPG elements are a neat new feature, however, the story is uninspired and bland and some levels cannot keep up in quality.

Jurassic World Evolution is not the best or most complex management sim on the planet, but that's okay, it’s still demanding enough to be very entertaining. The focal point of the game are the dinosaurs anyway, and they look amazing.

Respawn did a remarkable job on the campaign, which is bristling with ideas and cool moments. The experience may be short, but it’s entertaining none the less. Online though is where Titanfall 2 really shines. The game offer some of the most insane, fast-paced shootouts, packed to the brim with wallrunning, explosions and mighty titans. Prepare for one hell of a ride.

What could’ve easily been an inconsistent mess ends up as one of the best modern Resident Evils: Requiem handles both horror and action as well as former, more focused entries, and it knows just when to switch perspectives. Especially those who’ve stuck with the series throughout its multiple identity changes and enjoyed the games for what they were will have a blast with this.

Anyone who is into guns, crime fiction, and cheesy puns shouldn't miss Mouse: P.I. for Hire.

Child of Light doesn’t try to be the most challenging game ever, and it doesn’t have to. Instead, it wittingly places its emphasis on accessibility and the conveyance of a strong atmosphere. Looked at in that light, it does very little wrong.

Although Prey never rises to the first Bioshock for me anyway, but it does not have to be: If you are looking for a game in the style of a System Shock and do not expect an exceptionally good shooter, you'll get an exciting, comprehensive and challenging Sci- Survival adventure.

This modern version of one of the best competitive games of all times does a good job in introducing new players to this highly tactical and skill-based gaming experience. If you are a veteran of the old days – CS:GO might disappoint you. It sure looks nice but lacks the precision that made CS 1.6 so damn good. It´s still a very good Counter-Strike, though.

Animation Arts has again created a felicitous adventure in its well known adventure series Secret Files. Secret Files 3 (Geheimakte 3) brings great and diversified puzzles (for experts maybe to easy sometimes) and again mixes a fictitious story with real historical events. Even the mini games are fitting in and leave you the choice of two levels of difficulty. Orchestration, dramatic and cinematic presentation in Secret Files 3 are great and the game even provides several playable characters also as endings - depending on the decisions you make. Although the game lacks optimization of animations and the graphic presentation is getting kind of outdated due to the age of the engine, the game still looks pretty good. Overall it's quite a recommendation for all adventure gamers.

The return of Garrett on PC is great for gamers who love to climb, sneak and steal through a dark steampunk setting, opening hundreds of drawers, cupboards, chests and more to find loot. The narrative aspect of the game is entertaining and particularly the movement of Garrett offers a deep in-game feeling. Some design-issues won’t please thief-veterans, especially the action-drive scenes. There’s also a lack of orientation in the nested level design of the city. But equipped with cool gear and tons of game-options you’ll definitely find your individual thief-experience.

A dream come true for most any theme park fan, Planet Coaster sports terrific tools for creating choice rollercoasters and other attractions. It’s on the management side of things where Frontier takes the easy route. Once you’ve built the perfect theme park, you start to miss more complex systems like random events and difficult-to-satisfy guests. Combine that with some big hits on performance while managing larger parks and Planet Coaster just misses true legacy status, while still being the best the genre has had to offer since Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.

Hack’n Slay as its best. First you’ll think “this is just another diablo-copy”, but when you begin to get into the game deeper, you’ll be surprised. It has the most powerful and individual character-system you’ll ever see in an action-rpg so far. Moreover, all game-content is 100% free to play, no hidden “pay2win” in the shop.

I did not want to stop playing, because even if the story of The Evil Within 2 was a bit confused, I wanted to experience the end anyway. And it's worth it, believe me.

Every Adventure-Fan should definitely give The Inner World: The Last Wind Monk a chance (after you’ve played the first game), because otherwise you’ll miss out on a lot.

A typical Deponia with a lot of black humor, crazy characters and the narcissistic and clumsy Rufus we all love. The adventure stays true to the series in all aspects.

Mario Tennis Fever combines solid tennis gameplay with fresh ideas and plenty of Mario mayhem. Despite minor technical flaws, it's a very successful installment with high long-term appeal.

While 2XKO still has some areas that need improvement, including the rather meager roster, the fun gameplay allows the game to already compete with the giants of the genre.

A fun sequel with more content, more variety and better puzzles than in the first game. Featuring a great art style, memorable characters and good jokes (at least for the most part), this second chapter of the Deponia series should not be missed by any fan of point-and-click adventure games.

