While the three new levels are excellently designed and the combat is as satisfying as ever, the lack of new weapons or abilities feels like a missed opportunity. The main downside however is the uneven balancing: Some battles are littered with high level enemies (some of which require precise aiming in the midst of combat) and take easily more than 10 minutes to complete, all while you are grasping for ammo and health. Doom Eternal made you feel like a badass, while Ancient Gods almost makes you drag from one fight to next, always hoping you make it out alive somehow. This might be a real dealbreaker for some players, even for those who finished Doom Eternal without a problem on normal difficulty. Ancient Gods is still good fun, mind you, but I don't feel this is the right direction for the franchise. There is a difference between challenging and hardcore.

Except for hard core-fans of the series, barely anyone will find their time worth invested. Wet Dreams Dry Twice heavily bases itself on stereotypes and jokes that were not even funny when the first game launched. Bugs further diminish the enjoyment, but at least the game has an interesting story and a couple of new features.

The Revenant Prince had so much potential, which makes it even more depressing that in the end, it turned out to be a bore. It does look nice, for sure, but that fact alone can only take it so far. The story is completely uninteresting and confusing, you don’t know what you have to do half of the time, there are a lot of bugs and the fights are moderately entertaining at best. Skip this one.

Partisans 1941 is, for all its problems, a wonderful game for fans of the genre. The atmosphere is fascinating and the gameplay is as fun as it is hard to learn. If it wasn’t for the lame story and some problems with the enemy’s A.I., we’d recommend it even more. Let’s hope for some patches.

Well, that’s a disappointment: After The Escapists 1+2, we were looking forward to the next game set in the same universe. The Survivalists, however, can’t hold a candle to its predecessors. The gameplay is broken in more ways than we can count, there are plenty of design flaws which makes you wonder how anybody couldn’t have seen how irritating they are and nevertheless, the game is way too short and way too easy. Such a pity.

For a game about rallyes, there isn’t a lot of this in Art of Rally. Driving around is fun for an hour or so, but after that, you have more or less seen everything of interest that there is. Stilistically, the game is a success, but it is too easy, the story is weird (but not in a good way) and repetition takes away a lot of the fun one could have.

What the Fork succeeds in what it tries to do, which is to be an entertaining game in the vein of Overcooked. Especially the leveldesign is quite good! After a while, however, doing the same thing over and over again can become repetitive. However, if your’e looking to have a good time with some friends, you can’t go wrong with this one.

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.

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.

The ocean setting is still amazing, controls are fine and the action is satisfying enough. However there is a ton of stuff that feels undercooked or downright boring, such as story, mission variety, loot or the superficial upgrade mechanics. 4 player co-op is easily the most interesting feature of Aquanox Deep Descent and could be worth a look, at least once the devs iron out some of its shortcomings.

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.

Serious Sam 4 delivers dumb, fun action, but not much more. The humour doesn’t really work, the story is as stupid as it gets and there isn’t really any variety. However, to relax after a hard day at work, this might just be what some people need.

Ride 4 is tough, really tough, but not always in a good way. The penalty system is confusing, the driver’s A.I. is quite stupid and some parts of the game aren’t explained enough. However, if a challenge is what you seek, this might be the game for you.

Star Wars: Squadrons is a probably unwanted but successful mixture of the classic X-Wing and Rogue Squadron series. It combines a fantastic Star Wars atmosphere with an entertaining campaign, and convinces with an arcade gameplay feel, despite surprisingly complex controls. A higher rating is only prevented by an underwhelming multiplayer mode.

While FIFA 21 plays a lot smoother than its predecessor and offers even more content for the fans of career and VOLTA mode, it once again feels like an evolution not a revolution. EA Sports really need to breathe new life into their football simulation. But maybe that will only happen, as soon as the franchise arrives on next gen consoles.

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.

It's charming, but absolutely nothing happens and you watch ships go around for hours.

Wingspan did have so much potential to be great, but in the end, it is just okay. There is just too little variety to the gameplay and, being based on a boardgame, it doesn’t manage to justify its existence with any meaningful upgrades to the source material.

The gameplay shows its age and the updated visuals are not nearly worth the performance cost. If you already own the original, you can give this one a pass.

Of course, it cannot keep up with modern open-world genre representatives of the caliber of a GTA or Watch Dogs in terms of scope and gaming activities. But it doesn't even want that. Mafia wants to tell a story, a story about family, friendship, morals and tragedy, and the game does this very well.

