There's a lot to gripe about when it comes to Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, but at the end of the day, it's still hard to put into words just how sublime the action is.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 reinvents the wheel in every way, but also smashes your brain in while screaming at you about brotherhood. A flawless action game that lets you live out the ultimate power fantasy, and more than makes up for its meager content with a deliciously bloodthirsty gameplay loop.

Sword and Shield aren't the best Pokémon games ever, but I thoroughly enjoy the Galar region.

Gamers who have played the Wii U-version will not find shockingly-new content in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. On the other hand this Mario-title is a must-have for newcomers and 2D-platformer enthusiasts.

Not as revolutionary as the technical reincarnation had us hope or fear, but it scores the most tweaks on the tried and tested formula. A strong single-player and enough choices in the multiplayer to give every type of shooter player what they want. And again: crossplay included and without season pass.

Iron from Ice once again offers everything you’ve come to expect from a Telltale episode: difficult decisions and moral dilemmas, incorporated into fine dialogues and concluded in a SHOCKER of a cliff-hanger. This time it comes in a reasonably successful Game of Thrones-marinade, complete with actors from the series who really seem to give it their best effort. But, again, Telltale seems to be ambitious in their story-telling, but not in the (gameplay-)technical aspect of their titles.

Sword and Shield aren't the best Pokémon games ever, but I thoroughly enjoy the Galar region.

I love Avowed, which excels at being nearly flawless. This is largely due to making safe choices in terms of gameplay systems and a story that is never allowed to become grander than the characters themselves. The downside is that on paper, heavy story choices feel like something out of a children's book in practice. For some, this risk aversion is a price they are unwilling to pay, despite the reward being highly entertaining writing. But since the rest of the game flows along at a comfortable quality level, the average Obsidian fan has little to complain about.

If, like me, the Zombie Army and Sniper Elite franchises are secretly the best shooters, then this Switch version is a no-brainer. For everyone else, however, this is probably a typical case of 'between art and Switch'...

Octopath Traveler 0 is an unparalleled role-playing game about trauma, loss, and rebuilding. This is the best JRPG in years—and it's also an excellent cozy game.

Ruined King: A League of Legends Story features turn-based combat that won't be enjoyed by everyone for a long time, but is saved by an engaging story, fun characters, and entertaining exploration. As one of the first single player League of Legends games, this shows tremendous potential.

Sword and Shield aren't the best Pokémon games ever, but I thoroughly enjoy the Galar region.

Remnant 2, like its predecessor, is an almost infinitely playable amalgamation of a soulslike and a looter shooter, mainly thanks to the co-op that perfectly matches the game's 'procedurally generated' content. It's not a huge improvement on the first part and as a single player experience it's only recommended for the most hardcore gamers, but the original bosses, levels, beautiful music and exciting Events make it highly recommended for game packs.

Visual Concepts has surpassed WWE 2K24 with this new release. Thanks in part to small gameplay and presentation additions and extensive game modes, it is a true pleasure to play for the WWE fan. Unfortunately, in some modes you are bombarded with attempts to earn extra money from you through microtransactions, which does detract from the experience. WWE 2K25 does almost everything right, but wants you to pump extra money into it just a little too much. As a result, the game misses out on a Gold Award.

Diablo 2: Resurrected is made for Diablo 2 veterans and is proud of it. Being one of those veterans, I can't predict how a modern audience will react to this idiosyncratic arpg, but I can say that in my eyes this is the perfect remaster (and not a remake). Hell has never felt like such a warm bath.

If you grew up with Mario Party in the noughties and you mainly want to wallow in nostalgia, Superstars is the way to go. But if you don't have it yet, you better get Super Mario Party to meet your Party needs.

Before the Storm – Episode 1 doesn’t start of as great as Life is Strange but saves itself halfway through with the growing relationship between Chloe and Rachel. New (insights in) characters, mysteries and the Backtalk conversational options make Life is Strange: Before the Storm powerful enough to stand on its own legs. A fine reason to return to Arcadia Bay.

Lies of P borrows very enthusiastically from FromSoftware games and is therefore fun to play, but it adds very little to the well-known formula. The only exception to this is the weapon system, which comes out well and just in the nick of time gives the game the right to exist and its own face that it so desperately needs. It's a nice treat for Game Pass, but the five bucks you have to put down makes it a little more difficult to recommend in a jam-packed gaming year.

For fans of anime-style action RPGs, Scarlet Nexus is highly recommended, but you have to be able to withstand the typical Japanese vagueness in the story. This doesn't fully release the potential, but the combat system makes up for a lot.

Fast Fusion could be a great snack for many Switch 2 owners. It’s not nearly as extensive as Mario Kart or as expressive as F-Zero, but it goes down like a tasty bonbon: presented like a true delicacy and with more depth than you might expect. Don’t expect months of fun, but a nice snack around the release of Nintendo’s new console. However, online multiplayer would have extended the lifespan of this game considerably.

The king is dead, long live the king! King’s Quest - A Knight To Remember is a funny, heartwarming, nostalgic and well written adventure. Episode two can’t come soon enough.[Sept. 2015, p. 060]

It’s easy to understand owners of the PS Vita were happy with this game in 2012, but three years later, on the PS4, it doesn’t feel like a full-fledged game. Entertaining and very cute, but not full-fledged. [feb. 2016 / page 062]

After all these years Intelligent Systems finally pulls off developing a game that comes close to the extraordinarily charming The Thousend-Year Door. The brave new combat system with cirkels takes some getting used to, but doesn’t get in the way of the delightful Journey with Paper Mario and his companions.

Monolith set itself a goal to make Middle-earth: Shadow of War a lot bigger and more expansive than its predecessor, Shadow of Mordor, in which they definitely succeeded. Too bad they didn't tweak or beautify the three years older forebear, and that they actually went a bit too far with the amount of content on offer.

Keeper looks stunning and tells a sweet story. Unfortunately, that's about it. It's certainly not a treat to explore the beautiful game world, but ultimately, you get what you'd expect from lighthouse gameplay, which is very limited.

The Magic Circle is meta as all hell and it works in fascinating ways. Its gameplay and graphics are far from groundbreaking but it’s an interesting experience nonetheless. [Sept 2015, p. 068]

When looking at the gameplay, Jedi: Fallen Order isn't that original, but it does give you the drive to keep playing and it will definitely keep you busy until the release of The Rise of Skywalker.

Far Cry 6 is again -and that doesn't surprise anyone- a gigantic game, and not everything in the enormous stream of (side) missions is equally fun, funny or seems to add something to the whole. So you will regularly wonder what you are doing and why, while you will often hope in vain that the next mission is one with a role for Giancarlo Esposito. But with so much content, there is more than enough fun to be had and you will definitely get your Yaran Peso value.