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.

A decent battle royale for newcomers, and casual fun for those who play only on weekends. Necessary items are highlighted, short matches, respawn in team battles. I wish they added training grounds, though.

This simple story about the importance of family ties will definitely tug at your heartstrings — if not with words, then at least with beautiful pixel-perfect dungeons.

Blacksad is painfully derivative, but it’s not so bad as it seems at first impression. It’s a pity that this intriguing, smart, mature story with colorful characters in an unusual world will never get the attention they deserve because of numerous bugs and horrendous controls.

If the original dilogy is Iliad, Shenmue 3 is Odyssey, a sequel that even exceeds expectations in some regards.

You could, if you wanted, berate ZA/UM for having loading screens between tiny rooms, minor bugs or their numerous love letters to Black Isle Studios, but nitpicking Disco Elysium is just… pointless. It's a one-of-a-kind game that channels the wildest ambitions of their creators and defies isometric classics instead of blindly imitating them.

Instead of trying to improve on the first “season”, Life Is Strange 2 starts from scratch. Unfortunately, glaring plot holes, shallow supporting characters and weak attempts at gameplay make this journey worse than it could be. Still, if you make it to the end, it is almost worth it.

The first half of Indivisible is a somewhat fun romp, the second is pure disappointment.

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.

It’s not a horrible game per se, but there’s absolutely no reason to play it, even if you crave a co-op slasher.

Despite BioShock trappings, Close to the Sun is a straightforward adventure with a pinch of puzzles, veering dangerously close to being labeled as a walking simulator.

This anemic game is not worthy of the amazing TV show it is based on.

It's a short, but very intense adventure, with brief cinematics, compact maps without padding or copy/pasted elements. It brings a lot of variety into the world teeming with bland "sandboxes".

A good original concept turned into a surprisingly boring adventure with a paper-thin plot and simplistic puzzles.

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.

It's a glint from the gilded age of SNK. Snappy, easy to learn controls, nice tempo, no endless combos, plenty of time to think and react. Hardcore fans will enjoy familiar moves, but will balk at tons of paid DLC and dated visuals.

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.

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.

Right now, Little Misfortune is at the top of my personal list of bitter disappointments of 2019. I would have overlooked many of its flaws, if it were just a pilot episode in a series. Alas, this is a finished product.

The Executioner plays like a dark comedy, but something tells me the developers did not have this in mind at all…

Final Fantasy 8 did not age well, and I would not recommend it as an introduction into JRPGs, but it does offer an interesting introspective at the history of this genre. Unfortunately, the remaster is quite shoddy, and there is no better official version than this.

It’s definitely better than Spiders’ previous RPGs, but annoying quirks, self-plagiarism and outright bad game design permeate GreedFall as well.

Forced gameplay features and pointless limitations are the key problem of The Surge 2. Deck13 refuses to improve and expand its combat mechanics to an acceptable level.

It feels as if Frozenbyte created this colorful, riveting platformer to prove to us and themselves that this series is far from over. The fate of Trine does seem bright, but the developers should really stop reusing their past ideas.

Madden NFL 20 is not a promised breakthrough, just a good enough game with some novel ideas, dumb defensive AI and the abysmally awful Face of the Franchise.

Modern Warfare is not a stellar game, but decent first-person shooters about modern conflicts are so few and far between that it’s surprisingly satisfying.

It does remind of Prey… if you remove mimics, compelling story, freedom of exploration, shrink the station to one module and cut the length to 1/6th. Archaic and primitive, Deliver Us the Moon fails to surprise, and it’s a death knell for any self-respecting sci-fi adventure.

If you’re tired of waiting for new single-player adventures in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, head to the distant colonies — they have everything you wish for.

NBA 2K20 makes a few missteps in several modes and the gameplay is pretty much the same as before, but it’s still a reigning champion in its genre.

All in all, it’s a joke of a game, and it’s not even funny.

Warsaw looks nice, but it’s the substance that matters. The developers lifted pretty much everything from Darkest Dungeon, but failed to adapt those mechanics to suit the needs of a completely different story.

Pagan Online seems to have gone through development hell — whatever its original concept was, the game has been rewritten, cut into pieces and then reassembled in a different form. Its short f2p-style runs are fun at first, but then boredom gradually sets in, because it’s just rinse and repeat.

This is an intense blockbuster which delivers its brutal action just as advertised.

Rebel Cops has too many jagged edges so I can’t recommend to fans of turn-based tactics. It’s not a marked improvement over This Is the Police 2, either — in fact, this is pretty much an extract from that game.

Gibbous is worth your time if you are willing to overlook its numerous oddities and rushed narrative so you can enjoy a few brilliant game design ideas and marvel at the game’s outlandish sets. If Stuck in Attic sets out to create its second game, the studio should scale back its ambitions and definitely hire a professional screenwriter.

The second playthrough is better than the first — by then you already know that the story is not scary at all, the dialogue is stale and characters are boring. But still, there is some fun to be had by choosing different options and trying to help the ones you failed to save before.

