An incredibly immersive RPG/adventure based on the works of H.P. Lovercraft that misses on true greatness due to its unpolished release and abrupt ending.

Raw, otherworldly and at times, hauntingly familiar. Masochisia is a dark diamond hidden from plain sight. The experience it offers to the brave souls who seek it out, lingers long after its disturbing end.

Yet another great beat 'em up by DotEmu and a special dose of nostalgia for Marvel fans. Its only drawback is its relatively short length.

Star Renegades is an addictive roguelite with a deep combat system, well-paced progression and satisfyingly punishing enemies. It could use some more variety and content but it is a very solid purchase if you are up to the challenge.

Another quality horror title from Frictional Games. The foreboding atmosphere, a coherent and well-designed world, a plot that ponders the meaning of existence and the superb sound design all come together to form a uniquely memorable experience.

An uncommon mold of RPG and turn-based strategy, BATTLETECH demands time, planning ahead and good micromanagement. The vast choices of mech customization and its strategic elements will reward you with a lot of satisfaction. Invest and become immersed in its cosmos.

Primal, while not an FPS, is unmistakably a Far Cry. Ubisoft tried an experiment with this new setting and managed to refresh the franchise without altering its core.

Resident Evil 3 retells the story of Jill's desperate escape from the doomed Raccoon City, using an intriguing plot and more fleshed out characters than the original. It falls short of the sheer amount of content its predecessors had, but it excels in moment to moment gameplay which it delivers in spades.

Utopia, together with the free “Banks” update, introduce a ton of much-desired additions to Stellaris’ core gameplay. It might need some more polish and balancing in order to truly shine, but it remains a solid step forward in the game’s journey to perfection.

Dead Space's remake is one of those that has a reason to exist and offers a strong action/horror experience. If you're a new player and this is your first time with the game, you'll be very much impressed, while those who played the original Dead Space will feel familiar, but the improvements are so spot on that they will push you to relive the nightmare all over again. Dare you?

Beautiful presentation, sharp writing, a delightful musical score and challenging gameplay all add up to making Aviary Attorney one of the most pleasant indie gaming surprises of the year.

Crimes and Punishments is a nearly excellent game, one of those anybody enjoys playing calmly every afternoon / night, until he reaches its end. It brings many innovations to the franchise, such as moral choices, conclusions about various characters' possible guilt and heavy use of deduction boards. The only thing I just can't stop wondering about is if Holmes himself would like his cases to be as simplified and easy to solve.

Kathy Rain is a really exciting point 'n' click adventure that every fan of eerie and dark adventures should play, even if it is hard for some to swallow the pill of the AGS engine.

Telltale raises the heat with a story that feels both intensely personal and refreshingly little explored in Batman’s mainstream canon. For about an hour and half, the Bat fantasy comes alive.

Whether you're a fan of the old X-COM/UFO games and you were not covered by the streamlined version of Firaxis either you adored the recent XCOM: EU and you are looking for something in the same style, but with more gameplay depth, then Xenonauts must go directly to your "to-buy-list".

The Crimson Diamond is a respectful tribute to a much older gaming era.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a very good choice for anyone who wants a fast-paced action game with plenty of exploration and platforming elements. It's not perfect, but it's fun and perfectly capable of keeping you interested in for the 9-10 hours or so that it lasts.

More intensely personal than any interactive movie you’ve played in years, Black Friday fearlessly explores one of the least visited pages of 20th century history. The first time you held a rock in your hand, it changed you forever. This is emotional, personal storytelling at it’s finest. Even better, it makes a bold statement about the fact that there is world history outside the sphere of Western propaganda.

Although Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak doesn’t reinvent the wheel, there is no denying that it is a superb example of how modern Real Time Strategy games should look, feel and play. Accessible, intense and hauntingly beautiful at times, it manages to present a gripping tale of agony and desperation through one of the best single player campaigns the genre has ever witnessed.

