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.

Last year’s Guardian of Light was quite the surprise hit for me: the mixture of arcade-shooting and interesting puzzle-segments was a lot of fun – especially in coop. With Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Crystal Dynamics didn’t focus on anything innovative but rather on delivering good gameplay, beautifully designed levels and cool coop-puzzles (this time you can even play in a team of four). So if you don’t expect Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris to add mind blowing new elements and are satisfied with “only” a solid sequel, I can only recommend it.

Despite some technical and gameplay weaknesses, Layers of Fear is an entertaining horror adventure that looks fantastic thanks to Unreal Engine 5. Clear purchase recommendation for horror and graphics fans. People who have already played the series might want to stay away, due to a lack of innovation.

A fun retro romp that's not flawless, but downright addictive.

Clone or not, Lords of the Fallen is a good game in its own right. Powerful combat, lots of weapons and beautiful visuals will please those who are craving a challenge, despite some technical quirks, an obstructive camera and bland storytelling.

The new Need for Speed Unbound is an entertaining racing game with a stylish look, great tuning options and successful arcade racer gameplay, but no significant improvement compared to its predecessor.

Call of Duty’s system requirements are way too high for what graphical prowess is on offer here. Performance-wise, Infinity Ward has done a poor job. The campaign is solid fun albeit so, so stupid, yet multiplayer hasn’t evolved at all since Black Ops 3. On PC, there are also long waiting times for matchmaking.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered is clearly aimed at nostalgics who are not put off by the outdated game design and who want to relive the old adventures with Lara in a prettier look. In its time, Tomb Raider was a game series that set new standards. But nostalgia is a tricky thing and often good memories don't stand up to scrutiny with modern eyes.

While the AI could be smarter and the game in general more complex, Ino-Co Plus has done a good job of adding clever features to the established formula. Researchable spells, multiplayer and a mighty editor add a lot to the game’s replay value, while the new city limit keeps long matches from getting overly stressful. Whoever liked the first Warlock will probably love Warlock 2.

Laysara is a great hidden gem of a city-building game for anyone who enjoys building efficient production facilities and the hunt for the ideal city layout.

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.

Dead Island 2 never aims for unreachable heights and knows what it wants to be: A fun zombie slasher with brutal combat, beautiful levels, robust mechanics and a few jokes along the line. If that sounds like a great time to you, there's a good chance you are going to love Dead Island 2.

A great story and lively characters combined with fun gameplay make Oddworld: Soulstorm a successful remake. But the checkpoints quickly become a chore, due to the extremely annoying crafting-system, which can make some passages irritatingly frustrating.

Accessible action, a hint of strategy and a fair amount of content make for some hours of enjoyable castle crashing. It’s no classic, but a fun experience for sure.

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.

Compared to its predecessor, Steel Division 2 is even more complex – mainly because of the new campaign mode. Although everything in the game is great for fans of real time strategy, it lacks of a real tutorial. That’s a shame, because without any help the game is much too complicated for beginners.

The patches are having an impact: Spellforce 3 is fun - finally.

A game that sometimes leaves you perplexed by some bizarre decisions, but is developed with so much love that you can hardly be mad at it.

One of the most polarising game in the last months: Outriders serves fun and entertaining gameplay but also dishes out a clichéd story and a vast number of technical issues. Most glaringly: the inevitable online-connection to play the game, which is undermined by the server problems. Being full price and a Triple-A-production, players should be able to expect more.

All of Kona’s survival-mechanics are implemented well enough, and the atmosphere of the game draws the player into its world. Sadly though, the most motivating factor in Kona – the story - falls apart towards the end of the game. Nearly any route you imagine the plot to go will be more thrilling and satisfying than the actual reveal. This is very unfortunate, because the story is the driving force for even continuing the game.

Rage 2 delivers incredible action at a ridiculous pace which makes it easily one of the best FPS experiences I've had in years. Sadly the rest of the game falls flat in comparison, with uninspired open world design, clunky driving and a shallow story that can be finished in just a couple of hours.

While it lacks a gripping story and more tactical depth, Hard West's mix of XCOM-style missions, light RPG elements and Wild West mystery still comes as a pleasant surprise.

Star Trucker is niche, but really good: the longer you spend on the leisurely flight through space and the better you get at managing the energy cells, the more you enjoy the varied systems, the harmonious country music and the chilled gameplay.

An astounding variety of ethical decisions, a wide range of believable, fun characters and a thrilling 24esque storyline make Alpha Protocol one of the most compelling role playing games of the last years. But be warned: The artificial intelligence is at times dumb as a rock, the save system seems rather antiquated, the graphics don’t hold up to the genre standard and the mini games are clearly not made for PC gamers. However, Alpha Protocol combines an enthralling storyline with a functioning role playing core and the highest grade of replayability in years! Well made, Obsidian!

By blending B-movie-fantasy and frantic combat, Evil West remains a mostly enjoyable action romp, despite its shallow writing and dull level design. You might wait for a little price drop though.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is an incredibly extensive and complex RPG with great story, characters and fresh ideas surrounding the kingdom building. Unfortunately it suffers from some design flaws, bugs and excessive loading screens.

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.

Mario Strikers Battle League Football is wild, chaotic and – because of that – a lot of fun. The gameplay is smooth and well balanced and the presentation is absolutely gorgeous. Sadly the content is ridiculous. Only 10 players to choose from, five stadiums that do not have any special effects on the game and three game modes are included. That is too little for a price of 60 Euros.