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.