Ground Zeroes is the perfect opening for a much richer experience that Phantom Pain promises to offer. Ground Zeroes is intense, philosophical, dark, brutal, but full of hope at the same time.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is a solid installment in the franchise. It tweaks gameplay just enough to give veterans something new to engage with, while also being accessible for anyone new. Mastering production chains and finding the right ways to boost income and production is satisfying. Albion, with its conflicting cultures, is the cooler biome, and it would have been interesting for the game to explore something like Syria or Gaul rather than Latium. Unfortunately, the title’s campaign, while posing some interesting challenges, features twists that make little sense. Voice acting cannot bring to life characters that exist only to advance the story. The game also features solid multiplayer, including cooperative options, via Ubisoft Connect. Anno 117: Pax Romana is thoroughly enjoyable when dealing with building, production chain, trade, and bonuses, and a disappointment when warfare is involved.

The combat, especially the close quarters engagements, feel both exciting and perilous and only groups that work well together will be able to reach the end of the level and get a chance to try out for cool loot.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance does a great job at bringing us more Legacy of Kain lore, a new character and some interesting mechanics. After the Defiance remaster, I was not expecting to see yet another Legacy of Kain game being released, especially one that’s new. I think this is a great addition to the series, and the game does an excellent job at introducing Elaleth, along with some other characters. The story will be very familiar to fans of the series, and it certainly adds some nuanced stuff I did not expect to see. Moreover, the gameplay is very fast paced, engaging, even if at times it can become frustrating if you opt for a higher difficulty level. If you want to acquire all achievements, you will get quite a bit more gameplay out of the game, as it can take you 7-10 hours depending on the play style. Even if the game’s story is short, I found it very fun, and I am looking forward to replaying on a higher difficulty level, to spot any lore that I missed along the way.

The Division is an ambitious game when it comes to the world it creates and its mechanics, for both cooperative play and Player versus Player, are solid and engaging but much of its future will depend on how Ubisoft caters to the needs of the community and to the unique ways in which players come to enjoy this beautiful and derelict world of New York.

SpellForce: Conquest of Eo has an interesting structure and does a great job of mixing map-driven strategy and tactical engagements. Each of the three wizard archetypes plays very differently and there’s a ton of content to engage with. The world of Eo is beautifully represented, although it’s pretty standard when it comes to fantasy universes. I would have liked for the three core wizard types to offer even more variety in strategic and tactical situations. But campaigns offer a lot of variety, especially if players are ready to try out new approaches. SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is a solid entry in the franchise that should have aimed for more innovative mechanics.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is an exceptional RPG, which respects its classic origins, without being afraid to adapt modern mechanisms. With a fresh combat system and a story worthy of the most famous D&D games, it is highly addictive for the fans of the genre, while being a friendly companion to those who prepare to embark on their first quest. If the issue with the way too long and frequent loading times will be fixed, it will be a must-play game.

City of Beats mixes a good set of gameplay mechanics with atmosphere and some great music. Dashing across the rooftops, noticing a sound at the last second that lets you avoid an attack, and striking back at the perfect time, is very fun and engaging. The rogue-lite elements are very familiar and deliver a sense of progression but don’t add much otherwise. Despite the spareness of its classic cyberpunk narrative, I felt immersed in this universe. City of Beats has an innovative idea that’s very well implemented and will satisfy anyone who loves fast-paced combat, cyberpunk worlds, cool beats, and rogue elements.

Rogue Waters is a good combination of pirate theme, ship battles, deck combat, and rogue-lite. The very fact that it mixes so many elements means that none of them have a ton of depth. I like the fast, turn, and character-driven boarding battles, even when the difficulty spikes and defeat seems inevitable. I would have liked extra options for the ship-to-ship engagements. The pirate elements work well with the run and upgrade systems, especially once players get a solid crew and start rotating them. All its systems can become repetitive, and the game starts off a little slow. Still, Rogue Waters is quick, engaging, and gives gamers the tools to create interesting pirate stories.

Slay the Princess takes the adventure game’s classic mechanics, including loads of dialogue and player choices, and uses them in cool new ways. It quickly becomes clear that killing the scion of royal blood is not what the experience is all about. And the story delivers interesting moments, tough choices, and satisfying revelations. These mix with the strong voice acting and engaging visual style to make the experience worth playing despite its limited gameplay. Fewer attempts at jump scares would have made it even easier to focus on the world's strangeness. Slay the Princess should appeal to fans of the uncanny who are interested a good story and solid twists.

