It will take you 3-4 hours to complete your first adventure in Ashwalkers, and after that you will realize that it should have ditched the out-of-balance survival layer and presented the story as a pure visual novel.

This fairytale is somewhat simplistic in its story and structure, but still charming.

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

A great implementation of the D&D 5th Edition ruleset, Solasta excels at turn-based combat, but falls short at everything else. Dull story, desolate locations, primitive puzzles and one-note side quests are not the hallmarks of an awesome adventure.

Necromunda: Hired Gun throws the player into a series of fast-paced, noisy shootouts, but it’s never lavish on highlights, and the lack of emotion devolves the gameplay into a purely mechanical process. This poor man's Doom Eternal is utterly forgettable.

Master Collection opens one of the greatest slasher series of all time to a new audience. Unfortunately, the chosen versions of these games and weak efforts to spruce them up will leave you disappointed.

Village is a concoction of spectacular amusements framed by an insane storyline, and this grotesque circus is varied enough for you to stay for one playthrough.

A decent remaster of a great game. I just hope the devs will squash all the remaining bugs, tune-up AI, fix pathfinding and add mod support.

Some tedious moments, technical flaws and a weak story work against Nanotale, but you still can use it as a tool to practice fast typing.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is good enough to be considered a decent collection for fans of this universe or anyone who has never played as Captain Shepard before. If you wished for more substantial improvements, changes, revelations or any supplemental content, you’re in for a disappointment.

In a manner, Biomutant’s name is self-explanatory. After all, mutation is often a byproduct of a mistake.

Legend of Keepers fools you into expecting a deep game, but in reality, all these numbers and nuances belie primitive battles, while roguelike elements are nothing but a grindfest.

A decent text-based RPG with a disappointing illogical ending.

Tohu is bright and beautiful, but it lacks visual tools to tell its simple story, and it’s chock full of unoriginal, ages-old puzzles.

A great tactics game locked in a shell of a shoddy RPG.

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.

In an attempt to recapture Studio Ghibli’s magic, the creators of Encodya put a lot of effort in amazing visuals, composed excellent music, hired great voiceover actors, and… botched narrative and game design. Without them, Encodya fails on both counts, as a fairytale and a game.

Thanks to the extensive remaster, this extraordinary, albeit quirky game is now accessible for a wider audience. Nier: Replicant belongs to a rare breed of RPGs that grip you to the very end.

A half-baked game with an interesting concept.

Sometimes, being evil is fun, other times it's incredibly difficult. In Evil Genius 2, being evil is boring.

At a first glance, Curse of the Dead Gods offers enough variety and exciting nuance to take a deep dive, but quickly loses steam and devolves into tedious chaos.

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.

A lackluster detective story which has nothing to hook you with is not what I was expecting from Dontnod Entertainment.

ICBM is not made for long gameplay sessions, but planning sneaky nuclear strikes is a thrilling way to while away a few evenings.

Iron Harvest is a typical KING Art production, intriguing and appealing at first, but having spent some time with it, you notice the shoddy workmanship and a heap of technical problems.

Wearing travel, low-brow humor and the Chicken are, unfortunately, the most memorable parts of Breathedge.

The Medium deftly ties all loose story ends and shows impressive art direction, but it lacks wholeness. The game feels like an artist who has too many ideas at the same time; he would grab a brush, then a pen or a piece of coal… but still cannot finish his masterpiece.

Suzerain has problems with how it presents information as well as some logical holes, yet its non-linear narrative, moody atmosphere, the tingling feeling that everything will end badly, awesome soundtrack, and a well-developed world are all valid reasons to veto any criticisms and return to Sordland for more socio political experiments.

The sequel is mostly an expanded and improved Nioh, with more complex combat mechanics and new challenges for the veterans, yet it's surprisingly accessible to casual players. Yet it fails to correct past mistakes, and you would be hard pressed to see any transformative changes in the game’s formula.

