Ghost of Yōtei certainly has its beautiful moments when everything does click: when the moonlight falls just right, when the battles reach their climax, and admittedly—even the predictable story contains a few moving moments. But on the other hand, there’s a long list of elements that aren’t necessarily bad, but mostly outdated, old-fashioned, or at best far from groundbreaking.

Arc Raiders is an exceptionally tight extraction shooter, offering plenty of atmosphere alongside the necessary tension. Even though you're constantly being hunted by robots or suspicious fellow Raiders, life as a post-apocalyptic looter is a beautiful experience. Arc Raiders is at its best when excursions take unplanned turns, and you unexpectedly make new friends (or even bitter rivals).

Dragon Ball FighterZ accomplishes the impossible: 1) It's the most innovative 2D-fighter of the last decade, 2) it succeeds in being accessible for people that have never touched a competitive fighter before and 3) it is the most authentic Dragon Ball videogame ever made.

Sons of the Forest offers one of the most exciting, mysterious adventures of the year, perhaps thanks to the many challenges of surviving in the beautiful forest, the fact that you are regularly frustrated by technical limitations, the minimal narrative and the high difficulty level . Since it is also a lot of fun to play with friends and the survival aspect apart from the story missions is also entertaining, Sons of the Forest really offers you tons of janky fun.

The Great Circle perfectly captures the essence of Indiana Jones: a mix of mystery, adventure, and humor. The immersive story, beautiful locations, and gameplay experience make you feel like you're truly part of an Indy adventure. This is not only a tribute to the franchise but also a strong addition to the genre. A title you shouldn't miss.

Crystal Dynamics creates a stunning, raw and exciting adventure that improves itself in all areas. This highly enjoyable game offers more freedom and exploration than its predecessor.

Forza Horizon 2 makes a great first impression but becomes stale after a while. It's a bit like a long vacation in that sense.

Toby Fox manages to create a layered story with unique game mechanics with the first four Chapters of Deltarune. Even with half a story, this already forms a unique celebration of the game medium.

Because of the design of a hotel with 15 very varied floors, this is the most versatile, surprising, beautiful and fun adventure so far.

There are few open world games in which you can move so easily from one adventure to another, but Capcom does it by cleverly bringing together all kinds of well-known gameplay systems. Dragon's Dogma 2 offers fantastic combat and a wonderful sense of discovery, and above all a series of unforgettable moments.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon offers a pulse-pounding and demanding gameplay experience, deep customization options and a desolate game world that looks like something straight out of a sci-fi painting. The influences of especially Sekiro and other soul likes are palpable, but Armored Core is really its own game. It's a must-play for fans of hardcore gaming experiences and manages to hit that chord flawlessly, save for some solvable balance issues.

If you are going to play one JRPG this year, make sure it is Dragon Quest XI. This game comes as close to perfection as possible, and shows why JRPG's still matter today. This is hands down the best JRPG since Final Fantasy X.

Underneath the beautiful presentation lies a great JRPG that unfortunately lingers a little too much in its old glory. Being nostalgic for the past is super fun, but things like the random encounters, the turn-based battles and the story have really gotten better in modern RPGs. I also expect that from Octopath Traveler 2.

The Taken King is truly Destiny 2.0. Practically everything has been revised and improved, making this the unmissable Bungie title that Destiny should’ve been a year ago.

HotS is great piece of fanservice that’s wrapped in accessible, polished MOBA trappings. [Aug 2015, p.081]

Returnal is unique, original and atmospheric, with gameplay that is tight like a tiger. It could’ve been a true system seller for the PS5, if not for the insanely unpredictable difficulty and the overload of gameplay systems that can make it playing it feel frustratingly unfair. Hopefully some updates can make Returnal less unbalanced and more fun, because there is a truly remarkable game here, that could be for everyone.

If you search long and hard, you can name ten things that are not good about Cyberpunk 2077. But this game offers ninety good things in return. The fact that I absolutely want to go for a second, totally different playthrough and a hopefully "better" ending is just one of them. This is a textbook example of how different ambitious elements have been assembled into one well-oiled Ghost in the Shell machine, including soul. It's that The Last of Us: Part 2 left such an impression that Cyberpunk 2077 isn't lonely at my personal top of the year.

It’s a thrilling race game – the first one to actually make my hands sweat - but it isn’t the most beautiful one out there. You’ll need your best racing skills to complete it, but if you’re not scared by a challenge, DiRT: Rally is the perfect game for you. [feb. 2016 / page 068]

It’s great that Twilight Princess gets a second time to shine, ten years after the release of the original game. The extra’s are nice and the conversion to HD is well done. [april. 2016 / page 060]

Despite some questionable decisions and technical flaws, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is another wonderfully moronic, playfully creative, colorful gang. Perhaps not necessarily much better or more extensive than the first part, but a full-fledged, cheerful sequel.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gives the princess a worthy game, with a brilliant gameplay mechanic that, despite technical flaws, stimulates your brain in a classic way.

There are more RPGs out there that promise you can make your own character en story, but The Outer Worlds makes that promise come true more than any other game I've ever played. An amazing experience.

With Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Respawn has thrown together a lot of cool Star Wars and gameplay ideas and somewhat crampedly made a whole. The result is often nice, but with more caveats than I can put into this conclusion.

We had to wait a while, but Starfield fully lives up to his sky-high expectations. It is special how Bethesda makes such a huge universe manageable, tells fascinating stories in it and manages to keep your urge to explore intact even after a hundred hours. Starfield is certainly not perfect, but it is a worthy successor to both Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, and much more than that.

DOOM is a stupendously good package, filled with the best first person shooter action in recent history. DOOM is back ladies and gentlemen, and it is metal as all hell.

Life is Strange is our sleeper hit of the year. A new benchmark for the adventure genre and a must play for everyone that enjoys a good detective story. [dec. 2015 / page 067]

Shredder's Revenge is a delightful brawler with a retro pixel style that will leave you wonderfully nostalgic. At the same time, it may also be a bit of a too short and simple experience, which gives you little reason to replay the handful of levels often.

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.