Hell is Us impresses with its symbolism, its dark world, and its free exploration, but it still has a lot of room for improvement in terms of optimization and enemy design.

Despite its refreshing setting and sharp dialogue, this is an almost retro-infused sci-fi adventure that relies heavily on mechanics established by Bethesdas Fallout games, while never reaching their depth nor scope. It's accessible, witty and great fun if you keep your expectations in check, even though the main story and some long-term decisions don't quite live up to their full potential.

Neocore hasn't changed the formula much since the surprise hit that was the first The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing and why should they? Part 2 offers loads of low-priced fun for the hack 'n' slash fan who has (played) everything else. It doesn't offer the addicting loot runs of Torchlight 2 or Diablo 3, but Van Helsing 2 is a well crafted monster slaying experience in its own right with some fun ideas like the tower defense bits and the chimera pet.

A well crafted game with a good sense of humor, excellent (German) voice acting and nifty puzzle design. Despite its weak presentation and insignificant story Ceville stands out as one of the better traditional adventure games in years.

The cult role-playing game returns with sleek graphics and meaningful improvements – a treat for fans! The technology could be better, though.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is like the little, cool brother of Elite Dangerous. It’s not as huge and doesn’t offer the variety in terms of ships or planets compared to it’s older sibling, but at the end of the day, Outlaw is just plain fun.

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.

Power Wash Simulator is already the most satisfying game of the year. To clean cars, motorcycles, playgrounds or even the Mars Rover has never been so great. And the best thing is, we can do this together with five friends in a coop session.

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.

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.

Classic Mario Party with interesting twists and fun new modes. Jamboree TV on the Switch 2 brings even more entertaining new features, though the base game doesn't benefit from the higher resolution.

A finely crafted game that knows what it wants to be and succeeds on almost every level. The fluid action, beautiful art style and engaging story will keep you hooked for at least 15 hours, but once the final boss is done, there aren’t many reasons to return. Enjoy it while it lasts.

A well-made nostalgia-trip with all the strengths and weaknesses of the original games.

The Great Circle is not your average action-adventure game, but a true Indy experience through and through. It does have its shortcomings and the story sometimes goes a little off the rails, but none of that should stop true fans of enjoying the hell out ouf it.

Machine Games treats the iconic character with love and care, making it by far the best Indiana Jones game since Fate of Atlantis.

High replay value, enormous depth and massive demands: Total War: Pharaoh is strategy food for advanced players. The game requires a certain amount of training, but it also rewards it with an overall motivating gaming experience.

The first episode of Daedalics The Pillars of the Earth is beautifully designed, has a great presentation but slightly too little gameplay. However it gives you a thrilling and interesting story to enjoy.

Even though the original game released back in 2017, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard looks and runs very well on Nintendo Switch 2.

A perfect cast, strong performances and a thoughtful script offer an intimate, almost voyeuristic insight into the personal lifes of these characters, who really grew on me the longer I played. In terms of gameplay, there are ups and downs, some of which could have been avoided. I understand the directors intention behind some decisions, but I wished the game had more options in terms of video control or perhaps even a post-credit-mode that lets me combine two videos into one cohesive dialogue. But as long as you know what you are getting into, this movie-in-a-game-hybrid can be a fascinating experience, even when the overarching storyline turns out to be a surprisingly simple affair.

Rebel Galaxy scratches the Freelancer itch that went untreated for over a decade.

Resident Evil Village for Nintendo Switch 2 is a well-made port, although it's lacking the exclusive mouse feature which we wish they included.

The 99-player highspeed-races are a fun experience but you can't call it a traditional battle-royale game. With a great ranking system and its nostalgic tracks and fun modes for added variety F-Zero 99 shows what the series always was about while still being unique on its own.

The new Farming Simulator gives fans exactly what the want.

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.

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.

Quotation forthcoming.

Despite its highly repetitive nature, I had a great time with Dragon Commander. It may lack a good story, but interesting characters, carefully written dialogue and a smart way to handle some pretty sensitive issues more than make up for that. As a strategy game, Dragon Commander is not as good as it could be. The overall experience however feels fresh and memorable.

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