Even a year’s worth of updates and DLC failed to turn Phoenix Point into “the definitive version of the acclaimed strategy game”, as its Steam description suggests. This game has a plethora of features and systems, but they drown in an endless sea of monotony.

Oversimplification is the real joykiller in Disjunction. Its story feels like a rough outline, levels are made out of copy/pasted prefabs, stealth and character progression are just as simplistic, as is everything else.

If you ignore a few heavy-handed plotlines, half the jokes and an absurd ending sequence, Wet Dreams Dry Twice is a fun adventure, and a big improvement over the previous game, Wet Dreams Don’t Dry.

A pointless new edition of a shoddy game. Even if you’re a fan of Remnant: From the Ashes, you’d be better off just watching the ending on YouTube.

It takes a special talent to create a remake which is much worse than a game released 17 years ago.

IO Interactive finished its trilogy with a great finale, and this episode is the best of three, tying up the epic World of Assassination series in a beautiful bow.

This game has systems aplenty, but, unfortunately, the balance is broken, and it feels like the developers didn’t know which parts to fix.

Toys for Bob's game is a welcome addition to the original trilogy, although you will hardly remember its levels or music. Crash Bandicoot 4 is two steps below the amazing Super Mario Odyssey and Yoshi’s Crafted World.

This is the worst kind of sandbox, with bland, repetitious gameplay, and barely existing narrative.

A by the numbers turn-based tactics game, Stirring Abyss neither fills you with joy nor makes you resent it. Still, you could do much worse than spend a few evenings on the deep sea floor, especially if you’ve already had your fill of other, more impressive offerings in this genre.

Dirt 5 is a fiesta of mediocrity, from its disappointing career mode and boring time trials to DOA multiplayer.

Morales’ New York is just as basic as before. There is nothing to do except complete the same missions, and the city cannot offer anything more except spectacular bird’s eye view panoramas.

Art of Rally is an opposite of a hardcore rally sim; it requires very little effort and revels in its meditative approach. Drive, listen to pleasant electronic tunes, enjoy the scenery. But I wish there was something more besides career mode, because when it’s over 20 hours later, you’re done.

Ghostrunner, with all its pretty neon lights, persistent rain and moody darksynth music, looks deceptively simple, but those expecting an easy adventure, will tap out after a couple of levels. But if you like to plan your moves one step ahead and are willing to git good, you will spend hours beating your own records.

Abundance of bugs is the biggest problem plaguing 9 Monkeys of Shaolin. Other than that, it’s a fun beat ’em up which requires a bit more finesse than mindless button-mashing.

This is a full-fledged, honest to God remake. Some changes to the story will upset hardcore fans, but I think this approach is absolutely justified. Even though this remake is not as amazing as new versions of Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy 7, it’s still a worthy update.

At the heart of Valhalla is a surprisingly smart, cynical story about overly ambitious leaders, big hopes and soul-crushing disappointments. There are cool twists, nail-biting dilemmas and some very bitter consequences for you. The world of Valhalla is huge, but don’t be afraid to dive in.

An enthralling sci-fi thriller mixed with a touching melodrama that captures the zeitgeist. Although, unlike Penumbra, it’s not even remotely scary.

I see no reason to pay a full price for a mediocre single-player campaign, watered-down (compared to last year's offering) multiplayer and a zombie mode with just one map. I’d recommend trying a free Warzone instead.

Cyberpunk 2077 tells a story of a dark future, while stumbling over technical problems and some weird design choices, but even with all these flaws, you‘ll want to finish this story.

Hades is so captivating that you can easily spend days trying to escape the realm of the dead.

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.

Little Hope is a slight improvement over Man of Medan. It’s still not scary at all, but at least it's less annoying than the first game. This time around, Supermassive wrote a better story, used decent camera angles, and purged awkward jokes (dumb "screamers" are still in there, though).