The world of Ancestors is an intricate system with its own rules generating exciting events and stories. That is why it’s so fun to explore.

It’s definitely not the worst way to spend 10-12 hours, especially if you're into supernatural fiction and the new weird. Yet Remedy lacked determination (or maybe skill?) to go the distance.

Eight Princes is the DLC for the most devoted fans of Three Kingdoms who pore over patch notes after every update. It invites you to join the same rat race as in Yellow Turban Rebellion, the game's previous DLC, on the very same map, but with a shorter list of available factions.

With every new installment, Age of Wonders continues to drift away from the concept of the original game in the series by trying to blend in with the 4X crowd. So far, the result is not that impressive.

Inspired by the great adventures and platformers of the last decade, The Great Perhaps doesn’t have even an ounce of their charm and magic.

Pathologic 2, just like its predecessor, has a ton of annoying routines which will easily scare away even the most patient players. Yet after getting through the game to the last bow I felt a sudden urge to return to this moody prairie town in the middle of nowhere.

Detailed environments is the only thing that Youngblood inherited from its famous parents. The rest is just wild mess of ideas that the devs plucked from all their favorite first-person shooters.

If you’re not a member of the Communist Party and you do not feel nostalgic whenever someone mentions USSR, the journey to Matryoshka will bring you 10-12 hours of fun. Although it’s a bit disappointing that the writers missed an opportunity to turn this light comedy into a satirical study of a person’s fate in a totalitarian state where cult of personality reigns over all.

Conan Unconquered is too empty and lifeless, not to mention unoriginal. It feels like a mod rather than a full-fledged game from an experienced studio.

Whispers of a Machine is a huge step ahead compared to Kathy Rain and a new look for hand-drawn AGS-based adventure games. Still, there are too many brilliant ideas that remain underdeveloped.

Style is prevalent over substance in We. The Revolution. This dark morality tale is rife with plot holes and incongruous twists, and its epic scale only serves to pile on more shortfalls and ill-fitting gameplay mechanics.

Yoshi’s Crafted World doesn’t bring anything new to the formula — everything is lifted from other arcade games and previous Yoshi’s adventures. Still, it never gets boring.

In Warhammer: Chaosbane, there is only dull combat. Use two or three favorite abilities to kill hordes of same-looking enemies, marvel at bad animations and identical corridors, and try not to lose your mind. Even cooperative mode, which usually makes everything better, is a boring chore.

This mortal combat is still tons of fun. Realistic graphics, top-notch body and facial animations, extremely inventive violence and perfect sound effects. Ed Boon and Co. still make the best fighting games in town.

Imperator attacks confused players with tons of buttons and information, but in reality it’s one of the most vapid and boring strategy games ever created by Paradox Interactive. The world map is very pretty, though.

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.

Despite catering to hardcore players and limited gameplay options, CTR Nitro-Fueled successfully rides the nostalgia wave, but I’m not ready to become the drift guru just yet.

For the first time in its long existence, Frogwares created a mature, multilayered, intense adventure that will keep you in its tentacled grip until the very last second.

Story-wise, Judgment is a compelling mix of Chinatown and the first season of True Detective. Impressive direction and believable characters in unexpected situations is the last thing that I expected from an action game based on the Yakuza engine.

A bit absurd and outlandish, but still enjoyable space expedition that thankfully runs out of gas after you get your share of co-op fun.

It’s evolution, not revolution. By building upon a mass of ideas accumulated since Rome 2, Total War: Three Kingdoms creates the most compelling strategic mode in years. All that’s left to do now is fix battles…

Rainswept calls itself a detective adventure, yet it’s actually not, and those who come looking for clever intrigue and unexpected twists won’t find any. But fans of reflective reading will enjoy this melancholic psychological adventure and dive deep into a multilayered inner world of its characters.

The only thing worthy of praise in Riot is the idea itself, but, as every sober-minded revolutionary knows, you won’t get far with just an idea.

Rage 2 can be an enjoyable experience… to a certain extent. Unfortunately, you will hit that wall in just a few hours.

The Occupation, albeit at times coarse and overly eager to test your basic motor reflexes, enthralls with dozens of small details, nuanced environments, choice-based gameplay and good audio.

Left Alive is a strong contender for the dubious title of The Worst Game Based on a Famous Universe released by a top-tier publisher in this decade.

It's an amazing journey — clever, spectacular and exciting. Fire up your furnaces, ladies and gentlemen, but don't forget how treacherous those twinkling stars can be.

Jump Force is an interesting experiment, but for its handful of merits there is a ton of annoying shortcomings.

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.

Three hours in, and Generation Zero is running on fumes. It will take you 30 hours to get to the end of this story, but what's the point? This game is just as dead as everyone in the alt-dimensional Sweden.

Days Gone could have been much better if the developers cut it by at least a third, and added more varied missions into the mix.

Annoying glitches, barebones backstory and simplistic painting mechanics do no credit to Eastshade, but still, this is a rare truly charming "walking simulator" as well as a perfect opportunity to visit a faraway land if your vacation is months away.