A thoroughly engrossing action game that will keep you coming back for dozens upon dozens of hours. Each run is brimming with satisfying combat, new and interesting story bits and powerful upgrades, which more than makes up for the hefty amounts of repetion. Clearly a contender for game of the year.

If something stupid and wacky is what your’e looking for, Surgeon Simulator 2 is your game! Don’t expect any real simulation gameplay, also don’t expect working controls, long-term motivation or complexity, and you’ll have a lot of fun.

Ever Forward has so much potential. Due to the unused graphic style and soulful story, developer Pathea could have created a real indie pearl. The gameplay around the frustrating puzzles prevents that, although great puzzles crept in in between, which I was happy to break my head about. At the latest because of the stressful puzzles with time pressure, I often lost the fun of the game. Especially the gravity puzzles at the end are one cramp. It's a shame, it could have been so good ...

Barn Finders starts out strong and amuses players through unique ideas and involuntarily funny moments. Sadly, the game cannot uphold its entertaining beginning and loses itself in monotonous gameplay and almost no feeling of progress.

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.

Crystal Dynamics could have done a few things better, but an impressive campaign and a lot of fan love make the title a successful adventure in the world of Marvel that I don't want to do without.

I am a huge fan of Kingdoms of Amalur. That's why it hurts my soul somewhere to have to write negative about this game in this test.

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.

The setting and the world structure in Iron Harvest are profound and perfectly accompanied by the imposing music - absolute goose bumps.

Fast & Furious Crossroads is quite similar to the associated movies. Both have the same voice actors, a couple of nice action sequences and a shitload of issues: Poorly written dialogue, a story full of plotholes and unlikeable characters combined with imprecise car controls make the game an unappealing mess.

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.

Windbound tries to combine Zelda: Breath of the Wild with survival gameplay, and altough it doesn’t completely fail in this endeavour, the end result still leaves a lot to be desired. There’s bugs, there’s repetition, there is, in general, just not a lot of interesting things to do. Which is a shame, because the game looks pretty and has a very nice atmosphere.

Objectively speaking, Madden NFL 21 is not a bad game. It is a realtistic representation of the NFL, maybe even the best American football simulation out there. However, it lacks innovation on so many levels that players, who already own its predecessors, will really struggle to find a reason to pay another 70 bucks for it.

Despite smaller flaws such as an unrewarding progress system, PGA Tour 2K21 manages to appeal to beginners as well as experts alike. The gameplay is thoroughly explained, feels good and is motivating through a surprising amount of depth. The older graphics and long loading times are only minor inconveniences.

The game combines the series‘ strategic gameplay with mythological elements and the end result is really good. It’s not quite as complex as other Total War games, but the interesting setting, the different campaigns, the resource management and more make it an adventure you can invest dozens of hours in.

Roki’s story is dark, but also manages to bring with it the right amount of heart. The setting is also top-notch and the puzzles are a lot of fun. There are some minor things that don’t work as good as they should, especially the quest system and the item management, but they don’t change the fact that Roki succeeds in what it does.

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.

There’s way too little content in Skater XL and a lot of missing things like NPCs which make it seem like the game never got out of early-access. Playing it, however, feels great. Let’s just hope that the developers update the game with a lot more stuff than it currently has.

The puzzles in Relicta are hard and there isn’t any handholding. This fact, however, is part of the game’s appeal. It feels great to finally solve a tough-as-nails puzzle. More variety regarding the levels would have been nice, nevertheless.

For the moment I'm just having a lot of fun.

Horizon: Zero Dawn actually exceeded my high expectations. A great game that hardly ever makes mistakes.

For my taste there is too little gameplay between the many dialogue sequences.

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.

For gamers who love the anime the game is based on, it might be a dream come true. For everyone else, it is just an average JRPG. The missions are monotonous, there are no puzzles and if you don’t know the anime, you won’t understand a lot of the story.

Rocket Arena is a nice snack, but not much more. The maps are too little, the gunplay doesn’t quite feel right and there is too much a focus on microtransactions. The graphics are nice, however and the ten characters all feel very different.

With Beyond a Steel Sky, Revolution Software, the team around Charles Cecil and comic book legend Dave Gibbons, has successfully transported the fascination of classic adventure games into modern days. Clever ideas, charming characters and witty dialogues make the sequel to „Beneath a Steel Sky“, which was released 26 years earlier, a must-play for every adventure fan. Hopefully we don’t need to wait that long for our next visit to Union City. It would be a shame.

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.

Towaga: Among Shadows is simple, but fun. The controls are good, the artstyle is beautiful and it just feels nice to play. It’s a pity, then, that the story is over so soon and that some of the fights aren’t as good as the rest of the game.