Partisans 1941 is not a puzzle that makes you go over all the available tactical options in search of the most ingenious solution, but a lengthy exercise in mundanity.

Brevity (just 4 hours to credits roll!), serious subject matter, good sound design, easy platforming and accessible puzzles almost balance out the many shortcomings of Inmost, like its non-interactive climax, weird controls and empty talk in lengthy dialogues. But not the mind-numbingly dull knight episodes — those are beyond redemption.

There’s a good concept at the core of Star Wars: Squadrons, as flying a space fighter and managing its systems can be a lot of fun, however, you have to be a very dedicated Star Wars fan to enjoy a drab campaign with just a handful of memorable moments and watered-down multiplayer modes from Battlefront 2.

I wouldn’t venture to judge as to what troubles befell on poor Sam. Maybe he’s been through development hell, maybe he’s having a mid-life crisis, but in any case, this calamity is far worse than a horde of alien invaders.

Avengers is aimed at the most naive Marvel fans willing to absolve their idols of all their sins for a chance to stand next to Captain America or Iron Man — even for just a minute. So yes, fans like Kamala Khan are the perfect target audience for this sort of drivel. Ironically, she’s also the central character of the story.

Panzer Dragoon has simplistic core gameplay and disappointing low-budget visuals to elicit interest in this remake.

As an abstract total conversion of Total War, Troy is a passable game, but it does very little to convey the atmosphere of Iliad (or that movie with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, for that matter).

A charming, but not well-thought-out game. If you’re not ready to travel like a grain of sand on the wind, it’s best to avoid it for now.

Paradox Interactive will be growing Crusader Kings 3 for years to come, but don’t be afraid — this is not an early access release, but a full-fledged game that often makes you stay “just for one more turn.”

Even though Pendragon’s short roguelike format doesn’t allow for sprawling sagas, as all stories are quite abridged and simplistic, this game is absolutely engrossing, and there is enough excellent content to last you for several years.

Different drawing style and monk-like garments of the main villain, which caused a stir among fans before the game’s release, are actually the least of its problems.

Death Stranding is asking you to find variety in a daily rut, cooperation possibilities for a character who has fear of contact, scientific explanations in clear-cut mysticism. Today, you’re annoyed that the story doesn’t move forward, and you have to trek into the same ghost-infested area as before, but tomorrow you’ll gladly spend a few hours hauling resources for a new highway and feeling good about it. This source of joy is very weird and defies explanation.

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

An excellent follow-up to Wasteland 2. You want to finish it as soon as possible just to start the campaign all over again and take different decisions.

Othercide is low-key but stylish, smart, exciting, even though it doesn't have the budget and technologies of Gears Tactics. It does fall into the same gameplay cracks sometimes, yet, unlike GT, it always keeps you engaged and invested in the fate of your team.

Mediocre graphics is a big letdown of Fairy Tail (a common flaw of many Japanese video games based on anime/manga), but it plays much better than you might assume by looking at screenshots and watching trailers.

While adding remastered graphics and a modern UI, Remastered Collection avoided dealing with 20-year old shortcomings of the original game, like poor pathfinding for infantry and harvesters, for instance. On the other hand, these flaws will definitely make your missions much more exciting on higher difficulty settings.

Gears Tactics proves that there is a place for an awesome turn-based strategy game in the Gears universe. Now, someone needs to develop that game.

A primitive adventure in all regards, complete with bad writing, poor puzzle design, and 10 years old graphics. It’s absolutely helpless.

Carrion has a handful of annoying shortcomings, but it perfectly depicts everyday life of a scary alien creature from a horror movie, and that’s a monumental achievement by itself.

Aftermath marks the passing of the MK X/11 era and cleans the stage for the next game in the series. Good multiplayer, robust framerate, deep tutorial, exciting story and gameplay… MK 12 will have to aim very high to clear that bar.