If the game is good or not depends on your perspective and on what you were expecting from it. I was expecting an interactive storytelling game with some few simple puzzles and this is exactly what I got.

Dead in Vinland is a game with profound management mechanics. Quite demanding and full of challenges, it is bound to keep you preoccupied for a long time.

A highly stylized game with the intent to look pretty. However, all this glaze seems too superficial and 2K Sports seemed to prioritize the incorporation of micro-transactions instead of meaningful improvements and bug polishing. The best basketball sim is still enjoyable and the best out there but 2K Sports need to pick up their game and not become complacent.

An excellent remake of a classic adventure game, it will capture the interest of both newcomers to the genre and fans of the original game. We couldn't think of a better "appetizer" leading up to the release of Broken Sword 6.

Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer is what you'd expect from the sequel to a decent adventure: thoughtful, bigger with harder puzzles and an equally well-written story to back it up.

Chariot is a very nice platform game and especially in co-op mode, it really shines, making it a first class choice for anyone who wants a worthy and challenging experience that will keep him busy for more than ten hours.

ESO: Morrowind is a fantastic addition to the base game, including exceptional writing in quests, a new class and PvP battlegrounds. Despite some minor issues, the game is worth your time.

Boltgun is one of the most fun FPSs we've played in recent years, and certainly a game worthy of the Warhammer name.

BlazeRush is one of the most exciting and addictive easy-to-learn/hard-to-master games that you can play, especially if you intend to play it with friends.

A satisfying Hack & Slash game that requires a tactical approach rather than mindless clicking in order to enjoy it in full. The use of the rule-set, tables and classes from Baldur's Gate II Enhanced Edition turns an already huge game in a replayable heaven. My only gripe would be the path-finding of characters, something that has plagued all Infinity Engine games since their inception.

Grim, brutal, otherworldly. Rock solid turn based mechanics and incredibly tense shootouts frame a story dripping with an oppressive, wrong, weird West atmosphere. Beyond the enjoyable mechanics, Hard West takes on a life and dark spirit of it’s own. This is one ride you are not apt to forget anytime soon.

Cursed Castilla respects its action/platformer roots and delivers a brilliant retro-gaming experience.

A fun tactical game with a branching plot, some original ideas and a lot of political intrigue.

Another step forward for the series that now rightfully belongs to the highest eschelon of modern jRPGs.

Whilst the writing and voice acting remain top-notch, the complete illusion of player choice and the increasingly thinly veiled attempts to conceal it, make Game of Thrones feel more like a spin-off series of the acclaimed TV show, than an actual interactive movie set in Westeros. In order to achieve it's full dramatic impact, the conclusion of the series should offer substantially differentiated outcomes based on player choice, otherwise it is doomed to lose momentum with each episode.

In Ion Fury there are no fancy cutscenes and QTEs, health regeneration or skill trees, just good, old, balls-to-the-wall action. If you have enjoyed games such as Duke Nukem 3D, Blood or Shadow Warrior, then you'll have a blast with this game too.

Layers of Fear 2 narrates an unnerving and dramatic story about the struggle of the actor to attain the perfect character on a path strewn with abhorrently masked imperfections. It may not be the scariest game ever made, but it's certainly one of the most introspective.

Furi is a fine example of intelligent game design, which brings back the "skill" factor, contrary to the today's hand-holding games. Furi requires your full attention in order to watch the end credits and for sure you will not regret the ride.

With substantial gameplay improvements but also some flaws compared to the first Darkside Detective, the second game in the series remains an adventure that would have made a splash if it had been released in 1994.

Human Resource Machine has a nice concept that combines puzzles with assembly programming. The lack of a tutorial or a hint system will incommode non-programmers and this is game's only real problem. The game isn't exactly some kind of educational stuff but it can be an inspiration for further occupation with informatics.