With its flawless presentation, charming puzzles and solid platforming mechanics, Unravel will steal your heart in an instant.

Boring old WW2-RTS? Think again! Ruse combines the tactical depth of classical Panzer General-fame with the action-packed, hectic gameplay of modern day real time strategy games. The story might not make you wet your pants and the main character is a eccentric old prick, but the missions are cleverly designed, the interface is genius in its minimalism and the ruse system allows for strategic gameplay that one finds rarely in modern RTS. If you want to buy only one RTS this year … buy Starcraft 2. But if you want to buy two, Ruse is the game of choice!

A perfect combination of horror, survival, creativity, and 80s flair. An absolute must-play for all fans.

A magnificent racing game—but one that rests on the laurels of its predecessors.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided manages to be the most well-rounded Deus Ex game ever – at least regarding the gameplay. With the new engine and various improvements on elements like the cover-system, overall controls and weapons, Eidos Montreal really outdid themselves in order to create an immensely enjoyable gaming-experience. I was especially fascinated by the intricate level-design that was still able to surprise me even after spending a considerable time with the game. Though the one big flaw of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the story, which severely disappointed me. Choices throughout the game do not really matter, and the bulk of the actual plot only gets teased, with it being further elaborated on in a future sequel. If Eidos Montreal and Publisher Square Enix had just focused on perfecting this game instead of already planning future installments, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided could’ve truly been a susalt anperb game.

A quality port to an amazing game. The framerate may not always be as smooth as we had hoped, but don't let that stop you: Indy on Switch 2 is still an easy recommendation.

Bayonetta still has problems in the story and camera department (and too many Quick-Time-Events), just as eight years earlier. However, the smooth 60 frames per second and the minimal loading times make this iteration a pure joy to play. Don’t miss this gem!”

Dawn of War 3 is a really good RTS game und should satisfy any fan of Warhammer with its epic campaign.

Solid old school action, fast paced and entertaining - but far from being a genre revolution. Nevertheless it’s worth the money!

Initially incredibly overwhelming, but once you're in... still absolutely overwhelming, but also pretty awesome to have so many options.

Panzer Corps: Wehrmacht is a well done remake of the turn-based-strategy classic Panzer General. You control hundreds of units – tanks, artillery, infantry, ships, aircraft in 4 historical german campaigns. Additional 29 scenarios gives you the chance, to play tha Allies as well. Though the games' graphics isn't up to date, the gameplay is just great and offers great tactical and strategical variety.

The Outer Worlds 2 is a fantastic role-playing game. It's a little old-school in some areas, but that's exactly what gives it its charm. Basically, the game offers exactly what fans of the first installment hoped for. More of the wacky world, more refined game systems, and a larger scope. It has been further developed in the right places and supplemented where necessary. Only a few bugs hold it back. But anyone who already enjoyed its predecessor will get their money's worth here too.

Simply one of the best metroidvania games in years. With its beautiful art style, well crafted gameplay and huge game world to explore, Hollow Knight offers amazing value for your money.

Both highly accessible and super fun to play, Heroes of the Storm comes heartily recommended. Give it a try, it's free.

Capcom did a great job with the conversion of the console hit, especially when it comes down to the very complex controls. Beginners may find themselves frustrated and overwhelmed by the possibilities, but once you learn how to handle your character, the game unfolds its whole fascination.

Steamword Dig 2 is one of the finest Metroidvania-surprises for a long time. Everyone who likes the predecessor can grab it without hesistation, but even newcomers are being served very well.

While still a pretty good RTS, Cold War lacks the tactical depth of its predecessors. Just pick a few tanks and roll over whatever resistance there is. The missions are too easy and the engine, although bringing really good explosions to the screen, slows down gameplay to less than 20 FPS.

I recommend starting immediately with WotC - provided that Firaxis patches a few error sources since the release.

The Shoot and Loot that Hellgate should have been. The lousy story and the flawed RPG-System do not spoil the fun you will have when frantically mashing through waves of enemies, collecting all kinds of cool weapons!

A faithful sequel to Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, but sadly a little too conservative in some ways. Barely any new features add to the gameplay, which is naturally as strong as within its predecessors. The story is interesting, cutscenes and dialogues are well written and impressively presented. A minor setback: the Riddler riddles have been removed for this one.

Vermintide 2 outclasses its predecessor thanks to its improved character system and more satisfying loot, while the amazing combat, relentless difficulty and lack of variety remain largely the same.

