Without a Dawn is all about offering us a chilling, psychological title in the form of a visual novel. I think it works extremely well, it manages to showcase the depth of human philosophy, while also showing us how easy it is for people to manipulate their own mind. At the same time, Without a Dawn shows us how troublesome depression and anxiety can be, if we just live with them and don’t tackle the core issues behind them. For me, Without a Dawn was a great game, despite being on the short side. Its visuals are incredible, I rarely see ASCII art used in games, let alone at this level. They have great atmospheric music, eerie visuals and the fact you get horror elements without cheap jump scares is a major plus for me. It’s an excellent, albeit short game, but it delves deeply into the human psyche, and you truly feel for the character and her journey. It even makes you question your sanity at times, and that’s definitely the sign of a good game.

Edna and Harvey: The Breakout Anniversary Edition is an ode to the classic games signed by Lucas Arts, which manages to feel fresh and up to date. The control scheme takes time to get used to, but it works. All in all, it is a successful remaster of a nonconformist game.

Flint: Treasure of Oblivion has some interesting ideas when it comes to gameplay mechanics but struggles to fully explain them quickly and efficiently. After some experimentation, tactical battles, especially when they involve a lot of pirates and enemies, become intricate and tense. Just one piece of equipment or a well-played card can change an outcome. The narrative isn’t innovative enough to capture the attention, even with its solid use of comic book interludes. But fans of a classic pirate tale with an interest in complex tactical engagements will have fun with Flint: Treasure of Oblivion if they are willing to give it the time to fully reveal its core concepts.

In the end, the mixture of combat and storytelling is what makes Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf different from other games.

Sultan's Game has an engaging world and a ton of narrative variety but can struggle to make its actual mechanics interesting. I like the setting and how it’s inspired by One Thousand and One Nights but puts a unique twist on it. The game constantly asks players to consider what they value and how far their avatar will go to stay alive. The presentation helps with immersion. Placing cards into situations is an easy-to-understand gameplay that’s stretched to cover a wide variety of challenges. It becomes repetitive and can be unwieldy. Sultan's Game will reward gamers who are willing to experiment, like moral dilemmas, and don’t mind reading a lot.

LEGO The Incredibles is satisfying, although I can’t say that it’s as good as some of the other games that came from the same developers. In any case, the price difference might be small enough to be subjective. If you love the Incredibles and Lego, then getting this game is a no-brainer.

Overall, Beyond Good and Evil 20th Anniversary Edition is a pleasant surprise and it was a pleasure to finish it for the third time. It is a nice fan service and the best way to experience an excellent game by those who missed it or were too young to try it when it was first released. Nonetheless, it is a remake that will scratch the itch while waiting for the second instalment, but it will also make the wait that much harder. It is a game that is worth trying for the first, second or third time since it aged very well and is still an enjoyable experience to this day.

The Great War: Western Front is a good strategy game that tackles a historical period most titles in the genre overlook. Both the strategic and the tactical sides feature interesting mechanics and plenty of choices that affect the course of the war. The computer mostly puts up a good enough fight while the multiplayer side has plenty of options to create varied situations. But the game sits at a weird crossroads in terms of abstraction. It has plenty of realist elements but also allows corps to instantly move across the map. It rewards deep preparation but some battles can be won by simply carefully avoiding some enemy defenses. The Great War: Western Front captures the frustration and tension of World War I trench warfare well but struggles to make it a great video game experience.

Until Dawn is a video game that should jump to the "to-play" pile for those gamers who love classic horror and want to see the high-quality that the PlayStation 4 can deliver when it comes to faces and character interactions.

Legends of Eisenwald will certainly offer tens if not hundreds of hours of fun for those who are willing to understand its world and mechanics, and it will be interesting to see how the team at Aterdux expands the formula of the game in the future.

Kingdom Hearts III may be a hack and slash, with a few RPG elements sprinkled in, but at its heart, it’s a weird adventure like nothing that you’ve ever played. It makes no sense, but once you’re in the groove things start to get into focus. When the game is over, you’re left with a strange feeling of completions and melancholy, and that should be proof enough that you’ve experienced something worthwhile.

Vultures - Scavengers of Death is a throwback, a game that’s does not shy from telling players that both its universe and its gameplay are inspired by Resident Evil. The shift to a turn-based combat system adds to the complexity, while limited ammo and health create a solid challenge level. The narrative and world-building are forgettable. The presentation plays on nostalgia, but the PlayStation 1 era graphics made it harder for me to enjoy combat. Vultures - Scavengers of Death will deliver great fun for a very specific audience and will struggle to appeal to a wider set of players.

I’ve had a lot of fun with Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and the game certainly has a lot of charm. It revises the Fatal Fury series, brings back a lot of cool characters, and you can also improve your fighting skills quite a bit. There’s also plenty of variety when it comes to the game modes, with the story mode being my favorite. It can take a little bit to master a character, and sometimes the game doesn’t always explain how to perform all the moves. But in a game like Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, it always comes down to discovering stuff for yourself and trying things out. All in all, this is an excellent way to revive Fatal Fury and breathe new life into the series, while introducing it to modern audiences. If you have the itch for a good fighting game, I am sure you’ll find a lot to like in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, I surely did!