Beholder is a moral dilemma, an investigative adventure game, a strategic management simulator and an utterly gripping dystopian thriller all at once. In spite of its difficulty, it will simply not allow you to quit before reaching one of it’s multiple, bleak, heart-breaking endings. The atmosphere of oppression and state-run terror is palpable. A game for our times.

It's a new Trine, and there's a lot of it. It offers exactly what old fans of the series have come to expect and has all the makings of introducing new fans to the adventures of Amadeus, Zoya and Pontius.

It's football with cars wrapped up as a well-designed, thrilling and addictive game. With its precise controls, it's easy to learn but hard to master. Everyone will have a lot of fun but the multiplayer, preferably with friends, is where it truly shines.

Another high-quality title from Capcom, which stands out for its innovative gameplay mechanics.

Super Time Force Ultra is one of the best indie games you can find, which offers a "smart" run 'n' gun action guaranteed to keep you glued to your seat, trying to master the "tricks" of time. However, this experience may not last long.

Even after a three year delay, Outland is still a great and fun game.

A beautifully written, masterfully designed choose-your-own-adventure/Grand Journey yarn, that Verne himself would have been most proud of.

Inkonbini is a carefully and lovingly crafted “painting” of 1990s nostalgia that transcends the store-management genre. Dropping traditional simulation stress for a meditative, visual novel-style experience, it centers on the philosophy of Ichi-go Ichi-e, treating every mundane interaction as an ephemeral treasure. Through mediative shelf-stocking and soul-searching night-shift dialogues, it serves as a “cozy” reminder to remain present in the imperfect now.

An extremely careful remaster, with endless respect to the original version of the game. It provides a lesson on how to accomplish such a result.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a brave reboot that manages to change the recipe very successfully and you will love it, especially if you have even a slight appeal to JRPGs or turn-based games in general. It is not perfect, mainly thanks to the "childhood" diseases which were inherited from other representatives of the genre (such as grinding), however it remains a highly enjoyable and entertaining game that can offer dozens of hours of enjoyment.

The game is going to entertain you for a long time and it will satisfy the old fans of the series, but if you have to choose between this and Trials Evolution, the answer is rather obvious. Hopefully the next Trials game from Redlynx will be something really special, otherwise the danger of falling into the repetitiveness of the annual releases is very close.

Featuring some of the cleverest puzzles we have seen in recent years, Technobabylon also allows the player to tackle those in a variety of imaginative ways, thus presenting a much more realistic and organic vision of it's bleak, dystopic world. A solid script and a very well implemented mechanic of solving puzzles by utilizing both cyberspace and the "real world" make Technobabylon a highly entertaining and original offering. Adventure gamers, take note.

A small work of art, well-made and compact, flooded with colours and bittersweet feelings. Unfortunately, it doesn't last longer than a Saturday gaming session.

Football Manager 2018 finally offers some new and exciting features in addition to the usual incremental improvements over last year’s version. We’re still not completely happy with the match engine and the overly bloated interface but this year’s FM is a good purchase.

If you like action games, the two Uncharted games are an excellent proposition, even in the year 2022, and will keep you company for about 25 hours. It's not often that we see such thoughtful and well-crafted games on our monitors, and hopefully in the future Sony will add the first three Uncharted games to the bundle.

The Drifter is another adventure of merit, a "must play" for every fan of the genre. Especially those who have a soft spot for thrillers and the atmosphere of old horror movies will probably love it a little more.

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown is, perhaps surprisingly, a quality game from Ubisoft, which is highly recommended to all fans of the metroidvania sub-genre, but also to those who love the series. Sure, it's challenging as a game, which may put off a portion of players, but it's fun, clever, and at times, magical.

Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 is a charming 2D action/shooter which is highly recommended to all the old and new fans of the genre and it is a bright example of how sequels can be done right.

The 5th episode of Hitman is a culmination of everything that was good and worthy from the beginning of the season till now. IO offers us a well balanced level, both in terms of gameplay and performance, and finally some love for the Contracts mode with the added Kill Conditions. We've almost reached the end of the line for the first season and we can't be more excited about the finale and inevitable cliffhanger.