A beautiful adventure game with original characters, good humor, tricky puzzles and a great art style. Even though the story suffers from an abrupt ending and loses its focus after a couple of hours, it's still a must-have for those who crave for a good point-and-click-adventure.

The once great German subgenre of business simulations is brought back to old glory with Patrician 4. This game delivers the same enthralling and challenging experience as its predecessors and tops them with up-to-date graphics and modern-day-improvements such as a drag-and-drop-interface. Patrician 4 has a few design flaws and the campaign is far too easy. But the dynamic trade system, the manifold possibilities of commerce and politics and the detailed depiction of medieval business make for an entertaining game that stands as the best pure business simulation to date.

Bulletstorm certainly isn't a revolution amongst first person shooters, but it actually managed to surprise me in a lot of ways. While I expected nothing more than a brainless killing-orgy, Bulletstorm features cool characters, a solid story, creative and fun weapons and foremost a smooth and surprisingly motivating gameplay.

The Settlers 7 is a daring approach on innovation in a rather old-school strategy series – and it works. The nice graphics and the superb soundtrack border a rapid and entertaining gameplay mechanic that will keep you playing for hours. And although these mechanics work best in multiplayer mode, the developers present a singleplayer campaign with a sweeping story and interesting, demanding missions. If you can look past some graphic glitches and Ubisofts horrible online DRM, you get the best Settlers game in years!

Take a handful of XCOM, spice it with a pinch of classic roleplaying game and ad an unusual scenario – finished is lovingly crafted insider tip for tactics fans.

Mythic Entertainment’s approach to topple World of Warcraft accompanies the player on every step and keeps motivation sky high, due to constant rewards. Despite having to deal with some minor bugs and balancing issues, Warhammer Online’s public quests and PvP-focus make it a fair alternative in the growing MMORPG-market.

A huge world to explore, lots of quests and decisions, tons of items and great replay value are reason enough to pick up this fine roleplaying sequel. Sadly, there are some noticeable technical problems, controls could have been better and the graphics look a little outdated. Still, if you enjoyed Fallout 3 for what it is, you will have a great time with New Vegas.

4A Games created an excellent, apocalyptic setting with Metro: Last Light. You’ll be confronted with scary monsters and many details in the game offer a great atmosphere. Though, interaction with characters and the world itself in the game is limited. The AI doesn’t perform very cleverly, even on hardcore-mode.

Although Human Revolution neglects to achieve the brilliance of the original Deus Ex, with its dense world, the epic storyline and the open minded gameplay it nevertheless succeeds in reviving one of the most admired science fiction series in the history of game design. Sadly the PC-Version of this great experience is radically handicapped by bugs and excessive loading periods.

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.

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.

Given the fact that with its setting, Far Cry: Primal could’ve really been a breath of fresh air for the series, the actual game is somewhat of a disappointment. By no means is it a bad game though. Combat is still fun, the crafting-system is very well implemented and graphically it looks very good. But Ubisoft had a chance to break out of the same old same old formula that the Far Cry games suffer from and did not utilize it. Instead, we get the ever so similar Far Cry gameplay – but now it’s the stone age. Without a doubt fun, but all of the repetition is starting to become pretty tiresome.

I just love games like Portal that force you to really use your brain and get creative. The Talos Principle is a prime example for this kind of game. The puzzles are splendid and always manage to excite anew. I also think, the foundation for the plot to The Talos Principle is incredibly interesting, though its presentation via a slew of different texts really dulls the initial fascination. But if you’re really in to the game’s various themes, you will most likely still find yourself enjoying the story quite a bit.

Atmospheric city-building game meets brutal fight for survival.

I especially like the great focus on secret infiltration.

An enchanting little adventure set in a beautiful world. Only the last third could have been more challenging with a little more variety.

Being the best entry in the city-building strategy game series, Tropico 5 excites with a humorous campaign and a relaxed atmosphere, while the endless mode keeps motivated. Experienced players will miss a little depth and challenge, but its forgiving gameplay is especially attractive for newcomers.

Funny and deep, Skulls of the Shogun is a deceptively shallow take on turn-based tactics. It's has a lot to offer for new players and veterans alike.

When we played Prison Architect for the first time, we could hardly keep our hands off it. Once you started playing it, you can't stop. The quests are challenging and interchangeably, which keeps you busy the whole time. The charming Comic-Look gives no indication of how complex and earnest Prison Architect actually is.

Abandoning the open, yet often empty-feeling world of its predecessor, Armageddon delivers a much more streamlined experience. Though its story fails to excite, the use of the innovative magnet gun and the ensuing chaos of destruction is enough to inspire awe. The engaging combat mechanics compensate for some minor flaws in the level design.

