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.

Short, charming, sweet as pie and overall, just an absolutely wholesome experience: A Short Hike may not bring with it big set pieces, a complex story or a whole lot of gameplay systems. But it has more heart than a lot of other games combined, which makes it something truly special.

All in all, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has sadly been a frustrating experience for me. World design and presentation, with John William's classic score and the beautiful graphics, are top notch, but the gameplay and quest design got redundant only after few hours.

The first chapter is a charming adventure game, featuring a short, but interesting story, great voice actors and a beautiful soundtrack. The puzzles however are too simplistic and most of the side characters get brushed aside too soon. It's still fun, for sure, and some of these issues might be fixed in the second chapter, but so far Broken Age is not the classic we hoped for.

This black cat brings us luck… and an excellent Metroidvania from an unusual perspective.

Quotation forthcoming.

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is a really smart horror game in disguise. The visual novel plays with your expectations, your knowledge of video games and the standards of the genre. Every player who loves well written stories should give the game a chance, although it starts really slow and you have to click through a lot of very boring dialogue before it really begins. But don’t have any expectations for the additional content in the Plus! version. The prequel chapters are pretty dull and add nothing interesting to the main story.

Battlefield 4 is a great first person shooter. Although the campaign and it’s story aren’t really memorable, the outstanding multiplayer makes the game nearly perfect.

A delightfully weird and extremely well-written RPG that strikes all the same chords as Planescape: Torment. But beware: InXile still has some bugs to squash and patches to release before the game truly lives up to its masterful namesake.

Quake Remastered does the cult classic justice by offering the player not only the base game and all it's add-ons but also two bonus episodes, one of which is brand new. Coupled with 4K graphics, a slick menu and some nice extras it's a great package for fans. You can't deny it's age though - this is still a 25-year-old shooter.

The most beautiful, comprehensive, and best game in the series.

Even though Live a Live is an old game, it feels fresh and exciting. Moreover, it looks gorgeous. This is a good choice if other JRPGs are too lengthy for your liking.

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.

A well-made shooter that successfully reinvents the Wolfenstein formula with bloody action, lots of atmosphere and surprisingly solid stealth mechanics. The story features interesting characters and a high quality presentation, but the game becomes too erratic and ridiculous towards the end.

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.

Falling down has never been this hard. Or this pixelated.

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.

GTA 5 is still a masterpiece. The open world is fantastic, the presentation is brilliant, the characters are well-written and the varied gameplay is still a lot of fun. Thanks to the technical improvements of the remastered version for PS5 the game still feels fresh and the gameplay is even better because of up to 60 fps in the two performance modes.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a dream come true for many Star Wars fans. It perfectly combines great gameplay with exploration, puzzles and a personal story. Sadly a lackluster ending and some technical and graphical issues tarnish the overall positive experience somewhat.

Overall, Mordhau delivers a lot of medieval fun. The fights are exciting and thanks to the big selection of weapons there’s one for every taste. The fact that there aren’t very many maps and the lackluster battle royale mode hold the game back a little bit. But it still delivers what it promises and is definitely worth your attention.

Surprisingly, EA and Codemasters deliver one of the biggest and best F1 games with F1 23 – a massive playground for those who love motorsports and high speed. And thanks to F1 World, casual gamers are now more welcome than ever.

Ultimately, Borderlands 4 gets the crucial things right that you would expect from a Borderlands game. It's a loot shooter, and the looting and shooting works so well that we don't want to stop playing. Shooting tons of weapons at tons of enemies and collecting tons of loot has always been the DNA of Borderlands. It's a fun loop that still hasn't gotten old after 16 years and has once again been perfectly implemented in Borderlands 4.

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

Ghostrunner is fast, hard and unforgiving. But in a good way! It’s also beautiful, has an interesting world, a great soundtrack and the gameplay is just on point. The combat-system is with all the enemy-types rich in variety and pure fun, especially for speedrunners. Sometimes the world-design is a bit repetitive and not every enemy-type gets the screentime they deserve, but everything else is just great.

While not quite the Freelancer killer we were hoping for, this is still one of the best space shooters money can buy. Everspace 2 is packed with content, full of areas to explore, fun combat, great graphics and a robust loot system. The story is a big step up from the first game as well, only hampered by its weak presentation and sometimes underwhelming atmosphere.