Dead Cells can be unbalanced and unfair at times and after 25-30 hours the fatigue from repetition and grinding becomes noticeable, but overall its gratifying, fluidly animated combat, many builds and branching levels will you keep engaged for that time, if not more.

FIFA 17 delivers a nice touch with the new single-player mode “The Journey”. The switch to the Frostbite engine makes the game the most complete and beautiful sports-sim in the PC platform at the moment. However, we do feel EA Sports missed a few chances solving some persistent buggy behaviors (eg. player collisions).

Shadow of Mordor is more than a decent game that will be appreciated by most gamers, while die-hard Tolkien fans will have one more reason to love it.

The conclusion that comes out of our experience with F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is that it is a high quality and entertaining Metroidvania that is highly recommended to fans of the genre and not only to them. The increased difficulty level towards the end of the adventure might be a deterrent for some players, but the game proves to be so enjoyable to play that we won't hold any... grudges.

The very good did not get even better this year. The NBA 2K18 is a real jewel that was not wrapped so well as it should be.

Having a subtractive design at its core, Blasphemous doesn't fiddle with the tried-and-true Metroidvania formula. Instead, it keeps things simple and grabs the player's attention with its despondent imagery and its riveting atmosphere and world building.

Mistakes on established systems and minor oversights significantly reduce the experience of a decent effort.

Microsoft delivered a solid remake of a classic old title. Nostalgic for the old ones and a great history lesson for the newer, this is exactly what gamers need while waiting for Age of Empires IV. Legends never die...

In a period lagging from enough quality adventure games, Mutropolis is pleasant surprise. This is an enjoyable adventure and a first- class debut for Pirita Studio.

A product of love and devotion which may not excite a new gamer who is accustomed to today's handholding tactics and accurate gameplay mechanisms, but for those who have lived through the years of gaming "innocence" will hardly be able to hold back their tears by watching how gorgeous the game they used to love as kids has become.

Despite the fact that it gives a feeling of its content being rushed, TIAOVH3 offers six completely new and different classes to enjoy. This combined with the overall series' signature humour, Easter eggs and steampunk atmosphere, provide a solid action-RPG experience for every fan of the genre. Definitely worth giving a look.

Creepy, lusciously grotesque and most importantly, enjoyable, Carrion is one of the most refreshing games we've played in recent years and proves yet again that indie game development usually goes hand in hand with creativity.

Beautiful Desolation is a idiosyncratic, multi-themed journey, bringing some interesting gameplay ideas to the table. Its story and distinct setting are its strongest assets and it will definitely take you places. Be aware though, there is no hand holding at all. You'll need to pay attention to the conversations with the cast of delightfully bizarre characters you meet, if you don't want to backtrack and fumble for clues constantly.

Dex is a game that definitely deserves to see and experience. It is not the game of the year or the best indie RPG we've ever played, but it's a well-built effort that will excite fans of 2D action games, sprinkled with reasonable quantities of RPG mechanisms and a satisfactory story to support it.

An exceptional and stunningly beautiful open-world action game, with incredibly rich gameplay and a pleasantly old-fashioned level of difficulty, regardless of its potentially frustrating flaws.

They say that if something ain't broken, don't fix it and Trine 4 is one of the brightest examples of that saying. Trine 4 removes with a single scratch the misstep of Trine 3 and it will be undoubtedly listed as one of the top indie games of the year.

Lex Imperialis feels inferior to Void Shadows even by just a tiny bit, but that doesn't negate the fact that it still introduces high quality new content to a great base game.

Kojima's latest epic is equally magnificent and frustrating, exhilarating in its gameplay and confusing in its storytelling. Even so, it is a truly great game that every gamer needs to experience first-hand. One thing is for sure, we will be talking about The Phantom Pain for many years to come.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is a solid action/RPG overall. If you are looking for something in the vein of Diablo, you might be disappointed. But if you want something with an interesting story, novel mechanics and exquisite level design to dig in then Shadows is a worthy investment.