An easy to pick up fighting game whose creators know exactly what their audience wants. At the same time, it will hardly surprise long-time fans.

Dirt Rally 2.0 will not become a cult hit like Colin McRae Rally 2.0 did. Still, if you’re tired of the original Dirt Rally, don't miss this sequel — decent rally simulators are a very rare breed these days.

Jumping off Dark Souls, FromSoftware removed all the best components of its hit series in order to make Sekiro. It's a decent slasher if you like honing reflexes or breaking bricks with your forehead. More casual players will quickly get bored, though.

Why would someone in their right mind spend time and money on exploring Tannenberg? If you want to play a first-person shooter about WWI, just pick up Battlefield 1 with the season pass.

Bland location design aside, Devil May Cry 5 is excellent in all other aspects. Deep combat system, charismatic characters, nice graphics, vibrant soundtrack — this is one hell of a crazy-ass meaty slasher.

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

If you want to see Anthem’s lush jungle and glistening Javelins, do it right away — this game is losing audience fast, and there’s almost nothing to do after the campaign ends. Or check it out on YouTube to save yourself some nerves and money.

I think no one would have shed a tear if Microsoft quietly canceled this pointless game instead of seeing to completion.

Only full-time members of Joseph Seed's cult hooked on bliss will enjoy playing Far Cry: New Dawn from start to finish. The others will eventually get tired of psychedelic palette and recycled content.

Gathering Storm brings a few notable additions to Civilization 6, but most of them are half-baked. When combined with Rise & Fall, they drastically change the original formula, yet I can’t shake the feeling that this expansion could have been so much better.

Gris evokes memories of Disney's Fantasia, a wordless animated movie which creates an exciting audiovisual experience by combining colors and music.

Despite a ton of cliches, the story, the characters and the world of Tales of Vesperia have stood the test of time. The narrative is single, but well-structured and at times riveting, which means a lot in a JRPG.

Insurgency: Sandstorm feels like a shoddy HD remaster of the original game rather than a full-fledged sequel, complete with annoying performance drops, popping up textures and bland map design.

It's a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-type game done right — a perfect combination of a desolate world, polished gameplay, top-notch visuals and a thrilling story.

The narrative can be just as frustrating as the Tsioque’s wonky UI. The game doesn’t bother to explain which door you’re supposed to open next, the need to carry dragon scales with you, or what this magic potion does. These problems stem from primitive gameplay mechanics, as well as absence of dialogue, supporting characters and an in-game diary.

Resident Evil 2 is thrilling enough to warrant a second walkthrough to get that extended ending. It’s a great remake, but, more importantly, it confidently stands on its own. This is the best introduction to the Resident Evil series and to survival horror in general.

Ace Combat 7 is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea — even though its impressive single-player campaign is packed with exciting action, the multiplayer part feels like an afterthought, and the quirky story has way too many cliches.

The game quickly loses steam, even though at first it seems fun, and its retro-futuristic design is charming throwback to fan-favorite movies of the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately, the monotony inevitably leads to boredom as the game has nothing to challenge you with except to repeat the same few actions over and over.

This game is equally bad in all of its aspects. The developers should remove all the gameplay and turn Kursk into a free virtual tour of the submarine.

For every bright spot there is a dozen of poor design choices, and don’t get me started on bugs — InSomnia needs a separate review just for them.

This Jagged Alliance is bad, but not to the point that it incites rage. Play, uninstall and forget. It’s not rage, more like… apathy.

The ending serves as a bridge to a possible 5th installment, but it’s going to be just as bad unless the developers reinvent the series. The "entertain yourself" approach to the open world ran out of steam a long time ago, campaign missions are going downhill fast, and the amount of bugs has skyrocketed.

Book of Demons is a fun romp, though it’s not as engrossing and captivating as other, more "serious" action/RPGs.

A disgustingly average game not worthy of being a Leisure Suit Larry adventure. You have to get drunk if you want to squeeze any fun out of it.

With all its attractive graphics, Mutant Year Zero lacks scale to offer exciting tactical options and does very little to flesh out its intriguing post-apocalyptic world.

Shinobi Striker is in a dire need of maps and modes, and looks like the developers have no idea on how to tackle this problem.

Despite its plain look, Mechanicus offers lots of exciting turn-based battles and many ways to level up your team. Unfortunately, it gets only easier as you progress and eventually turns into a cakewalk, but it's not a deal-breaker.

Whenever developers turn to surrealism while making a video game, they sometimes forget that their goal is to produce an actual playable game rather than a bunch of psychedelic paintings. Dali Games fell into this trap while working on its debut adventure Lucid Dream.

It's a little bit weird, sometimes disbalanced, boring at times and clearly lacking a better budget, but now, after a handful of patches, you can safely pick it up during a sale.

Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics has the most primitive levels I have ever seen in a turn-based strategy game, coupled with an equally primitive AI. Combat system has quite a few fine ideas, though, but they're not worth it to suffer through 10 hours of identical gameplay situations.