The F1 series was getting better and better in the last years. Unfortunately F1 22 stops this trend. F1 Life and Supercars aren’t the new interesting features we were hoping for. The gameplay has weaknesses as well and on top there are some big graphic issues when it comes to rainy races.

Although it has some flaws and typical free-to-play mannerisms, Fortnite is fun, both in co-op and in PvP.

A solid port that looks sharp and runs smoothly on modern PCs. Aside from the DLCs, which are already included in this version, the original game remains mostly untouched. It's no Symphony of the Night by any means, but a fun experience nonetheless, with diverse levels, incredible atmosphere and challenging combat. The awkward camera positioning, inaccurate platforming and pacing issues may turn some people off though.

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.

Ghostrunner 2 is better, stronger, and faster, but it has lost some of its charm.

A charming romp through pirate space that successfully translates XCOM's combat into gorgeous 2D robot battles. Shame there isn't much to do between missions though.

Mario Kart for grown-ups! With cool power-ups! And real cars! In this fast and action-packed racing game you battle your rivals with power-ups but you need driving skills as well. The online multiplayer keeps you motivated for weeks.

On the one hand Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning features one of the best combat systems I've ever seen in an RPG. It's fast, smooth and absolutely satisfying. The character individualization is quite big and the vast world of Amalur is a great place to sink in. On the other hand its dull story and severe lack of interesting characters are holding Reckoning back from being more than just a nice fill-in between Skyrim and Mass Effect 3.

The characters are profoundly written, have a lot of heart, and the story is as sad as it is exhilarant. […] I recommend Finding Paradise (and the predecessor To the Moon and the connecting piece A Bird Story) to everyone who loves well-written characters and thrilling stories und has no problem with the almost non-existent gameplay.

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!

Unique, creative and apparently horny: Children of the Sun has a few quirks, but overall it's a lot of fun.

Despite some hiccups regarding the gameplay and a rather disappointing ending to the story, Firewatch is an experience worth remembering, all thanks to its fantastically-written characters and its superb atmosphere.

Atmospheric horror platformer with obvious gameplay flaws.

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.

Quotation forthcoming.

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

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.

For me, the game is for sure at the top of my list of games of the year.

The survival game Stranded: Alien Dawn from Haemimont Games is a great mix between The Sims and Rimworld. We enjoyed the long term satisfying campaigns and had a lot of fun while building a new civilization on a foreign planet.

The design of the game may seem strange at first glance, but it's ultimately a refreshing idea and makes the game original and worthwhile.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is a complex and challenging RPG for experienced fans of the genre. The vast game world and the pawn system motivate for hours and hours. However the game can’t hide his age.

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

At the core of all of Blood Dragon's delightful silliness lies a solid shooter mechanic bereft of the biggest strength Far Cry 3 had: Its invitingly vibrant world.

Not free of flaws, but nevertheless a true RPG highlight.

Beyond Earth is a well done mix of Alpha Centauri and Civilization 5. The UI-design is modern an quite useful. The new designed Tech-Web offers plenty of gameplay mechanics. Though it’s not satisfying in all aspects, it has become a nice science-fiction alternative to the historic Civ Games.

A well done reinterpretation of the old Jagged Alliance gameplay with great characters, a great dynamic campaign and tactically diverse combat, but with a few weak points, especially for veterans of the series.

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.

All in all Sackboy: A New Adventure is nevertheless a solid pc port. With the right hardware it's even possible to make the game world look really beautiful. Because there is no different or additional content compared to the PS5 version, our rating remains identical to the original. 

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

Anno 1800 is going back to the roots of the series but also manages to introduce exciting new features to the proven formula. The result is a building game that captivates for endless hours and challenges the player more and more with every new unlocked production cycle.

Black Ops is quite a pleasant surprise: On the one hand former second class developer Treyarch reaches the Infinity Ward's standard of gameplay quality and inventiveness for the first time. On the other hand Treyarch manages to set a course of their own through the unusual story and a ton of tributes to other masterpieces of action, be it movie or game. Plus Activision conceded the time and resources to Treyarch to aspire a really great game. And that's something you'll notice immediately. You'll recognize the passion and the effort that went into making this new episode. Black Ops delivers Call of Duty gaming at its best as well as a distinctly individual approach to the whole scenario. Infinity Ward will have to put their shoulders to the wheel to outplay Black Ops with the next CoD.