Kingdom of the Dead is the work of a developer who understands what makes classic first-person shooters so fun and captivating. The game is unafraid to be a little unfair. It takes skill to chain headshots, it is hard to deal with big groups of mixed enemies, especially on the higher difficulties. But it feels very good when you ace a boss fight with just a bit of health left over.

Toy Tactics is a good entry-level strategy experience that finds a host of innovative ways to use its central brush mechanic. Players can direct a variety of warriors and activate spells by simply painting the ground, then use these violent tools to solve a lot of combat puzzles. The game offers a variety of modes with plenty of interesting quirks. The world-building is limited but the presentation, especially if players zoom in to watch the figurines take each other out, is good. Toy Tactics is easy to pick up and play but still challenging, a great way for someone new to the strategy genre to have fun while picking up the basics.

Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part 2 takes gamers back to the snowy mountains of Eora, giving them a chance to revisit the mechanics of the party based RPG experience while introducing a story that's more engaging that the one in the first part and has higher stakes for the entire universe.

Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown was a positive surprise for me. Few of the latest Star Trek games were great, but this one is very exciting to play, and it uses the sense of exploration to its benefit. It remains faithful to the source material, while also allowing you to nurture, level up characters and manage the ship to your liking. The gameplay doesn’t get stale, and exploring planets always feels very satisfying. It's also nice to see that the story has some great, unexpected twists and turns. Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown also encourages you to make different choices, and those will affect your gameplay. The combat is engaging, the ship management part of the game is rewarding, and you always feel that you’re progressing in some way. The developers are also committed to solving core issues like saving problems, so that’s a good sign. Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown is a hidden gem for sci-fi fans, and you will find yourself pouring a few dozen hours into this, as you explore planets, follow the story and embark on treacherous missions.

I did not expect to like Tiny Bookshop as much as I did. It’s an excellent game for book lovers, but also for people who want to unwind, relax and play a simple management game. The fact that Tiny Bookshop doesn’t have very high stakes means you can easily play it as you do other activities. Yet at the same time, it’s very addictive, and it only gets better and better as you play. I still play Tiny Bookshop every week and will continue to do so for a while. The seasons mechanic is great, I enjoy seeing the world evolving around me, and finding the right book for other people is always exciting. The fact that you can also find some new books you never knew about is the icing on the cake, in my opinion. As it stands, Tiny Bookshop comes as highly recommended for cozy game fans and book lovers, but also for anyone who wants a relaxing time after playing all those new shooters and RPGs.

While not a fan of the racing genre in general, I do have my moments when I would like to just smash into someone else’s car (in a totally victim-free virtual environment, of course), and Wreckfest hits the spot perfectly. By comparison with what other games attempted in the past, I have to say that it is a true masterpiece and has pretty much taken the crown as the best title in a rather unexplored game sub-genre. So, gear up, tune up your car, rev your engines and try to make it to the finish line with a number of wheels that is higher than 1!

Legend of Keepers is a good mix of ideas that could use some more variety. For the first 10 to 15 hours it has the pace and content to throw new ideas and new options out. It’s very fun to take down new groups of more powerful heroes and see what’s the best combination of monsters and traps to sap their spirit or to destroy their health points. The game also has plenty of long-term goals. But once I learned more about the monsters and the enemies I found it hard to get excited, even when I got a new powerful creature or when a powerful hero dropped in. Goblinz Studio understands the two genres it is mixing but it should have added a pinch more innovation to make Legend of Keepers into a long-term fun experience.

Gordian Quest is focused on mechanics to both its advantage and detriment. For a player who has not explored the card and tactics space a lot, this is a perfect experience both as an introduction and for long-term engagement. For someone who has tried out a lot of titles in the genre, this game is a little too by the book for its own good. I like choosing a hero, seeing his cards, and finding out how I can tweak his arsenal via equipment or upgrades. I like to make a quick run, see what new enemies come my way, and how I can create new cool combos. But the limited appeal of the universe and lack of major innovations to the gameplay means that Gordian Quest might never convince me to finish its campaign.

Worldless shines when players enter battle with a new opponent for the first time, discovering its moves and weaknesses. It’s fun to watch for patterns and create attack combos, with plenty of tension added when trying to perform the Absorption move. Platforming isn’t as complex as combat but adds variety. The mostly abstract world and limited story will be the biggest stumbling block for most players. The game often comes close to pretentiousness without crossing that line. Worldless is not as poetic as it aims to be but offers a carefully crafted set of mechanics that work very well together.