The new Trackmania tries to merge E-Sport with the fun factor that all parts of the franchise contain. However, that doesn’t work out pretty well. On the other hand, it still has the strength of the predecessors: Easy to learn, but enough depth for pros. In addition, thanks to the free2play model every interested driver can give it a free shot.

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.

The new "My Team" mode is the biggest innovation (and improvement) in recent years and fits perfectly into the F1 game concept from Codemasters. Apart from that, the many adjustments to the driving experience, penalty system, TV-like presentation and technology add a little extra. F1 2020 is not only the best F1 game, it is also one of the best racing games out there.

A fine Metroidvania with only a few small but excusable faults. The great characters, a nice atmosphere and good Dungeon Design compensate the very easy boss fights and a rather flat story by far. Not to mention the wonderful soundtrack and art style.

The co-op cooking game has almost no meat on the bone. It copies a couple of mechanics from the much better alternative Overcooked, without capturing, why Overcooked is actually fun. A lot of things occur excessively randomly, the later levels are frustrating and variety is missing as well.

The idea to enhance the fighting system with meditative elements sounds interesting but doesn’t work out in any way. The meditations move to the background, while the fighting system, which is not that bad, takes the front row. Long loading times, bad controls and constantly the same animations cloud the overall picture further.

Flying Red Barrel is a simple game with a really strong story. It is quite short, yes, but that makes it that much easier to go in for better highscores time and time again. It’s also quite hard, even on easy difficulty, so if a challenge is something you’re looking for, you’ll find plenty of that here.

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.

A cool atmosphere and a great combat system meet an interesting lore story and challenging boss fights. Unfortunately, there are some negative points. Not only was the gameplay a bit monotonous, but the controls were to notchy. In addition we not only had to fight witches and undead, but also many bugs.

If you are craving a game like the original Commandos, this is the one to get: Great level design, likable characters, sleek mechanics and challenging missions make Desperados 3 every bit as good as Shadow Tactics, which is quite a compliment on its own.

Valorant has the best chance of replacing CS: GO as a top dog, if the ranked mode is designed to be motivating enough. The infrastructure and experience in the world of competitive gaming is already abundant at Riot Games. Maybe the world of eSports will soon be dominated by a single company. But even if that doesn't work: Valorant is just so much fun.

This remaster collection turns out to be a lovingly restored new edition, with which strategy fans of the old school in particular should be happy. One can argue about the dusty gameplay and some lack of comfort, but these are concessions to the community that wished for "their" old C&C.

With a little bit more time Crucible could have become a half-decent game. Instead Amazon's first online shooter feels rushed and unfinished, lacks elemental gameplay and comfort features or simply any unique selling point which sets it apart from its competitors.

The Bus Mechanic Simulator is inferior to the Car Mechanic Simulator and other mechanic simulators in all respects and has major weaknesses and problems that make the game unplayable, especially on older computers.

Both accessible and merciless at the same time, this is by far one the best roguelike deckbuilders since Slay the Spire.

With its fantastic but simple gameplay, Minecraft Dungeons is not only for fans of the Minecraft universe. The design of the world and the adventurers is great and the multiplayer is fun. Sadly, the story is too flat and the game is too short to satisfy completely.

A solid remaster of a good game. The ridiculous but funny story and the huge content thanks to all the included DLCs are now shining in a much better graphic. However, the remaster did not wipe out the negative points. The missions are still repetitive, the AI is stupid as hell and the world feels a bit empty, if you leave the path of missions.

The repetitive game design was partly on my laces, but I could have closed my eyes and pulled out a 7. However, the technical quirks are too pronounced for this and annoy a few short gaming sessions. If you like the Sharknado parts or other shark Schlockbuster, you do not have to delete Maneater from your wish list, but you should be able to overlook some shortcomings and definitely wait for a few patches.

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.

While the game is not nearly as ground breaking as an earthquake, the concept is unique and expands on a working idea. Technically and visually, Disaster Report 4 is, well, a disaster, but its absurd combination of comedy and drama evokes a certain charm.

Players who liked the Kingdom series of games and Slay the Spire will also find a lot to love in Ratropolis. It mixes new ideas with satisfying gameplay and thus creates something very unique. After a while, progression tends to get a bit samey, but until then, Ratropolis is a lot of fun.

Despite its short duration and a couple of hiccups when it comes to controls, A Fold Apart captivates players through its charming story and innovative puzzles.

With its superb pixel art, engaging action, varied levels, tons of enemies and a stylish soundtrack, Huntdown is a winner. I just wish it lasted a bit longer.