Destroy All Humans! is just too shallow in both shooter and stealth action departments. Enemies are barely a threat, saucer-only missions are scarce, and there’s nothing to do in the “sandbox”. Thankfully, drowning farmers and flinging cows for hours is not the only source of entertainment this summer.

A good remake of the introductory part of the cult-favorite Final Fantasy VII. It improves on the original game in almost all aspects, yet lacks in scale and drops the ball at the very end.

Even though Black Mist is pretty much bug-free, it feels and plays like a raw prototype that somehow was released as a commercial game.

Fort Triumph is an unfortunate case when the whole is less than each of its parts.

If you manage to power through the dull first third of the game and let some of the design limitations slide, Beautiful Desolation will reward you with one of the best post-apocalyptic worlds ever created.

As a game, Ghost of Tsushima offers tried-and-true tropes of the genre with a story of a paradigm shift, decent swordplay, generic sandbox attractions (with zero towers and grind, though) and bearable monotony. But if you accept it as a series of living wallpapers, it’s a true PlayStation 4 gem.

Fans of the Desperados franchise can crank up the difficulty and bring out a stopwatch to time their actions. Newcomers will enjoy the game even if they have no idea of who John Cooper is and what he did before. Either way, you’re in for 20 glorious hours.

SMB 3 pretty much cancels its two predecessors by improving even the smallest details — now that’s an evolving franchise!

I do not regret the time I spent playing Chimera Squad, but it’s a definite downgrade compared to the excellent XCOM 2: War of the Chosen.

Some of Cloudpunk's ancillary gameplay elements feel underdeveloped, but the neon lights of a cruel futuristic metropolis and a collection of amazing stories will make it worth your while.

In Other Waters is an experimental crossbreed between a simple-hearted adventure game and an equally straightforward simulator of a futuristic ocean scientist. The adventure part is constrained by narrative conventions and oversimplified design, but the sim part is almost a meditative experience that might enthrall you for a few hours.

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.

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

A well-rounded survival game with rich atmosphere and a solid gameplay foundation, even though it adds nothing new to the genre.

While Darkest Dungeon has more layers of complexity, turn-based combat in Iratus is just as compelling. You have to pay attention to negative effects, preempt potential threats, exploit loopholes in the game’s sophisticated rulebook and build effective combos.

Conglomerate 451 repeats itself ad nauseum: 75 missions will take you on a journey through 6 small maps filled with murderous women in kilts and goons in sweatpants. The developers did try to randomize levels, but could not hide the lack of variety.

Unlike the remake of Resident Evil 2, this is a simple, straightforward blockbuster, short, colorful, and mindless. As for Resident Evil: Resistance, you will probably quit it after spending half an hour in this boring L4D clone.

It’s a budget Mario/Yoshi sans acrobatics with tons of borrowed ideas and a single original one. Play only in co-op if you’re 6 or older.

A soulless Portal copycat built around a cool gameplay mechanic, which would have flourished in a game by Double Fine or Valve. Superliminal has more originality than other copycats (see The Bradwell Conspiracy), but it’s absolutely devoid of substance and leaves you indifferent.

Like Jason Statham’s character in Crank, Doom Eternal needs adrenaline every waking second. So long as you drown hordes of demons in their own blood, it feels like a perfect GOTY contender, but during quiet moments, Doom Eternal withers and forces you to ponder unpleasant questions. id Software needs to course-correct, otherwise we’ll be playing Super Doom Slayer’s Bros in a few years.

The Complex is hardly a game, but rather a bunch of videos glued together with a shallow story. It would be unfair to compare it to true interactive movies like Telling Lies or Detroit: Being Human.

An excruciatingly boring game based on a very interesting concept. Unfortunately, I can’t rewind the hours I spent playing Iron Danger.

Corruption 2029 is a shameless clone of Mutant Year Zero minus everything that was good in the original game.

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.

Through the Darkest of Times raises some very serious topics, so I went searching online to read articles about events referenced in the game. Unfortunately, reading turned out to be more interesting than playing.