The word "Evolve" couldn't be more fitting for the newest title of Turtle Rock. A very interesting co-op experience with a competitive twist that makes every match unique. Despite the business model that has been chosen for it, Evolve is well worth the anticipation and hype surrounding it. Turtle Rock has a firm base for its latest child to "evolve" upon.

Despite being a little rough around the edges, Anshar Studios' first RPG attempt in the cyberpunk world of Gamedec manages to hold its own against even AAA ventures in the genre.

Anna's Quest is yet another surprise of adventure gaming for 2015. It proves to be a solid, pleasant and very satisfying experience, which manages to be placed relatively close to more well-known and vaunted representatives of the category, such as The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 and Dead Synchronicity. Dane Krams and Daedalic Entertainment delivered a remarkable adventure game, filled with clever and imaginative puzzles.

Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is a rough-gem: although a little unpolished, it leaves a rare sense of a unique game, while it reflects to the player all the passion of its creators for it.

Sifu will show no mercy. It's a well thought out game, superbly combining an addictive gameplay and a unique combat system, that high challenge and martial arts enthusiasts will enjoy to the fullest.

Considering that NBA 2K14 was the best basketball simulator ever made, NBA 2K15 has even better animation, graphics and A.I. For basketball fans there is no other choice.

The Consequence completes a brilliant mini-campaign that not only enhances the core Evil Within experience by providing a multitude of answers to the original game's mysteries but also brilliantly sets the stage for its inevitable sequel. Deeply atmospheric and well written, this is a must for survival horror fans.

Stellar Blade may not be remembered as a genre-defining title, but on the other hand it's a game with enough quality content to keep you occupied for hours. The package includes a very well crafted combat system and a sense of discovery which is supported by level design that has been painstakingly put together.

An essential purchase for spidey fans and open world enthusiasts, with only the mediocre side content depriving it of the title of the ultimate superhero game.

Salt and Sanctuary is a wonderful and honest tribute to Souls series. With great mechanics, a well designed dark world and dozens of hours of fun is a great game for every Dark Souls player.

A worthy member of Fatshark's family of Warhammer games, but it needs more polishing and support from the developers until the remarkable core shines.

While certainly not without its flaws in its initial form of release, MegaCorp, together with the 2.2 patch that accompanies it, offers some of the most substantial gameplay changes and additions we've seen from a Stellaris expansion to date.

Blazblue: ChronoPhantasma Extend is an exquisite fighting game, complete in every aspect, very addictive, challenging and fun. Definitely a recommendation for fans of the genre.

Its humor might be a bit more “streamlined” and toned down compared to the utterly extravagant instances we experienced in The Stick of Truth, but The Fractured But Whole remains an excellent South Park game that is sure to delight fans of the series.

A food that is equally delicious whether you reheat it or eat it cold. A title that reminds us that gaming is all about fun.

FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is not a game for everyone. It looks and plays like something from the late 80's. But for those willing to look past its minimal presentation, there is a devilishly terrifying experience waiting inside.

An unconventional game from an unconventional creator who largely succeeds at what he is attempting.

Even with a four-year delay, the story of John Yesterday is finally completed the way it deserved. I do not have the slightest hesitation to admit that, after the arrival of "Origins", the “Yesterday” series is the best and most interesting adventure game that the Spanish developers have given us so far in their twelve-year presence.

Distilling some of the magic of the 90s, Alaloth provides an unassuming trip down the memory lane.

Episode 4 is set in exotic Thailand, offering us two targets, a huge hotel map and of course, plenty of ways to plan the perfect assassination. With what we have on our hands so far, IO Interactive has convinced us that we are to get a true and worthy successor to Blood Money. We are eager to see what they have under their sleeves for the remaining episodes.

An entertaining roguelite and an interesting new direction for the venerable series. Recommended, despite the buggy launch.