Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart may not be the best, most impactful or emotionally charged game, but it is one of the most beautiful and most of all the most fun ever made. Every PS5 owner should play this. You don't want anything, it's mandatory.

Subnautica: Below Zero cannot match the original game in terms of scale; therefore it is a standalone expansion instead of a full-fledged sequel. Despite this, it offers a more immersive and streamlined experience through a more emphatic story, great voice acting and plenty of quality of life additions. The three bucks that Below Zero costs are more than worth the at least twenty hours of exploration fun.

Mass Effect 3 may be an anti-climax of Game of Thrones-like proportions, Mass Effect is still a classic and part 2 simply a masterpiece. This collection of remasters fine-tunes BioWare’s masterful trilogy into a somewhat more modern whole, which is more than enough reason to (re)play this emotional, spectacular and totally engrossing sci-fi epic.

Resident Evil Village is one of the most versatile instalments of the franchise when it comes to environments, enemies and puzzles. It’s a rollercoaster of memorable moments, nasty body horror and fan service. But like most funfair rides it doesn’t offer much in the way of sideshows and the fun is over way too quickly. But you can always go again!

New Pokémon Snap is great. Some inconsistent evaluations, a slightly low pacing and a few graphical problems keep it from being the perfect Pokémon safari simulator, but those with love for the creatures themselves will love this game.

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.

Nier Replicant is a nice remaster, a fine game and a masterfully crafted story. Enough perseverance rewards you with an experience only a few games can match.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is a big and beautiful puzzle platformer, set in a masterful world with cool characters. Unfortunately, the game has messy gameplay, clunky controls and many technical flaws.

Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is clearly an ode to Donkey Kong, but it's just an ode. This game cannot compete with the popular Nintendo franchise due to its strange rhythm, because it simply lacks flow and requires too much patience. A pity, because in all its simplicity Stitchy in Tooki Trouble offers beautiful first steps in the world of platform games, especially for small children.

Outriders semi-bravely attempts to be more than just another third-person shooter, but fails to be more interesting than the many other games it resembles. Borderlands 3 for example is a better looter shooter, Destiny 2 offers a more solid (super)powered trip, Deep Rock Galactic is more fun as a co-op experience and Gears 5’s singleplayer campaign is far more fascinating. This means Outriders is hard to recommend, except of course to those who have Game Pass and a some hours of free time to spare.

Playing The Ancient Gods – Part Two is less frustrating and more enjoyable than conquering Part One, and feels like a more balanced experience besides. This is mainly due to the addition of a few interesting new enemies, which makes it all the more disappointing that fighting the Ultimate Antagonist, with whom the DLC and the game ends, isn’t really the final battle Doom Eternal deserves.

It Takes Two is a crazy rollercoaster ride filled to the brim with fun co-op mechanics, references and wonder. Hazelight Studios shows they have learned from their previous game, and with It Takes Two delivers a wonderful feel-good game that will drag you along for an amazingly long time. This one is going to show up on the "best co-op games" lists.

If Monster Hunter isn't your thing, then Rise won't convince you otherwise. But anyone who's not shy for bossfights, will be taken by the amazing flow and refreshing focus on speed, and will lose themselves for tens or hundreds of hours in this deep and engaging monster-mayhem.

Do you also have to play this game? That depends. Personally I'm more drawn towards games like Persona 5 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, who give their own spin to the age-old jrpg-formula. But if you aren't waiting on the goofy, postmodern tomfoolery of those games and desire that old trusting feeling of a classic middle-age fantasy-environment, then you'll be appeased with Bravely Default 2.

The charm of Persona 5 + the demons of Shin Megami Tensei + the intense hack-&-slash-action from mosou = a damned strong sequel. Because against all expectations, that's exactly what Strikers is: Persona 5-2!

It's wonderful, more people are now able to enjoy Cat Mario's linear jumps. And it's amazing Nintendo added such a substantial, delightfully cool open world game to the game. This is the type of entertainment that humanity can really use at this time.

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.

More than an allegoric hodgepodge, but not by much. The Medium offers an interesting, layered mystery with a lot of beauty, character and atmosphere, but fails to be wholly entertaining. The gameplay is often too simple to be fun, due to some rather tedious trial & error sections and a lot of scouring the environment for an object that will most likely send you to the next search. You’ll probably need more patience for this than the end feeling is worth.

I have been enjoying Hitman 3 so much that I probably won't be playing anything else in the coming weeks, to be able to discover every nook and cranny in the different levels. You do notice that at the end of this trilogy, the concept is getting a bit pale and it is time for Agent 47 to get a makeover. Nevertheless, this is a very big end to the series that will undoubtedly be in my top five at the end of this year.

Empire of Sin contains a lot of good ideas and intentions that are squandered by a mediocre, unbalanced execution and an inadequate finish. Nothing to Sin here.

The Pathless could have been more than it currently is. With more variation in the gameplay and a deeper story, this could just have been GOTY material or at least the indie hit of the year. Still, there's plenty to love if you settle for a minimalistic game crafted with a lot of love. Especially the flow of moving around in the atmospheric world and the brilliant music ensure that The Pathless stays with you.

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.

Immortals Fenyx Rising offers delightful combat, smooth traversal and outstanding puzzles in an eye-catching, beautiful environment. The almost perfectly executed (and often well-stolen) gameplay, however, is somewhat at odds with the strange tone of the story. Ubisoft Quebec has tried to put a certain whimsy on the characters and dialogue, but I struggle to get caught up in the humour and playfulness of it. Hopefully you can, because if so, you and Mr./Mrs. Fenyx will have an excellent time together.

Are you crazy about Destiny lore and do you think Destiny 2 is fine as it is? Then Beyond Light will suit you just fine! However, if you're expecting some substantial changes from Bungie by now and aren't exactly excited to get back into the grind, you might want to focus on the next-gen version and wait for Destiny 2 to release its December update.

Demon's Souls is a dazzlingly beautiful launch game, a decent Souls-like game and a technically powerful, but content-wise shallow remake. And I say that despite… no, BECAUSE I love it so much.

In addition to its beautiful appearance, this game is repetitive in all areas.

Every Breath of the Wild Fan should play this and, like myself, will love all the similarities to that specific game while even enjoying the enriched Warriors-like-gameplay.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a successful outing, which with some adjustments in a possible next installment could even be a step in a better direction for the knitted protagonist. Especially in co-op great fun, although unfortunately we still have to wait for online co-op.