eFootball PES 2020 keeps all the merits of the series but lacks any significant breakthroughs. Still, it’s a good sports sim, especially in multiplayer.

A well-done tactics game with a gripping campaign and pleasant graphics. It could have delivered more, but this game definitely deserves one walkthrough.

It's a solid expansion pack with all the merits and flaws of the original game. And for some reason it has "2" in the title.

Quirks of the match engine, illogical events, and a handful of old bugs stop me from praising FM 2020 to high heaven, but, after some proper patching, it may become one of the best football managers in years.

A happy marriage of deep space horror and Souls-like ruthlessness, Hellpoint is a nice game, but there’s still some room to grow.

10 years ago this game would have been lost in a crowd of its brethren – back then, everyone had a game with dusty streets, Saddam’s portraits and AKs. Today, serious first-person shooters like Insurgency are a rare beast, so give it a chance even if it’s far from perfect.

If you want to take part in an exciting adventure and you're willing to suffer through annoying technical problems, I think you will get your share of fun out of The Last Guardian. But you have to be patient as this game starts incredibly slowly.

There are many ways to enjoy Kingdom Come: Deliverance: help beautiful damsels, hack and slash bandits, marvel at pretty sunsets… Just don’t expect it to shatter your world. This is a typical case of “my dream game” — a fun, but flawed experience that staggers under a crushing weight of ambitions.

The Red Solstice is very difficult to master, but if you spend enough time learning the game and find good friends to play it with, you will enjoy it.

Still There is like a science fiction book; its story is not that gripping or exciting, but you will get your share of twists and mysteries, and it ends with a very dramatic finale. In fact, I wish there was more narrative text for me to read in addition to the game’s many puzzles.

It could have been a masterpiece if the writers knew when to stop.

Mario Tennis Aces holds itself on the tennis court way better than Ultra Smash, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Despite a broken narrative and some flaws in gameplay mechanics, the refreshed formula of Blackguards 2 is a clear improvement over the original game.

Deathtrap is definitely worth your time. Though, it is more like a TD-themed expansion to Van Helsing rather than a proper stand-alone game.

It's the only modern multiplayer FPS based on the Vietnam war, and its developers used all their past experience to create a fun, stylish and very gory shooter. That being said, next time Tripwire will have to come up with something more original than that.

Blitzkrieg 3 wants to be a serious, hardcore game, but in reality, this is light strategy fare. It's best consumed in short, two hours tops, sessions.

Neon Chrome has a handful of bizarre shortcomings, which is surprising since this is the game from the makers of Crimsonland. Nevertheless, just like Leap of Fate, it brings new ideas to its stagnating genre.

A bottomless chasm separating the story and the gameplay is the biggest problem of this Tomb Raider. Crystal Dynamics rebooted the series with an origin story. The developers wanted to show us how Lara learns to kill – first animals, then humans – in order to survive, how the hardships of the Yamatai island will make her into the tomb raider well know and love. But in reality, you can’t suspend your disbelief even for a minute. Though Lara sighs and whines a lot, her superhuman vitality would make Wolverine green with envy.

Legendary Heroes is yet another step forward for Stardock, If you are not familiar at all with Elemental, the studio’s previous effort, or other 4X fantasy strategy games, it may even surprise you. It’s just not a stand-out game.

Tyranny sometimes doesn't feel like a game in its own. I could not shake the feeling that I was playing an extended prologue to some awesome, not yet released RPG. You can play through this story in very different ways, exploring various shades of gray during your travels, but you won't be able to escape the shockingly abrupt ending.

Nice humor, fierce combat and a very cool concept. They should’ve cut the final stretch and the ending, though.

This is a solid RPG/action game. Some elements of the game are unusual and fresh for single-player parts of the Final Fantasy series, but some are too dull and rudimentary.

Despite somewhat boring combat, Yaga is a fun romp through the vibrant world of Russian folklore thanks to the witty dialogue, zany gameplay mechanics (how about sparing a boss and then summoning him to help you?), colorful characters and tons of randomized events.

Far Cry 5 doesn’t propel the series forward — it just refines all of its elements and relegates the infamous towers to the dustbin of history. So if you‘re allergic to open worlds from Ubisoft, don’t say I didn’t warn you. But if you’re eager to meet new wacky characters, complete dozens of missions and enjoy the sights, welcome to Hope County, sinners!