Multiplayer is where it's at and For Honor certainly delivers some compelling online duels. The stabbing can get a bit repetitive after a while - much like the short singleplayer campaign -, but learning the intricacies of For Honor's complex combat system nevertheless makes for a fun experience. Ubisoft had better release some more modes and maps post-launch, though. Otherwise the game may shortly find itself without a player base, once the novelty has worn off.

Piranha Bytes is going back to its roots – including new cool factions like the Demonhunters and Guardians, both using powerful fantasy-spells. The game also offers a rich and detailed open world, mixing pirate- with medieval-setting where you can explore tons of rpg-content. Unfortunately the cinematic and technical presentation isn’t state of the art, including camera- and clipping-problems. Though the combat-system has improved since Risen 2, it still isn’t well balanced and polished.

Rise of Venice is a motivating business simulation set in the 15th century in the Mediterranean Sea. It comes with detailed 3D-graphics, a large scale with a dynamic trade system and manifold possibilities of commerce and politics and should entertain you for months. Perhaps beginners will be overly challenged in the further progress of the game when many trade routes need to be managed, missions should be accomplished, and people are starving because of famine and pirate attacks on your ships.

Especially with the graphical design and the music and sound of the game Daedalic did a good job. The pen&paper-gameplay has been well embedded but the facial animations are rudimental. In general the puzzles are very diversified but lack hints most of the time. Therefore the game is at some points quite challenging, but in a few places even frustrating. Although Chains of Satinav is a very good adventure game with a convincing atmosphere in the world of The Dark Eye.

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!

A great adventure game in the style of the Indiana-Jones-action-movies. The story about nazis searching for the secret kingdom of shambala and it's huge powers is thrilling and directed with lots of great cutscenes and detailed graphics. The game contains lot's of dialogues, some of them are very long though. The Puzzles are mostly fair but to easy to solve for genre veterans. If you liked the Secret Files-series, you'll have to play Lost Horizon!

A fast and aesthetic action-adventure, that easily overcomes its monotony and lack of challenge due to responsive controls, two heart-warming heroes and the sheer beauty of its visual design.

Some of my most precious memories regarding video games are in some manner connected to the two Banjo-Kazooie games from developer Rare. Yooka-Laylee manages to tap into those exact memories, by embodying the very essence of games like the aforementioned Banjo-Kazooie. Enjoyable gameplay, an ingenious soundtrack and the happy-go-lucky attitude of the game are just some of the things that make Yooka-Laylee a great experience. Though for some reason I don’t quite feel the same enjoyment, I had with those games in my childhood. Maybe it’s my age or some of the questionable design decisions by the developers. Nonetheless, Yooka-Laylee is a really good game.

Original Sin is a lovingly-crafted homage to some of the 90s best CRPGs that in terms of story and characters isn’t up to par with the likes of Baldur’s Gate 2 and Planescape: Torment. Nevertheless it’s Larian Studios’ best game yet with one of the most intricately designed, interactive and atmospheric game worlds of all time.

Not only a charming love letter to NES classics, but a deeply enjoyable game in its own right.

Fast, intuitive, colourful fun! The best singleplayer Diablo clone in years!

The famous Burnout-series finally finds its way on to the PC. On the one hand the synonym for an arcade-racing-game gets a little monotonous because of its open-world-concept and the repetitive missions. On the other hand the action and the furious, iconic moments you will live through make up for that, which in the end make Burnout: The Ultimate Box to one of the best arcade-racers you can get at the moment.

Nomada Studio – the Indie-Developers behind Gris – did not really aim for a classic gaming experience. They more so crafted an interactive art piece that shines through its aquarelle art style and music. Therefore Gameplay is very minimalistic ,and puzzles rarely require any real effort by the player. Yet Gris is definetely worth playing solely for the unique and beautiful design as well as the great score.

Wildlands is a great mix-up of some of the best elements of Ubisoft's most prominent IPs, but struggles to find its own identity. Military-minded co-op fans will definitely want to check this out, while solo players can also expect up to 50 hours of open-world fun.

Due to the great graphical style, I can still imagine Swords of Ditto as a nice family adventure in which parents play with their children together.

Surviving Mars shines with surprisingly deep gameplay and a complex economic system. Most of the time you are struggling to keep your fragile colony alive and provide your colonists with all they need. Always fighting for scarce ressources and against the harsh environment of the red planet.