Sworn is clearly made as an alternative to Hades and other similar roguelike games. The game has a lot of heart, and everything from the overall progression to the combat and story is well-made. The addition of coop is the icing on the cake. I don’t think that everything lands perfectly and there are definitely things to improve, but for someone who loves loop-based gameplay that’s typical to roguelikes, this title is worth picking up. Granted, it does have its issues, with the story being rather simple and short, and the combat being slower at times. But if you get past that, you will notice that the game is greatly-made, it has way more content than expected, and the gameplay itself is fun. The ability combinations, great visual style and game mechanics make it a worthwhile time investment. Plus, the fact that you can test your skills with some really high difficulty levels and bosses make it very enticing to try and play one more run.

Thanks to Battle for Azeroth, World of Warcraft doesn't feel like an obsolete MMORPG any longer, on the contrary, it's fresh, fun, surprising, and … addictive. Of course, the new expansion is not without its problems, but the overall feeling is that World of Warcraft is on the right path. And for those sitting on the fence about whether or not to jump into the action again, there's only one thing I can say: Battle for Azeroth is the perfect opportunity to come back to World of Warcraft. I have to give the folks at Blizzard credit for pouring their hearts and souls into the game once again, it definitely shows.

LEGO Voyagers is one of those perfect games that you can play with a friend when you’re done dealing with shooters, MMOs or more serious titles. It has the perfect visual style that engulfs you into the world, but also plenty of brain teasers and puzzles. Even if some of them can be frustrating at first, the solution is never too difficult. That allows you to continually play, explore the game and try out new things. That’s why it comes as highly recommended, because it’s a fun game with creative gameplay and innovative features. While LEGO Voyagers is a game geared towards children, I think everyone should try it out, be it with a friend, their significant other or a colleague. It tells a raw, emotional story, and let’s face it, we all love LEGO in one way or another. Plus, I think LEGO Voyagers seamlessly captures the beauty and freedom provided by LEGO, all while offering us a stunning world, quirky puzzles and some very creative music. It’s a great journey to be a part of, and the best part is that this is not overly long, either. It has perfect length, crispy gameplay and it’s definitely a great time for you and a friend.

There’s an immense feeling of joy and freedom that the racing experience from Playground Games can create, and the title can offer it to both veterans of the racing game genre and to newcomers looking for a fun title to spend time with.

Afterimage feels like a very well-crafted Metroidvania with spectacular vistas, solid combat, and deep character progression system. The only minor issues, like the colliding damage, that I had with the game are just design choices that probably can’t be addressed. I really enjoyed exploring the world of Engardin, searching for new weapons, fighting interesting bosses and trying to find the best weapons for Renee. I can’t say that the story was truly captivating, but it was serviceable enough to keep me going.

Fans of Europa Universalis IV should get El Dorado as soon as possible in order to experience a more complete set of game mechanics and to use the Nation Designer.

Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother is, at its core, a fast and fun action game that aims to give players as many interesting choices as possible to build their character for each run. Experiment as much as possible with upgrades, weapons, and powers. It’s impressive how powerful protagonist Chenxiang becomes when gamer choices lead to a good build that suits their playstyle. The game’s rogue-lite structure isn’t new but manages to create a constant sense of progression. The world-building is less successful, although it’s good to see Chinese mythology serve as the basis for a game universe. Graphics don’t stand out but Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother is a good mix of action and rogue-like that should please fans while being accessible to newcomers.

Despite some repetitive missions and cutscenes, there's a massive and complex plot waiting to be discovered in Phantom Doctrine. Although it might not feel that way at first, the game offers a mix of tactical and strategic decisions way more complex than any of the XCOM games. I also think the game perfectly catches the Cold War atmosphere of the early 80s, and delivers it in the form of a tactical stealth turn-based formula. Phantom Doctrine tackles a sensible but fascinating subject, the Cold War, and does a damn good job at it.

Killer Frequency is a good narrative experience with some decent gameplay ideas. The story of the Whistling Man and his killing spree seems very familiar at first but benefits from nice twists and turns that actually pack emotional power. There’s not much depth to any of the mechanics but they add a lot of interactivity and give players opportunities to learn more about the universe of Gallows Creek. The voice actors deserve a lot of praise, especially for making their narratives interesting enough that I often forgot to constantly try to make crumpled paper free throws from my DJ station. The title does not outstay its welcome, at around 4 hours for a first run, and there’s replayability if players really want to keep everyone alive. Killer Frequency doesn’t reinvent its genre but it is engaging and simply fun.