Fun weapons, tight controls and a smart combo mechanic will keep you coming back for more, even if the whole gameplay loop starts to get repetitive pretty soon.

To make it short: Wavey stinks. The gameplay isn’t fun and the rest is mediocre at best. Seeing that this ist he first game made by a young studio, I wish them all the best for their future. But their next project has to be a lot better to gain my attention.

Snowrunner is really one of the most suprising games I’ve played in a long time. It offers a unique atmosphere, a great world to explore and a very satisfying gameplay loop. What you need to be able to enjoy it is patience, though, for it is a slow endeavour and sometimes tough as nails.

But the relaxation comes to an end very quickly and highly concentrated brooding takes its place.

Predator: Hunting Grounds' interesting asymmetric multiplayer gameplay is brought down by its monotone missions, annoying bugs, stupid AI and blatant balancing issues. What a waste of a big Hollywood movie license.

Cloudpunk manages to create a great cyberpunk-y atmosphere, but is held back by some limitations. Gameplay-wise, it doesn’t have a lot to offer and the sequences in which you get out of your car are a bore. Play it for the well-told story to get the most out of it.

Biped is a cute little surprise for people who prefer to play in coop-mode. It offers an innovative control sheme and stages with a lot of variety. Everything falters the moment you start playing solo, however. Then it becomes a mediocre experience at best.

As an avid fan of the Overcooked series I am more than happy to see some additional representatives of the Couch coop genre – especially if they are as well-made as Moving Out.

A worthy successor to the classic oldschool brawler trilogy: Streets of Rage 4 shines due to its electro beats and wonderfully crafted visual design, especially in its animations. While capturing the essence of the original games, Streets of Rage 4 manages to bring a seemingly old concept into a modern era.

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.

Even if the outdated substructure has its limits, it must still be possible to make the game less cumbersome, imprecise and uneven.

At the end of the test, I had the impression that Firaxis wanted to quickly publish something to stand up to Microsoft's Gears Tactics. In my opinion, it didn't really work.

Help Will Come Tomorrow offers a survival experience with faults you want to overlook because it does so many things right. However, this isn’t always possible. After a while, talking with NPCs becomes a drag and too many gameplay elements rely on luck. People looking for a challenge and an interesting story, however, will be satisfied.

Legend of Keepers is a well-made management sim with a lot of humour. It also looks quite nice and offers a lot of replayability. However, too many things it confronts the player with rely on luck.

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.

Yes, Your Grace tells an interesting tale with some intriguing twists and turns, but beneath its grim story lies a monotonous gameplay loop that combines elements of traditional adventures, RPG-style choices and management games. It's fine for one playthrough, but with the story unfolding in a surprisingly linear fashion, there is not much reason to give it another go.

The third part of the series cannot quite reach the success and brilliance of its predecessor, but still manages to impress with a spectacular presentation. The amount of content is relatively small and one recycled area from the second game simple laziness. Nevertheless, disgusting enemies and Nemesis take care of a tense atmosphere and exciting combat encounters.

Aside from higher resolution support and a modern savegame feature, this is more or less the original Doom 64 experience from 1997. Which is fine, since the game holds up pretty well. Despite some confusing level design, Doom 64 still offers tons of fun for those craving a retro FPS in the tradition of the first two Doom games

Iron Danger has a couple of staggering flaws such as a lack of motivation, character progression or a good story. That being said, the well thought out battles and the rewarding challenge make the title a compelling strategy game.

The strategy game offers an insane amount with over one thousand different units and appeals through its neat visual design. The gameplay is fair, but quite challenging and can entice through its depth in mechanics. Rare crashes were only a minor inconvenience.

If Bleeding Edge can hold up and the developers regularly deliver game content, it could be a varied, good game. Until then, there is still a lot to do.

Half-Life: Alyx isn’t as good as it could be, mostly because of some sequences that drag on for too long, the multi-tool which just isn’t fun to use and some uninspired design choices. Nevertheless, Valve has created a very good VR-shooter and a worthy entry in the Half-Life-series. Just don’t expect it to blow you away the way Half-Life 2 did back in 2004.

Without a doubt one of id software's best. Intense battles, brutal enemies, glorious design, a pulse-pounding soundtrack and a smooth engine all come together in one amazing package.

Going back to New York and finishing the story arc that we started in the first game brought me great joy. But the expansion suffers from balancing problems and questionable long term motivation, even with the new season system.

An outstanding sequel that merges a heartfelt story, stunning visuals, challenging gameplay and glorious music into what is already one of the best games of the year.

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.

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.