The story of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare knows how to convince. The creators of Infinity Ward present here a special shooter experience that is somewhat different from the typical formula of the Activision shoot-out. The wacky Michael Bay action has been brought down a bit, but in return the title now tells a story that breaks social taboos and blurs the boundaries between good and evil. This more serious approach pleases, but unfortunately it wasn't thought to the end. A more critical or reflective approach to the topic of war would have been the premise. But that remains - apart from the somewhat scarce game size and the compulsory online connection - the only point of criticism. The co-op- and multiplayer-mode offer more reason to complain. The special unit missions seem somehow half-baked and lack announced features. The multiplayer battles suffer from the partly confusing maps, which seem to reward a passive way of playing. This clouds the overall impression a bit, even if the title can otherwise fully convince in terms of gameplay.

The PS5 version of Avowed offers the same experience we had last year, which means: It's fun, approachable and delightfully old fashioned. Just don't expect a deep roleplaying experience with tons of replay value.

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.

An almost perfect experience of a very special kind.

Planet Zoo was one of the games I was most looking forward to this year. With several preview events, I just had a good feeling that Frontier Developments was playing to the strengths of Planet Coaster and Jurassic World: Evolution, giving us the best build up simulation in recent times. I wasn't disappointed either, although in my opinion there is still room for improvement. The first campaign missions explain a lot of details, but how I now sensibly design a zoo from start to finish was not explained to me. Also the user interface and the handling could be a little more clear and handy - draping certain items in the enclosures really cost me my nerves! It's also a pity that the franchise mode is currently struggling with server problems and so the heart of the game doesn't work yet.

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.

Gunbrella probably won't appeal to everyone, but if you like fast gameplay with fun movement, you shouldn't miss the game.

Age of Empires 4 is clearly not a bad RTS. Considering the constant drought in the genre, the game is probably the best that could have happened for fans at the moment. However we wish the developers would have shown more courage. In the end the game is too similar to Age of Empires 2, it goes the safety route, not risking to do something wrong. And all of that without ever reaching the same atmosphere or charm that made the second entry so great. It is hard to think of reasons why a player who still has a lot of fun with the Definitive Edition of Age 2 should switch to this game. But whoever gets drawn by the small improvements like the new wall system or the gameplay differences between the civilizations can look forward to a great RTS package with many hours of fun.

The beautiful visuals look even better on the PC and the controls are smart and responsive. There are some flaws, though, in particular the short play time, some stiff level design and the overall potential for frustration. But if you manage to go with the flow, you will find Mirror's Edge to be a thrilling and unique gaming experience.

New setting, old strengths: Steamworld Heist 2 is bigger and better than its predecessor. The innovations are manageable, but they pay off: This thing is just fun!

The combination of fast-paced movement and the calm, meditative environment seem odd at first, but they work like a charm with the right mindset. An adventure that exhales atmosphere through and through and delights through its art style and soundtrack.

A great indie adventure with a few minor flaws.

Battlefield 5 is a great successor, but lacks in the area of multiplayer maps. For the next game DICE should think about leaving out the non-essential single-player campaign.

A fun and fast-paced shooter that delights through its excessive presentation and well-timed humour. Even though the environments lack a little in diversity and the controls can be a little fidgety from time to time, My Friend Pedro delivers an entertaining package with addicting and motivating gameplay.

Style over substance, but fans are going to love it.

Company of Heroes 3 is a well-done real-time strategy game, with great mission design, intense battles, diverse strategic options and a large scope, but it could have dared a bit more modernization in some places.

Ishin is playfully outdated in some areas and the technology is not entirely convincing. Series fans will still have fun with the atmospheric title. Newcomers, on the other hand, should rather choose another game from RGG.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is the better Yooka-Laylee game. The developer’s decision to create a 2D- instead of 3D-game was the right one. The overworld is the secret star of the game with loads of riddles and secrets and overall the new Yooka-Laylee is very challenging. The role models are obvious: Super Mario and Donkey Kong. If you are into 2D jump and runs, you will have a lot of fun with Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.

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.

Hellblade 2 is a new reference in terms of graphics and audiovisual production, but has to make concessions in terms of gameplay.

