I was excited to see how a port management and simulation game would look like, and I think that Docked successfully manages to balance both sides of the experience. Adding a narrative into the mix made things even better, because it’s all glued together extremely well, and the experience feels more organic this way. They also manage to add lots of tasks and varied missions for you, so there’s always something to do...Naturally, some tasks will be repetitive, but that’s by design when you play a simulator like this. I was happy to see that you can also manage your port’s finances, upgrade the port and do all kinds of things that other games in the genre don’t cover. There are tons of menus, lots of machines for you to own and use, but also plenty of managerial tasks that you need to check out.

Trek to Yomi makes a great first impression. The black and white, combined with the first uses of the combat system, suggests an experience that will allow players to step into the sandals of a samurai. The story might not be extraordinary but there’s enough sentiment in it to keep players engaged. But combat quickly reveals itself to be repetitive, with little need to experiment or to use all the combos. And the presentation does not enhance the gameplay, even if it delivers good screenshots. Trek to Yomi has some good ideas but never uses them to their full potential, which is a shame given its initial promise.

Revival: Recolonization has quite a few unique ideas and wisely connects them to some fundamental 4X concepts. The capsule concept and the diplomacy system are highlights, although the game could do a better job of explaining how its mechanics interact with one another. The narrative has interesting ideas but is a little under-written. Players who are fans of the turn-based strategy space should appreciate the tweaks Revival: Recolonization makes to the formula. But that requires an investment of time and energy from gamers. The development team needs to deliver updates to slay bugs, helping the title realize its full potential.

It’s rare these days for a survival game to put narrative and resource management mechanics on the same level, and do both very well. Overall, I think The Pale Beyond tells a captivating story while torturing players into finding the best solutions for keeping their crew alive. The first playthroughs will always be frustrating, but that’s because the game doesn’t prepare players for what’s coming. When all is said and done, The Pale Beyond is an enjoyable experience if you love survival games, but if you’re looking for a purely narrative experience, look elsewhere.

In many ways, Gotham Knights is a game that does everything differently from the previous Arkham games, and maybe this is the reason why so many people seem disappointed. An open-world Gotham City, four members of the Batman family to defend civilians, lots of puzzles to solve, and so on, all are part of a package that takes time to discover and which kind of grows on you the more time you give it. Sure, it’s hard to ignore the clunky controls, the performance glitches, and the graphics that need more polishing, but otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll have a lot of fun playing Gotham Knights.

A bit more text would have been nice, as the possibility to maybe study some archives and extract more about the backstory of the game universe would have made the wait for the next installments much more justifiable and pleasant.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is classic and actual at the same time. The new ideas and additions only enhance the typical Crash experience and they for perfectly with the original recipe. The downside is that you have no real surprise and you do not see something truly unexpected. However, the game is a lot of fun, featuring a lot of variety on every level. Also, it breathes a very pleasant and, in some places, a humorous atmosphere, which always keeps you on your toes. Unfortunately, the difficulty will turn away many potential players, and that’s a shame because the developers put a tremendous amount of detail and love into this game. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is not a perfect game by far, it is not revolutionary in any way, but it remains true to its platformer legacy.

Satellite Reign offers a very solid set of mechanics and the four specialists are clearly designed to allow players to approach almost all situations in a variety of ways, able to create big gun battles or to always move without altering anyone to their presence.

Transformers: Devastation is a fun and fast experience that will appeal to both those who love the series and to gamers who are determined to play everything that Platinum Games creates.

Nightmare Reaper is a good retro FPS experience that will be incredibly satisfying to all gamers who liked the genre since Wolfenstein and have kept up with its recent evolution. Shooting enemies, juggling weapons, and looking for secrets, all these ideas work well. There’s enough difficulty to make progress a challenge without too much frustration and death is never the end. The biggest obstacle to a bigger audience will be the graphics. I understand why developers choose this pixelated, low-fidelity approach and I like it in small doses. But it might drive some players who are used to more modern graphics away. Nightmare Reaper might not be for everyone but fans can look forward to tens of hours of enjoyable FPS action.