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny does a great job at updating a rather old game with an outdated gameplay. They don’t mess up the things that made this game amazing at launch, instead they focus on modernizing and enhancing it as much as possible. And it shows, the developers used a lot of care and attention to update the game for new audiences, while also keeping the original intact, so even old school fans will enjoy it.

Steel Seed is not a flashy game, it does have some generic moments, but it’s a lot of fun to play. The game world is very well made, the main character and her drone sidekick are great as well. And in the end, the journey that Steel Seed takes us on is amazing, very exciting and it also has its surprises.

As a prequel to the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle – Hundred Heroes, Rising does a really good job at introducing players to the universe. Its simple, tight combat mechanics and smart level design elevate it from other side-scrolling action-adventure games. Although exploration is quite limited and combat is very basic (at least in the beginning), Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising stands on its own despite the fact that it was released as a prequel to one of the most anticipated JRPGs of 2023. I strongly recommend playing this if you’re into side-scrolling action-adventure games, even if you don’t plan to pick up Rabbit & Bear Studios’ Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes next year.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a traditionalist game in a genre that has been getting a lot of modern takes recently. A lot of players might feel like there’s not enough here, in terms of both variety and innovation. But there’s value in giving modern players a game that understands the classics and offers both a universe and a set of mechanics that recall the best that they had to offer.

You’ll laugh, cry and want to know as much as possible about the various characters that join your city, and you may feel an inner sense of satisfaction when you increase your friendship level with certain NPCs. The story will capture you and you’ll be loving, crying, hating or rooting for pretty much everyone at one point or another. But in the end, if all you’re interested in is the crafting system and making in-game profit, those aspects are so well-developed that even the most avid fans of the city-builder genre will feel satisfied.

Tokyo Underground Killer benefits from the cyberpunk setting and its visceral combat, but it’s also really interesting to play and you are bound to find it very enjoyable. Yes, it can take a bit to get used to the blood powers and combat, but once it gets the ball rolling, you don’t want to stop playing. Yes, it’s quite short, but then again, this is a very intense and rather fun experience. You can focus on completing the story, getting the most creative kills or the highest scores, that’s totally up to you. Tokyo Underground Killer brings lots of ways to play, and it always feels very satisfying and fun.

The attention to detail and the graphics of the game make it a solid entry in the genre, but the title also suffers from some issues when it comes to the control players have over their shots and the way the PC port works.

Venom is not the best table they have introduced to Zen Pinball this year, but it remains close to the way the character is presented in the comics and allows players to relive the most interesting moments associated with him.

KAKU: Ancient Seal is a decent representative of the third-person action genre that doesn’t find ways to innovate in interesting ways. The core mechanics are decent, and the world is at times impressive. There’s plenty of depth to combat. But the narrative stalls after a few hours and fighting will become repetitive despite the wealth of new moves players can learn. Fans of the open-world action structure will enjoy the four continents and the unique content associated with each. But the entire experience would have benefited from being more focused, with a smaller number of mechanics and more innovation. KAKU: Ancient Seal is a solid game that fails to find a unique hook.

PositronX has a good set of first-person shooter mechanics, equal to anything that the classics have to offer. Finding a good combination of weapons and powers to clear levels is a great experience. But, despite the procedural generation, once the game progresses, runs become too similar to one another for long-term engagement. The game also lacks much in terms of story to keep one interested. The fact that PositronX also lacks multiplayer, or the suggestion that it might be added in the future, also means that a game with instant appeal cannot convert its strong opening into long-term loyalty.

Herdling is a great experience for any players who enjoyed the two Far titles created by Okomotive. When the Calicorns stampede across a lush meadow, plowing through flowers, with the mountains close, as the music enhances immersion, the game manages to create some unique and emotional moments. Guiding the herd around through puzzles is also pretty fun. But I never cared about the Calicorns, even as I made sure that they were healthy, and the title’s limited narrative means it’s hard to engage with its mechanics. Herdling has a solid core idea and creates impressive moments, but struggles to make the moment-to-moment gameplay engaging.

Way of Life is a good piece of content for those who love another side of Crusader Kings II: the weird and sometimes entirely ahistorical results that can create strange, engaging stories.

A good game but it might not exactly delight all of its players. Yes, it's a pity that players can't import their characters and classes but the new ones are quite varied, even if they can only reach level 30. For such a low price, Neocore's RPG is a great investment.

Project Songbird will divide gamers, but it’s worth playing. The story premise is well-worn, but it works, and Dakota is a cool character to work with. The narrative goes some weird places, even if the final third doesn’t deliver on the initial promise. The atmosphere is great, especially when players get to run through Dakota's record collection as she delivers her critical evaluation. I wish the experience leaned more on these elements, including the nature sound recording and the photos. The nighttime puzzle sequences and the creature avoidance fail to be as engaging. These sequences, apart from a few jump scares, also don’t deliver on the promise of some solid horror. Project Songbird is worth playing for the story and the vinyl records, as long as players are willing to overlook some clunky gameplay elements.

Guns, Gore and Cannoli is quite an entertaining side-scrolling shooter platformer. The 1920s mob theme, the undead, and the simple yet solid mechanics make it quite enjoyable and you'll have a blast going through the story either alone or with friends locally.