Do yourself a favor and don't rush through Assassin's Creed Valhalla's storyline as quickly as possible. Just do as you please, expand your settlement, lose yourself in side-missions, go looting, spend hours doing enlongated stealth-mass-murders, if it was up to me, even go fishing like you're playing Zelda. Long story short: do yourself a favor and make use of all the elaborated variety this game has to offer. When you do, you'll focus less on those audio-handicaps and the somewhat slow paced gameplay which prevent Assassin's Creed Valhalla from scoring an eight or higher.

Soulcalibur VI is a helluva game, but feels a little bit like The Force Awakens of the Soulcalibur-series: It's trying to ensure you that it's 'really a Soulcalibur game! Really!' And that's nice, but it's also a very safe choice. There is nothing new to be found. There is no surprise at all. It's like old wine in new bottles. That's fine for a competitive fighting game like this one, but somewhere that lack of ambition is bothering me a bit. I will play this game with a lot of pleasure and passion, but I silently hope that the next Soucalibur will bring a little bit more to the table.

Behind the game’s annoying signup process lies a cute, cuddly and most of all addicting game. But don’t expect to rack up any cool points playing this puzzler. [Aug 2014, p.64]

Ghost Recon: Wildlands excels in the sheer size of it and has a ton of content which offers you and your friends endless possibilities and lots of fun. The gameplay, on the other hand, is often repetitive, which causes the game to be just a little less than fantastic.

You know those lists with pros and cons that help you make important decisions? In the case of Blade & Soul the beautiful graphics and exciting PvP, and the fact that the game is free to play, would be on the plus side. The negative side is mostly filled by the somewhat uninspired quests and dungeons. Fortunately Blade & Soul has an advantage which helps fill the list in favor of a beautiful score: The unique combat.

There's no way you're not playing The Outer Worlds 2 with a big smile on your face. Unless you're bothered by the bugs, of course. Although those are annoying, it's ultimately the fun that takes center stage, and the enjoyment of all the different ways to approach missions.

Pokken Tournament is a truly original fighter that deserves more attention that it will probably get on the Wii U. Unfortunately it’s a bit too thin in terms of quality and quantity to belong among the best in the genre.

This fourth and final adventure from Travis Touchdown is both a passionate love letter and a sobering middle finger to nerdy escapism. It is therefore also the type of subversiveness that will not be appreciated by everyone. As it should.

As a fully fledged action RPG, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a entirely unbalanced product: the action and cutscenes are way better than all typical roleplay elements and open world conventions. But in a strange, cute way it adds to the authenticity of the whole Dragon Ball Z experience.

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.

So is the hype surrounding Fall Guys justified? Yes for sure. However, it will not be very durable unless the game is regularly updated.

It's great to see how the developers of Gears Tactics have cleverly and successfully turned a huge array of Gears of War elements into turn-based tactics, resulting in surprisingly spectacular gameplay. But with a missing meta game or other game modes besides the campaign, it still feels a bit like Tactic-ish Antics Starring the Gears.

Super Mario RPG is a perfect remake of the SNES classic with just a few smart improvements. It's amazing how much of the game is still rock solid and it proves once again that Squaresoft was in its golden era at the time. However, the game is too short to belong among the elite Triple-A RPGs these days.

Session: Skate Sim knows how to capture what makes skating so much fun with its in-depth settings and excellent board control and physics like no other game. That also means a huge difficulty level. It's not for everyone, but it gives real skaters a simulator they can play for years to come, if Sessions many shortcomings are made up with updates.

The core of Mario Tennis was always good but by adding fighting game-like mechanics the game has turned out even better and more competitive. Even though Mario Tennis Aces lacks a few small details its core gameplay is strong enough to keep the franchise alive.

Doom: The Dark Ages introduces some innovations that too often disrupt the rhythm of the action. The action itself, which is considerably more static, also falls short compared to the two previous installments. Doom: The Dark Ages is certainly worth playing — the levels are stunning and the combat is at times immensely satisfying — but I can’t shake the feeling that it had the potential to be more.

This is, graphically speaking, as well as technically, one of the most impressive remakes of the past years. Especially the improved cinematics do the story of Mafia justice. And that's why Mafia: Definitive Edition is the best reason for players of the original Mafia to return to Lost Heaven! But there are little scratches on this layer of newness, causing a somewhat hollow and unsatisfying experience for newcomers.

Little Nightmares 2 is a unique highlight in a flat gaming landscape which craves for more interesting horror games. A grotesque fairy-tale that grabs you by the eyeballs from start to finish, but unfortunately also has some frustrating gameplay elements inherited from its predecessor.

In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, we get a unique look at the history of Hyrule, making it an interesting complement to Tears of the Kingdom. If that appeals to you, it's easier to push through the flashy yet repetitive gameplay.

Need for Speed: Payback's story is completely irrelevant and the last-gen graphics almost hurt the eyes, but the gameplay is as good as ever, the police remain enjoyably annoying and customizing the cars is nice and comprehensive. Recommended for a rainy weekend.

Trials of Mana is a delicious, fun, old-fashioned RPG reminiscent of better times. It's the delicious, familiar glass of lager you want to enjoy after you've experienced the layered complexity of a cabernet sauvignon like Final Fantasy VII Remake.

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.

The core gameplay is refreshing and enjoyable but limited in weird ways. [Jul 2015, p.065]

The Crown Tundra is a little inconsistent, but the sheer amount of content and the delightful tundra itself make for Game Freaks best open world experience yet. Also, the many legendary Pokémon and the cooperative Dynamax Adventures give Sword and Shield some welcome new endgame experiences.

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.

Knack 2 is enjoyable enough, but mostly because there aren't a whole lot of 3D platform games like this, especially not ones that are playable in co-op. Knack 2 is slightly better than its predecessor with okay gameplay, but the rest is barely interesting and and very much focused on children.

Minecraft Legends is a good but simple strategy game that is perfect for beginners. The world of Minecraft is well conveyed in all its glory and the balance between building and demolition makes long lasting battles a legendary story to tell.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl offer exactly what you expect, sometimes a bit disappointing, but still oh so nice.