Gone Home is an ideological sister to Dear Esther, only not as beautiful or mysterious.

Observer tells a compelling story about people, their mistakes, and man-made nightmares, but I believe that this narrative could have been better if its creators weren’t spreading themselves thin on genre cliches and cheap jump scares.

Paper Sorcerer looks simple, even primitive at first sight, and it’s definitely not a game for everyone. Yet for some reason it is very addictive.

Steep has managed to exceed my expectations, and now, after a long break, we finally have a triple-A game where you can shred down an Alpine mountain on a snowboard and fly using a wingsuit.

Fans of Silent Hill and Resident Evil should definitely try The Evil Within 2. Even with all its annoying flaws, the sequel is better than the original game. Slowly but surely, Tango Gameworks is working its way towards a perfect formula for a modern horror game.

If you like animated movies from Disney and Pixar, and you want to relieve some of the key moments, welcome to Kingdom Hearts 3.

A rare thing happened to Frogwares: the studio had suddenly realized that it was moving in the wrong direction and made a 180. Crimes and Punishments still has some old sores, but overall, this adventure game is entertaining and it does not rely on tired conventions.

Monsters is packed with original ideas, and if not for its weak graphics and unforgiving difficulty spikes, I’d recommend it to everyone.

A great excuse to get acquainted with the genre for those who were born after it died, and a great exercise for nostalgic thumbs.

Dragon Commander is worth buying only if you intent to play it in multiplayer, because the story campaign, even on the highest difficulty setting, fails to challenge to excite.

By improving the original formula with lots of cool details, Knuckle Cracker created an addictive, albeit derivative, TD game.

Looks like the developers read all the reviews and comments that people had posted about Grid 2 and quickly made an improved version of that game. Their best achievement? Grid is no longer a nerve-wracking experience.

Maybe, a few patches later, Dead State will become a better game than it is now. Fiddle with the flow of time to make events unfold faster, fix the remaining bugs in the code, restore the cut endings, and you will get a great RPG, not just a good one.

A Plague Tale: Innocence makes a commendable effort to mask its somewhat routine gameplay, and in the end, it wins you over with captivating atmosphere, great music, likeable main characters and nice visuals. If you like cinematic games, this stroll through Dark Ages is worth it.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 doesn't look like the product of development hell at all. Despite the tight deadlines, The Chinese Room has created a decent game. Unfortunately, under such circumstances, it was simply impossible to replicate the scale of the first VTMB.

If you don't play all Call of Duty games in a row, but pick the best one every few years, then Black Ops 6 is the first contender for your money and time.

Alien: Isolation's story will take you around 15-20 hours to complete. But, to spare yourself the bitter aftertaste of the second part of the campaign, do this – after completing Mission 10, quit the game and pretend that you’ve just seen a happy ending.

This remake is so faithful to the original game released in 1994 that it ignores achievements of many successful rivals released over the last 28 years. If you wanted to play Master of Magic with improved graphics and modern controls, this game was made for you.

The remastered version retains the familiar gameplay with all its quirks and problems, but looks much better than the original, especially textures. The improvements are not as drastic as in Diablo 2: Resurrected, but definitely put Mass Effect: Legendary Edition to shame.

A surprisingly solid game, despite some questionable balance choices. Multiple runs always feel fresh and tense thanks to complex gameplay mechanics, excellent randomization of various situations and a good progression system.

All systems nominal. But it could have been oh so much better.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a good game, but it lacks a spark.

Despite its obvious tight budget, Revelations 2 is a much better game than the last offering in the main series, Resident Evil 6.

Far Cry 4 is yet another collection of stale ideas that permeate every Ubisoft title of the last few years, adorned with a ho-hum story. But, even if you realize that you played almost the same game back in 2012, Kyrat is still a good place to escape from your everyday life.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black looks good, but doesn't give the impression of the definitive version at all.

If you’re not a fan of the «early access» concept, don’t rush to buy Caribbean. It’s a good game in its core, it’s just not ready yet.

Blackguards feels like a role-playing session of The Dark Eye RPG led by a rookie dungeon master. If you’re willing to look past a few silly mistakes, you will enjoy the experience.