As a package, Rebel Engine does a great job at offering you intense, fast-paced FPS gameplay. The game has a lot of heart poured into it, and you can see that from the visual style to the overall design, music and intense gameplay. They did a great job when it comes to the enemy variety as well, along with the boss design. It’s one of those experiences that can feel cringe at times, but it also pushes the boundaries when it comes to gameplay intensity and attention to detail. Although it’s by no means perfect and it has its fair share of minor issues, I think everyone who loves FPS games should try Rebel Engine. It’s an ode to a long-lost era, it’s a great, albeit short experience, and the game continually pushes the boundaries with even crazier boss battles and encounters. Yes, it might not be very long, and it has its downsides, but for the most part it does its job as intended, and you will have a blast with it, which is what matters the most.

The Last Hero of Nostalgaia will be a solid experience for any gamer who has a passion for the souls-like genre. The core mechanics as very close to From Software’s finest and there are plenty of challenging boss fights to go around. Fans might also appreciate the newly introduced concepts, even if they don’t revolutionize the genre. But the entire experience stays so close to its inspirations that it leaves limited room for newcomers. The story is not interesting enough or ironic enough to draw players in. The presentation only works fully for fans who accept the premise and like the mechanics. The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is a good game designed for a limited group of players.

Strictly speaking about the game, I enjoyed the atmosphere quite a lot, and the unique blend of medieval, steampunk and modern elements made the game seem quite unique. The zombie waves and the gameplay in general are extremely engaging, and combat can keep you on the edge of your seat at times, especially when you underestimate enemy forces. All in all, They are Billions is a game that definitely deserves praise, but playing it with anything other than a mouse and keyboard can be literally gamer’s Hell.

Despite the relative lack of graphical imagery, I can understand why some players might be turned off by the premise and the way it is implemented. The humor helps, as does that its mechanics are not focused on actual dismemberment but on choices and optimization. I like the weird mix of premise and gameplay of Organs Please and the feeling of accomplishment mixed with slight terror it can deliver.

Becastled is a very fun city builder and survival game. It manages to seamlessly blend the two genres, while also conveying its own unique challenges. Yes, it’s very fun to play as well, and it’s one of those games where you will find yourself playing for hours and hours without stopping. You can also change the difficulty to continually challenge yourself, if you want. But the thing that I like the most about Becastled is how they allow you to expand all the time, while also testing you at every corner. The upgrade path is great, and the game doesn’t shy away from showing that you need to improve as a player. And that’s what matters, it’s exciting to play, yet you continue finding new ways to test your skills. It certainly has a lot of longevity, especially with variety of map styles and enemies, and it’s already getting many updates even after launch.

Curse of the Sea Rats has a familiar approach to gameplay, with platforming pushing exploration and combat that can be tricky but satisfying in victory. Players will die a lot but even boss fights are mostly fair as long as players are willing to observe and learn. The narrative offers a decent if not impressive scaffolding for the action. Metroidvania has become a very popular genre. Curse of the Sea Rats understands that and executes on its ideas well but with limited innovation.

YOLKED – The Egg Game is quite a challenging experience that manages to keep frustration relatively low via the solid placing of checkpoints. It is extremely easy to understand the dual-hand movement mechanics but very hard to master them. And the world is interesting enough to keep players engaged when playing the same sequence again and again. Endless mode adds even more difficulty and is well-suited for competitive players. Experimentation is rewarded but the game could have used a few extra narrative beats. YOLKED is extra fun with an audience that’s ready to cheer on daring leaps and fast reflexes. But it can also be a relaxing way to end a gaming session when ingested in small doses.