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince, despite being one of the easier puzzle games and not featuring any story depth, provides a vast amount of different riddles, a beautiful fairytale-like world and lots of fun, especially when playing the multiplayer mode.

Sifu is an incredibly frustrating, yet amazingly rewarding experience. Those who seek an unforgiving but mostly fair challenge will find something truly special with this Kung-Fu-game. It’s visuals and style are fantastic, as well as it’s stunning soundtrack! Yet, those who are easily annoyed by difficult games should be aware, that Sifu does not offer any easy-modes or level-checkpoints. It is uncompromising to the bone.

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.

Lost Ark finally made its way to the west and – despite the unfulfilling PvE content – it proved a successful third attempt for developer Smilegate and Amazon. It is not a perfect game. Some content is still missing, the story is mediocre and classes are bafflingly gender locked. However, from the 15 distinct and intriguing playable classes to the beautiful world design, there is much fun to be had with the game. Lost Ark is already brimming with content and with even more to look forward to the world of Arkesia has a bright future ahead of itself.

Black Myth: Wukong brings a myth to life that is bursting with fantasy and visual power. The game also has a lot to offer behind the scenes: varied boss designs and powerful battles keep you hooked throughout the surprisingly long running time. Explorers often come up against a brick wall because of the level design, which is both confusing and restrictive, but those who can deal with that will find an ideal entry point to a fascinating legend here.

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.

Gears Tactics delivers great tactical challenges combined with the brutal action the series is known for. The story of Gabe Diaz and his band of makeshift Gears fits right into the larger universe of Gears of War. But the game lacks an overarching strategic layer, that would give the forced side missions a different purpose than just to stretch the overall playtime.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes feels like a classic warriors game but still requires strategic thinking. It provides little to no innovation regarding the core gameplay, instead it offers quite a few aspects we‘ve already seen and loved in Three Houses. If you miss the characters and want to enjoy some fast-paced combat, it’s worth checking out.

Quotation forthcoming.

Sandrock is a fundamentally solid life and farming sim with RPG and adventure elements and, above all, one thing: a matter of taste.

Dragon Quest 7 is a very well-done remake of a game that is over 25 years old. Most of the problems of the original PS1 game have been solved, but the balance between text and combat is still uneven.

With the clever religion system, the renewed combat and the extra content, Gods & Kings is a must have for fans of Civ 5. The small number of new scenarios is a small letdown though. But at least the ones included kick ass, especially the steampunk scenario.

As a longtime fan, I like the optimization options that Fire Emblem Engage allows for.

A visually stunning storybook adventure that relies on atmosphere and varied features to balance occasional unimaginative plot and strenuous characters.

After reviewing this game, I realized something important: we definitely need a new console-generation, because these multiplatform-titles for PS3 and Xbox 360 really drag down some otherwise graphically impressive games. Good though, that Sleeping Dogs looks visually way more impressive on PC. I wasn’t expecting Sleeping Dogs to be that much of a hit-game but after my time with it, I enjoyed myself quite a lot.

When it comes to combining fluid combat with a gorgeous open world, Halo Infinite is an astounding success. In terms of story, side activities and indoor level design however, this entry leaves much to be desired. The multiplayer is a beast of its own, merging modern design choices with many traditional qualities. Even if you usually don't go for free to play games, this is easily one of the best Halo Multiplayer experiences in a long time.

Some may prefer the accessible Master of Orion, some may want the complexity and diversity of Stellaris. Bur for now Endless Space 2 is my first choice: challenging, suspenseful and sufficiently versatile, but still accessible enough, so I don’t tumble into one failure after another.

Trials Fusion succeeds in keeping the brilliant physics based gameplay – the new elements feel a little bit odd though.

It’s more a playable Demo than a full-flavored game. Gameplay itself offers much stealth-variety and a fantastic atmosphere with great graphics and sound. The replay-value is nice and let the player try various playstyles. It’s a good appetizer for upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Menus and are not optimized for pc, gamepad is recommended.

While smaller in scope than Obsidians last RPG, Tyranny astonishes with its clever way of handling choice and consequence. There are so many variables in Tyranny, you just have to play it twice.

Quotation forthcoming.

A lengthy campaign, welcome additions and clever improvements make Soul Harvest a noticeably better experience than the bug-ridden Spellforce 3.