Don’t expect too much of Gunslinger – it stretches its 6 hours of running and gunning with a lot repetition. They don’t even let us ride a horse – in a western game, really?! On the other hand, this Call of Juarez is a huge improvement over the abysmal CoJ: The Cartel.

UnderRail manages to capture the spirit of the original Fallout even despite its abhorrent UI, heavy focus on combat, unforgiving character development system, and the final chapter which is basically a guide on how not to design a role-playing game.

Tales of Zestiria is not a very welcoming game, and feels too bland at times, but if you’re not a JRPG connoisseur, you’ll probably enjoy it.

The narrative, the bread and butter of The Last of Us, is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has powerful moments that only the boldest studios can create, massive cliffhangers and it’s vicious towards the game’s main characters. Some scenes even caused internal conflict within me. Yet at the same time, Druckmann’s story is rife with plot holes, contrivances, teleporting characters and inexplicable behavior — dramatic tension takes precedence over structure and logic, and it looks very jarring at times.

In Toki Tori 2, Two Tribes made a big open world that will take you hours to fully explore. It is a not a laid-back exploration game, though - glitchy AI and time-sensitive puzzles can make up for a very frustrating experience.

All in all, NBA 2K21 still holds the bar, but there is very little incentive to switch to this version if you had your fill of 2K20, unless you’re a dedicated fan of MyTeam.

The gameplay and its mechanics are incredibly simple, and there aren’t any new ideas, but boy, it can be so fun.

A thrilling adventure for a couple of nights. You’ll probably see all of its major plot twists a mile away, but the clash with horrors lurking in an ancient temple is definitely worth your time.

Even though Shades of Darkness is light on surprises, do not miss it if you are a fan of the series and played both Heroes 5 and 6 – the campaign is packed with familiar faces.

Killing everything that moves with bullets and magic while enjoying picturesque alien vistas is good enough for 20 hours (30, if you’re into Expeditions), but don’t expect anything more substantial out of Outriders.

A great improvement over the original Anomaly, but the game still lacks scale. More free expansions, please! Or, better yet, give us a mission editor!

Around Every Corner is a layer between the middle and the end of the story, and it's mostly filler.

Dawn of War 3 is a decent enough game, but don't expect any strategic depth, though.

The single-player campaign is just there to unlock units and ammunition, and earn money for upgrades. Skip the boring story and the dumb AI – playing against real people is much more fun.

It's a parody of the entire survival genre on a massive scale and simple, light-hearted adventure wrapped in one game. You probably won’t regret signing up with Kindred Aerospace, but still, this game could have been more engaging.

If you are ready to forgive Halo Wars 2 for its console limitations, you will enjoy crushing your enemies in the Halo universe.

The fourth installment is much closer to the bullseye than previous ones. If only Rebellion hired a decent writer…

Arkane made a mistake of cutting Daud’s story into two separate DLCs because all the good stuff is in the second part.

Knack 2, one of the least anticipated of Sony’s sequels, is quite spectacular and fun enough to make you forget about its stale, cliche-ridden script.

Just like in the original game, Beholder 2 offers an impressive variety of options. You decide the best way to climb up the totalitarian ladder, whether by using dirty tricks or honesty. It's a pity that the sequel lacks the urgency and rarely forces you to cut corners or suffer for your kindness.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is certainly not quite the “resurrection” we would have liked to see. It's a trial balloon for Bethesda. But it still turned out pretty well.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is really eager to eat your time, and, since this game is chock-full of micromanagement, it can be too overwhelming at times. It can also be a lot of fun when you play online with actual people, so pick it up if you're looking for fresh multiplayer experiences.

The return of Orcs Must Die is a bit awkward. The action is fun and entertaining, but you can clearly see that this series is all out of fresh ideas.

Even though FIFA 16 can easily fool you into thinking that you’re watching live TV, these pretty visuals are not enough to justify this expensive upgrade from FIFA 15. But if you missed last year’s game, you’re in for a treat.

Fans of police procedurals and stylish games will definitely enjoy this original hybrid of management game and a visual noir novel.