Sons of Valhalla is fun but can become repetitive. Thorald is a good fighter, and the game makes him powerful enough, especially with a well-chosen set of runes on his belt, to tangle solo with big enemy groups. But teamwork and good use of the shield wall are crucial when taking on opponents hiding behind fortifications. But combat never evolves beyond that and the settlement development system is equally limited. The getting-back-the-kidnapped-princess narrative is decent but doesn’t do anything new. Sons of Valhalla is pleasant in short bursts but greater depth for all its mechanics are needed to make it engaging for long periods.

Without reinventing the recipe, Sherlock Holmes The Awakened offers a compelling gameplay experience even if you’re not a good detective. The wide variety of environments in each location that you can explore and the many characters that you meet along the way make this a very enjoyable ride.

Born of Bread is joyful, designed to appeal to a wider range of audiences, with a quirky narrative that can draw some laughs and mechanics that are easy to understand. The story holds few surprises, but I liked the characters, even the background ones. I can’t say the same about battles. The idea of audience participation is intriguing but doesn’t mesh well with the rest of its systems. And the cycle of attacking and defending will quickly become repetitive. Born of Bread has a host of good ideas and will deliver hours of fun for players who click with all of them.

Pro Cycling Manager 2014 is a solid experience for all fans of the sport who want to recreate history and try to win Le Tour de France with their favorite riders, but it might be a little too complex at first for newcomers who are looking to explore the simulation genre...But all should probably wait until the noticeable crashes are eliminated via patch.

Star Stuff isn’t actually about programming, although creating command sequences for robots is an important part of gameplay. The game wants players to consider what actions need to happen and then work backward to create a solution that takes into account number of commands and robot capabilities. The universe isn’t as fleshed out as it could be and zooming in when Mija takes a drink from a vending machine isn’t a good idea. But for anyone who loves puzzles and wants to solve well-designed ones using a constantly expanding set of tools, Star Stuff is a great choice.

It still has technical issues and the story may not be for everyone, but its multiplayer mode is a blast and, so far, isn't suffering from the many technical problems that affected past titles.

Matchmaker Agency is a cute game that is easy to get into both for fans of the management space and for newcomers who are attracted by the idea of getting people to fall in love with each other. The mystical powers element is a little weird, but the mechanics built around it mostly work, although there are moments when the events and their effects don’t fully make sense. The core character selection is good, as is the variety of people coming to the agency for help. Over time, the selection of date locations starts to feel limited, and it becomes annoying to see repeated situations. Matchmaker Agency could have used some extra polish but still delivers the satisfaction of creating new couples via the magic of a carefully considered match.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is another example of how remasters should be put together. Unlike the latest Tomb Raider remaster, the loving tale of the two brothers aged well and remained just as impressive as it was in 2013, serving a tale full of emotion. It is a brilliant story that combined with simple gameplay makes it accessible also to those who do not play video games on a regular basis. It is an experience that is worth playing through for the first time or relieving it with the updated graphics.

Beyond is an impressive achievement and I don’t really want to think how long it would take a player to see all the more than 1,400 featured cards. The structure makes it easy to get a full-blown weird adventure in under 10 minutes. Stop after death, consider your choices, do something else, and return for another dose after a few hours.

It’s hard to imagine what else they could have done to make this a great multiplayer game, but that’s not in dispute. Treyarch still knows how to make things happen. As for the single-player experience, I doubt that many people will remember it by the time the next game is released.

orbit.industries is a good management experience that will appeal to anyone who has ever sketched a space station in a notebook or thought about the complexities of building in orbit. Its three core systems might not seem too deep, taken individually, but they interact to create satisfying complexity. It is hard but cool to put together a space station that functions as close to optimal as possible and also looks suitably sci-fi. But the game doesn’t seem to aim to expand to audiences that don't already loves this genre. The presentation is functional but never pushes past that. There’s little world-building to create a sense of immersion. orbit.industries is a clear sign that LAB132 know their mechanics but they need to work on their ability to create a sense of wonder to attract a wider slate of players.