While side stories depend on your decisions, the main storyline relies on smoke and mirrors to make us believe that your choices matter — but they’re not. Unless you manage to bankrupt your country, there is only one ending, and the game's altruistic nature is far too evident. Show fairness, help people in need, be merciful to your enemies, and everything will turn out just fine. Unlike Papers, Please, this game rarely subverts expectations and hits players with tough dilemmas.

Black Flag is not a sequel, it is just a big expansion pack, and it has nothing to merit the “4” in its title. Just like Brotherhood and Revelations that fleshed out Assassin’s Creed 2, it is not a step forward, but aside.

There is no thrilling story, colorful characters or allure of the high seas. Instead, Return of the Obra Dinn is a bold, massive puzzle, an exquisite workout for your 'gray cells'. Unfortunately, the innovative gameplay mechanic gradually loses its appeal and excitement towards the finale, and I had to muster my willpower in order to beat the game in one go.

March of the Eagles is very light on remarkable features – at least, in the single-player campaign. Multiplayer is more fun, provided you manage to find someone to play it with.

If you don’t mind the game’s somewhat clunky role-playing system, you will enjoy the humorous story that pokes fun at clichés found in JRPGs, other video games and pop culture in general.

Fallen Order is a decent alternative to Dark Souls if you’re looking for a less hardcore experience. It leaves a pleasant aftertaste thanks to a well-directed ending, which makes you wonder if this game could have been so much better if it fully embraced its inner Uncharted instead of trying to wear two hats.

Thunder Tier One has one very steep requirement if you want to enjoy it — it’s almost impossible to play it with random strangers. Find a good group, and the game will flourish.

All in all, it's a decent platformer worthy of your 10-20 hours of free time. But, as far as metroidvanias go, there is so much stuff to improve in the potential sequel, for example, a map, a teleport system, a bag of collectable items and lots of well-hidden secrets.

In one of the interviews, the developers stated that they wanted to start different project originally, but later decided to do This Is the Police 2 instead. Well, the sequel is not slopwork in any way, but you can’t help but feel a certain lack of enthusiasm and concentration of the game’s creators.

All in all, a good second helping for fans of Persona 5. Still, Strikers is a step down compared to the brilliance of the original game.

In the music industry, there is a thing called ‘second album syndrome’. Dylan Fitterer could not avoid it, too. He removed all the obvious thorns of the original Audiosurf, but added just a handful of new things, like integration with Steam Workshop and SoundCloud, new color schemes and a new gameplay mode. It’s not enough to entice me to switch from the original game to the sequel.

The Night of the Rabbit is great for the newcomers to adventure games – this fairytale will open up a whole new genre for them. Veteran players can safely skip it, and the only thing they’ll miss is a couple of mice peddlers – two of the best supporting characters ever made by Deadalic.

Genetic modifications, ethical dilemmas, sentient machines vs their human masters — Technobabylon tackles these complex issues and paints a vivid picture of our future. It does this in an awkward manner at times, but if you’re willing to overlook some flaws, you’ll enjoy a compelling cyberpunk story in between sessions of Satellite Reign.

The best way to experience Remember Me is to sit next to someone and watch them play this game.

Sakura Wars is a game for exactly one playthrough, a genre-melding experiment where dialogue, dating and combat are mixed in equal parts.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is not as good as previous works of these ex-Starbreeze devs, and it is not as good as No One Lives Forever, which it clearly draws a lot of inspiration from. While not an instant classic, it is still a fun, almost nostalgic romp.

Fallout 4 is an OK game if you treat it as an open-world first-person shooter.

Warmachine: Tactics is a promising game, but I would not advise buying it in its current state. Let the developers fix its numerous flaws first.

A nice Christmas gift for the fans of ‘classic’ Lara Croft.

Please try to bear with the game’s uncomely look. It is worth it. Bleak and plain, Particle Mace will not let you go once you start playing it.

There are no breathtaking vistas to behold, but still, Sunless Sea is a great destination for virtual tourists. If you only you didn’t have to suffer through the monotony and fight the hastily implemented, out-of-place rules.

Armageddon is a game for those who see only war in the darkness of the distant future. Even if the developers decide to mimic Panzer Corps by releasing new campaigns and playable factions, they won’t be able to attract new players to the Warhammer 40,000 universe.